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Shindig Spring 2008 Tour

Once again Shindig toured around Wychavon with some spectacular shows. For Spring 2008 we had a total of 15 shows at various venues within Wychavon.

Below is a list of the shows that were shown in Wychavon along with some feedback from promoters.

SUSAN FLANNERY AND MICHAEL LUNTS - Home Service

The music and humour of the Second World War inspired and uplifted a generation during Britain’s darkest but finest hour. In their latest show, Home Service, Susan Flannery and
Michael Lunts draw on this rich vein of material evoking the hardships, humour and heroism of those, especially women, fighting the war on the Home Front. Against a backdrop of
blackouts,bombs and rationing, the wireless, through the BBC’s Home Service, fought back with a barrage of entertainment while ENSA earned its affectionate nickname providing ‘Every Night Something Awful’! Using authentic broadcasts, songs and comic verse from the period, along with first-hand accounts of life in war-time Britain, Susan and Michael bring to life the Forties in all its grit and grandeur.
Michael Lunts has been playing the piano since the age of five, and has wide experience of musical work as actor, pianist, composer and M.D. He appeared as Sidney Cohn in the hit Musical On Your Toes, toured nationally in Cabaret and Masterclass, and since then has been touring his highly successful series of one-man shows on Chopin, Schubert and Rachmaninov as far afield as Australia, Canada and the Middle East.

Susan Flannery’s career has taken her from the West End stage (Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Oklahoma!, A Little Night Music) to venues worldwide with companies such as the Royal Opera, and even afloat on the QE2 where she and Michael first met. She has broadcast on radio and TV in a variety of roles including Frumah Sarah in Fiddler on the Roof and Sally Cato in Mame. She can also be heard on the soundtracks of many films, such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy and all the Harry Potter films.

Bishampton Village Hall, WR10 2LY
Sunday 16th March - 7.30pm

"Excellent show with lots of emotion which had the audience enthralled from beginning to end"

NEW ROPE STRING BAND - In Concert

Brilliant musicianship counts for very little if you’re playing with total wallies.

The two surviving members of the Old Rope String Band (Pete Challoner and Tim Dalling) have joined forces with two amazing musicians (Jock Tyldesley and Vera van Heeringen) and as a four piece they are taking the country by storm!

They play a big assortment of things and all sorts of hoedown, pan-Celtic old-timey up-beat down-home music. All this is combined with bizarre physical nonsense and clowning about. And singing. And dancing.

The sheer visualosity and laughableness of the New Rope String Band, plus the amount of interesting things will bring pleasure to absolutely almost everyone. Boundless energy, exuberant spectacles and beautiful music executed with kindness. What could possibly go wrong?!

Cleeve Prior Memorial Hall, WR11 8LE
Saturday 29th March

"Absolutely brilliant, best show yet. Audience gave a standing ovation"

SPAGHETTI SWING -In Concert

For the first time in the UK, we are delighted to offer the real ‘Italian Spaghetti Swing’.

The show is led by Fred Brindisi, an exceptional frontman, in the twofold role of starring-singer and refined sommelier-chef, will offer an original parade of music and spaghetti, cooked live on stage! With him, some of the best known and esteemed jazz players in Italy, Don Gigino Sidero on keyboard, Paulie J Bone on saxophone and Stefanino Paparetto on drums.
The band recreates some of the best tunes of the 50s Italian tracks with a real contemporary twist. The band has performed regularly all over Italy since 2004 in arts centres and festivals but this is their very first international appearance for rural touring in England.
Great music in an exhilarating show of ‘Italian spaghetti swing’, offered by master musicians with the irony and passion characteristic of the 50s Italian jazz. Pure Italian Style, through the music of masters such as Buscaglione, Domenico Modugno, Nicola Arigliano, Bongusto and the classics ‘Volare’, ‘Che Bambola!’, ‘Mambo Italiano’, ‘Eri piccolo cosii’, ‘Guarda che luna’, ‘Buonasera Signorina’, ‘Il dritto di Chicago’ and others. Along with Fred, the band comprises some of the most esteemed jazz players in Italy, with the special sense of humour and polish.

A very funny show that mixes music and cooking, real Italian style!! Not to be missed.

The Barn at Bretforton (The Fleece Inn), WR2 4TA
Friday 28th March -

"Highly entertaining and well received"

OTTC THEATRE COMPANY - Ain't Misbehavin

The Fats Waller Musical Show

Based on an idea by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby Jr. Presented by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Limited on behalf of Music Theatre International of New York.

Join the crowd who strut their stuff at Harlem’s famous Cotton Club for an evening of singing, swinging and smiles all the way where the cats are cool and the music is hot! The sexy, sultry, sassy musical soul of 1930s Harlem lives on in this finger-snapping, toetapping, musical revue that boasts a live jazz trio and five fabulous vocalists strummin’, struttin’ and singing the songs made famous by the outrageously prodigious King of Swing, the fabulous Thomas ‘Fats’ Waller. With standards like Honeysuckle Rose, I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, The Joint is Jumpin’ and It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie, Ain’t Misbehavin’ is two hours of jam, jive and everything.

