What’s On
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Exhibitions
Free
David Lock: In-between Us
Saturday 23 March - Sunday 23 June 2024
Experience an exciting blend of existing work and never-before-seen paintings form London-based artist David Lock in his first solo public exhibition that delves into the portrayal and consumeristic reproduction of the male form, from antiquity to the present day.
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Free
Art in the Community
Tuesday 16 April 2024
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
More times available
Art in the Community sessions are for people who use creativity to improve their well-being, and for recovery from mental and physical issues
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Exhibition on Screen: John Singer Sargent
Tuesday 16 April 2024
2:00 pm
More times available
Step into the glittering world of fashion, scandal and shameless self-promotion that made John Singer Sargent the painter who defined an era.
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Monster
Wednesday 17 April 2024
11:00 am
More times available
Monster: A timely tale of family, false impressions, and, ultimately, hope, Kore-eda’s typically sensitive work features powerful performances.
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The Delinquents
Wednesday 17 April 2024
2:00 pm
More times available
Beguiling and unpredictable, Cannes Un Certain Regard breakout The Delinquents reinvents the heist film as a free-flowing adventure.
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Free
MiniCLIP Colchester
Wednesday 17 April 2024
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
More times available
MiniCLIP – a free weekly music club for young people age 11 to 14 at Firstsite Colchester, on term time Wednesdays from 4 – 5pm.
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Mini Movers & Makers Toddler Group
Thursday 18 April 2024
10:00 am
More times available
This brand new artist-led toddler group provides a safe and fun environment for children under 5 and parents/carers to be curious and explore interactive, sensory storytelling and experiment with a range of art activities and materials.
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Little Eggs: A Frozen Rescue (Parent & Baby)
Thursday 18 April 2024
11:30 am
Little Eggs: A Frozen Rescue focuses on an orphaned Polar Bear cub who escapes a travelling circus. Toto makes a promise to return him to its natural habitat. If only he knew that meant travelling to the South Pole!…
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Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus
Thursday 18 April 2024
1:45 pm
More times available
Ryuichi Sakamoto’s last performance, a concert film featuring just him and his piano playing for the last time before passing away.
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Free
YAK | Young Art Kommunity
Thursday 18 April 2024
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
More times available
Young Art Kommunity (YAK) is Firstsite’s young-people peer led group which organises events and activities within the gallery and in the wider community.
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Dance and Movement for Well-being
Friday 19 April 2024
10:30 am
More times available
A gentle session for over 60s to ease joint mobility, improve agility, balance and self-awareness in movement. Every Friday 10:30am during term times.
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COPA 71
Friday 19 April 2024
11:00 am
More times available
COPA 71 tells the story of the 1971 Women’s World Cup, which saw soccer teams from all over the world gather in Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium to compete in front of more than 100,000 spectators.
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Baltimore
Friday 19 April 2024
2:00 pm
More times available
Based on a true story, Baltimore is a meditative portrayal of terrorist, disinherited heiress and expectant mother Rose Dugdale.
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The Persian Version
Friday 19 April 2024
4:20 pm
More times available
The Persian Version focuses on Iranian-American Leila (Layla Mohammadi), who coming from two countries at odds with each other, strives to find balance and embrace her opposing cultures.
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Boozy Brushes
Friday 19 April 2024
7:30 pm
More times available
Join Sirena Hart at Firstsite for Boozy Brushes – our New Multi-Art, Drag entertainment painting class extravaganza!
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Wicked Little Letters
Friday 19 April 2024
7:30 pm
A 1920s English seaside town bears witness to a dark and absurd scandal in this riotous mystery comedy Wicked Little Letters.
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Free
Concrete Dreams: Just Can’t Get Enough
Saturday 20 April - Sunday 10 November 2024
Presented 75 years after Basildon in Essex was designated a New Town, ‘Concrete Dreams: Just Can’t Get Enough’ reflects on the influence of the Britain’s post-war new town movement on cultural identity, and the impact of policy decisions on individual lives.
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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Relaxed)
Saturday 20 April 2024
11:30 am
More times available
In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters
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MET Opera Live: La Rondine
Saturday 20 April 2024
5:40 pm
Puccini’s bittersweet love story makes a rare Met appearance, with soprano Angel Blue starring as the sophisticated French courtesan Magda, opposite tenor Jonathan Tetelm.
