Monday 24th August, 11am - 1pm
£8 adult + child (£4 additional child)
Explore creativity and animation with Young & Creative team.
The Seaglass looks magic when placed on a lightbox and Young Animators will bring weird and wonderful creatures, patterns and characters to life with Seaglass and a bit of imagination!
Create stop motion animation with natural materials, sea glass, pebbles, coloured gravel and other seaside treasure. With ten animation working stations and experienced team you will be guided through the stop motion animation process and create a film!!
We shot the Stop Motion animations using the 'Stop Motion Studio' app.
All materials provided and workshop created by Young & Creative CIC
Monday 17 August
11am-1pm
This workshop is designed for all ages and all levels of experience. We will explore how collage can be used to create new and original portrait images.
Participants will be encouraged to experiment and breakthrough the barriers of representation and see how, in using collage, art is always accessible and has just needs to be found and brought into the public realm.
All ages are welcome, especially young people and individuals who have no experience of collage or art in general.
There are no preconceptions about the outcomes we will produce. No pressure to either create a likeness or produce a “finished” work of art.
The emphasis will be on creativity, fun, and engagement. A sense of involvement that goes beyond the simple creation of an image and explores how it is the relationships we experience that go up to making a sense of self outside that lies outside our usual understanding of identity of the material world.
Materials (source imagery, paper, glue, scissors, etc…) will be provided, but if you have magazines, photographs or any other material you wish to use please feel free to bring it with you.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Rob Birch is a contemporary British artist whose practice explores portraiture, identity, and the complexities of visual perception. Working across digital collage, painting, and mixed media, he creates layered portraits that challenge conventional representations of the human figure. Rather than seeking a straightforward likeness, Birch investigates how race, class, memory, and cultural identity shape the way we see ourselves and others.
Art, music and play to deepen connection with nature.
What does a fox dream about? Can a flower feel the rain? Do fish laugh? Why do finches sing?
Designed to get all the senses stimulated and creative juices flowing, young minds will be encouraged to “become” some of our nature-neighbours for a few hours.
We will explore the world through the eyes of the animals around us - what do fishes, foxes, finches and flowers experience? Do they have memories, and do they feel love and fear like us humans?
Can we capture the colours and the sounds of our furry, flowery, finned and feathered friends with crayons, movement and song?
Session 1: On The Land 2 hours, 10am - 12pm, 18th August
Session 2: In The Water 2 hours, 10am - 12pm, 21st August
Session 3: In The Sky 2 hours, 10am - 12pm, 25th August
Perfect for children from 4 until 10 years old (activities adapted to follow the flow of our little wild ones)
Cost: £8 adult + child (£4 per additional child)
Hosted by: Natural Resonance
Sunday 9 August
11am
Join us for our first morning sound bath immersion at Kollectiv.
This will be an opportunity to experience a sound bath as well as learn more about this practice and try some of the instruments yourself.
We will be playing gongs, bowls, monochords and voice looping.
Please bring a mat, blanket and pillow if you would like to lay down.
Children are welcome to attend and must be supervised by an accompanying adult at all times. If you have veru small children and not sure is suitable please get in touch directly with Sound Emergence: soundemergence@gmail.com
Thursday 6th August, 7pm
We are delighted to announce a new book launch by author and journalist James Debens as a part of collaboration with Folkestone publisher Afsana Press.
You are warmly invited to join theatre director and avid reader Giles Croft in conversation with James about his latest book “Old Masters In Marrakesh” still hot of the press. This is his second book after his debut novel “Where is Your God Now” (2021)
James Debens a writer and journalist, currently an editor at Newsweek. After his Classics degree at Gonville & Caius, Cambridge University, and journalism postgraduate qualifications at University of London, James joined the Mirror Group. He has later written for various newspapers and a trio of magazine publishing houses.
Afsana Press an independent publishing house producing sparkling literary works by authors whose stories have a direct relation to social, political or cultural issues in countries and communities around the world.
Our mission is to get to the heart of the urgent matters of our time, and times past, asking important questions about migration and refugees, the environment, gender, development and social justice. Particular attention will go to the work of authors in exile, and our stories often concern the movement of humans in an ever-shifting, dangerous world. All this without taking a certain political direction – we simply want to ask, why, how, where and who, always through profoundly human stories.
Wednesday 12 August
11am-1pm
Ready to dive into the world of blues with Katie?
Come and join Katie Bradley for a Harmonica for Beginners Workshop at Kolectiv, 69 The Old High Street, Folkestone.
We’ll get you bending notes, feeling the groove, and playing your first riffs in no time. I’ll guide you through the basics with easy, expressive techniques that bring the harmonica to life — perfect for absolute beginners or anyone curious to try something new.
It’s a fun, relaxed way to start your musical journey, and you’ll leave with real skills you can build on.
Booking essential — spaces are limited.
Please bring a ‘C’ diatonic harmonica (or let me know if you need help finding one).
Let’s play some blues together.
About Katie Bradley:
Katie Bradley is one of the defining voices of contemporary British blues. Her album Anchor Baby Sessions earned international acclaim, worldwide radio play, and secured her Songwriter of the Year along with a nomination for Blues Vocalist of the Year at the 2026 British Blues Awards. She remains the only UK female blues vocalist nominated every year for 12 consecutive years, a testament to her artistry, influence, and unmistakable sound. In 2026, she also received a nomination for ‘Traditional Artist of the Year’
A beloved figure on the UK blues circuit, Katie has lit up iconic venues including The 100 Club, Ain’t Nothin’ But, Blues at The Ritzy, The Blues Kitchen, Ronnie Scott’s, and the London Hippodrome. She’s a standout performer at major UK and international blues festivals.
