Scotland’s Paul McKenna, who is appearing at Ropery Hall on Friday (Feb 14) has long been ranked among that country’s finest younger singers and songwriters.
Armed with a powerful yet intensely emotive voice and passionate social conscience, often expressed through his songs, he and his band draw on both Scottish and Irish roots.
“Paul and his band have been touring since 2006 and sharing their love of traditional and folk music as well as original songs and tunes,” said Liz Bennet of The Ropewalk.
“They play a dynamic, full-bodied array of original and traditional material, along with songs by like-minded singer/songwriters including Peggy Seeger, Alistair Hulett and Jim Reid,” she went on. “With a contemporary approach to songs, although not straying too far from their roots, their arrangements are both fresh and innovative.”
The band’s exciting sound is created through outstanding vocals, driving guitar and bouzouki, intense fiddle playing, a warm pairing of flute and whistles and dynamic bodhrán and percussion.
Tickets to see the band cost £14 in advance or £16 on the door and can be bought online at www.roperyhall.co.uk, by telephoning 01652 660380 or in person at The Ropewalk’s Craft Gallery.
From the team that brought you “Spitfire Solo”, “Bond!”, and “The Six-Sided Man” comes the perfect ghostly experience as we head towards Christmas!
Two of Charles Dickens’ creepy tales – with a comic twist. Tales with a tingle, but also a giggle! Two yarns to chill and charm! Stories with a shiver and a smile!
Like “The Woman in Black” – but funnier, with fewer people!
“Robertson and Collett are exceptional!” Kansas City Star”
Compelling to watch…” The Guardian
Written and performed by Mark Farrelly
Directed by Linda Marlowe
Following his much-acclaimed performance of Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope at Ropery Hall last year, Mark Farrelly returns with his riveting, kinetic solo show portraying one of the great English writers of the inter-war years. Patrick Hamilton was a dazzling success in his twenties, producing hit plays Rope (filmed by Hitchcock) and Gaslight, and classic novels Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky, Hangover Square and The Slaves of Solitude.
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But Hamilton was also an alcoholic, whose wit darkened as his inner and outer worlds collapsed. Covering the entire sweep of Hamilton’s thrilling life and writing, The Silence of Snow entertains and challenges in equal measure, asking audiences: why do so many of us get through life without feeling we ever truly knew another person?
Mark Farrelly’s West End credits include Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opposite Matthew Kelly. He is directed by EastEnders star Linda Marlowe, who also directed Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope.
Supporting MIND, the UK’s leading mental health charity
Running time: 70 mins no interval
As ever, compere Kevin Precious will introduce 3 brilliant comedians from the UK comedy circuit.
As ever, Barnstormers’ MC Kevin Precious will be on hand to introduce three more top acts from the UK Comedy Circuit and beyond.
One of the best-loved duos in folk music, previous BBC Folk Awards Best Duo nominees Belshazzar’s Feast start with traditional folk music, add a touch of classical and jazz, throw in a bit of pop and music hall, and top it off with a wry humour that has won them fans across the world. Paul Sartin (of Bellowhead and Faustus) and Paul Hutchinson (of Pagoda Project) have together wowed audiences with their eclectic and eccentric mix of songs and tunes and their between-songs chat guaranteed to send audiences home with smiles on their faces.
‘Their music is breathtaking and wickedly inventive and the between-tunes interchange as intelligent and hilarious as the music.’ Mike Harding
Best Before: Vintage Cuts of the Mark Thomas Comedy Product Series 3
Mark says “Yes my loves, this is the third show of the best bits, stories, facts, updates and behind the scenes gossip from the ground breaking Mark Thomas Comedy Product!”
In this show, series producer and friend Geoff Atkinson joins Mark to go through flying hot air balloons over US listening bases, posing as a PR firm at an international arms fair, forming the Peoples Militia to protect nuclear waste, chasing Tory party leaders and getting Home Secretaries.
Before The Revolution Will Be Televised or Dom Joly or any of the prank shows Balls of Steel, Phone Jacker, Lee Nelson and Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back, the Mark Thomas Comedy Product was out there and the original.
This is the series that Amnesty International mentioned in dispatches at their media awards ceremony, and had tabloids screaming that it was irresponsible.
How could you miss that combination!