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Baltimore (Captioned)
Sunday 21 April 2024
11:30 am
Based on a true story, Baltimore is a meditative portrayal of terrorist, disinherited heiress and expectant mother Rose Dugdale.
Find out moreCinema
The Persian Version (Captioned)
Tuesday 23 April 2024
2:00 pm
The Persian Version focuses on Iranian-American Leila (Layla Mohammadi), who coming from two countries at odds with each other, strives to find balance and embrace her opposing cultures.
Find out moreCinema
An American in Paris – The Musical
Wednesday 24 April 2024
2:00 pm
More times available
The romantic story of a young American soldier, a beautiful French girl and an indomitable European city are at the heart of Broadway’s breathtakingly beautiful new musical, An American in Paris.
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Discovering Art with Jevan Watkins Jones
Friday 26 April 2024
10:30 am
More times available
Each all-day session, discover a different art medium with local artist Jevan Watkins Jones, including Watercolour, Indian Ink, Acrylic and more!
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COPA 71 (Captioned)
Friday 26 April 2024
11:00 am
COPA 71 tells the story of the 1971 Women’s World Cup, which saw soccer teams from all over the world gather in Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium to compete in front of more than 100,000 spectators.
Find out moreCinema
Evil Does Not Exist
Friday 26 April 2024
1:30 pm
More times available
Urban ambitions clash with nature in a quiet village close to Tokyo in this new film Evil Does Not Exist from the director of Oscar® and BAFTA winner Drive My Car. Takumi and his daughter Hana live in Mizubiki…
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The Origin of Evil
Friday 26 April 2024
4:00 pm
More times available
The Origin of Evil is a new twisted satire from Sébastien Marnier about a woman who is sucked into a world of secrets and betrayal.
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Mothers’ Instinct
Friday 26 April 2024
7:00 pm
More times available
Starring Academy Award winners Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway, Mothers’ Instinct is an unnerving psychological thriller about two best friends and neighbours, Alice and Céline.
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Free
Colchester Record Fair
Saturday 27 April 2024
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
More times available
Colchester’s Record Fair returns to Firstsite, a treat for both enthusiasts and casual collectors alike. Come browse through stall holders’ collections of vinyl and CDs from a vast range of genres. Grab yourself a bargain – or perhaps something a little rarer.
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Nature drawing workshop with Lisa Temple-Cox
Saturday 27 April 2024
10:30 am
More times available
Explore observational drawing and discover your favourite medium with this nature drawing workshop.
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Little Eggs: A Frozen Rescue (Relaxed)
Saturday 27 April 2024
11:00 am
Little Eggs: A Frozen Rescue focuses on an orphaned Polar Bear cub who escapes a travelling circus. Toto makes a promise to return him to its natural habitat. If only he knew that meant travelling to the South Pole!…
Find out moreCinema
Mothers’ Instinct (Captioned)
Saturday 27 April 2024
5:20 pm
Starring Academy Award winners Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway, Mothers’ Instinct is an unnerving psychological thriller about two best friends and neighbours, Alice and Céline.
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Four Daughters
Sunday 28 April 2024
11:00 am
More times available
Oscar nominated this year for Best Documentary, Four Doughters follows the life of Olfa, a Tunisian woman and mother of 4 daughters, while oscillating between light and shadow.
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The Royal Opera House: Swan Lake
Sunday 28 April 2024
1:45 pm
Classical ballet’s most powerful tale of love, treachery and forgiveness returns to the Royal Opera House stage.
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Perfect Days (Parent & Baby)
Thursday 02 May 2024
11:30 am
Perfect Days is a subtle, shimmering and ultimately life-affirming reflection on finding beauty in the everyday world around us.
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Macbeth: Ralph Fiennes & Indira Varma
Thursday 02 May 2024
7:00 pm
More times available
Macbeth is coming. A couple corrupted by their relentless lust for power have blood on their hands. Witness the gripping tale of greed, murder, deception, and superstition. Once you cross the line, you can never turn back. Tony and…
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The Teachers’ Lounge
Friday 03 May 2024
2:00 pm
More times available
With The Teachers’ Lounge, award-winning director İlker Çatak, creates a riveting work about school as a microcosm of society.
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Free
Folk & Bespoke Artisan Craft Market
Saturday 04 May 2024
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
More times available
Have a handmade shopping day. The people in your life deserves something special and for a totally unique gift, you cannot beat handmade.
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Drag Life Drawing with Sirena Hart
Saturday 04 May 2024
6:00 pm
More times available
A one-of-a-kind life drawing class, where your tutor and model will offer multiple poses in fantastical settings.