Her touring career spans the UK, Europe, and the USA, sharing stages with legends such as Suzanne Vega, Brand New Heavies, Rag n Bone Man, Luther Allison, Mud Morganfield, Lucky Peterson, Georgie Fame, Hamish Stewart, Paul Jones.
A highlight includes her 20date UK tour with US guitarist Kirk Fletcher, culminating in a special recording session for The BBC Blues Show at BBC Maida Vale.
In 2025, Katie was commissioned by leading arts and music festivals including the Folkestone Triennial, and in 2026 she continues to tour the UK with her electrifying band, Katie B and The Snooks.
“Katie’s voice becomes an instrument, a 21stcentury Lady of the Blues.” — Blues in Britain
Discover more at: https://katiebradley.co.uk
5 September
6:30 for 7:30PM start
Who’s ready for a bit of FORCED FUN?
You’ve been invited to work drinks with Hugh Mann at his FIRST EVER One Mann Show.
Hugh Mann is a Genz Z blend of Victoria Wood and Mork and Mindy that your mum will absolutely love.
This drag king has created shows such as Freaky Folkestone, Serving Kent, Sleaze, Gromit!, SLAY BELLS, Folkestone drag competition A Folke’in Drag Contest and drag workshop Folkestone’s a Drag.
Wednesday 29 July
5PM
Join us for a conversation with our Artist of the Month - Lucy Smallbone.
Lucy Smallbone is an artist who specialises in modern landscape painting. Her work looks at the merging of fictional and real space and questions the part that memory and the mind can play in altering a view of a place. Picture plains tilt upwards and vivid colours grow across the surfaces, leaving the paintings floating between figuration and abstraction.
Smallbone is a recipient of such prizes as the Haworth trust grant(2011), the David Balladie travel prize(2009) and travelled to Chernobyl thanks to the Duveen Travel Prize(2016).
Kollectiv is delighted to present the Folkestone premiere of local filmmaker Ben Barton’s new short documentary, which investigates a little-known chapter in the origins of television.
Where did the first-ever television transmission really take place? For 100 years, the accepted story has pointed to Hastings. But beginning with a forgotten plaque right here in Folkestone, Ben follows a trail left behind by inventor John Logie Baird, uncovering evidence that invites us to look again at where TV first sparked to life.
The short documentary blends location with exclusive archive footage unseen for 70 years, along with stunning drone footage (by Alexander Saxby) to explore not only the birth of this world-changing technology, but the way historical narratives are constructed, simplified and sometimes overlooked.
This special Folkestone Film Festival event expands on the short film with a
contextual introduction, featuring archival material on the early development of television, and a live Q&A with the director, discussing the research, discoveries and questions behind the project.
Writer and director: Ben Barton
Camera, drone and editing: Alexander Saxby
The film has been rated certificate U by Folkestone & Hythe District Council.
Director Statement
“This documentary began as a newspaper article in the Folkestone Foghorn, where I investigated where exactly television was invented. But, after publishing the article, I had more to say! TV is a visual medium, and this story felt best told on screen. Alongside the plaque in Folkestone, I uncovered archive footage unseen for over 70 years. Styled like a short magazine TV segment, the film reflects on how history is formed – and what can sometimes be overlooked.”
Friday 4th September 7pm!
Welcome to an evening of underground films by legends from Barrelstout Production /Bev Zalcock and Sara Chambers!
For the first time in Folkestone they will present films from their career spanning more then 50 years. Their short no-budget films show usage of a range of media from Super8, through Digital to Tape/Slide & Stills!! Their inspiration comes from a wide range of cinematic traditions, early cinema, Soviet montage, and American underground film. Bev & Sarah will hold Q&A after the screening.
Thursday 30th July
7pm
Join us for a conversation with writer David Flusfender about his new novel, Something Might Fall.
David Flusfeder has written seven previous novels, including The Gift and John the Pupil; one full-length work of narrative non-fiction, Luck; and an opera, Army of Lovers, in collaboration with the composer Mark Springer. He has been a tv critic for The Times and poker columnist for the Sunday Telegraph, and has contributed stories and journalism to many anthologies and magazines and newspapers. He was born in New Jersey but has lived most of his life in London, and is currently on the East Kent coast. He teaches Creative Writing at the University of Kent.
‘Flusfeder’s sinuous prose miraculously crams all the emotional drama of a multivolume family saga into just 80 pages.’ Anthony Cummins, Mail on Sunday
‘a work of genius’, Dawn
‘profoundly dark and fearlessly beautiful’ Express Tribune
Sunday 26 July
2pm
Folkestone gallery kollectiv is delighted to present Juha, a season of exhibitions of work by artists from Central Europe, each supported by a local performance artist and curated by Sammi Gale.
The season continues with Having A Serious Conversation with a Mountain, an immersive exhibition by German-born Folkestone-based artist, Markus Vater. Join us for conversation with Markus Vater and curator Sammi Gale taking you behind the scenes of Markus’ new exhibition.
Acclaimed composer and clarinetist Mark Simpson will respond to Vater’s exhibition with a clarinet performance after the talk.
Markus Vater:
Markus Vater lives and works in Folkstone, London, Essen and Düsseldorf. His artistic practice is diverse and includes: drawing, painting, writing, animation, photography, performance and sculpture.
