Leonora  falls  in  love  with  Don  Alvaro,  but  when  her  father  forbids  their  marriage,  a  fatal  accident  triggers  a  drama  of  obsession,  vengeance  and  tragedy.  Jonas  Kaufmannand  Anna  Netrebko  star  in  Verdi’s  epic  La  forza  del  destino  (The  Force  of  Destiny)  an  opera  which  demands  the  very  best  of  singers  for  its  powerful  music  and  the  fullest  theatrical  treatment  for  its  story  of  bitter  revenge  pursued  across  miles  and  years.  The  production  comes  to  The  Royal  Opera  in  a  sensational  staging  from  Amsterdam  packed  with  colour  and  action.  It  is  directed  by  Christof  Loy  and  conducted  by  Antonio  Pappano,  Music  Director  of  The  Royal  Opera.  

For more information about this performance, please visit the Royal Opera House Live website.

9 – 13 April 2019 will see the ever-popular My Fair Lady, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, return to the Amey Theatre in Abingdon for the first time since Autumn 2008. This will be the fourth time AOS has performed the show, with earlier versions in 1993 and 1976.

To book tickets, please visit the AOS website.

Come into the forest; dare to change your state of mind.

Rosalind is banished, wrestling with her heart and her head.

With her cousin by her side, she journeys to a world of exile where barriers are broken down and all can discover their deeper selves. Director Kimberley Sykes (Dido, Queen of Carthage) directs a riotous, exhilarating version of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy.

For more information about the performance, please go to the RSC website.

Gillian Anderson (X-Files, NT Live: A Streetcar Named Desire) and Lily James (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) lead in All About Eve, broadcast live to cinemas from the West End in London.

All About Eve tells the story of Margo Channing. Legend. True star of the theatre. The spotlight is hers, always has been. But now there’s Eve. Her biggest fan. Young, beautiful Eve. The golden girl, the girl next door. But you know all about Eve…don’t you…?

Lifting the curtain on a world of jealousy and ambition, this new production, from one of the world's most innovative theatre directors, Ivo van Hove (Network, NT Live: A View from the Bridge), asks why our fascination with celebrity, youth and identity never seems to get old.

All About Eve is adapted by Ivo van Hove from the 1950 Twentieth Century Fox film by Joseph L Mankiewicz and the play “The Wisdom of Eve” by Mary Orr. Ivo van Hove directs this new stage version with set and lighting design from Jan Versweyveld, costume design by An D’Huys and music from double Mercury Prize-winner PJ Harvey, alongside Tom Gibbons’ sound design. Casting is by Julia Horan CDG.

Please note: this is a 'Delayed Live Screening'

For more information about the performance, please visit the NT Live website.

The former King's Singer and internationally renowned composer and choir master comes to Abingdon School to deliver one of his ever popular "Come and Sing" days.

For more information, please visit the Arts and Sports website.

Suitable for ages 14+

Approximate duration: 6 hours

Registration from 9.30am on the day.

Tickets are now on sale for the All School ASPA Quiz Night & Supper taking place on Saturday April 27th in the Dining Hall. Either make up a team of 8 or simply buy your tickets and ask to be added to a team (if you do this, please specify your year group on the attached Google Sign Up form).

Based on the excellent feedback from last year our menu will be “Chip Shop Abingdon Style” with a variety of options – see here for further details.

Please arrive at 7.15pm as we plan to be seated in order to start the quiz by 7.30pm. Doors will open at 7pm.

Cash Bar available with beer/wines and soft drinks

Dress Code: Casual

Ticket Price: £23

For the first time in a documentary film, the remarkable story of British composer George Butterworth (1885 – 1916), his music, life and times.

Drawing on newly uncovered archival treasures, including the letters and memoirs of those who knew him best, 'All My Life's Buried Here' is the compelling account of a pioneering British composer, musician, folk song collector and dancer cut down in his prime on the battlefeld of the Somme.

For more information, please visit the film's website.

