Live & Local

26 January 2010

www.liveandlocal.org.uk                www.sophiesnell.co.uk


Live & Local, Quarndon

Live & Local is a scheme run as part of the National Rural Touring Forum specifically for the counties of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.  It’s aim is to promote the appearance of top quality professional performers and musicians in small intimate rural locations, accessible to as wide a range of the community as possible.  Developing a network of local voluntary village promoters, the Live & Local team, sponsored by The Arts Council and local councils helps with the sourcing, booking and support of these shows.

With the support of Live & Local, we host fantastic arts events in Quarndon Church hall. We have also spread our wings to occasionally host further events in the hall and in other local nearby venues, with the same high quality arts ethos, but not necessarily under the umbrella of the Live & Local scheme.

Each artiste is handpicked for their top notch performance quality and entertainment value. We only feature professional artists and choose shows that we know will appeal to our audience whilst presenting a range of artistic and cultural formats and styles.

We have had great shows in previous years - Opera Dudes, Maison Foo, Oxford Rural Touring Company, Eduardo Niebla, Miracle Theatre, Howden Jones, and Shoo Shoo Baby. Glamourous song birds, folk music, virtuoso Spanish guitar, adult and children's theatre, thought-provoking poetry from our new Poet Laureate, dramatic musicals, intriguing storytellers, the Morecombe & Wise of opera - all this on our very own doorstep!

Our wish is to bring you top quality arts entertainment, where you can share an evening with friends, old and new, in a congenial, intimate and friendly candle lit local venue. And thanks to the scheme's subsidy courtesy of the Arts Council, Derbyshire County Council and Amber Valley Borough Council, all this at an affordable price where you don't have to struggle to get into town or pay for parking.

We are a group of enthusiastic volunteers. We usually run a bar, maybe with home made cakes or a bring and share supper, and always offer a smile. We love it when people come from further afield as well as just down the road, and hope you have a lovely night out.

Sophie is the promoter for Quarndon Live & Local, Derbyshire.  “This is an absolutely brilliant scheme!  There is the most amazing range of talented creative performers out there – and to have the opportunity to bring them to our village is fantastic.  Since we started to host shows in our village, we've had enormous fun!" 

To book any tickets or make an enquiry, ring Sophie on 01332 840007 or email at robandsophie@hotmail.com.

 

Forthcoming Shows - 2009 / 10

We now feature on Facebook - check out the link for uptodate chat, photos and news as the season progresses:

The Old dance School

Friday 26th Feb, 2010, 8pm

Quarndon Church Hall

The Old Dance School is a young, vibrant 6 piece music group, who play an intoxicating mixture of acoustic, folk and world music.

Their’s is an exhilarating concoction of explosive, white-knuckle music which has been blowing up a storm on the festival scene this last year.  The twinkly-eyed group features dueling fiddles, hair-raising world percussion and their intricate compositions evoke images of wind-swept headlands and wild vertical adventures.

Championed by BBC Radio 2's Bob Harris, The Old Dance School has been hailed as one of the most exciting new folk bands to have emerged on the acoustic / folk scene in the last two years.

When I checked this group out before booking, it soon became clear that they are the next "hot" thing - everyone I spoke to said their live performances are just amazing and that this could possibly be one of our best concerts yet - can't wait!

www.theolddanceschool.com

Bar available, doors open 7.30pm for an 8pm start.

Tickets £8.50 / £6 (older children and students)

Tickets are now available - call Sophie on 01332 840007.

 

Howdenjones

Saturday 22nd May, 2010, 8pm

Quarndon Church Hall

With superb arrangements, breathtaking harmonies, down-to-earth virtuosity and an infectious delight in live performance, Kate Howden and Paul Jones are songwriters with that special magic that takes you on a journey through a musical landscape, telling stories and sharing experience with their music. Between them they play, guitar, mandolin, bodhran,and cajon...

