The Firestation’s Book Swap returns this month! Novelist Marie Phillips and publisher Scott Pack continue to host an evening of conversation and banter in this increasingly popular literary event!

You won’t hear boring speeches, the same old questions or authors reading from their latest book – but you could witness almost anything else!

Audience members are required to bring an unwanted book along with them which they will have an opportunity to swap for another. And there’s tea and cake!

This week’s guests are Leo Benedictus and Gaby Hinsliff!

Leo’s debut novel, The Afterparty, was described as ‘shockingly accomplished’ by The Independent on Sunday and has had rave reviews from pretty much every publication going. The new paperback edition actually includes a mention of The Firestation Book Swap… but more about that on the night!

Gaby is the former political editor of The Observer and has just written a book about working parents, Half a Mother: The Working Family’s Guide to Getting a Life Back.

‘This is exactly the kind of blog-linked, local event that publishers should be really encouraging, a sort of odd cross between a public reading and a book group’ Emma Townshend, The Independent

Tickets: £5

A late addition to the Summer season, and an incredible event – have we got a treat for you! Tomorrow night, The Firestation is offering a special edition Lie Back and Think Of… as we get a sneak preview of the upcoming release, Valtari by Sigur Ros! Read on for more information!

Sigur Ros will be releasing Valtari, their sixth full-length studio album, at the end of this month and tomorrow night, we have a full album stream starting at 7pm! Taking place across the entire world in each individual time zone, this is a global listening party – and you’re invited!

A special edition Lie Back and Think Of…, offering you the opportunity to enjoy a drink and kick back on our beds whilst this album is played loud and uninterrupted for your ultimate pleasure! Be part of this major, global event tomorrow night: bring your duvet, bring your pillow and Lie Back and Think Of… Sigur Ros’ Valtari!

Don’t forget, Lie Back and Think Of… is a regular recession-busting event – entry is completely FREE!

We are excited to let you know that The Firestation has added another string to its cultural bow, opening a new shop available online and in the Upper Bar! Read on for more information!

With a fantastic mix of albums (including the first CD release, Suburban Campfires, through resident label, Fireythings), Alice Melvin craft kits, the latest hard to get magazines, official Tate products, books, custom badges and more, there’s only one place to keep your finger on the artistic pulse!

Click HERE to check out our range of items online, or drop by and browse at your leisure in our new display cases!

This Summer Season, we’re proud to welcome back Professor Hitchin and his fantastic open mic night! Kicking off this Wednesday at 7:30pm, this is an opportunity for all those with an artistic leaning to get up and perform, whether its poetry, music, a monologue, stand-up comedy or anything else!

A recession-busting event and an opportunity to strut your stuff at The Firestation! And now, a few words from Professor Hitchin himself;

“It is with great pleasure that I am able to announce the return of my artistic laboratory in the basement bar of the delightful Firestation Centre for Arts and Culture, situated in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

I would like to invite those saddled with an artistic bent, or with an otherwise inquiring inclination to be involved.

During the course of the evening we will straddle artistic endeavours and cultural equations, from music to poetry and dance, with new and limitless genres passing through our hands.

All are welcome to experiment in my Lab, please introduce yourself to my assistant prior to the night via the email address”

hitchin@firestationartscentre.com

Slots are also available on the night! Don’t miss out!

Free admission

On Tuesday 15th May, The Firestation is proud to screen the multi-award winning, The Artist. Starting at 8pm, this is a magnificent film that has truly earned each and every one of its many accolades. Read on for more information and to book your tickets!

Jean DuJardin plays George Valentin, a dashing and rather arrogant actor whose film roles have made him a huge star of the pre-talkie era. However, the coming era of talking pictures takes him off guard, and he fades into oblivion and self-destrution, until he meets Peppy Miller, a young dancer lighting up talkies like no-one else. Starring Jean DuJardin, Berenice Bejo and John Goodman, (and a Jack Russell terrier so cute you will want to take him home).

The Artist was the first silent film to triumph at The Oscars since the orginal Oscars ceremony 83 years ago, and with good reason. The black and white comic melodrama took five awards, including Best Motion Picture of the Year and Best Actor in a Leading Role.  With seven BAFTAs, and a host of awards and nominations under its belt, The Artist is not to be missed.

The Artist is “[A] valentine to the glories of silent cinema, a triumph of artistic teleportation, pure effervescence that gives crowdpleasing a good name” – The Telegraph

“A dazzling tale of love and loss” – The Guardian

Running time: 100 mins. Cert: PG

Tickets: £7.25 / £5.75 conc / £4 Mem

A great night comes your way this Saturday as rising stars Wildeflower launch their latest single ‘Good Girl’!  Read on for more information!

One of Windsor’s hottest upcoming bands, Wildeflower are growing from strength to strength. Not only a regular treat here at The Firestation, but Wildeflower were one of the few bands selected to be a part of The Firestation’s debut CD, ‘Suburban Campfires’, but the band are now releasing a brand new record, Good Girl, and launching it here tomorrow night! Support comes from Foe and Siren Was The Wolf.

