Stepping Back in Time with the Seagull Theatre
The first of 4 decades themed weekends took place in London Road South last month, with more exciting events taking place soon!
The weekend of 16th– 17th July 2022 was warm and sunny in Kirkley, but something was different… The street had been taken back in time to the 1940’s for a packed weekend of performances, shopping, and fun!
As well as bringing about repairs to historic buildings, the London Road, Lowestoft Heritage Action Zone is delivering a cultural programme of activity to support local businesses and encourage local people to engage in the history and culture of the town. Through the Heritage Action Zone’s cultural programme, The Seagull Theatre have been awarded funding from Historic England to deliver a series of themed weekends covering various decades across the town’s two Heritage Action Zones.
The first of these events took place last month in Kirkley and the South Lowestoft HAZ wanted to share some of the many highlights from the weekend!
There was an incredible line up of performers, over 40 in total took part over the 2 days. The streets were filled with lots of musical acts, including memorable performances from Hollie Jade, The Vibettes, The Waveney Signers, Out of Nowhere Trio and Sally Boulet. The performers wowed with some fantastic dance performances from local youth dance groups, as well as a 1940s dancing exhibition from Graham Welton. It was also great to see members of the public having a go at the Charleston Stroll on Claremont Pier and singing along to We’ll Meet Again at the Kirkley Centre!
Claremont Road was closed to vehicular traffic to allow for a fantastic craft stall. There was a wide range of stalls curated by OMG Fayres Lowestoft and Gorleston – you could buy anything from vintage trinkets and books, crystals and gemstones, homemade pickles and conserves, artwork created from materials found on Pakefield beach, jewellery, scarfs and fashion accessories and much, much more!
In the Kirkley Centre, fashion conscious shoppers could find a vintage clothes fayre selling everything from clothes, accessories and shoes for anyone wanting to extend their 1940s look beyond the weekend of activities!
The Kirkley Centre saw an unexpected visitor, a Time Traveller! Performances from The Keeper’s Daughter’s production of neon electro play The Time Machine could be experienced throughout the weekend which was a fantastic addition to the programme.
It was also a wonderful weekend for the local businesses and shops in Kirkley. London Road South was busy not only with people singing and dancing in the streets, but also with people spending in money in local shops and cafés. It was also incredible to see so many shop keepers getting involved with the weekend’s activities, dressing their windows in a 1940s theme, and some even getting into costume themselves!
The weekend saw a great turn out of visitors across the 2 day who experienced a step back in time to experience a fun and joyful weekend in Kirkley.
The seagull theatre will be hosting the next decade themed weekend and it will take place over the weekend of the 10th – 11th September, but this time the historic High Street in The North Lowestoft Heritage Action Zone will be going back in time to the 1880s! Keep an eye on the Lowestoft HAZ and Think Lowestoft social media accounts for a detailed line up of the programme events for the weekend coming soon!