"It is rare to find a band so lyrically masterful, technically superb and musically talented, who can also connect with their audience.  Howdenjones did not just "perform" at our village arts festival, they shared their passion with us and left us with memories we will cherish."  David Giles, Goosfest, October 2007

A return visit from one of our favourites - we enjoyed such a marvellous concert last time that we couldn't resist asking them back!  This is original, northern tinged music and gentle banter from Lancashire's best loved duo.  Suitable for all the family.  And what a wonderful way to spend a May spring evening?

Ticket reservations now being taken - ring Sophie or Rob on 01332 840007.

 

Recent Shows

Ashley Hutching's Rainbow Chasers

Friday 27th Nov, 2009, 8pm

Quarndon Church Hall

It is not often we manage to get a folk icon to our village hall!  It was with great excitement that we learnt we had won a much sought after slot in the hectic diary of Ashley Hutchings.  Ashley, a BBC Radio 2 Folk award-winner, is the founder of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span, and known for his beautiful, virtuoso music, with great appeal to all.  Ashley is joined by two stunning female singer songwriters (Ruth Angell and Jo Hamilton) who also play fiddle, viola and guitar, and the multi-talented singer and guitar player Joe Topping.

This is an intimate and acoustically beautiful evening of new songs and instrumentals, lead by Ashley.  As well as new songs, we will undoubtedly be treated to some of Ashley's classic tunes, all interwoven with Ashley and his colleagues' gentle banter and charm.  From "First Europeans" (inspired by Eastern European Gypsy music), the  quirky "Nailing the Shrimp" and "Hammer your Toes" (about a stolen bike) to a fantastic song about fighting chickens, inspired by a scary encounter with a red neck whilst walking across the USA!

"I was stunned by the beauty of the harmonies.... It was a perfect performance that was over far too quickly."

Note - Ashley is likely to be very popular and as I write (Sept 09) we are already getting bookings, so if you think you would like tickets (even if you are not sure how many), do please ring or email asap.  We are running the usual reserve list, which gives you first refusal once the actual tickets come in (prob Oct).

www.rainbowchasers.co.uk

 

Sophie Snell - The Seven Deadly Sins

Friday 3rd July, 8pm

The Abbey Pub, Darley Abbey, Derby DE22 1DX

An evening of storytelling with Sophie Snell.

Greed, Pride, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Envy and Wrath - which of us would confess to any of these?  Dark and comic, and based on folk tales taken from the stones and bones of the British Isles, these are the twisting tales of sinning and secret desires - where the Devil watches in delight and Angels weep...

The Abbey pub is an old 12th century Augustinian Priory in the heart of Derby's charming Darley Abbey suburb.  We had a packed room, and enjoyed a really atmospheric evening of stories in the stunning original medieval hall, with its huge fireplace.  What could be a more fitting setting for these hidden stories of the confessional...?

Following the success of this event, Sophie has been invited back to perform "Fireside Ghost Tales" at the pub on Friday 4th December 09, 8pm.

You can catch more performances of her "Seven Deadly Sins" show at:

2nd October 09 - Matlock Storytelling Cafe, Matlock Imperial Rooms 7.30pm
14th October 09 - Flying Donkeys Storytelling Club, the VoiceBox, Derby, 7.30pm
20th November 09 -
Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton on Trent, 7.30pm
5th March 10 - Stapleford Library, Nottinghamshire as part of Notts Libraries Storyfest, 7.30pm
16th March 10 - Sheffield StoryForge, The Fat Cat, Sheffield, 8pm

"Wow!  Gripping!"  "Sophie has a wicked sense of humour!"

"This is the moment when I saw a real star, fantastic storytelling!"  "The stories were spellbinding - a great teller."

Audience feedback from the show's premiere at Flying Donkeys Storytelling April 2009

Not a Live & Local scheme event.

www.sophiesnell.co.uk

 

Miracle Theatre - “Cat’s Cradle”

Thursday 5th March, 8pm, Quarndon Church Hall 

“Perfect Family Entertainment!”

