Editing Kingston upon Thames (section)

==Culture==
{{see also|List of public art in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames}}

A notable dramatic arts venue is the [[Rose Theatre, Kingston|Rose Theatre]], opened on 16 January 2008 and seating about 900 people. The audience are arranged around the semi-circular stage. All Saints Church is host to classical choral and music concerts mostly on Saturdays and houses a [[Frobenius Orgelbyggeri|Frobenius]] organ. There are a number of choral societies including the [[Kingston Orpheus Choir]] and the [[Kingston Choral Society]], an amateur symphony orchestra the Kingston Philharmonia, and the Kingston and District Chamber Music Society. A number of annual festivals are organised by the Council and Kingston Arts Council including Kingston Readers' Festival, Think-in-Kingston and the Festival of the Voice.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} Kingston University runs the Stanley Picker Gallery and Kingston Museum has a changing gallery on the first floor. A regular singing group at the Rose Theatre caters to schools and families.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://singingitback.co.uk/ |title=Welcome |website=Singing It Back |access-date=22 October 2012 |archive-date=22 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522071744/http://singingitback.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Muybridge-2.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Eadweard Muybridge]] (photographer) was born in the town in 1830]]
[[John Galsworthy]] the author was born on Kingston Hill and [[Jacqueline Wilson]] grew up, and went to school in Kingston and still lives there today. Both are commemorated at Kingston University – Galsworthy in the newest building and Wilson in the main hall. Also commemorated at the university is photographer [[Eadweard Muybridge]] who was born at Kingston and changed the spelling of his first name in reference to the name of the Saxon king on the Coronation Stone. He was a pioneer in the photography of the moving image. [[R. C. Sherriff]] the playwright is also associated with Kingston, writing his first play to support Kingston Rowing Club.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWsherriff.htm |title=R. C. Sherriff |first=John |last=Simkin |work=Spartacus Educational |access-date=13 May 2015 |archive-date=17 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417070012/http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWsherriff.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> An earlier writer born in Kingston was [[John Cleland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/london/books/sex-and-books-londons-most-erotic-writers-3|title=Sex and books: London's most erotic writers|work=Time Out London|access-date=12 May 2015|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612184437/https://www.timeout.com/london/books/sex-and-books-londons-most-erotic-writers-3|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Kingston has been covered in literature, film and television. It is where the comic [[Victorian literature|Victorian]] novel ''[[Three Men in a Boat]]'' by [[Jerome K. Jerome]] begins; cannons aimed against the Martians in [[H. G. Wells]]' ''The War of the Worlds'' are positioned on Kingston Hill; in ''The Rainbow'' by [[D. H. Lawrence]] the youngest Brangwen dreams of a job in Kingston upon Thames in a long, lyrical passage; Mr. Knightly in ''Emma'' by [[Jane Austen]] regularly visits Kingston, although the narrative never follows him there.

Fine art is also a prominent feature in the history of Kingston. Both [[John Hoyland]] and [[Jeremy Moon (artist)|Jeremy Moon]] worked from permanent studios in Kingston and many artists and designers have studied at the university including [[Fiona Banner]], [[John Bratby]], [[David Nash (artist)|David Nash]] and [[Jasper Morrison]].

Early in his music career, the guitarist and singer-songwriter [[Eric Clapton]] spent time [[busking]] in Kingston upon Thames,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ericclapton.com/eric-clapton-biography?page=0%2C1 |title=Biography |website=Eric Clapton |access-date=17 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515233905/http://www.ericclapton.com/eric-clapton-biography?page=0%2C1 |archive-date=15 May 2013}}</ref> having grown up and studied in the area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/books-manuscripts/a-late-1950s-hofner-club-60-1525990-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=1525990&sid=775d57e0-50bb-4a69-95ac-6c7be096a7fb |title=A late 1950s Hofner Club 60 |date=24 June 1999 |website=[[Christie's]] |access-date=16 November 2012 |archive-date=11 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811192834/http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/books-manuscripts/a-late-1950s-hofner-club-60-1525990-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=1525990&sid=775d57e0-50bb-4a69-95ac-6c7be096a7fb |url-status=live }}</ref> Rock band [[Cardiacs]] were formed in the town.

Recently,{{when|date=September 2020}} a scene from ''Mujhse Dosti Karoge'', a [[Bollywood]] film starring [[Hrithik Roshan]] as the leading actor, was filmed by the toppled telephone boxes sculpture in Old London Road.{{citation needed|reason=searched, cannot find reliable source for this|date=December 2022}}

The 1974 [[Doctor Who]] story "[[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]" used several locations in the town for filming.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.doctorwholocations.net/stories/invasionofthedinosaurs |title=Invasion of the Dinosaurs – Story Locations |work=Doctor Who: The Locations Guide |access-date=14 July 2017 |archive-date=3 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803150616/http://www.doctorwholocations.net/stories/invasionofthedinosaurs |url-status=live }}</ref> The 2008 series of ''[[Primeval (TV series)|Primeval]]'', shown on ITV1 in January, featured almost an entire episode filmed inside the [[Bentalls|Bentall Centre]] and [[John Lewis (department store)|John Lewis]] department stores. Kingston featured in ''Primeval'' again in May 2009 with several scenes shot in and around the Market Place. [[Nipper]], the famous "[[His Master's Voice]]" dog, is buried in the town under Lloyds Bank. His owners lived nearby in Fife Road.{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}

Kingston Green Fair was held annually from 1987 to 2008 in Canbury Gardens, next to the river, on the Spring [[Bank Holiday]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kingstononline.co.uk/kingston-green-fair-on-the-banks-of-the-rver-thames/ |title=Kingston Green Fair on the banks of the Thames |work=Kingston Online |date=11 April 2014 |access-date=7 September 2014 |archive-date=7 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907165308/http://www.kingstononline.co.uk/kingston-green-fair-on-the-banks-of-the-rver-thames/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The word "Green" in the title refers to the ethos of the fair as promoting [[sustainable development]]. For instance no meat or other products derived from dead animals were allowed to be sold, and no electricity was permitted on the site unless generated by wind, sun, or bicycle power.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kingstongreenfair.org.uk/stalls/tradingpolicy.html |title=Ethical Policies for all Traders |website=Kingston Green Fair |access-date=22 April 2020 |archive-date=2 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802214920/http://kingstongreenfair.org.uk/stalls/tradingpolicy.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Public art===
[[File:'Out Of Order' by David Mach - geograph.org.uk - 1102588.jpg|thumb|The sculpture "Out of Order"]]
One of the more unusual sights in Kingston is ''Out of Order'' by [[David Mach]], a sculpture in the form of twelve disused [[red telephone box]]es that have been tipped up to lean against one another in an arrangement resembling dominoes. The work was commissioned in 1988 as part of the landscaping for the new Relief Road, and was described by its creator as "anti-minimalist".<ref name=":5">{{cite news |last=Lightfoot |first=Liz |title=Number's up for phone box sculpture |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1373337/Numbers-up-for-phone-box-sculpture.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1373337/Numbers-up-for-phone-box-sculpture.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=4 September 2015 |work=The Daily Telegraph |place=London |date=6 November 2000}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|date=18 August 2000|title=Let's keep the amusing tumbling phone boxes|url=https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/6465256.lets-keep-the-amusing-tumbling-phone-boxes/|access-date=12 August 2021|website=News Shopper|language=en|archive-date=12 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812143008/https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/6465256.lets-keep-the-amusing-tumbling-phone-boxes/|url-status=live}}</ref>