Snowy Joy & the Toysavers – Festive Edition
Colchester Arts Centre
Monday 22 December 2025

Tickets £7 / £6
Family Ticket £22 (admits 4 people, at least one of whom must be a child).
Doors open 1.30pm, show starts 2pm.
This show is for a seated audience.

Book tickets at colchesterartscentre.ticketsolve.com.

Donate a ticket: There is a Pay It Forward option for this show. You can choose to purchase tickets for families that may not be in a position to afford a ticket to see this wonderful show. Please email ticketing@colchesterartscentre.com to be in line to receive Pay It Forward tickets.

This show is recommended for those aged 6 years and older. This is a seated show.

Based on the children’s book Snowy Joy by Nigerian-British author Sade Fadipe and adapted for stage by Margaret’s Music Ltd, the production combines drama, music, and dance in a joyful celebration of family, kindness, resilience, and community.

At the heart of the story is Adanah, a lively tween from Lagos, Nigeria, who is overjoyed at her first winter holiday in England. With snow topping her bucket list, audiences are swept into her adventure of wonder, hope, and discovery.

Directed by Margaret Omoniyi, the performance showcases young talent from the former Community360 Children’s Book Club, initiated by Godwin Daudu (AfiUK), with Sade Fadipe as resident author and Dee Lana as Storyteller. Adding festive rhythm and flair is Julia Obasa, founder of Afromoves, whose multi-genre dance collaborations bring colour, energy, and cultural vibrancy to the stage.

This uplifting community production is supported by Rebreate CIC, an organisation set up to support parents with children who have learning and developmental challenges, further reinforcing the show’s themes of inclusivity, resilience, and togetherness.

Audiences can expect a magical afternoon in one of Colchester’s most cherished venues, celebrated for its intimate atmosphere and historic charm. A perfect Christmas outing for families, community groups, and anyone looking to experience the magic of storytelling, music, and dance this festive season.

“Each year, I am humbled by the energy and commitment that make Snowy Joy & The Toysavers possible. Every performance is a testament to inclusivity and the belief that the arts should be accessible to all (a perception shared with, and upheld by our incredible director: Margaret’s Music Ltd ) no matter their background, ability, or circumstance. That’s what makes this show so special.”

Sade Fadipe

Listen to Sade Fadipe discuss the stage adaptation of her book Snowy Joy with Akylah Rodriguez on BBC Essex Radio (broadcast 4 Dec 2025, available to listen again until 3 Jan 2026).

Listen here.

The post Snowy Joy & the Toysavers – Festive Edition appeared first on Essex Book Festival.

Thursday 25 June 2026, 11.00am – 12.00pm
Colchester Arts Centre, Church Street, Colchester, CO1 1NF

A Book Club Author Event

We are delighted to be joined by virtuoso short story writer of collections such as Sweet Home for this special event to discuss her astounding novel, The Benefactors – a blazingly funny and astute portrait of modern-day Northern Ireland that deftly mines issues of class, money and parenthood.

If you are member of a book club, why not come along en masse for an in-depth discussion about the book with the author in person!

In partnership with Red Lion Books’ Appetite Book Club.

This event will include an audience Q&A and after the event there will be an opportunity to get your book signed.

All are welcome to attend (you don’t have to belong to a book club), but please note as this is a Book Club event there is an assumption that the audience has read the book and this event may include spoilers for the book.

Tickets:
£16 includes paperback copy of book and the event – available via Red Lion Books, here’s the booking link:
https://redlionbooks.co.uk/product/book-club-event-with-author-wendy-erskine-discussing-the-benefactors/

or

£8 event only – book at Eventbrite.co.uk, here’s the link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wendy-erskine-the-benefactors-tickets-1985792196917

Wendy Erskine

Wendy Erskine is the author of two short story collections, Sweet Home and Dance Move. She was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize and the Republic of Consciousness Prize, longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize and Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award, and she received the Butler Literary Award and the Edge Hill Readers’ Choice Award. She edited the art anthology well I just kind of like it. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, she is a frequent broadcaster and interviewer, and works as a secondary school teacher in Belfast. The Benefactors is her debut novel.

