Ten things to do in the Worthing area this Easter

Jaqueline Harper as Sarah Casey in Disappeared

1 Theatre. Turn of the Screw, Worthing’s Connaught Theatre from April 18-21. In 1840, a young governess agrees to look after two orphans, a boy and a girl, in Bly, a seemingly-idyllic country house. But shortly after her arrival, she realises that they are not alone. There are others – the ghosts of Bly’s troubled past. The governess will risk everything to keep the children safe, even if it means giving herself up to The Others. Years later, confronted by the past she is compelled to account for what actually happened to her and those under her protection.

2 Easter. Holiday programme. Give your kids something fun to do this Easter holiday with the South Downs Leisure holiday activity programme. Running from April 2-13, whatever their interests, there’s an abundance of exciting sporting and creative activities on offer throughout four major sites across Worthing – Splashpoint Leisure Centre, Worthing Leisure Centre, Field Place Manor House & Barns and Davison Leisure Centre. Contact 01903 905050 or visit www.southdownsleisure.co.uk for more info and to book.

3 Theatre. Sarah Casey is missing… The troubled, unhappy young travel agent left a New York dive bar one night with an enigmatic and mysterious stranger and has not been seen or heard of since. Has she fled her disappointing life to start anew elsewhere? Has she fallen prey to a sadistic killer? Or has she simply disappeared? Find out when Wick Theatre Company stage Disappeared as part of their 70th-anniversary season. Performances are at The Barn Theatre, Southwick Street, Southwick, BN42 4TE from Wednesday, April 4 to Saturday, April 7.

The curtain up is at 7.45pm. Tickets cost £11 from the box office on 01273 597094 or through the website:www.wicktheatre.co.uk.

4 Music. The Rowland Singers Choral Society will be performing Haydn’s The Creation on Good Friday evening. Chairman Pat Blows said: “The Assembly Hall, with its excellent acoustics, provides the perfect setting for Haydn’s choral masterpiece. The oratorio written in the 1790s depicts and celebrates the creation of the world as described in the Book of Genesis. The Rowland Singers Choral Society will be accompanied by the Sinfonia of Arun, one of the south’s leading orchestras, who regularly perform with various choral societies. Kathryn Kay will play the continuo. The soloists will be Beth Emery (soprano), Christopher Larley (tenor) and Tim Hicks (bass). The conductor will be Helen Emery, who has been the choir’s musical director since 2010. Helen has developed the choir into a confident group of singers through her dedication and exceptional musical coaching skills.” March 30, 7pm, Worthing Assembly Hall. 01903 206206 or 238792.

5 Easter. Dusty’s Giant Easter Duck Hunt at Arundel Wetland Centre, Friday, March 30-Sunday, April 15. Help Dusty Duck find cheeky giant yellow ducks hiding around the reserve during the Easter holidays. Dusty Duck, the children’s character created by the world famous Aardman studios for the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, will be encouraging children and their families to find the missing rubber ducks to win a treat (upper circle).

6 Theatre. Sir Michael Parkinson will celebrate some of the defining moments of his tenure as one of the most recognisable and widely-sought-after interviewers of the 20th and 21st centuries, by hosting a an evening at Theatre Royal Brighton on Sunday, April 1. In conversation with his son Mike and showing highlights from the Parkinson archive, these new theatre shows will provide a chance to get an intimate, entertaining and informative look at Sir Michael’s remarkable journey from humble upbringings in a Yorkshire mining town, to becoming one of the most familiar faces on television.

7 Comedy. Adam Kay: This Is Going To Hurt (Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor), Ropetackle, Shoreham, Saturday, March 31, 8pm. Award-winning comedian Adam Kay reads from his diaries as a junior doctor in an evening of stand-up and music. The show is based on Adam’s bestselling book of the same name and follows sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe 2016 and 2017 and Soho Theatre 2017. This 2018 edition is an updated version following the success of the book (lower circle).

8 Easter. Join the Octonauts in a brand-new Shark Mission this Easter and at SEA LIFE Brighton from March 30-April 22. SEA LIFE will be recruiting young ocean explorers to take part in an all-new, deep-sea adventure this Easter as Octonauts: Shark Mission launches at SEA LIFE Brighton.

9 Comedy. Paul Kerensa is the guest at Matt’s Comedy Club in Worthing (Connaught Studio, Thursday, March 29, 8pm). Paul has written for various sitcoms, including BBC1 hits Not Going Out and After You’ve Gone, the award-winning Miranda, and sketch shows such as Dead Ringers, ITV’s Headcases and BBC3’s The Wrong Door. The family-friendly ethos of Matt’s Comedy Club in Worthing suits him perfectly: “I have been doing stand-up for 16 years, and much as I still do pubs and clubs and stags and hens and all sorts of other animals, I have also always enjoyed churches and schools. For me, really it is all about being broad and open.”

10 Easter. RSPB Pulborough Brooks nature reserve is offering free entry at a special family fun day to celebrate the start of spring, with a host of outdoor activities on offer, plus an all new adventure playground. The free family fun day will be held on Saturday, March 31, and events will include pond-dipping, games and a springtime quiz to guide you around the miles of nature trails the reserve has to offer. The reserve will also be running special family events across the Easter holidays. Your children can become wildlife detectives; learning to set up footprint tunnels, dissecting owl pellets, den building and pond-dipping.

See other stories by Phil: https://www.chichester.co.uk/author/Phil.Hewitt2