There  are  many  versions  of  the  story  of  Faust,  who  trades  his  soul  with  the  Devil  for  youth  and  power,  but  Gounod’s  opera  remains  one  of  the  most  constantly  enthralling.  Michael  Fabiano  stars  as  Faust,  with  Diana  Damrau  as  his  beloved  Marguerite  and  Erwin  Schrott  as  the  diabolical  Méphistophélès.  Virtuoso  leading  roles,  a  large  chorus,  sensational  sets,  ballet  and  an  ecstatic  finale  make  this  the  epitome  of  theatrical  spectacle  –  the  lavish  scale  of  French  grand  opera  is  wonderfully  in  evidence  in  this  production  by  David  McVicar,  set  in  1870s  Paris.  Above  all,  the  music  includes  several  of  popular  opera’s  most  recognizable  numbers,  performed  by  a  cast  of  great  international  singers  and  the  Royal  Opera  Chorus.

For more information about this performance, please visit the Royal Opera House Live website.

So You Think You Know About Dinosaurs is the hit stage show starring dinosaur aficionado Dr Ben Garrod. Get ready to go on an exciting pre-historic adventure as Ben talks you through the deadliest predators that ever roamed the planet.  Yes dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex, Allosaurus and Spinosaurus would have walked or swam right where you are now!

Pitting the knowledge of unwitting parents against their all-knowing kids, Dr Ben presents an interactive, educational and highly entertaining show using film footage from the BBC's 'Planet Dinosaur’.  So come and test your knowledge against Dr Ben in this hit live interactive show which is bigger and better than ever.

Watch the trailer here.

'I would highly recommend this show to anyone with a small person that loves dinosaurs!’ Families Online

'Who knew learning over Half Term would be so fun!' North East Family Fun

'It was a thoroughly enjoyable and captivating two hours and my son and his friend were completely hooked throughout and I would urge anyone to catch the show next time around.' Weston Mercury

Our solo concert platforms provide an opportunity for our talented young musicians to present their latest pieces in a supportive concert environment.

The  contemporary  face  of  The  Royal  Ballet  is  shown  in  works  from  three  of  today’s  leading  choreographers.  Christopher  Wheeldon’s  Within  the  Golden  Hour  is  based  around  seven  couples  separating  and  intermingling,  to  music  by  Vivaldi  and  Bosso  and  lit  with  rich  colours  suggested  by  sunset.  Crystal  Pite’s  Flight  Pattern,  revived  for  the  first  time,  uses  a  large  dance  ensemble  and  Górecki’s  familiar  music  from  his  Symphony  of  Sorrowful  Songsfor  a  poignant  and  passionate  reflection  on  migration.  Between  them,  a  new  work  by  Sidi  Larbi  Cherkaoui,  created  on  The  Royal  Ballet  has  its  premiere  to  bring  the  contemporary  truly  up-to-date.

For more information about this performance, please visit the Royal Opera House Live website.

This concert gives an opportunity to hear our main ensembles - bands, orchestras and choirs - before the Upper Sixth take their Study Leave after half term.

There will also be a pre-tour concert later in the term before the tour to Japan, involving the First Orchestra and Big Band only.

Get ready for an evening of inspirational adventure films coming at you from the wildest corners of the globe!

In this selection of extraordinary short films, follow the world’s top explorers and action film-makers as they brave intrepid journeys into the most spectacular regions of planet Earth. Witness breath-taking cinematography, stunning scenery and an exhilarating dose of adrenaline – all on the big screen!

These brand-new films are taken from the world’s most prestigious mountain festival, held every year in Canada. An exciting, not-to-be-missed event with free prize giveaways.

To book tickets, please visit the Banff Film Festival website.

Photo Credit: Valentine Fabre, Dent du Géant © Ben Tibbetts

Broadcast from The Old Vic in London, Academy Award-winner Sally Field (Steel Magnolias, Brothers & Sisters) and Bill Pullman (The Sinner, Independence Day) star in Arthur Miller’s blistering drama All My Sons.