He has taken part in numerous national and international exhibitions: Among others at the Kunstmuseum Bonn, Museum Gertsch in Switzerland, at the Kunsthalle Mannheim, the Royal Academy in London and more recent at Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf and the Sprengel Museum in Hannover.
Between 1995 and 2003 he was part of the art collective hobbypop Museum. He had shows with Timothy Taylor, Vilma Gold, ibid-projects, Anthony d'Offay and Centre of Attention in London. He is represented by Rupert Pfab Galerie in Düsseldorf. Recent publications are “Objects of Significance”,published by DCV Verlag Berlin.
He has been teaching at the Royal College of Art in London and was Guestprofessor at the HfBK Hamburg and the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Karlsruhe. At the moment he is Professor for Painting/Drawing at the HBK Essen in Germany.
Mark Simpson:
Mark Simpson (b. 1988) is a UK-based composer of an acclaimed body of work and an internationally-renowned clarinettist, whose programmes champion music new and old. His music for the stage, orchestra, voices, and chamber forces has been celebrated by leading conductors, instrumentalists, and ensembles ; across a myriad of forms, poetic intensity is matched by technical assurance and expressive generosity.
Sammi Gale:
Sammi Gale is a curator, poet and the editor of Plinth. His recent poetry pamphlets include Port Folio (Broken Sleep Books, 2025) and Torch Loose Panic (Datableed Editions, 2026). His journalism features in GQ, the i Paper, and Little White Lies. He lives in London.
Friday 24 July 7pm
Desert Island Art is our version of Desert Island Discs but with…(you guessed it!) art. Our guests are asked to choose 8 works of art, a luxury item and a book to take with them on a Desert Island. What a way to get to know a person!
This month we’re inviting our very own, Andrew Ward.
Andrew has lived in Folkestone for five happy years. You are bound to have seen him in kollectiv and probably know he is very keen on music and committed to promoting art and artists whenever he can. But have you any idea where he came from? What was he up to before he made Folkestone his home? And what eight works of art, luxury item and book would he take to a Desert Island?
Come and find out on Friday July 24th at 7:00. You may be surprised!
Dive into a magical world of words and pictures. Comics Kollectiv is a monthly book club focused on graphic novels. From heartbreaking memoirs to stoner comedies and superhero classics, each month we’ll explore unique stories and colourful characters told through this exciting medium (which is obviously the best medium).
Expect lively discussions, fresh perspectives, and something to drink (cold or hot). Whether you’re a longtime graphic novel fan or just curious about the medium, this is a place to get inspired, challenge your imagination, and connect with others who love stories told in panels and ink.
July 16th: Palestine by Joe Sacco
August 13th: Making Comics by Lynda Berry
September 17th: Acting Class by Nick Drnaso
October 15th: Bad Gateway by Simon Hanselmann
November 19th: Red Son by Mark Millarb
December 17th: Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? / Talking to my Father’s Ghost by Roz Chast and Alex Krokus
January 14th: Black Hole by Charles Burns
February 18th: Diary of a Teenage Girl by Phoebe Gloekner
March 18th: Watchmen by Alan Moore
Curated by local illustrators and comics writers, Navied Mahdavian (This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America) and Ben Gore (imagined matter; Hip Hop Cocktails), meetings will be a mixture of conversation and doodling (we’ll doodle, but you can join if you’d like).
Come for the books. Stay for the conversations. Leave seeing stories differently.
Ages 13 and up.
Books can be bought at our local comics shop, Lighthouse Comics for a 20% discount. Shop local, please.
Poems on all subjects are welcome, whether your own work or a favourite poet.
Our May open mic was dazzling, with humour, love, deep emotion, all shared to an enthralled gathering, proving Wordsworth's comment below to be true.
Performance slots are up to 5 minutes. Or just come to listen.
£5 on the door.
Please arrive promptly at 7pm
We run a weekly writing workshop keeping our ticket prices low to encourage as many people as possible to participate. We’ve been meeting for over a year, accepting new writers every week.
The group has been described as ‘life changing’ and ‘the best thing in Folkestone’ by some of the participants. We strive to make sure all voices are heard and the group keeps its intimate and friendly atmosphere.
Join our Life Drawing Club — a welcoming, inspiring space dedicated to the timeless practice of drawing from life. Whether you are a professional artist, an art student, or simply passionate about figure drawing, this salon offers a relaxed and creative environment to develop your skills and connect with fellow artists.
Each session features a nude model with a variety of dynamic poses, from quick gesture sketches to longer, focused studies. Our aim is to create a supportive community where artists of all levels feel encouraged to experiment, grow, and share ideas.
Bring your own materials and enjoy an atmosphere of concentration, creativity, and artistic exchange. This is more than just a class — it’s a gathering of people who love drawing and value the beauty of observing the human form.
Come draw, connect, and be inspired.
Join us for the wonderful evening of words straight from the pens of Folkestone's new talent. A selection of writing from our weekly workshop with pieces up to 5 minutes each. Support your local voices. Meet new people. And who knows? Maybe you'll get inspired and join us next time?
6:00 - 8:00
Dive into a magical world of words and pictures. Comics Kollectiv is a monthly book club focused on graphic novels. From heartbreaking memoirs to stoner comedies and superhero classics, each month we’ll explore unique stories and colorful characters told through this exciting medium (which is obviously the best medium).
Expect lively discussions, fresh perspectives, and something to drink (cold or hot). Whether you’re a longtime graphic novel fan or just curious about the medium, this is a place to get inspired, challenge your imagination, and connect with others who love stories told in panels and ink.
