The Bath Magazine brings you five things you won’t want to miss in April around the city, including laughing your socks off at the Bath Comedy Festival and celebrating Bath’s World Heritage status
Join
Bath owes its success to its waters, both hot and cold, and we’re invited to celebrate its natural hot springs and River Avon on Saturday 23 April with a free World Heritage Day event in Parade Gardens. The park opens at 10am and throughout the day there’ll be river and canal walking tours with the very knowledgable Mayor’s Honorary Guides, as well as mini tours of Parade Gardens, showing 300 years of history in just 30 minutes.
A series of speakers will give water and heritage related talks – including one about the Cleveland Baths project – in a marquee, while bands will play on the bandstand as people enjoy their picnics on the lawns. Take a selfie and share #bathworldheritageday.
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Watch
WatchTheatregoers in Bath are incredibly fortunate to have the Ustinov Studio theatre on our doorstep, time after time putting on ground-breaking, relevant contemporary productions. The latest UK premiere at the Ustinov, The Mentor by Christopher Hampton, stars none less than Hollywood star F Murray Abraham, most recently seen in Homeland and countless other roles, including as Salieri in the Academy Award winning film Amadeus.
He’ll be playing veteran writer Benjamin Rubin, still basking in the reflected glory of past success, who clashes with rising literary star Martin Wegner. It’s rare to see an Oscar-winning actor in such an intimate space and Abraham’s quiet, intense acting style will make this a mesmerising production, which opens on Thursday 6 April and runs until Saturday 6 May.
Learn
A date for your diary, especially if you have children, is Saturday 6 May when the University of Bath campus at Claverton Down is staging a free hands-on festival to mark its 50th anniversary. The open day runs from 11am until 4pm and offers people of all ages the chance to find out more about what goes on at one of the UK’s top rated universities.
Meet scientists and researchers to find out about cutting edge projects with global impetus, have a go at some sporting challenges and compete in a series of fun competitions. There’ll be three zones to explore – active, creative and discover. We’re told there are plans to bring a T-rex dinosaur to the site that day too . . .
Free buses will ferry visitors from Bath city centre on the day, so there’s no need to worry about parking. Find out more: 50years.bath.ac.uk.
Croft and Pearce’s sketch show is at the Ring O’Bells, Widcombe on Thursday 13 April
Laugh
Hang on to your seats as Bath embarks on a 17-day bonanza of laughter, with the launch of Bath’s biggest ever Comedy Festival, which opens appropriately on April Fools’ Day (expect some merry japes around the city).
The line-up includes some comedians you will be familiar with – such as Barbara Nice who has been making a big splash on Radio2 recently, plus veterans Barry Cryer and Paul Merton – also a whole gaggle (or should that be giggle?) of up-and-coming comedians. There are more than 180 performers lined up, all hand picked by festival founder Nick Steel. For the full programme visit: bathcomedy.com.
Enjoy
The first bank holiday since Christmas, Easter gives most of us a little time off to spend with family and friends. Good Friday is on 14 April, with an extra day off on Monday 17 April. Sit back and relax, or maybe if the weather decides to bring sunshine, get the family outside for a springtime walk to burn off those chocolate calories.
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