America, 1947. Despite hard choices and even harder knocks, Joe and Kate Keller are a success story. They have built a home, raised two sons and established a thriving business. But nothing lasts forever and their contented lives, already shadowed by the loss of their eldest boy to war, are about to shatter. With the return of a figure from the past, long buried truths are forced to the surface and the price of their American dream is laid bare.

Jeremy Herrin (NT Live: This House, People, Places & Things) directs a cast including Jenna Coleman (Victoria), and Colin Morgan (Merlin). All My Sons is an Old Vic co-production with Headlong.

Please note: this is a 'Delayed Live Screening' originally broadcast on 14 May 2019.

For more information about the performance, please visit the NT Live website.

In a reimagined 1590, England is a matriarchy. Baptista Minola is seeking to sell off her son Katherine to the highest bidder. Cue an explosive battle of the sexes in this electrically charged love story. Justin Audibert (Snow in Midsummer, The Jew of Malta) turns Shakespeare’s fierce, energetic comedy of gender and materialism on its head to offer a fresh perspective on its portrayal of hierarchy and power.

For more information about the performance, please go to the RSC website.

Shakespeare's enduring  love  story  is  known  the  world  over. Since  its  1965  premiere  with  The  Royal  Ballet,  Kenneth  MacMillan’s  Romeo  and  Juliet  has  become  a  modern  ballet  classic.  The  choreography  captures  the  emotions  of  the  young  couple  as  they  fall  in  love,  despite  the  barriers  that  finally  bring  about  the  story’s  tragic  end.  Each  revival  gives  opportunities  for  new  dancers  to  interpret  the  doomed  lovers.  The  whole  Company  brings  the  colour  and  action  of  Renaissance  Verona,  where  a  busy  market  all  too  quickly  bursts  into  sword  fighting,  and  a  family  feud  leads  to  tragedy  for  both  the  Montagues  and  Capulets.

For more information about this performance, please visit the Royal Opera House Live website.

Our Junior Solo Competition, adjudicated this year by William Morris, from the Dragon School in Oxford, see our gifted young musicians competing for our coveted annual prize.

All are welcome and admission is free.

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lakecomes to cinemas with a fresh look for the 21st century and is ‘as bold and beautiful as ever’ (Telegraph).

This thrilling, audacious and witty production is perhaps still best known for replacing the female corps-de-ballet with a menacing male ensemble, which shattered convention, turned tradition upside down and took the dance world by storm.

Filmed live at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, this ‘spellbinding’ (Independent) re-imagining of the classic New Adventures production stars Will Bozieras The Swan/The Stranger, Liam Moweras The Prince and Nicole Kaberaas The Queen.

This concert sees our in-house professional jazz musicians in their usual blend of jazz and zany comedy. It will be a great event, including the participation of some younger players who will have been involved in an afternoon workshop.

Andrea Levy’s Orange Prize-winning novel Small Island comes to life in an epic new theatre adaptation. Experience the play in cinemas, filmed live on stage as part of National Theatre Live’s 10th birthday.

Small Island embarks on a journey from Jamaica to Britain, through the Second World War to 1948 – the year the HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury. The play follows three intricately connected stories. Hortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer, and Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. Hope and humanity meet stubborn reality as the play traces the tangled history of Jamaica and the UK.

A company of 40 actors take to the stage of the National Theatre in this timely and moving story.

Filmed live in front of an audience.

For more information about the performance, please visit the NT Live website.

This concert gives our parents and friends an opportunity to hear the First Orchestra and Big Band performing the music that they will be taking on tour to the Far East, leaving on 30 June and giving concerts in Tokyo, Nagoya and Hong Kong.

The concert will include Beethoven's 3rd Piano Concerto with three soloists alongside other repertoire including music by Elgar, Vaughan Williams and plenty of Jazz.

