This weekend at The Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury

Promotional feature: This weekend at The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury there’s a celebration of the jazz, r’n’b and dance of 1920s New York in ‘Swinging At The Cotton Club’, followed on Sunday by a swashbuckling, family-friendly adventure in ‘Kidnapped’

Kidnapped / Photo: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan [www.flickr.com/tgkw] (Image: www.flickr.com/tgkw)

Swinging At The Cotton Club

For one night only on Sunday 18 May, The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury will be transported back in time to 1920’s New York, when tipples were top secret and the illustrious Cotton Club was in full swing.

At 7.30pm Harry Strutters’ Hot Rhythm Orchestra, featuring jazz dance company The Jiving Lindy Hoppers, will welcome the audience through the doors of Harlem’s hottest night club to present Swinging At The Cotton Club. The show celebrates the music and dance of New York’s exclusive hotspot for jazz, rhythm and blues, where icons of the age such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, and Billie Armstrong showcased their distinguished jazz tunes, and dancers such as Bojangles Robinson and the Nicholas Brothers set the stage alight with their fancy footwork.

Founded in 1968, the Hot Rhythm Orchestra has toured throughout the UK, Europe and Scandinavia, providing a wide range of music from the early jazz pioneers all the way to the classic jazz of Duke Ellington and early swing.

Featuring the vocal talents of Marlene Hill and compère Megs Etherington, the performance will be a tribute to the era an exciting evening of entertainment that may have the audience lindy-hopping and swivel-walking down the aisles.

Tickets cost £19 with concessions available, and can be purchased from The Roses Theatre Box Office on 01684 295074 or online at www.rosestheatre.org

Kidnapped

The Sell A Door Theatre Company are arriving at The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury to perform their swashbuckling adventure, Kidnapped, on Saturday 17 May at 2.30pm.

Adapted by playwright Ivan Wilkinson and directed by Anna Fox, Kidnapped tells the story of Davie Balfour as he survives shipwreck and murder to escape to the Highlands of Scotland. Set against the fierce social and political backdrop of 1750s Scotland, this fast-paced adventure story is packed with physical storytelling and imagination.

Robert Louis Stevenson, Kidnapped’s originator, created work that defined 19th century adventure stories, and Sell A Door Theatre Company hopes to stay true to the original with an imaginative and energetic show for everyone to enjoy.

Sell A Door Theatre Company was established in 2008 by a small group of artists studying at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. The company has since produced a broad portfolio of work, as well receiving the Scotsman Fringe First Award, and has established itself as a leading producer of mid-scale touring theatre.

There is an exclusive post-show stage tour and cast and crew Q&A session for audience members.

Tickets cost £10 with concessions available and can be purchased from The Roses Theatre Box Office on 01684 295074 or online at www.rosestheatre.org