The atomic bomb was not Dr Felix Hoenikker’s most devastating creation.  When the top secret formula: ice-nine falls into the hands of his 3 dysfunctional children, a series of hilarious and improbable events lead to a rather low-key Armageddon!

This is the first UK stage adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s seminal 1960’s novel, exploring serious themes through laughter.  This classic satire on modern science, full of bizarre but all too human characters, was a perfect vehicle for Miracle’s blend of physical theatre, comedy, film and music.  Inventive, energetic, surreal - this was great theatre.  We had seen Miracle before doing more light-hearted shows, but this was a comedy with a darker side, cleverly directed, beautifully performed.  A great night - and probably artistically-speaking one of our best shows to date!        www.miracletheatre.co.uk

 

Maison Foo – “The World's Wife”

Friday 6th February 2009, Quarndon Church Hall, 8pm

       

I promised something entirely different... and it was.  Fresh, dynamic, thought provoking theatre, Maison Foo brought us this charming and intriguing dramatisation of the poems of Carol Ann Duffy.  With an inventive mix media approach, merging the boundaries of live theatre, film and radio, Maison Foo brought her wonderful verse and vivid characters alive. 

Flirtatious, colourful, energetic, but also with a more than a hint of dark and difficult issues, this was quite different to our previous shows.  The local secondary school sent a large contingent of staff and pupils who were studying Carol Ann Duffy's work and we had a lovely mix of new and familiar guests as people joined us from local writing and poetry groups.  We shared a supper to start with, then enjoyed the show - a lovely, unique evening.     www.maisonfoo.com

 

Quarndon Live & Local & Friends of Allestree Park presented:

A Halloween Storywalk  with Sophie Snell in Allestree Park

 Friday 31st October

7 – 8.30 pm

A gentle, fun, family-friendly walk through the park for all ages with spooky stories from Derbyshire storyteller, Sophie Snell. 

The response to this event was overwhelming.  With so many interested calls, we organised a second walk earlier in the evening so we could fit everyone in.  Over 120 people joined us (many in great costumes!) for a special lantern-lit walk through the beautiful Allestree Park.  Listening to stories of magic, mystery and spooky mayhem, it was a beautiful crisp (and cold!) evening.  With a mixture of fun, scary and spooky stories, families and couples were led by an elegantly "witchy" Sophie through the trees and across the park to enjoy a really fun storytelling event.  Supported by Friends of Allestree Park, this was a unique way to enjoy one of Derby's wonderful parks. 

An engaging and lively performer, regularly performing at festivals, museums, schools and public events, and a resident at Derby's "The Flying Donkeys" group of storytellers, Sophie Snell entertains both children and adults:

“Those gifted with storytelling weave an invisible web that draws the listener into the tale without you realizing what’s happening. Sophie Snell is one of those storytellers whose voice mesmerizes you while images form in your mind as the tale unfolds.”  Cindy Vallar

Not a Live & Local scheme event.

                          www.friendsofallestreepark.org.uk

 

The Opera Dudes – “Licensed to Trill”

Friday 7th November 2008, Quarndon Church Hall, 8pm

The Opera Dudes   www.operadudes.com

The dashing duo were back!  They delighted Quarndon last year to a packed hall, so we couldn't resist a return visit and yes it was a packed hall this evening as well!  Sold out weeks before the event it was lovely to see the hall buzzing with excitement.

Tim Lole and Neil Allen combine their musical and vocal pedigrees as operatic tenors with great humour and charm.  This was a wonderful evening of music, wit and warmth - two genuinely gorgeous guys whose on-stage chemistry, comic timing and love of music and entertaining the audience wowed the audience last time.