Curated by local illustrators and comics writers, Navied Mahdavian (This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America) and Ben Gore (imagined matter; Hip Hop Cocktails), meetings will be a mixture of conversation and doodling (we’ll doodle, but you can join if you’d like).
Come for the books. Stay for the conversations. Leave seeing stories differently.
Ages 13 and up.
Books can be bought at our local comics shop, Lighthouse Comics for a 20% discount. Shop local, please.
Wednesdays 11am
What makes a great story?
Come and learn how to create captivating characters, produce perfect plots, and tell terrific tales. Together, we'll listen to some fantastic stories – and then test our talents writing and performing our own!
For children age 6-10 years old.
Wednesdays of August:
5th
19th
26th
When booking, choose the session in the form.
31 May SUNDAY
6PM
Join us for a unique electronic music experience: Yorkshire-based composer James Adrian Brown and Sulk Rooms is coming to Folkestone this May.
The music of Sulk Rooms draws the link between euphoric electronica and smoke engulfed drones. Slow-morphing textures sequence and cascade, encapsulating intimate moments of colliding sound amongst fluttering arpeggios and transcending synth builds.
A predominant soundtrack artist included in many of Adam Curtis’ groundbreaking BBC documentaries as well as scoring BBC true crime series, Netflix features and Prada commercials, Sulk Rooms is part of Domino Publishing’s prestigious composer roster.
Atmospheric music for the head alongside the heart, Sulk Rooms' music captures spontaneous audio mirages and saturated imperfections within a crushing backdrop of low end and harmonic ferocity.
Electric soundscapes and rising techno map Sulk Rooms; universe where panoramic pulses fuel adrenaline charged synths to feelings of both wonder and unease.
“Sulk Rooms summons slow moving and portentous drones that feel both elemental and diffuse” - Wire Magazine
“Ephemeral, elusive and gloriously unsettling” - Electronic Sound Magazine
Instagram / YouTube / Bluesky - @sulkrooms
Bandcamp - thomasragsdalemusic.bandcamp.com
James Adrian Brown is the former lead guitarist of the alternative rock band Pulled Apart By Horses. After achieving chart success, touring the world, and releasing four critically acclaimed studio albums with PABH, James has begun paving a new path in instrumental electronic music and composition.
Brown’s solo work is heavily electronica-based, utilising analogue synths alongside tape machines, piano, strings, and immersive ambient atmospherics. His focus lies in the analogue process of capturing and creating sound using physical hardware.
He has received support from the likes of Gideon Coe on BBC 6 Music and Chris Hawkins, who championed him for creating “massive electronic soundscapes in a Mogwai kind of world.”
James was also featured on BBC Radio 3’s Unclassified by host Elizabeth Alker.
MONDAY 18 May
7PM
Join us in the ultimate celebration of the new writing talent.
Writers from our Monday group reunite to share their new work with you. Prepare yourself for a fun, moving, witty, and altogether entertaining evening with short pieces read to you by local talent.
And who knows? Maybe next time you’ll join them yourself!
SATURDAY 16 MAY 7PM
We are delighted that our next Desert Island Art guest is David Alderman - who is also Artist of the Month in May at kollectiv.
David is one of the best known 'faces' around the Creative Quarter. A fine artist known for his distinctive geometric shapes and patterns, his work is well-demonstrated by his magnificent mural in kollectiv. He is constantly looking to develop and alter his practice, and although his work can vary a great deal, it always bears a distinctive Alderman touch.
The originator of the very successful Artists and Creatives WhatsApp Group - which now has 309 members - David has a well-earned reputation as someone who is ready to go out of his way to help his community without quibbling.
This will be a unique opportunity to learn more about someone you may have thought you knew well!
Chaired by Andrew Ward
This is one of our favourite events at kollectiv!
World-renowned novelist and music amateur, Michel Faber shares a selection tracks from his varied record collection - some obscure, some unbelievable, some never to be heard again. Each piece is accompanied by a story stranger than fiction.
Join this listening experience where strangers are brought together through music.
It’s a fun evening where you will be mesmerised.
We are delighted to be joined by two titans of British Jazz for our next Jazz at kollectiv session, taking place in the midst of Music and May.
Steve Lodder is a pianist, synth player, composer, producer, teacher and author. Renowned for his expressive style as a pianist, composer and arranger, Steve has long been an important figure of the British jazz scene. With a creative approach to genre and innovation, his work has taken him from solo albums to incredible collaborations such as ARQ (the Alison Rayner Quintet), and earned him a respected place on the modern jazz landscape. Steve has also collaborated with Paul McCartney, John Harle, Elvis Costello and Brazilian singer Mônica Vasconcelos as well as with our own Carol Grimes. His latest album is '2 Sorts of 3' features Dudley Phillips,Freddie Jensen, on various basses, and Nic France,Marius Rodrigues on drums
Mark Lockheart is one of the most distinctive and creative musicians on the current British music scene. As a saxophonist and composer, his work often defies categorisation and crosses the boundaries of the jazz, new music and folk worlds. 'Lockheart is a consummate saxophonist and a original and versatile composer', The Rough Guide to Jazz tells us. Mark toured extensively with Django Bates' Delightful Precipice, performing at many international festivals including Berlin, Molde and Willisau, and recording with jazz, folk and pop artists June Tabor, Billy Jenkins, Stereolab, Jah Wobble, Robert Wyatt, Prefab Sprout, Don Um Romao ,Thomas Dolby, and more recently Anja Garbarek and Radiohead. Mark's latest album, Shapeshifter, with Huw V Williams, Double Bass, and Jay Davis, was released in March this year.
