Images courtesy of Chris Taylor
The wonders of the sea will be celebrated in a brand new marine film festival heading to North Norfolk in July.
A one-day series of films on July 8 is the brainchild of sea-loving local photographer and film-maker Chris Taylor from Sheringham.
The festival at Sheringham Little Theatre features a Bafta-nominated 2021 movie Becoming Cousteau, which tells the story of famous explorer and environmentalist Jacques Cousteau's life.
Screenings also include locally-made short films including Beachcombing by Hunstanton-based filmmaker Pete Naylor which features a poem read by acclaimed Silent Witness actress Emilia Fox. And there is work by Chris himself, including films about the north Norfolk sailing barge Juno, the life of a modern day fisherman Henry Randell, and some stunning footage of the rich wildlife on the chalk reef just a stone's throw from the Sheringham shoreline.
Chris is a self-confessed "thalassophile" (sea-lover), having been snorkelling and surfing since he was a child, gained a degree in coastal biology at Hull University in 1993, and served as a lifeboat crewman for 22 years.
He has combined his passion with his photography career in recent years to dive under the local sea Cousteau-style to capture its amazing wildlife through his lens.
Chris said: "I love the sea's mystery, hidden wildlife and ever-changing nature - from raging winter storms to waters that look as clear and blue as the Caribbean when the sediment settles in summer." The sea has been vital to North Norfolk coastal communities for generations - from its famous crab and lobster fishing to attracting tourists, he added.
Chris is also appealing to any other film-makers who have local short films that could be screened at the festival to contact him on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For tickets (£6 or £10 for both events) and information about Sea Life - A festival of Marine Films visit www.sheringhamlittletheatre.com or call the box office on 01263 822347.
A new-look Hub café is taking shape behind the blacked-out windows of Sheringham Little Theatre. The venue has been closed all January for a major revamp of its foyer and the café which is a vital income generator to support its arts programming.
When the curtain goes up on the £85,000 project visitors will see a freshened up café with new flooring, ceilings, lights, heating and revived tables and chairs.
The toilets are getting new lighting and hand driers – and the whole building is getting LED lighting, a front door porch and window film to make it more energy efficient and help make its rising power bills more manageable.
People walking past after dark will have already noticed colourful new lighting on the fascia boards.
A community wardrobe is selling off some of its spare clothes to help raise funds for Sheringham Little Theatre.
Rails of items will be on sale at the theatre on Sunday July 17 from 11am to 3pm at a free-to-enter event.
Sadly a fashion show planned for the Friday night, July 15, has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
But the sale is still going ahead on the Sunday featuring vintage, retro and modern items including evening and day dresses, coats and men’s suits, along with some uniform pieces, fancy dress, fabrics and haberdashery, and accessories such as gloves, hats and wigs.
A feel-good show of stage song and dance favourites is set to be performed by a troupe of talented young performers at Sheringham Little Theatre.
A Celebration of Musical Theatre, running from April 14-16 at 7.30pm nightly, will see a cast aged eight to 16 showcase their stage skills.
They are excited and eager to step back into the limelight for the first time in two years, after the traditional Easter musical Guys and Dolls was postponed and then cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.
But the youngsters are aiming to come back with a bang with an hour-long show that will include hits from classic shows, including Guys and Dolls, as well as an introduction to some newer productions.
They are married in reality, as well as on stage – and both blissfully wedded to a shared lifelong love of amateur dramatics.
Peter and Amanda Howell play pompous councillor Albert Parker, and his downtrodden wife Annie, in a production of the classic comedy When We Are Married by the Sheringham Little Theatre Players which opens on March 31.
Since they first met in 1989 when Peter played Henry Higgins and Amanda Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, the Coltishall pair have portrayed hundreds of roles mainly for the Cromer and Sheringham Operatic and Dramatic Society and the Maddermarket in Norwich.
They were wed 30 years ago, but have only played a married couple on stage less than a handful of times. That includes as King Arthur and Guinevere in Camelot on Cromer Pier in 2005 and as a widow and her dead husband Gordon in Life and Beth at the Maddermarket in 2014.