Their unique take on opera satisfies genuine opera buffs but equally amuses and entertains those who love more popular music.  It's really an evening of comedy with a bit of Morecombe & Wise, crazy impressions, hilarious interplay and stunning voices.        www.operadudes.com

 

Oxford Theatre Touring Company:

"The Delicious Revenge of Princess Ruby Slippers"

Friday 25th January 2008, Quarndon Church Hall, 6pm

Another barnstorming family event.  “Ruby Slippers” was perfect for all the family - delightful characters, inventive stagework, lovely music, plenty of laughs and a gentle emotional pull to the story.  “Take three kids (age 5, 6 and 7), add one harassed mum, a handful of favourite fairytale characters, mix with a large dressing up box and leave for five frenetic fun-filled minutes… Result?  A topsy-turvy, helter skelter story of sibling rivalry and parental desperation in a world of mixed up make believe where the Fairy Godmother’s hot and bothered and the Wicked Witch is itching to make boy pie!”

"OTTC create lovely, adventurous and magical shows especially for small venues and this show will have audiences young and old gripped to their seats in this action packed musical adventure."       www.ottc.org.uk

 

The Flying Donkeys – “Heart of England” Tour

Saturday 8th March 2008, Quarndon Church Hall, 8pm

The Flying Donkeys are a group of professional story-tellers based in Derby who perform regularly entertaining adults with their tales of quests and curses, mysteries and misbegettings, low cunning and dark enchantment.  A new, innovative show touring the county, this evening of tales featured expert regional storytellers, Simon Heywood, Helen Frances and Roy Dyson.  Their remit for Quarndon was to bring to life folk tales and legends drawn from Derbyshire and the Midlands, with a few modern twists and turns.

"I first encountered The Flying Donkeys, when having been bitten by the story telling bug, I started exploring the local storytelling scene.  Wow - it was a revelation!  Not only the rich vein of local stories I'd never heard before, but the sheer exhuberance, verbal (and creative) dexterity of this gem of a storytelling group.

This was not a Live & Local event, but when approached, knowing what a rare treat this would be, we jumped at the chance to host part of the tour.  The evening has been made possible by kind support of the Arts Council, East Midlands, and the profit was donated to support our local Quarndon Amateur Dramatic Society.      www.flyingdonkeys.co.uk

 

The Opera Dudes – “A Life of Organised Croon”

Friday 18th January 2008, Quarndon Church Hall, 8pm

The Opera Dudes   www.operadudes.com

This hunky duo are from very different backgrounds: a posh former Cambridge scholar who has teamed up with an ex-builder, both turned operatic tenors.  Tim Lole and Neil Allen combine their musical and vocal pedigrees with great humour and charm.  This was a wonderful evening of music, wit and warmth - two genuinely gorgeous guys whose on-stage chemistry, comic timing and love of music and entertaining the audience gave us another fantastic night out.

As one audience member put it: "I'm no opera buff, but this was one of the best Live & Local shows I've been to yet - and the other's were hard to beat!"  A Morecombe and Wise sketch, operatic Donald Duck, delightfully gross Italian and cockney accents, beautiful Puccini and other popular music favourites made for great classical cabaret with a twist.       www.operadudes.com

 

ShooShoo Baby – “Winter Wonderland”

Friday 30th November 2007, Quarndon Church Hall, 8pm

Following the runaway success of their last show here (Feb 07), by popular request they came back!  This time with their glamorous Christmas special.  It was another night of fabulous costumes, lots of musical sparkle with Christmas classics and some gorgeous gems from the 1940's.  Even some explosive christmas crackers, complete with appalling jokes, loud bangs and silly hats. 

A great party night, perfect for the run-up to Christmas and a delightfully steamy rendition of "Santa Baby"...  

 

New Perspectives Theatre Co – “The Hired Man”

Wed 3rd October 2007, Quarndon Church Hall, 8pm

"The Hired Man" is a musical by Melvyn Bragg and Howard Goodall.  Acclaimed for its epic, nostalgic, funny script and rousing, romantic, award-winning score, it is now touring the UK for the first time, courtesy of New Perspectives Theatre Company.  The Quarndon show was one of the first in the tour. 