We’re sharing paints and pints at this bubbly social art night <3
Paint anything or anyone you want but just know your friends will get a hold of your canvas too!
We will create overlapping artworks in this beginner’s session – no experience needed. Come join the KOLABORATION!
All our events have vegan options available at the bar.
Our next Poets’ Corner poetry open mic is on Wednesday 13th May and the evening is all about poetry as stories. Our theme is ‘Let me tell you a story’. We invite you to share poems that tell a true or fictional story on any subject. It could be about you or an incident in your life, about Folkestone or a more exotic setting – or purely the product of your imagination.
As ever, performance slots are up to 5 minutes, you can sign up on the night and all are welcome.
Join our Life Drawing Club — a welcoming, inspiring space dedicated to the timeless practice of drawing from life. Whether you are a professional artist, an art student, or simply passionate about figure drawing, this salon offers a relaxed and creative environment to develop your skills and connect with fellow artists.
Each session features a nude model with a variety of dynamic poses, from quick gesture sketches to longer, focused studies. Our aim is to create a supportive community where artists of all levels feel encouraged to experiment, grow, and share ideas.
Bring your own materials and enjoy an atmosphere of concentration, creativity, and artistic exchange. This is more than just a class — it’s a gathering of people who love drawing and value the beauty of observing the human form.
Come draw, connect, and be inspired.
Join our Life Drawing Club — a welcoming, inspiring space dedicated to the timeless practice of drawing from life. Whether you are a professional artist, an art student, or simply passionate about figure drawing, this salon offers a relaxed and creative environment to develop your skills and connect with fellow artists.
Each session features a nude model with a variety of dynamic poses, from quick gesture sketches to longer, focused studies. Our aim is to create a supportive community where artists of all levels feel encouraged to experiment, grow, and share ideas.
Bring your own materials and enjoy an atmosphere of concentration, creativity, and artistic exchange. This is more than just a class — it’s a gathering of people who love drawing and value the beauty of observing the human form.
Come draw, connect, and be inspired.
Join our Life Drawing Club — a welcoming, inspiring space dedicated to the timeless practice of drawing from life. Whether you are a professional artist, an art student, or simply passionate about figure drawing, this salon offers a relaxed and creative environment to develop your skills and connect with fellow artists.
Each session features a nude model with a variety of dynamic poses, from quick gesture sketches to longer, focused studies. Our aim is to create a supportive community where artists of all levels feel encouraged to experiment, grow, and share ideas.
Bring your own materials and enjoy an atmosphere of concentration, creativity, and artistic exchange. This is more than just a class — it’s a gathering of people who love drawing and value the beauty of observing the human form.
Come draw, connect, and be inspired.
Dive into a magical world of words and pictures. Comics Kollectiv is a monthly book club focused on graphic novels. From heartbreaking memoirs to stoner comedies and superhero classics, each month we’ll explore unique stories and colourful characters told through this exciting medium (which is obviously the best medium).
This month the graphic novel of choice is Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls - An astonishing, deeply moving graphic memoir about three generations of Chinese women, exploring love, grief, exile, and identity.
Expect lively discussions, fresh perspectives, and something to drink (cold or hot). Whether you’re a longtime graphic novel fan or just curious about the medium, this is a place to get inspired, challenge your imagination, and connect with others who love stories told in panels and ink.
Curated by local illustrators and comics writers, Navied Mahdavian (This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America) and Ben Gore (imagined matter; Hip Hop Cocktails), meetings will be a mixture of conversation and doodling (we’ll doodle, but you can join if you’d like).
Come for the books. Stay for the conversations. Leave seeing stories differently.
Vagabond is a punk stand-up show like no other, from the mind of the bloke-core geezer-bird who brought you Saints and Skinners (2025).
Dyke Skinner talks imaginary friends, bad behaviour and his sordid love affair with cocaine and tramadol in his second ever stand-up special. Nestled between uppers and downers and beaten down by a country that doesn’t care if he lives or dies, Dyke found his feet through non-traditional means and lived to tell the tale.
This May, see the experimental, mind bending, gut busting comedy show Vagabond, and remember…the path to enlightenment is a backroad.
Please note, you must be 18 years or older to attend this show.
Standard tickets £10
Package tickets £45 (Limited edition)
There are 10 package tickets up for grabs.
Purchase of a package ticket includes:
1 ticket to Vagabond valid 22nd May 2026
1 yellow carrier wallet with Vagabond decal
1 print of ‘Vagazine’, the official Vagabond magazine with exclusive never before seen photos and writing
1 pin badge ‘The Vadge’
1 large sticker
The ‘Corporate Bullshit’ Vag tie
1 hand stitched and mounted ‘Tooth and Nail’ cross stitch by Dyke Skinner
1 ‘Tooth and Nail’ keepsake bag
A one time download link for Saints & Skinners the film
Jazz for Babies ... and their mums and dads IS BACK!
With Katie Bradley (vocals and harmonica) and Mick Bishop (piano).
We are delighted that the wonderful Katie Bradley and the superb Mick Bishop are coming to kollectiv to sing songs we all know for babies and their mums and dads. Crying and screaming are allowed and mums and dads can listen to some great musicians do their stuff without worrying about the noises off from their wee ones. There will even be opportunities for everyone to take part and sing along. Do join us - it will be great fun - for everyone!
Thursday May 14 - 7:00pm
kollectiv Film Club presents
Drawn from Life
Animated documentaries inspired by the lives of the people around us
Featuring filmmakers Marcus Armitage and Jessica Ashman in conversation with local producer and Director of Animate Projects, Abigail Addison.
