Salisbury Arts Centre

A SWEDISH crime thriller with a knitted set, an evening of folk music and a Nordic Noir film night will all take place at Salisbury Arts Centre over the next week.

Inspector Norse, a selfassembly crime thriller from award-winning comedy duo LipService, is on this evening.

The Nordic noir comedy features a 1970s pop bank, a drunken moose and Inspector Sandra Larsson in her authentic, rustic knitwear.

There will also be a talk by royal expert, historical consultant and commentator Anna Whitelock, entitled Elizabeth’s Bedfellows: An Intimate History of the Queen’s Court.

And broadcaster and military historian Saul David will talk on the topic of 100 Days to Victory: How the Great War Was Fought and Won.

Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto is hosting a concert called Sleep, which encourages the audience to drift off.

Kuusisto is collaborating with singer and composer Joanna Wallfisch to create an hour of music, song, words and story.

Three iconic Nordic films are being shown on Saturday, after an introduction by writer and journalist Barry Forshaw, author of Nordic Noir: A Pocket Essential Guide to Scandinavian Crime Fiction, Film and TV.

The films being shown are Jar City, Hour of the Lynx and Insomnia.

North Sea Folk, on Sunday, brings together musicians from across the north sea, exploring links between Celtic and Scandinavian heritage and how these traditions influence the folk music of today. Celtic harpist Catriona McKay is joined by Nils Økland, renowned master of Norway’s national instrument, the hardanger fiddle, and Olov Johansson, Sweden’s great nyckelharpa player.

There will be a talk by author Robert Sackville-West about The Disinherited, a story of family, love and betrayal.

A Finnish film called The Man Without a Past is being shown, and there will be a movie double bill of Heima and Dancer in the Dark.

Logic of Nothing is a Heath Robinson-inspired piece of non-verbal circus theatre that explores the relationship between man, circus and contraptions using a blend of clowning, juggling, magic and invention.

Leo Johnson, brother of Boris, will give a talk entitled Business and the City of the Future, and controversial commentator and book critic John Carey presents The Unexpected Professor.

Salisbury Playhouse

THE complete works of William Shakespeare, an interactive game show and a concert featuring instruments carved out of ice will be taking place at Salisbury Playhouse this week.

Terje Isungset’s Ice Music features an array of horns and percussion carved out of pure ice, including the 600-year-old Jostedal glacier in Norway.

There will be storytelling from award-winning author Lari Don in The Salberg, and author, journalist and filmmaker Jonathan Meades will present An Encyclopaedia of Myself, a memoir of his early years in Salisbury. The Reduced Shakespeare Company will be performing all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays in 97 minutes on Friday evening.

Iceland’s leading poet and author Gerdur Kristny is leading a discussion and live poetry readings to provide a rich and imaginative context from which to consider the Icelandic Sagas.

And participatory theatre show Stranger will see audiences guided by a bodiless voice, while participants must trust their intuition to confront their prejudices by making judgements based purely on appearance.

For children, Hiccup Theatre will be presenting Pinocchio in The Salberg, pictured inset, with live music, puppetry and storytelling.

And Monday will see explorer David Hempleman-Adams present Walking On Thin Ice.

Hempleman-Adams is the first person in history to reach the geographic and magnetic north and south poles, as well as climbing the highest peaks in all seven continents.

Marina Fiorato is presenting Beatrice and Benedick, shedding new light on the lovers in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, and Rachel Joyce will be discussing her thought-provoking new book, Perfect.

And Alex Horne & The Horne Section will be performing a mixture of spontaneous standup and music.

Salisbury City Hall

SALISBURY City Hall is playing host to American jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux and dance production company Motionhouse this week.

Peyroux’s one-of-a-kind voice has carried her from busking on the streets of Paris all the way to mainstream recognition.

She is known for her distinctive renditions of old classics as well as more modern tunes by the likes of Leonard Cohen and The Beatles.

Peyroux will be taking to the stage on Friday with Steely Dan’s Jon Herington and double-bassist Barak Mori.

At the hall on Wednesday is Motionhouse’s Broken, which is billed as ‘visually thrilling and full of trickery’.

The new production merges highly athletic dance with intricate digital imagery and original music in an ‘unashamedly visual and adrenaline fuelled multi-media spectacle’.

The City Hall was the only venue in Salisbury large enough to host the production.

For more information and tickets go to salisburyfestival.co.uk.