Highlights Rural Touring Scheme
Imagine the joy of seeing an exquisite show at The Sage, or a puppet show which is so good it sold out every performance at the Edinburgh Festival, or attending a gig by musicians applauded by Radios 2, 3, 4 and Classic fm. Now imagine going along to your local village hall or community centre and seeing those very shows within walking distance of your front door… Coming up this Spring community venues across Blyth are hosting such outstanding professional arts performances:
Highlights North, the community touring scheme overseeing these shows, is one of 41 community and rural touring schemes across the country. The scheme works by recruiting keen volunteers with a suitable-sized venue from tiny outlying village halls to community centres performing as a hub for larger, urban areas. These volunteers then host the night, sell the tickets, and help market the show. Highlights receives funding from Blyth Valley District Council, Wansbeck District Council, other Northumberland district authorities, the Arts Council, the Northumberland Strategic Arts Forum, and the European Development Fund.
Brochures for the Spring season are available from libraries and tourist information centres across Northumberland, council offices, on the company website, www.highlightsnorth.co.uk, or by contacting the address below.
The Polyjesters
Saturday 15th November Seghill Institute Community Centre 7.30pm 0191 2373071
After and sell out tour, The Polyjesters are back! Brothers Jason and Sheldon Valleau, play double base and ukulele and their two friends play percussion and fiddle. Together they call their music ‘swingin folk chunk’!…a mix of swing folk, old jazz, tin pan alley songe, county, bluegrass and ragtime and they write their own. They have a unique sound that is highly energetic, completely contagious, unfailingly entertaining and appeals to a wide range of musical taste. A wildly enthusiastic bunch of young men all the way from Ontario,Canada.
Kathryn Tickell & Peter Tickell
Saturday 29th November New Hartley community centre 7pm 0191 2372210
The world’s most widely acknowledged icon of Northumbrian music joins forces with one of the UK’s hottest new talents to produce music of an electrifying energy, vitality and virtuosity. Their technical prowess is only part of the appeal: much more special is the depth of their interpretations, from little-known classics of a rural tradition to their latest compositions, they perform with an absolute commitment which is immediately apparent. Kathryn needs no introduction as the foremost exponent of the Northumbrian pipes, playing with Sting, The Chieftains, Evelyn Glennie, Andy Sheppard and many others as well as releasing 14 of her own albums.
An evening of evocative airs and toe-tapping dance tunes.
Lempen Puppet Theatre Company
Journey of Turtle
Saturday 4th October Seaton Delaval Arts Centre 2pm 0191 2375460
Turtles are old, millions of years old, as old as dinosaurs, as old as some hills. Go to turtle hill and experience an imaginative journey through the evolution and learning of this most fascinating and ancient creature
In the beginning turtle was shiny and fast,Always impatient, always in a hurry, But then one day he had a terrible accident…
A beautiful story based on a trilogy of “just so” - style Turtle tales about following your dream, told with shadows, table-top puppets and traditional storytelling.