Made in the UK, these 14 short films celebrate the intimate and the epic - reflecting the lives of the people around us. Thought provoking and inspiring, using a variety of animation styles, the works shine a light on the creativity of filmmaking in the UK today.
1. Follow The Dogs - Directed by Isabel Garrett (6.5 minutes)
2. Jeremy, my Father - Directed by Miranda Peyton Jones (8 minutes)
3. Pripyat Horse - Directed by Sally Pearce (2 minutes)
4. DAWTA - Directed by Jessica Ashman (7 minutes)
5. That Yorkshire Sound - Directed by Marcus Leonard Armitage (2.5 minutes)
6. On Hannah Fields - Directed by Lewis Heriz (3 minutes)
7. Departing - Directed by Mary Martins (7 minutes)
8. Green Lung - Directed by Simon Hamlyn (3 minutes)
9. And Granny Would Dance - Directed by Maryam Mohajer (10 minutes)
10. Regarding Gardens - Directed by Carolina Melis (2 minutes)
11. I'm OK - Directed by Elizabeth Hobbs (6 minutes)
12. Cesspit of Freedom - Directed by Oran O'Sullivan (2 minutes)
13. A Taste For Music - Directed by Jordan Antonowicz-Behnan (5 minutes)
14. Visible Mending - Directed by Samantha Moore (8.5 minutes).
Dates: 1 May 2026
Time: 7pm
Tickets:: £10 donation. All profit to go to DIFID & USAID.
During the first years of the Iraq War [2003 - 2011], playwright Adrian Page and director Matthew Hahn created 'ripped from the headlines' theatre, driven by contempt for the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ leaders whose drive to war was on the basis of dubious and misleading intelligence.
With a heavy heart - but little surprise - we find ourselves in a not dissimilar moment today. Once again, the language of urgency, fear and moral certainty dominates political discourse. Against this backdrop, Hahn returns to the work that first gave voice to these concerns remounting a selection of the most relevant pieces of subVERSE.
Press from 2006:
'In its critique of the modern political and social landscape, subVERSE renders oft-used critical superlatives like "brilliant" and "remarkable" hollow.'
*****British Theatre Guide
‘Hip, engaging, hard hitting and thought provoking, the key to subVERSE is that each show explores the human consequences of current world events…These writers are asking their audiences to think about the world they live in and they are not afraid to take risks.’
Writer's Net
'This is a cracking piece of political theatre, which is both hard hitting and thought provoking. The acting from all members of the cast is superb... This is political satire as it should be'
***** Edinburgh Fringe bible Three Weeks
Statements warning of imminent nuclear threats, coupled with inflammatory characterisations of entire nations, echo earlier justifications for war. And although UK leadership is much more wary this time around [‘I will be with you, whatever,’ said British Prime Minister (and War Criminal) Tony Blair], the drumbeats of war are never far off. The parallels between then and now extend beyond policy into ideology. Bush once described the “War on Terror” as a “crusade,” invoking a troubling fusion of politics and religious framing. Today, similarly charged narratives persist, with some voices casting geopolitical conflict in explicitly theological terms [“Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation. Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy” says Pete Hegseth( and wanna-be War Criminal), US Secretary of Defence] portraying it as part of a divine plan, or framing political leaders as chosen instruments of prophecy.
Profits from ticket sales will be split between the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office [formerly DFID, the Department for International Development] and United States Agency for International Development [USAID] to help offset their recent swingeing cuts [in the UK] and the closure [in the US] due to shifting political priorities under Keir Starmer and Donald Trump:
The UK reduced its aid spending from 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) to 0.5% in 2021, a cut of roughly £4–5 billion annually, with only partial restoration since. These sharp drops in education (−58%) and nutrition (−73%) contributed to humanitarian impacts such as estimates that up to 1.5 million more people in sub-Saharan Africa facing hunger, while also forcing project cancellations and reducing long-term development work, weakening the country’s global influence and reputation as a leading donor.
The Trump administration shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2025.
Against this backdrop, subVERSE aims to provide a supplementary funding stream to support international development efforts in the US & UK and help stabilize resources for critical global programmes. By directly supporting these agencies, subVERSE hopes to amplify the absurdity and short sightedness of both progammes' cuts and the vital role they both play to safeguard global progress against political and economic uncertainty.
Matthew Wilsher (clarinet) and Morgan Hayes (piano)
For our second Sunday Morning Music concert, we are delighted to welcome clarinettist Matthew Wilshire and pianist Morgan Hayes, an old friend of Folkestone, who will be performing a lovely programme of duos and solos.
Matthew Wilsher is a highly versatile clarinettist who has performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Contemporary Orchestra and the Philharmonia, and has appeared in leading venues such as Wigmore Hall, the Royal Festival Hall and the Royal Albert Hall.
A graduate and double fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, Matthew is committed to reimagining how performance can connect, challenge and inspire. In particular, Matthew is passionate about shaping opera in innovative and accessible ways. He is principal clarinet of Dorset Opera Festival, Devon Opera and Waterperry Opera, and works regularly with English Touring Opera, Birmingham Opera and Tête à Tête. As a founding member of the charity Hold the Drama, he performs non-verbal musical shows across the UK, and collaborates widely on education and outreach projects with English National Opera, The Mozartists and the London Sinfonietta.
Morgan Hayes
Morgan Hayes is Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy and is a much-loved figure in classical music. His compositions have been described as 'sexy'. 'brilliant' and as having an 'unusually wide expressive range'. The Telegraph critic's review of his 2005 BBC Proms commission 'Strip' said that he wanted 'to hear the piece again, there and then'.