UNMISSABLE!

Harvington Village Hall, WR11 8NQ
Saturday 29th March

"Absolutely fabulous"

RATATAT THEATRE COMPANY - Happy Jack

Small lovingly detailed extracts through the life of Jack and Liz, the funny, bickering couple from Godber’s earlier comedy September in the Rain. From their early courtship days, through to their retirement, we weave a path through their long life together, in a play, which is neat, joyous and celebratory.

Jack and Liz from September in the Rain make a welcome return! The Ratatat Theatre Company production of September in the Rain toured the East and West Midlands to great acclaim during Spring 2007, and for 2008 the company make a welcome return with the second play about this most delightful couple.

“Richly comic love story” The Guardian

“Truly the best play that has been to the village. Audience crying with laughter.” East Markham Village Hall

Eckington Village Hall, WR10 3AU
Saturday 17th May

CARTOON DE SALVO - Hard Hearted Hannah

Part gig, part jukebox, part theatre – but entirely a voyage of discovery. Hard Hearted Hannah tells a different story every night. Featuring live Jug Band music (think souped-up washboards, guitars, banjos and cider jugs for bass!), each new adventure is inspired by songs chosen by the audience from a ‘menu’ before the show. Will it be Boodle Am Shake or the Lindy Bird Hop? Will tonight’s tale star Smokey Joe, Scrubber Sam or Hard Hearted Hannah, the notorious vamp of Savannah? Only one thing’s for sure – no two audiences are alike and no two shows will tell the same story…

Cartoon De Salvo’s all new, script defying and spontaneous show, inspired by the sassy, dirty and bittersweet music of the American South, is the latest freewheeling antic from the team behind hit comic romance Meat and Two Veg and 2005’s outdoor theatre event, The Sunflower Plot. The idea for this show arrived last summer at Broadstairs Folk Week. It was 11 o’clock on a Monday morning when the festival sprang to life with an incredible gig from The Re-Fried Ginger Jug Band. They worked the crowd, had a twinkle in their eye, a real honesty and optimism; and they had stories to tell. Stories of rural people making their way in times of hardship and change, songs of missed chances and bittersweet regrets, songs of sassy women and desperate men; songs brimming with dirty life. We’re always on the hunt for a good yarn.

Hard Hearted Hannah is essentially about collaboration and involvement. The performance is dreamt up and experienced by those performers and that night’s audience. Each community will bring its own flavour and response; and each night will be one night only.

Harvington Village Hall, WR11 8NQ
Friday 18th April

BAYO SECO - In Concert

A lively night of Toe-Tapping music from the Southern States of America with New Mexican band Bayou Seco. Children’s shows, family music and dance workshops also available.

After a scorching Winter tour Bayou Seco will be back in the UK with their unique show of songs, tunes and stories from the American South. Think hill billies and hoe downs, cowboys and cattle trains, Cajuns, Creoles and Crawfish broils. Wielding fiddles, accordions and banjos, Jeanie McLerie and Ken Keppeler move their audience to dance, laugh and cry (sometimes all at the same time) with their inimitable blend of music and humour.

Let Bayou Seco take you on a musical journey from the bayous and prairies of Louisiana, westward over the dark and starry Texas plains, through the craggy Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, and on into the Saguaro studded Sonora Desert of Arizona. New Mexican band Bayou Seco celebrate the music and dance traditions of the American Southwest by delving into the rich stew of traditional music that’s been simmering for centuries.

A Bayou Seco evening is a lively night of toe-tapping music that spans Cajun and Zydeco, Norteno (Tex-Mex), Chicken Scratch, New Mexican colonial dance tunes and cowboy songs, served heavily spiced with the hot chilli spirit of the territory.

At the heart of Bayou Seco are Ken Keppeler, who sings and plays sizzling accordion, fiddle, banjo and harmonica, and Jeanie McLerie who plays soaring 5-string fiddle and sings in English, French and Spanish. For over two decades they have been collecting and learning music from generations of traditional musicians. Received from the people along bayous, in mountain cabins and adobe houses, the music of Bayou Seco sings out from every corner of the heart. For centuries this music has sustained the families of farmers, ranchers and workers in an age where music told their stories.

Cleeve Prior Memorial Hall, WR11 8LE
Sunday 27th April -

"Extremely professional", "lovely humour", "excellent"

and

Harvington Village Hall, WR11 8NQ
Sunday 18th May

CHRIS GARRICK AND JOHN ETHERIDGE - In Concert

Chris and John interpret jazz, folk, world and rock music by composers as diverse as Reinhardt/Grappelli, Duke Ellington, Paul McCartney, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Pat Metheny and Richard Thompson. Armed with both acoustic and electric instruments these two virtuoso soloists generate tonal tapestries, which enchant and mesmerise. With strong emphasis on sparkling swing, deep groove and big themes, delivered with their trademark exuberance and freewheeling interplay, you are promised a fun, intimate and truly memorable evening.

