Chesterfield Studios is celebrating ten years of musical theatre with a production of Leonard Bernstein’s iconic musical, West Side Story. The tragic re-telling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, set in New York’s West Side, tells the story of Tony and Maria, two lovers caught in a battle between rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets.

Established in 2009, Chesterfield Studios leads the way in innovative performing arts training for young people. With over 250 people participating in their theatre school classes, they offer a broad range of classes, spread across all age ranges. All staff have trained at some of the country’s leading universities and colleges and many are working professionals, passionate about working with and engaging young people in the performing arts.

The biggest event of the year for Chesterfield Studios will be West Side Story, which will show at the Pomegranate on almost the very same date, that ten years ago, the company first opened their doors.

Bernstein’s driving score set to lyrics by Stephen Sondheim is as fresh today as it was when it first opened in London’s West End sixty years ago, and features the well known songs, America, I Feel Pretty and Tonight. Fourteen year old Lucy Johnson plays Maria, with Tony being played by seventeen year old Owen Jenkinson. The cast also features professional actor Rob Laughlin as Glad Hand, who first played the part when he was seventeen years old. It is directed by Becky Parker with choreography by Roseanna Sanderson and conducted by Jonathan Francis.

Born to Perform follows in June, showcasing the fantastic array of talent in the young people’s classes. The final major event of the year, will be a celebratory concert in July, combining our Seniors, Rose Choir, past students, special guests and our concert orchestra to perform music from all of the shows we’ve performed over the last ten years.

Showing from Tuesday 19th to Thursday 21st February at the Pomegranate Theatre, find out more and how to book your tickets here.

Visitors to the Peak District and Derbyshire can celebrate the launch of a fascinating new film about Mary Queen of Scots by following in the footsteps of the real Mary Stuart and her guardian Bess of Hardwick.

The UK release of the film last week offers the perfect excuse to book an early Easter break and stay in or visit places connected to the ill-fated queen and her formidable ‘minder’, together with the chance to visit famous film locations in the area.

Directed by Josie Rourke and filmed in England and Scotland – including at Hardwick Hall near Chesterfield and Haddon Hall near Bakewell – the film positions the Peak District and Derbyshire firmly in the spotlight as a place where visitors can step into the shoes of their favourite movie stars.

During her 15-year captivity, Mary Stuart (1542 – 1587) was under the guardianship of George Talbot, 6^th Earl of Shrewsbury and his Derbyshire-born wife Elizabeth, known as Bess of Hardwick, at various places in and around the Peak District and Derbyshire.

Mary was held at locations including Chatsworth, Wingfield Manor and the Old Hall Hotel in Buxton, England’s oldest hotel. Due to a mystery illness, Mary was permitted to ‘take the healing waters’ at Buxton and visited the Derbyshire spa town most years between 1573 and 1584. Copies of writing that Mary etched onto a window pane at the Old Hall Hotel can still be seen today.

The movie stars Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Jack Lowden, David Tennant and Joe Alwyn.

Haddon Hall and the National Trust’s Hardwick Hall were used in scenes representing Hampton Court Palace – with Haddon’s beautiful medieval Long Gallery used in shots with actress Margot Robbie (Queen Elizabeth I).

Private rooms at Haddon, including the Boot Room, were also used as the interior of Lord Darnley’s Chamber at Holyrood; the anteroom to the State bedroom was used as a servant prep room; and the entrance and lower courtyard were used as a makeshift camp.

At Hardwick, the hall and grounds were used as external shots of Hampton Court Palace, including a scene where actress Margot Robbie (Queen Elizabeth I) is standing on the roof of Hardwick Hall.

The Peak District and Derbyshire has inspired filmmakers for generations and has been the backdrop for many famous films and TV dramas including Pride and Prejudice, The Duchess, The Other Boleyn Girl, Elizabeth, The Princess Bride and Jane Eyre.

As well as inspiring a visit to the local locations where the movie was filmed, the release of Mary Queen of Scots also coincides with the start of a second phase of a new exhibition highlighting modern women’s take on Bess of Hardwick’s compelling story at the National Trust’s Hardwick Hall, near Chesterfield.

Shrewd businesswoman Bess (1527 – 1608) was the second wealthiest woman in England and one of the most powerful women of her time. She built the first house on the Chatsworth Estate, together with her second husband Sir William Cavendish, and later constructed Hardwick Hall, ‘more glass than wall’. She also designed her own memorial in Derby Cathedral, where she was buried.

“The Peak District and Derbyshire has strong ties with both Mary Queen of Scots and her guardian Bess of Hardwick, so now is the perfect time for history lovers and film fans to book and look forward to staying in and visiting some of the places linked with this fascinating character from history,” said Jo Dilley, Managing Director, Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire, the area’s official tourist board.

“Many of our historic attractions, such as Chatsworth, Hardwick Hall, the Old Hall Hotel in Buxton and Derby Cathedral, are connected with the original story, while the new film and exhibition offer a modern take on both women’s fascinating lives, so there are plenty of amazing links to appeal to visitors of all ages.”