Morgan is also a superb and deeply sensitive pianist, and is in that guise Morgan is with us this morning.
Shakespeare unleashed. Not dusty. Not homework. Hilarious. Welcoming. Cranked to 11. It rocks. Feel the fire. Catch the glow.
Featuring: Jack Klaff
Biographies:
Jack Klaff
Jack’s first movie rôle was in Star Wars. His first television gig was an episode of The Sweeney, which also featured Morecambe and Wise. And his London stage debut, involving some fairly wild sex scenes, led—oddly enough—to long seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
When people ask Jack what makes him “tick”, he often talks about his father, who ran a watch-making business in Johannesburg. In the early 1960s Jack’s Dad repaired Nelson Mandela’s watch. It was on that watch that Mandela counted out the minutes, hours, days and years of his sentence.
On screen, most recently Klaff appeared as Flathead Jackson in The English with Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer, directed by Hugo Blick, and as Mr Leonard in Guy Ritchie’s gangster thriller Mobland. He has more than 200 other television credits including leading roles in Vanity Fair (BBC), Sherlock Holmes, Ruth Rendell’s Road Rage, Midsomer Murders, Freddie and Max, Miners' Strike and Bremner, Bird and Fortune, as well as adaptations of several of his own works. Alongside Mariella Frostrup he was also a regular advocate on BBC Four’s Battle of the Books, with James Naughtie in the chair.
Among Klaff’s films, apart from Star Wars, have been For Your Eyes Only, King David, Pasternak, 1871, Ten Pence, Threat, Dogma Hearing, Anxious and Astorga’s Magapolis Z. He was also the voice of Orson Welles in a documentary directed by Mark Cousins.
Klaff has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and other leading classical theatre companies, playing tragic heroes, villains and comic figures alike. His roles have included Orleans and Clarence in Henry VI, Orlando in As You Like It, Iago in Othello, Polonius and Claudius in two successive productions of Hamlet, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Macbeth—five times.
Other theatrical roles have included Foppington, Trigorin, Kreon, Atahuallpa, Gulliver, Bohr in Copenhagen, Orson Welles in Around the World, and Michael Mansfield QC in Stockwell.
Jack has written and performed twenty one-man shows and written extensively for stage, radio and television. On radio he has played Quasimodo, Oscar Wilde, Elgar and others (winning two Sony Silver Certificates), and has read two BBC Radio 4 Books of the Week: Last Resort and Tokyo Vice.
As a writer and director his work has included Letters Alone, What’s Inside, The Shakespeare Revue (West End), Screaming Secrets, Maxim Shostakovitch (HBO/Granada), Acid Test and Reconstructed Heart. He has also written and performed for Bremner, Bird and Fortune.
For more than a decade Jack worked with Intelligence Squared as Head of Science and the Arts, and has taught or presented at institutions and festivals around the world including Oxford, Cambridge, Princeton, Imperial College and the Cheltenham Festivals. He gave a TEDx talk at the European Parliament and has held four visiting professorships at Princeton. He was Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Starlab in Brussels (1998–2002) and remains connected with its present incarnation in Barcelona.
His awards include two Fringe Firsts, the Jack Hargreaves Award for innovative television drama, a Lustrum Award for Special Moments, a Sea Bream Award for Science and Art writing, and the Herald Archangel Award for lifetime achievement.
Matthew Hahn
Matthew Hahn is an international theatre director, playwright and theatre for development facilitator, post-graduate with experience of creating, coordinating and implementing theatre projects in the United Kingdom, the United States, East & Southern Africa. He is the Artistic Director of the Folkestone Performing Arts Company (fpac.info), a theatre company that celebrates local stories, shared creativity & innovation that is vibrant, relevant and rooted in the lives of the people who live across southeast Kent. With over 20 years of experience as a theatre director and theatre for development practitioner in working with communities in struggle, he has co-created interactive and participatory international theatre projects focusing on developing and enabling young people, social cohesion, peace-making and conflict resolution in the Global South & North. He is a drama facilitator and trustee at Most Mira, a charity which uses applied arts to help to build bridges between divided communities in Bosnia. His first play, The Robben Island Shakespeare, has been performed in the United Kingdom, United States and South Africa; he regularly facilitates 'Ethical Leadership’ Workshops based on his interviews with former South African political prisoners and selections from ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.’ Matthew has degrees in Political Science & Journalism from Indiana University in the United States and is a graduate of the Goldsmiths College Masters in Theatre Directing programme in the United Kingdom. He trained with the SITI Company in New York and with Anne Bogart in Dublin, Ireland. He has also trained with the Cardboard Citizens Theatre Company in London in their Forum Theatre / Joker Training Programme. As an artist and social activist, he is drawn to complex political opportunities that allow him to utilize his skills as a theatre director, writer and facilitator to further developmental goals. For more information about work, please visit www.matthewhahn.org.uk.
This powerful work of fiction reimagines the harrowing true story of two young men who survived the Anfal genocide in Iraqi Kurdistan. Based on the author's extensive documentary research and testimonies collected during his time with Human Rights Watch (1992–1994), the novel follows their separate escapes from Saddam Hussein's killing fields and their eventual journeys to America. It is a profound story of luck, pluck, perseverance, and the complex, split-soul lives of first-generation immigrants.
According to Lyse Doucet, the BBC's Chief International Correspondent, Joost Hiltermann "colourfully reimagines a forgotten story that once shaped our times in an ambitious quilt of compelling tales, cleverly brought together with a novelist's skill, a scholar's depth, and the empathy of a journalist."