John Etheridge is a legend among guitarists – the leading British jazz guitarist of his generation. He has had an extraordinarily distinguished career, ranging from playing with Soft Machine to touring extensively as the guitarist with Stephane Grappelli’s quartet. He has played with almost everybody in the jazz and classical world, including John Williams, Yehudi Menuhin and Nigel Kennedy, and his latest recording left The Observer’s critic unusually lost for words: “How can anyone achieve this level?”

Virtuoso violinist Chris Garrick is widely recognized as the foremost jazz violinist in Britain and one the leading players on the world scene. He has toured with Cleo Lane, Angelo Debarre, Julian Joseph and Eastern European groupSzapora, and recorded with artists including Luka Bloom and Brian Ferry. As well as on many film soundtracks including ‘Borat’, ‘Moulin Rouge’, ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’, ‘Chocolat’ and ‘Chicago’.

Birlingham Village Hall, WR10 3AB
Sunday 27th April -

"Outstanding performance", "very high standard of professionalism and skill"

IAN MCMILLAN AND TONY HUSBAND - A Cartoon History of ....

A unique, hilarious live-action cartoon created by Yorkshire poet, broadcaster and comedian Ian McMillan together with Cartoonist of the Year Tony Husband..Two funny men trained in Survival Laughter reflect upon your village and its stories. It’s Home – but as you’ve never seen it drawn before.

This is how it works: Ian performs his solo poetry comedy spot and then, after everyone’s dried their eye, he espies cartoonist Tony sitting in the audience. He invites him onstage where, quite coincidentally, an overhead projector, screen and 100 sheets of acetate film is waiting. Then ensues a wonderful half hour or more improvisation of words and images driven by Ian and the audience, drawn by Tony, acted by members of the audience (shhh, not a word…) creating a history/song/poem/legend of where you live.

Tony generously gives away his drawings at the end of the night so you’ve got a permanent record of this exceptional occasion. Poetry Footballer of the Year Ian McMillan sparkles in mid-field with his weekly radio show ‘The Verb’ every Saturday. Barnsley FC’s Poet-in- Residence, Humberside Police’s Beat Poet, Yorkshire TV’s Investigative Poet and star of ‘Battle of the Books’ with Sandi Toksvig, his rip-roaring poetry shows are legendary.

Tony Husband has been awarded Strip, Gap & Sports Cartoonist of the Year no fewer than ten times. His work appears regularly in The Sun, The Times, Sunday Express and many more.

Harvington Village Hall, WR11 8NQ
Wednesday 30th April

or

Ashton Under Hill Village Hall, WR11 7SW
Thursday 1st May

FAIRGAME THEATRE COMPANY - Keep On Moving

A travelling show, full of all the fun, the excitement and the extraordinary sights of the fair! Taking inspiration from the fairgrounds of bygone times and the lives of those who lived and worked them, Keep On Moving whirls you back to a time of toffee apples and bearded ladies, bare-fisted boxing matches and illusion. Welcome to a world where the colours are heady and strange, the music live and alluring, where your heart beats quicker in anticipation and just about anything can happen….

After the success of their previous Rural Touring show, “It was a Glorious Night”, Fairgame Theatre Company bring you this exciting and lively family production.

Abbots Morton Village Hall, WR7 4NA
Saturday 10th May

NEW PERSPECTIVES THEATRE COMPANY - The Farm

Farming hadn’t come naturally to Richard Benson, so after a childhood spent crashing tractors and being outwitted by various farmyard animals he’d fled to London to become a journalist. Then one morning the call came, the news that after two hundred years of farming in Yorkshire the Benson family were being forced to sell up, and he found himself propelled back into a forgotten world of runaway pigs, love among the haystacks and men who wrestled bulls to prove a point.

The Farm tells the painful, funny, uplifting story of how big business is changing the face of English countryside forever and how one family in particular adapted to the challenges of a new life after being forced to give up their birthright.

Droitwich Norbury Theatre, WR9 8ED
Saturday 10th May

UMDUMO WESIZWE - In Concert

Umdumo Wesizwe is the newest accapella sensation to come out of Bulawayo (Zimbabwe'scultural melting pot) They perform "imbube" music and over the years have created their own style of 'imbube' christened 'igusheshe'.

Umdumo Wesizwe are 8 young men singing songs of love, hope, worship, courtship, hardship and African social commentary and will mesmerise you with their harmonies and tip-toe dance routines. This is vocal music that is laced with music styles of Afro Pop, Jazz, R&B and Reggae.

The music was born in the mines of South Africa. Black workers were taken by rail to work far away from their homes and their families. Poorly housed and paid worse, they would entertain themselves after a six-day week by singing songs into the wee hours every Sunday morning.

There began a fierce but social competition held regularly and a highlight of everyone's social calendar. The winners were awarded a goat for their efforts and, of course, the adoration of their fans. Imbube has been made popular in the west by Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Zimbabwe's Black Umfolosi and the Austrian based trio Insingizi.

The group is currently appearing for the first time at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Beckford Village Hall, GL20 7AD
Sunday 18th May

If you are interested in becoming a Shindig Promoter please contact Sue Roberts at Artservice on 01544 327877. Email - sue@artservice.org.uk