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The Royal Opera House: Carmen
Sunday 05 May 2024
1:45 pm
Aigul Akmetshina performs the title role in Damiano Michieletto’s sizzling new production of Bizet’s ever-popular opera.
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Glass Suncatcher Workshop
Thursday 09 May 2024
7:30 pm
Join us for an enchanting evening of crafting where you’ll create your very own spring-inspired fused glass suncatcher
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National Theatre Live: Nye
Friday 10 May 2024
6:45 pm
More times available
Michael Sheen plays Nye Bevan in a surreal and spectacular journey through the life and legacy of the man who transformed Britain’s welfare state and created the NHS.
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Watercolour Saturdays with Justine Moss
Saturday 11 May 2024
10:30 am
More times available
A monthly meet up for watercolour painters and enthusiasts – open for all levels. Explore the materials, techniques and colour theory to develop your work
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Life Drawing with Justine Moss – all levels
Saturday 11 May 2024
1:30 pm
More times available
Learn how to draw from the live model or practice your life drawing skills at Firstsite.
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MET Opera Live: Puccini’s Madama Butterfly
Saturday 11 May 2024
5:40 pm
In her Met debut, Asmik Grigorian tackles the demanding role of Cio-Cio-San, the trusting geisha at the heart of Puccini’s tragedy.
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Printmaking By Hand
Tuesday 14 May 2024
10:30 am
More times available
Explore low tech printing methods like dry point etching, Lino cutting, mono printing, impression printing and more.
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National Theatre Live: Nye (Captioned)
Wednesday 15 May 2024
1:45 pm
Michael Sheen plays the titular Nye Bevan in this surreal and spectacular journey through the life and legacy of the creator of the NHS.
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Colchester Art Society Lecture Series – Freddie Robins
Thursday 16 May 2024
6:00 pm
Freddie Robins, Professor of Textiles at the Royal College of Art, London presents her lecture “Who’s scared of the soft stuff?”.
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42nd Street – The Musical
Thursday 16 May 2024
7:00 pm
More times available
Telling the story of Peggy Sawyer, a talented young performer with stars in her eyes who gets her big break on Broadway, this is the largest ever staging of the Tony Award-winning musical.
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Introduction to Collage Workshop
Friday 24 May 2024
10:00 am
Sociable, creative and fun Introduction to Collage Workshop where you’ll learn new techniques, unwind and have a delicious lunch together.
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The Royal Opera House: The Winter’s Tale
Sunday 26 May 2024
1:45 pm
Shakespeare’s profound story of love and loss, artfully adapted into a contemporary three- act narrative ballet by Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon.
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The Royal Opera House: Message in a Bottle
Sunday 02 June 2024
1:45 pm
The iconic songs of Sting. The electrifying choreography of Kate Prince. This is a tale of hope.
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Exhibition on Screen: My National Gallery, London
Tuesday 04 June 2024
2:00 pm
More times available
In My National Gallery, London, devoted staff members, beloved celebrities and world class experts come together to paint a unique portrait of this iconic British institution for its 200th birthday.
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Late Lounge @ Firstsite
Friday 07 June 2024
8:00 pm
More times available
Join us for late cocktails and strange happenings in our late night lounge. Ambient DJ’s create a sonic backdrop to a bizarre, surreal and at times truly mystifying collection of performances.
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Free
Lunar Lullabies
Saturday 08 June - Sunday 06 October 2024
Join Colchester’s own Jane Taylor on a celestial adventure, inspired by her timeless poem, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”
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The Royal Opera House: Andrea Chenier
Sunday 16 June 2024
1:45 pm
Jonas Kaufmann headlines David McVicar’s spectacular staging of Giordano’s epic historical drama, conducted by long-time collaborator Antonio Pappano.
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Dane Baptiste – Bapsquire
Thursday 24 October 2024
8:00 pm
Lee Martin for Gag Reflex presents: Dane Baptiste: Bapsquire Following his award-nominated tour ‘The Chocolate Chip’; Dane Baptiste returns with a brand new show and mentality. Most of us are supposed to mellow with age, and Dane shouldn’t be the angry black man…
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Free
Tim Noble & Sue Webster: Love and Hate at Firstsite
Saturday 09 November - Tuesday 31 December 2024
In this presentation, seven light sculptures by Noble & Webster illuminate areas of the Firstsite building with pops of glimmering colour.
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