Joost Hiltermann is a Dutch researcher and writer. He was the Programme Director for the Middle East & North Africa at the International Crisis Group and previously worked at Human Rights Watch. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. His writing has appeared in The New York Review of Books, The London Review of Books, and Foreign Affairs. He is the author of two non-fiction books, A Poisonous Affair: America, Iraq, and the Gassing of Halabja(Cambridge, 2007) and Behind the Intifada: Labor and Women's Movements in the Occupied Territories (Princeton, 1991). The Resurrected is his debut novel.
Dive into a magical world of words and pictures. Comics Kollectiv is a monthly book club focused on graphic novels. From heartbreaking memoirs to stoner comedies and superhero classics, each month we’ll explore unique stories and colourful characters told through this exciting medium (which is obviously the best medium).
Expect lively discussions, fresh perspectives, and something to drink (cold or hot). Whether you’re a longtime graphic novel fan or just curious about the medium, this is a place to get inspired, challenge your imagination, and connect with others who love stories told in panels and ink.
Curated by local illustrators and comics writers, Navied Mahdavian (This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America) and Ben Gore (imagined matter; Hip Hop Cocktails), meetings will be a mixture of conversation and doodling (we’ll doodle, but you can join if you’d like).
Come for the books. Stay for the conversations. Leave seeing stories differently.
Ages 13 and up.
Books can be bought at our local comics shop, Lighthouse Comics for a 20% discount. Shop local, please.
Calendar:
April: Monica by Daniel Clowes
May: Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls
June: Saga, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
July: Palestine by Joe Sacco
August: Making Comics by Lynda Barry
September: Acting Class by Nick Drnaso
October: Bad Gateway by Simon Hanselmann
November: Red Son by Mark Millar and Dave Johnson
December: Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? / Talking to my Father’s Ghost by Roz Chast and Alex Krokus
January: Black Hole by Charles Burns
February: Diary of a Teenage Girl by Phoebe Gloeckner
March: Watchmen by Alan Moore
Join our Life Drawing Club — a welcoming, inspiring space dedicated to the timeless practice of drawing from life. Whether you are a professional artist, an art student, or simply passionate about figure drawing, this salon offers a relaxed and creative environment to develop your skills and connect with fellow artists.
Each session features a nude model with a variety of dynamic poses, from quick gesture sketches to longer, focused studies. Our aim is to create a supportive community where artists of all levels feel encouraged to experiment, grow, and share ideas.
Bring your own materials and enjoy an atmosphere of concentration, creativity, and artistic exchange. This is more than just a class — it’s a gathering of people who love drawing and value the beauty of observing the human form.
Come draw, connect, and be inspired.
The Club meets fortnightly for 2 hours, starting on Tuesday 31st of March, 7:00-9:00 at kollectiv. The fee for each fortnightly session is £12.
How to Make your Garden Grow - more naturally!
Wilding your garden, allotment, back yard or window box!
Mel has managed countryside and coastal areas for 40 years. Hear Ideas to make your private spaces more inviting for wild plants and animals.
In our land, under constant human disturbance and development, do you bit to help wildlife by offering a nature refuge and creating more connectivity between nature friendly areas.
Great Britain has approximately 2.37 million acres of residential gardens that’s about 960,000 hectares. That’s a great resource to help nature!
Bring your photos and share your own successes!
featuring Katie and Joseph Beton (with Iskra and Moon)
Desert Island Discs is one of the most successful formats in broadcasting history - where the guests reveal more about themselves through their selection of eight tracks than they would have ever thought possible!
Well, this being Folkestone we want to pursue the same end but through a different means. Our guests are asked to choose eight works of visual art - as well as the obligatory favourite book and a luxury. The art works will be shown and discussed by the guests and the chair - and the audience too if they so wish. It will all be light-hearted and fun but surprising illuminating as well!
As is only fit and proper, the first Desert Island Arts Guests are Katie and Joseph Beton (accompanied by Iskra and Moon).
Chaired by Andrew Ward
Tom Bright - who Guy Garvey describes as the 'excellent Tom Bright' - is a relentlessly touring songwriter whose songs land with emotional weight and unvarnished honesty. 2025 saw him make his third television appearance on BBC One’s Sunday Morning Live, serenade thousands at his fifth Glastonbury Festival, and have sell out shows across the UK and beyond. He has collaborated with The The, earned continued support from tastemakers Guy Garvey and John Kennedy and spent two years on Spotify’s Most Beautiful Songs in the World playlist with 'If I Met Your Shadow’.
In May last year, Tom released ‘Young Old Bloke’, a collection of early songs produced by Mick Jones (The Clash) and Dirty White. He has three previous albums — all produced by Ed Harcourt.
Away from the stage, his story is just as remarkable: once the UK’s youngest pub landlord, with a childhood marked by multiple life-saving surgeries.
Born in Rome but artistically reborn in London, Lilla Shy is captivating hearts with her ethereal vocals and beautifully honest songwriting.
Following the release of her self-produced debut album ‘Layers’ in September 2024, Lilla has toured the UK and Europe. Highlights-to-date include supporting Matteo Bocelli at The London Palladium, performing at BBC Introducing Live, selling out her debut headline show at The Troubadour, and appearing on the line-up at Glastonbury Festival 2025.
Weekend magazine described 'Layers' as 'a mesmerising fusion of electro-pop and indie-rock, bound together by her rich, dynamic vocal range and natural flair for introspective, heartfelt lyricism'.
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