The performance in Quarndon was frankly stunning - playing to a packed hall, the cast got a standing ovation from the audience.  This was an unforgettable evening of beautiful singing, passionate drama and superb production values.  Our first "big" drama presentation since starting to organise these shows, we were bowled over - it deserved every word of the quotes given below: 

"A marvellous, bracing, moving creation"  Time Out

"Seldom will you hear voices used with such stirring beauty"  City Limits

"An engagingly different kind of musical"  Financial Times

Note, although New Perspectives are old Live & Local favourites, this was not a Live & Local scheme event.  As it was organised by the same team here in Quarndon that does the Live & Local events we thought we would include it onto our website as we knew it would be of interest to all our Quarndon Live & Local supporters!  In fact Quarndon Amateur Dramatic Society kindly hosted this event and funds raised went to support their performances.

 

Howdenjones

Friday, 20th April 2007, Quarndon Church Hall     8pm

Kate Howden, Paul Jones and Sarah Cheffins - aka Howdenjones are a contemporary, acoustic music group from Glasson Dock village, Lancashire.  Their's is a combination of voice, guitar, fiddle, viola, keyboards, mandolin and Cajon (a sort of square drum)  and the more unusual Nyckelharpa (picture 2).  We had a lovely evening full of melody, wit and charm.  The concert followed a workshop and mini concert for the children of Curzon School that afternoon, received by the children with resounding cheers.

Why not check out their website at   www.howdenjones.co.uk.

 

Multi-story Theatre Company – “The Golden Key”

Friday, 2nd Mar 2007, Quarndon Church Hall     5pm

This friendly, energetic and imaginative performed an hour-long piece of story-telling theatre adapted from the well-loved story by George MacDonald.  The hall was packed with children and adults and the show hilarious.  Exciting story-telling, gruesome accents, creative props and very witty, imaginative stage craft, interspersed with gentle music and song. 

Multi-Story were also at Curzon School during the day, leading theatrical workshops.  "Absolutely brilliant!" - one of the teachers told us!

See their website - www.multistorytheatre.co.uk.

 

ShooShoo Baby – “From Berlin to Broadway”

8 Feb 2007, Quarndon Church Hall

WOW!  What a night!  I don't think Quarndon Church Hall has seen the like before!  This fantastically glamorous trio combined dry humour, rich harmonies and pulse-racing costume changes in their highly original and colourful cabaret show.  The show included a stunning rendition of All That Jazz, songs from the musical Cabaret, numbers made famous by Marlene Dietrich and even a rousing, tap-dancing New York, New York.  "Fabulous fun"  Time Out said - and we agree! 

Check out the picture gallery...      (Click on the pictures to expand.)

Link to website - www.shooshoobaby.co.uk

 

Eduardo Niebla Experience

30 Sept 2006. Quarndon Church Hall

Eduardo Niebla  is a world class virtuoso Andalusian guitarist, a musical experience to delight modern, flamenco and classical music lovers.

The pictures below are from the Quarndon concert        (Click on the pictures to expand.)

 

Link to website: www.eduardoniebla.co.uk

 

 Cat Weatherill, Derbyshire Literature Festival

June 06, Quarndon Cricket Club

Cat Weatherill is a storyteller, who performed 3 shows for us:

bullet

 Cat’s Tales – a delightful anthology of stories and songs for the very young.

bullet

 Gawain and the Green Knight – the mediaeval classic, dramatically retold for primary school age children.

bullet

Bawdy Stories – a frank, but belly-laughing rendition of mediaeval classics in the style of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

 

 

Caliche - A Magical Tour of the Andes

October 05, Quarndon Church Hall

Caliche are a South American musical group performing a range of atmospheric and lyrical pieces from their homeland.

Link to Caliche website – www.calichemusic.com

 

Link to Live & Local website – www.liveandlocal.co.uk