Five of the best things to do in and around Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth in the next seven days

From top comics to symphonic grandeur, there's lots to enjoy...
Warwickshire Symphony OrchestraWarwickshire Symphony Orchestra
Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra

1 COMEDYLeamington Comedy Festival. Spa Centre, until October 14Big-name comics Ed Byrne and Alan Davies bring the festival to an end with shows this weekend. Recognised as one of the finest observational comics in the industry, Ed’s television credits are numerous: Mock The Week, Have I Got News For You, The Graham Norton Show, Live At The Apollo, The One Show, Comic Relief Bake Off 2015, The World’s Most Dangerous Roads and, most recently, he and Dara O Briain filmed the follow up to their Big Adventure show for BBC2 entitled Dara and Ed’s Road to Mandalay. His new show, Spoiler Alert, compares and contrasts the old-school child-rearing days with 21st century methods and suggests that there are different ways to learn how to be a mum or dad. He also extends his analysis on the culture of entitlement to look at areas where we could perhaps do with being spoiled a little bit more. “Where I think we’re not acting spoiled enough is in the political arena,” he said. “We have a tendency to accept what’s happening and that’s where we should be acting more entitled – we are literally entitled to the government we want.” Alan Davies, star of QI, As Yet Untitled and, of course, Jonathan Creek - closes the festival tomorrow (Saturday).Details: leamingtoncomedy.com

2 MUSICBig Country, The Assembly, Leamington, October 14Steeped in a catalogue of stirring hit songs such as Fields of Fire, In A Big Country and Look Away, Big Country come to Leamington this weekend as they celebrate the 30th anniversary of their album The Seer. The band will perform the album in its entirety, as well as visiting their other hits. Details: leamingtonassembly.com

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3 COMEDYSofie Hagen, Warwick Arts Centre, October 14Sofie has graced TV screens across the world, and has taken over the airwaves as well, appearing on The Museum of Curiosity and The Now Show on BBC Radio 4 and Lols Lounge on BBC Radio 1. She’s also won Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award’s Best Newcomer and Chortle’s Best Newcomer. Details: warwickartscentre.co.uk

4 MUSICWar-wickshire Symphony Orchestra, All Saints’ church, Leamington, October 14Principal conductor Roger Coull will be tuning his violin to join the players as a soloist in their next concert as he performs Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 3 in addition to his normal conducting role. The concert will also feature Shostakovich’s masterpiece, Symphony No 7 in C, the Leningrad. Roger Coull is a celebrated violinist who leads the internationally renowned Coull Quartet, and has been principal conductor of the Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra since 2015. The Leningrad Symphony is a huge undertaking, requiring more than 100 musicians on stage, and this year marks the 75th anniversary of its first performance and the siege it comme-morates. Details: www.wso.org.uk

5 THEATREGodiva Rocks, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, until October 21A celebration of Coventry’s diverse talent, featuring 20 classic songs from artists from Coventry such as Frank Ifield, Vince Hill, The Specials, Terry Hall, King, The Primitives and The Enemy. Details: www.belgrade.co.uk

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