The Peak District and Derbyshire is one of the UK’s most interesting places to visit for film-inspired breaks.

Photograph by William Collinson

Organisers of the Redbrik Chesterfield Half Marathon have hailed the event’s success after it raised near to £100,000 for charities in its first two years.

The event saw more than 1,500 people register in 2018, many of whom raised funds for good causes including the event’s charity partners, Chesterfield-based Ashgate Hospicecare and Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, based in North Anston.

In 2018, the event included the 13.1-mile Half Marathon, Peak FM Five Mile Run and 1km Blachford Fun Run, and 15 teams entered the Pronto Paints Wellbeing Challenge.

The event also saw a new Redbrik Half record time of 1:14:58 set by Gary Gregory, with Nicola Holland the fastest female in a time of 1:26:26.

The 2019 Redbrik Chesterfield Half will take place on 20 October, starting at 9:30am from Queen’s Park in Chesterfield. The Early Bird entry price of £22 for the event is available until 31 January.

John Timms, Event Director at Redbrik Chesterfield Half Marathon, said: “We’re incredibly proud to see how much has been raised by the event since its relaunch in 2017.”

“To have raised in the region of £100k in our first two years is remarkable, but we want to kick on and keep raising money for good causes.”

“If the event continues to grow at the rate it has done so far, with the help of the people of Chesterfield, the local community and event partners, we can continue to do something very special for some incredible causes.”

Mark Ross, Director at headline sponsor Redbrik Estate Agents, said: “It’s been fantastic to be part of such a special event – the Redbrik Half Marathon has gone from strength-to-strength since it was revamped a couple of years ago.”

“To have got to where we are now in such a short space of time is a great achievement, but I think I speak for us all in saying that we want to take it even further.”

“Next, we’d love to get over 2,000 runners on the start line and double the amount we’ve raised so far for charity.”

For more information on the Redbrik Chesterfield Half Marathon click here.

Photo courtesy of Charles Whitton Photography

Innovative proposals to change the way Derbyshire libraries are run are due to be considered at a meeting on Thursday 20 December 2018.

The county council unveiled its proposed Derbyshire Public Library Service Strategy ‘Libraries for Derbyshire’ in April and outlined its commitment to keeping libraries open as it launched a 12-week consultation to gather residents’ views.

More than 7,000 people had their say during the far-reaching consultation which asked for views on proposed changes including transferring 20 libraries out of a total of 45 to community management. A number of changes have been made to the draft proposals to reflect views given during the consultation.

Other proposals included in the draft report included a reduction in weekly opening hours across the library service, a reduction in the materials fund (books, eBooks, eMagazines, eAudio, online resources including newspapers), considering the future implementation of Smart libraries, transferring the mobile library service to community management and stopping the DVD hire service.

As well as an online and paper copy questionnaire, 49 drop-in sessions were held at libraries so people could talk about the plans face-to-face with staff, and 21 in-depth focus groups were held in all areas where the local library was proposed to be a community managed library (CML), as well as a focus group about the mobile service. More people took part in the consultation than any single consultation held by the county council before.

Derbyshire County Council Leader Councillor Barry Lewis also held a public question and answer session at Chesterfield Library where people could quiz him directly about the plans. All the views were taken in to consideration before the report, which will be considered by the council’s Cabinet on Thursday, was drafted.

Those changes, which are now incorporated in to the report to be considered, include:

• Supporting groups running community managed libraries (CMLs) with five years of grant funding, rather than four
• Making £50,000 available to pay for independent support for CMLs
• Seeking help from Locality (a national network supporting community organisations) to support CMLs
• Giving more support and assistance in the financial processes of running a CML for the first two years
• Managing the transition to a CML, with council staff support for the first two years
• Helping with recruiting and training volunteers, and developing eLearning packages
• Ensuring the council includes support for CMLs in any new staffing structure
• Trialling the Smart library idea before any implementation
• Keeping the existing DVD stock and loaning them free of charge until March 2021.

Councillor Lewis, who is also the Cabinet Member for Strategic Leadership, Culture and Tourism, said: “Since we launched the consultation in to the proposed changes I’ve made it very clear that the council is committed to the library service and no libraries will close on my watch.”

“The response to the consultation was excellent and we received thousands of responses with some interesting views and ideas. We listened to what people had to say and have changed a number of elements of the report to reflect what people told us.”

“We believe these proposals are the best way forward to secure the future of our libraries.”

“A lack of support for the proposals could lead to consultations on further reductions to opening hours and the materials fund, other than those outlined in the report. This is something people made clear they did not want.”

If the proposals are agreed at Thursday’s meeting, a drive to recruit interested groups to run one or more CML will be launched in the new year. More information on the Derbyshire Public Library Strategy ‘Libraries for Derbyshire’ is available.