The Firestation’s MD Dan Eastmond, says “Wildeflower are an undeniable talent, landing somewhere between Nick Drake and King Creosote they make a remarkable sound with enviable ease”.

‘Wildeflower have the sort of lived in sound that makes their brand of harmony-filled folk sounds all the more lush and authentic. Good Girl comes from a forthcoming 7” that’s being released on May 14th via Stella Mortos, and if it’s any indication of where this UK based band is heading with their sound, then count me in for the long haul. They’re going to get their Fleet Foxes comparisons, sure, but this feels like something less produced and more free form. Not to say that it sounds jammy, but it takes it’s time getting the harmonies right, and the rolling percussion matches up with the acoustic guitar and general atmospherics in a really dreamy, and gorgeous way. Highly recommended for fans of Daniel Rossen, Gold Leaves, and Fleet Foxes’ – Perfect Midnight World

Doors open from 7.30pm with the proceedings kicking off from 8pm.

Tickets are only £5, so book yours now to avoid disappointment!

Show your support for Wildeflower and pick up a copy of Suburban Campfires in our new online shop, or to have a browse for more albums, magazines, books and much more, click HERE

They’re creepy and they’re kooky, and they join us tomorrow afternoon at 1pm! The absolutely classic, The Addams Family, visit us as part of our Kids Club Cinema Season! Favourites Lurch, Wednesday, Morticia, Pugsley, Gomez, Thing and Cousin It grace The Firestation’s big screen, so read on for more information and the original trailer!

The Addams’ step out of Charles Addams’ cartoons. They live with all of the trappings of the macabre (including a hand for a servant!) and are quite notably ‘kooky’. Added to this mix is a crooked accountant, his loan shark and a plot to slip in the shark’s son into the family as their long lost Uncle Fester. Can the false Fester find his way into the family vault before he is discovered?

Starring Angelica Huston, Raul Julia and Christopher Lloyd.

Running time: 99mins. Certificate: PG

Tickets: £5 adults / £2.50 children / £1 Members or Advantage Card Holders.
Please note, Advantage Card Holders can only book on the door, the day of the film.

All Kids Club Cinema screenings are kindly supported by Grundon.

Don’t miss the fusion of beatboxing, theatre, comedy and beats rolled into a fantastic performance! Tomorrow night, The Firestation welcomes Vid Warren with his fusion performance, Beatrick, followed by a beatboxing masterclass and solo session from Vid himself!

Vid Warren and Tess Cartwright bring you a ground-breaking piece fusing music, beatboxing, theatre and circus. Beatrick follows the story of four characters embarking on an intense tour. Using technical wizardry and pioneering exciting kinds of beatbox fusion, Beatrick truly ‘indulges the rhythm’.

The show exploits a stark contrast between the pretentious, highly skilled, over-serious performers and the coy, nerdy,  character-masked stage-hands. Without a single word spoken, Beatrick relies on whole body expression and timing to deliver laugh out loud physical-comedy.

This performance will be immediately followed by a solo beatboxing session from Vid Warren. Vid has toured nationally and internationally to numerous festivals, venues and events and his ability is mind-blowing!

“Wow! Sharp skills, cosmic algorhythms and simple fun!”
Gyllian Raby, Brock U, Canada

Tickets: £8 / £6 concessions and Members

Kevin Bridges: Work in Progress has now SOLD OUT! If you’ve missed out this time around, do consider becoming a Firestation Member and become the first to hear about late inclusions, receive priority booking periods as well as a host of discounts and special offers!

Kevin Bridges – Work In Progress
with support
Sat 23 Jun, 8pm

Trying out new material for his forthcoming 2012 UK and Ireland tour.

Having made his debut on BBC 1′s Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow in 2009 he has now gone onto host the Bafta nominated Live At The Apollo and Channel 4′s Stand-Up For The Week. Starred in his own show Kevin Bridges What’s The Story on BBC One, which has been critically acclaimed, and a new DVD – Kevin Bridges The Story Continues… will be recorded in Oct 2012 at the Glasgow SECC Arena for a Nov 2012 release.

www.offthekerb.co.uk/www.kevinbridges.co.uk

“It’s his eye for detail that has elevated him to a MUST-SEE act.” The Daily Mirror

“The most exciting talent in Scottish stand-up.” The Herald

There will be a support act.

All seats £17.50
Please note, there are only single seats now available for this event.

Tonight at 7:30pm, The Firestation welcomes legendary comedian, Michael McIntyre for one night only! We’re very excited and hope you are too! For those with tickets, please remember to bring your ID and payment card. Read on for more information.

THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT.

The star of Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow and Britain’s Got Talent will be touring the UK trying out new material prior to his third and biggest UK arena tour to date.

Michael McIntyre’s Live & Laughing and Hello Wembley have sold over 2,500,000 DVDs. A third stand-up DVD of the tour will be available in mid November 2012.

‘Best Entertainment Show’ NTA 2012 Award Winner

Become a Member today and take advantage of a priority booking period for future events and late additions!

PLEASE NOTE: Tickets are limited to 2 per booking. Ticket holders are required to bring a form of ID and their payment card on the night of the event. Failure to do so may result in refusal of entry.