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26 January 2010 |
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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!
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).
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:
"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!”
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
The Opera Dudes – “Licensed to Trill” Friday 7th November 2008, Quarndon Church Hall, 8pm
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
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
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:
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 |
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