This concert is our annual celebration of music-making in the Lower School, involving our Year 7s and 8s. The items include solos, chamber items, a complete Lower School Choir, our Junior Strings and our Lower School Band.

Admission is free and all are welcome to hear our gifted young musicians and stars of the future.

For 2019 André is asking Shall We Dance? as he invites you to join him in the comfort of your local cinema, welcoming you into the beautiful and historic town that holds such special memories for both André and his fans throughout the world.

Performing live from the stunning medieval town square, André is accompanied by his 60-piece Johann Strauss Orchestra, who he has travelled the world with for over 30 years, as well as a cast of over 100 dancers.

Andre commented, “Once again I am delighted to welcome fans from across the UK into my hometown of Maastricht, through their cinema screens in 2019! It is a magical way of seeing what for me every year is a wonderful occasion!

This year will be extra special – performing the music of my heart: the Waltz. Come and join us for “The Beautiful Blue Danube” and many more surprises, some of which we will

reveal during the next weeks to come! I want to see everyone waltzing in the cinema aisles!”.

With special guests, surprises, as well as some renowned sopranos and tenors, André will this year celebrate the true music of a heart which beats in 3⁄4 time – the Waltz!

"To whom should I complain?"

When a young novice nun is compromised by a corrupt official, who offers to save her brother from execution in return for sex, she has no idea where to turn for help. When she threatens to expose him, he tells her that no one would believe her. Shakespeare wrote this play in the early 1600s, yet it remains astonishingly resonant today. Artistic Director, Gregory Doran, directs this new production.

For more information about the performance, please go to the RSC website.

Award author Margaret Atwood publishes worldwide her highly anticipated new novel – The Testaments – a sequel to her most celebrated work, The Handmaid’s Tale. In a unique live event on this momentous date, cinema audiences will be treated to an evening in conversation with Atwood about the release of the new book, her long and distinguished career and why she has returned to her seminal story of The Handmaid’s Tale, 34 years after she wrote the original. There will be exclusive readings by a number of high-profile actors from the new book and filmed documentary content from throughout Atwood’s life. Filmed live from the stage of the National Theatre, Atwood will also answer questions from audiences across the country in this rare appearance and intimate evening.

Wilderland Film Festival is the brainchild of zoologist filmmakers Dan O’Neill and Isaac Rice, who recruited some of the most acclaimed wildlife filmmakers to whittle down a shortlist of over 50 short films to the chosen 9 films that will be seen during the tour.

Judges including award winning documentary cameraman Doug Allan (The Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Frozen Planet), naturalist and author Stephen Moss (Britain’s Big Wildlife Revival, Springwatch), and producer/director Louise Heren (Big Cat Diaries) have chosen films that will take audiences on a journey through the world’s most enigmatic wildlife; from a film exploring how the mercurial Snow Leopard and Himalayan communities co-exist, to the diminishing Orangutan population of Orangutans in Borneo, to the impact of noise-pollution in our seas on the majestic humpback whale and many more.

"It’s so exciting to see these breathtaking films on the big screen for the first time”- Steve Backshall    

"Wilderland is special because it gives audiences unparalleled insight into some of the worlds most incredible wildlife"- Gordon Buchanan

Watch the Wilderland Film Festival trailer here!

For more information, please visit the Wilderland Film Festival website.

Calling all ocean lovers! The Ocean Film Festival World Tour is back for autumn 2019 with a brand-new selection of the world’s most captivating ocean films!

Brought to you by the team behind the Banff Film Festival UK & Ireland Tour, this carefully curated collection of short films features sublime footage from both above and below the water’s surface, showcasing the spellbinding power and beauty of our oceans.

Celebrate the divers, surfers, swimmers and oceanographers who live for the sea’s salt spray, who chase the crests of waves and who marvel at the mysteries of the big blue. Be awed by mesmerising marine life and spectacular cinematography from unexplored depths of our planet – via the big screen!

To book tickets, please visit the Ocean Film website.

Photo credit: Travis Burke, Freediver Chelsea Yamasee .