The Benefactors

Waterstones Irish Book of the Year 2025
Longlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction
An Observer Best Debut Novel 2025
Longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize

In The Benefactors we meet Frankie, Miriam and Bronagh – very different women but all mothers to 18-year-old boys. Glamorous Frankie, now married to a wealthy, older man, grew up in care. Miriam has recently lost her beloved husband Kahlil in ambiguous circumstances. Bronagh, the CEO of a children’s services charity, loves the celebrity and prestige this brings her.

They do not know each other yet, but when their sons are accused of sexually assaulting Misty Johnston, whose family lacks the wealth and social-standing of their own, they’ll leverage all the power of their position to protect their children.

From the prize-winning author of Dance Move and Sweet Home, this is an astounding novel about intimate histories, class and money – and what being a parent means. Brutal, tender and rigorously intelligent, The Benefactors is a daring, polyphonic presentation of modern-day Northern Ireland. It is also very funny.

‘What a beautiful, hilarious blast of brilliance.’
– Donal Ryan, author of Heart, Be at Peace

The post The Benefactors appeared first on Essex Book Festival.

About the Event:

Based on Snowy Joy (2019) written by Sade Fadipe (an Essex-based children’s author) and adapted for stage by Margaret’s Music Ltd, this vibrant production is a captivating fusion of drama, music, and dance, exploring themes of family, kindness, resilience, refuge, dignity, and community.

Adanah, a lively tween from Lagos, Nigeria, is overjoyed about her first-ever winter holiday to England. With snow topping her bucket list, she’s ready for the adventure of a lifetime. But her plans take an unexpected twist when she stumbles upon Khindamah – The Land of Broken Toys. Here, Adanah reflects on all she has left behind, until she comes face to face with the displaced children of Khindamah, paving the way for the heartwarming tale of the Toysavers.

Directed by Margaret Omoniyi and performed by Community360 Children’s Book Club, Sade Fadipe (its resident author), and motivational speaker and author Dee Lana, the production also features vibrant and inclusive dance performances by Afromoves, Colchester, choreographed by Julia Obasa and her dance group.

Perfect for audiences across generations—from the 60s to the present—and recommended for ages 6 and above, this unforgettable experience will leave hearts warmed and spirits lifted.

Snowy Joy and the Toysavers
Doors 1:30pm, Show at 2pm
Standard: £7, Concessions: £6, Family ticket (for 4 people – at least one child): £22
This show is recommended for those aged 6 years and older

Donate a ticket: There is a Pay It Forward option for this show. You can choose to purchase tickets for families that may not be in a position to afford a ticket to see this wonderful show.
Please email ticketing@colchesterartscentre.com to be in line to receive Pay It Forward tickets.
This show is recommended for those aged 6 years and older

This is a seated show.

Book tickets: Colchester Arts Centre website

Credits

Artists:
Director & Co-Producer, Margaret Omoniyi (Margaret’s Music Ltd)
Author & Co-Producer, Sade Fadipe
Choreographer, Julia Obasa (Afromoves, Colchester)
Illustrators, Tayo Fatunla & Shedrach Ayalomeh
Text, Illustration and Publishing Copyrights: Sade Fadipe

Community Engagement:
Mr Godwin Daudu, (Engagement Officer and Co-ordinator, Community 360 Children’s Book Club).
Mrs Arit Akpan, (Director, Re-Breath CIC, Colchester).

Supported by: Colchester Arts Centre.

The post Snowy Joy and the Toysavers – get ready for an unforgettable experience appeared first on Essex Book Festival.

On 17 April 1984, as demonstrators gathered outside the Libyan embassy in London, two gunmen lay in wait inside. At 10.18 a.m. automatic gunfire rained down and WPC Yvonne Fletcher fell, mortally wounded. As his friend lay dying, PC John Murray made her a promise that he would seek justice. 37 years would pass before he was able to fulfil that undertaking.

While researching this moving account of one man’s dogged pursuit of justice for a murdered colleague, Matt Johnson uncovered secret-service deals and government duplicity, all part of a plan to force an end to the National Union of Mineworker strike. He discovered the real reason Yvonne’s killers were allowed to go free and how events led to 30 years of growing political control of policing, resulting in the disarray increasingly evident today.

This compelling account pulls seemingly unconnected threads into a coherent and shocking whole. It provides startling insights into how decisions taken by our politicians and the actions of our intelligence agencies, may be anything but.

Full details and tickets from redlionbooks.co.uk

The post Espionage, betrayal, terrorism, corruption – the truth behind the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher. appeared first on Essex Book Festival.