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Zany and enduring performer

Outrageous, madcap and crazy are some of the words that spring to mind when you mention the Liverpuddlion comedian Freddie Starr. Yet there is far more to his character, Freddie is a great ballad singer, brilliant impressionist and accomplished actor. As part of his UK summers tour Freddie makes two appearances at The Landmark Theatre on Thursday 10th August and 8th September at 8.15pm.

Freddie’s big break into the world of comedy came in 1970 when he was invited to perform on the highly prestigious Royal Variety Performance. Although his carefully thought out act lasted a mere three minutes, he delighted the audience so much that he became the first performer in 47 years to receive an encore!

Over the last 36 years Freddie has entertained millions of people; in summer seasons, clubs, cabaret and television shows from Who Do You Do? to Another Audience with Freddie Starr. With many strings to his bow, Freddie has always enjoyed singing and his first album, After The Laughter, was a top ten hit whilst subsequent albums have always met with great public and critical acclaim. His other great passion in life is breeding and racing thoroughbred racehorses. One of the most rewarding moments in his life is said to be when Richard Dunwoody rode his horse Minnehoma to victory in the Grand National in 1994.

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LET BATTLE COMMENCE!

It’s that time of year again when the Landmark,s annual SunWest Festival is once again upon us. The three-day bank holiday event, which takes place from the 26th to 28th August, is now in its second year and promises to going to bigger and better than ever!

The Landmark’s Beer Festival and now SunWest have been gaining a reputation for the large range of local real ales on offer as well as a its free quality entertainment from many of North Devon’s favourite performers. At this year’s SunWest there will be performances from Amy Newton, The Breaks, Jenna Witts, Wayne Green, Spoonful and Dan Arborise to name but a few!

One event that’s becoming increasingly popular is the Bands Day in Association with The Ariel Music Centre. Originally conceived to give young local bands the chance to perform in front of an audience, the Bands Day will this year have its fourth outing following successes at last years Beer Festival and the August bank holiday SunWest Festival.

Past winners of the Bands Day have included The Breaks who have supported jazz legend Courtney Pine at the Vibraphonic Festival in Exeter and have gained a large following around the county.

This year there are once again many great prizes up for grabs including free studio time at The Ariel Music Centre and a paid gig for either the Beer Festival or The SunWest festival.

We are currently looking for local young bands up for the challenge of performing in front of the judging festival crowd, so if you think you have what it takes you can phone Charmain Lovett at The Landmark on 01271 869219, Leigh Crossman at The Ariel Studios on 07968 752 403 or alternatively you can send an e-mail to bandinfo@hotmail.co.uk

Beer Festival winners The Evident can be seen performing at The SunWest Festival on Saturday 26th August

35th Anniversary Celebrations - Mr Men & Little Miss

Following the success of Premiere Stage Productions 2005 Summer Season show Tractor Tom, the North Devon Theatres are delighted to announce that they will be presenting an all-new production the Mr Men & Little Miss stage show at The Landmark Theatre on Friday 11th August at 1.30pm and 4.00pm.

Launched to coincide with the 35th Anniversary of Roger Hargreaves’ famous books, the show will feature fantastic costumes, beautiful scenery, and great, catchy interactive songs for the young audience to join in with.

Find out just which Little Miss lives in Muddleland and doesn’t know whether she is coming or going and which Mr Man is simply not very clever.

The talented young cast will present a brand new Mr Men story, full of fun, laughter, music, and of course plenty of participation. Children will love seeing their favourite, familiar characters talk live to them on stage, while parents will take a nostalgic trip down memory lane, bringing back happy memories of their own childhood! After all, everyone young and old has a favourite Mr Man or Little Miss!

Don't miss out on another great family show as part of the Landmark Theatre Summer Season. For more information or to book tickets call the Box Office on 01271 32 42 42 or visit www.northdevontheatres.org.uk

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DANCING IN THE STREETS (Copy of Press Release)

It’s not everyday that children get an opportunity to perform in front of Tower Bridge in Central London. But for 24 Devon youngsters, aged 7 to 18, this was a dream come true when an invitation to do just that was sent to Carol Turner, education officer at the North Devon Theatres.

“Big Dance event organisers were inviting all people everywhere to be a part of this event by either participating or just viewing,” said Carol Turner. “I saw this as an amazing chance to show off the wonderful talent we have here in North Devon and to exhibit some of the hard work these children have been doing over the past few months and for them to support the work of other youth dance groups”

The big dance was a week long celebration running from the 9th to 16th July and was backed by the mayor of London in partnership with the Arts Council of England and the BBC. This week long celebration of dance, in all its forms culminated in a weekend of dance events across the country.

It was a very early start last Sunday morning for the 24 performers plus their parents. With a pick-up at 6am the children from all over North Devon were collected by coach and journeyed to London alongside costumes, shoes, mirrors, masks, a sound system, face paints, sun cream, and enough food for a small army.

The London Youth Dance event was staged in the scoop, a huge outdoor amphitheatre situated next to the greater London Authority’s City Hall. Performing alongside 27 other dance groups from across London the children got to see performances of tap, hip-hop, bharata natyam, African and break-dance. As well as their own performance the children were also able to participate in the competitions and workshops held in between the performance blocks which was a great chance for the children to mix with young people from many different cultural backgrounds.

On a gloriously blisteringly hot day the children performed 4 different pieces of dance work that have been made over the past 6 months. Carol Turner said, “with no designated rehearsal space it was a case of anywhere will do so we ran them through the pieces on the queen’s walk opposite HMS Belfast, much to the amusement of the passing public.”

Despite a temperature over 30 degrees the children performed with unbridled enthusiasm in front of an audience of over 1,000 people with the city as a backdrop. For many this was there first trip to London and the venue’s location simply added to the magic of what was an unforgettable day.

Carol Turner said “the event organisers commented on the sophistication of the performances, the exuberance and good behaviour of the children were a credit to the North Devon Theatres and I was incredibly proud of them all. Many haven’t danced outside before and they needed a huge amount of courage to perform a dance routine that they know would be very different to the majority of the other groups.” As one of the parents said, “it was great to see us Devonians showing Londoners just how to do it – country bumpkins – I don’t think so.”

For more information or to book tickets call the Box Office on 01271 32 42 42 or visit www.northdevontheatres.org.uk