Wimbledon comes to Barton with a pristine court, dead posh umpire and highly player looking to take on all-comers.  The thrilling “one setter” includes slow motion replays, headed line calls and live comic commentary.  In the end, somehow…..Andy Murray always wins and everyone goes home happy.

Price: Free.

Time: 12:00 noon – 2pm.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, in the student bar of Leeds Polytechnic, “Snake Davis and his Alligator Shoes” were born.  A soulful unit playing sax versions of Stax, Motown and Atlantic classics. They went on to be embraced by the Northern Soul scene. They lit up the Astoria Ballroom and Central Station, Leeds as they played to some of the most passionate and committed music-loving crowds anywhere in the world.

Reformed a couple of years ago, Snake Davis and The Suspicions have been heralded as the best Soul band performing live in the UK today. They feature Snakes’ searing Junior Walker-inspired sax, the sumptuous vocals of Doreen Edwards and Sue Quinn, trumpet and a killer rhythm section.

As a backing band they’ve worked alongside Ben-E-King, Frank Wilson, Chuck Jackson, Brenda Holloway, Martha Reeves, Willie Hutch, JJ Barnes, Eddie Holman, Barbara Lynn and many more.  They recorded “Get Ready” with the boy band Blue and on the DVD collection, “The Strange World of Northern Soul” – described as “An awesome Northern Compilation”.  They have also recorded soundtracks for TV advertising campaigns.

They perform classic tracks from Atlanta, Motown and Northern Soul, including their own versions of tunes such as “The Champion”, “Sweetest Feeling”, Green Onions”, “Love is Serious Business” and “Do I Love You”

Tickets £16/£18otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

Have all the children from Barton been good this year? It’s that time again; naughty list – check!  Really, REALLY BIG SACK – check!  Reindeer (and carrots) – check!  Time for Santa to get out of his hot, steamy bath and out into the cold night air.  But things don’t quite go to plan on Santa’s trip around the world; encountering cheeky Reindeer, confusing Santa-nav 6s (the latest model) and a collision with The Old Mill.

It’s five minutes until closing time at Priceland. Join A Level student and cashier Wendy Darling as she takes us into the timeless story of Peter Pan – second star to the left and straight on ’til morning!  Throw in a misunderstood Captain Hook, a hot guitarist Peter Pan, a Tinker Bell straight out of ‘TOWIE’ and a sprinkle of fairy dust (oh, and an awesome soundtrack!) and you get a sparkling show guaranteed to get your toes tapping.

Don’t miss this warm and giggly show suitable for children aged 3 and over and their families.

By Haley Cox (Royal Court, ‘Leave Hitler to Me, Lad’) and Phil Collingwood.  Direction by Gail Mcintyre (West Yorkshire Playhouse, ‘Refugee Boy’), Musical Direction by Sean Green (Bill Kenwright Company).

Wednesday 17 & Thursday 18     6pm

Friday 19 – Monday 22                2pm & 6pm

£8/£6 family ticket (x2 A x2 C) £24

01652 660380

The Ropewalk and Mad Dog Folk present Belshazzar’s Feast

In 1995 Paul Hutchinson (accordion) and Paul Sartin (oboe, violin and vocals) shared a musical passion borne out of the desire to earn sufficient money to support their extravagant lifestyles. Their amazing musicianship coupled with wry humour stunned audiences around Europe and the States.

As a singer, oboist, violinist, composer and arranger Paul performs and records extensively with BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Winners and Nominees Bellowhead,  Belshazzar’s Feast and Faustus. He edits publications of music manuscripts, delivers workshops, and is Consultant and Director of the Andover Museum Loft Singers. Having gained an Honours Degree and Choral Scholarship at Oxford, he gained a First for his Masters in Traditional Music, and in 2007 received a 75th Anniversary Award from the English Folk Dance and Song Society. His recent composition, ‘The Hartlepool Monkey’, for Streetwise Opera, was nominated for a BASCA award.

Paul is well known from his work with Hoover the Dog, Karen Tweed and the Playford Liberation Front. He is a superlative accordion player with a unique style inspired by church organ music, violins & concertinas! Paul is an experienced workshop leader tutoring at Cecil Sharp House on a regular basis, Hands On weekends, Folkworks Summer Schools and Halsway Manor. His favourite colour is no longer pink.

‘My personal find of the festival’ Paul Hutchinson and Paul Sartin play like no-one else you’ve ever heard. Their music is breathtaking and wickedly inventive and the between-tunes interchange as intelligent and hilarious as the music. But don’t let me give you the impression they’re a lightweight comedy act: they finish the set with a haunting piece of oboe and accordion magic which has the audience spellbound.’
BBC Radio 2 Mike Harding Show online, reviewing Sidmouth Festival.

Tickets £12/£14otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

There is no doubt that after 35 years as a professional musician Martin is, right now, better than ever. Widely acknowledged as one of the finest acoustic and slide guitar players in the world, his interpretations of traditional songs are masterpieces of storytelling.  His solo shows are intense, eclectic, spellbinding and deeply moving.

There is no-one who has more successfully combined the diverse elements of British, Afro-American and old-timey music than Simpson. His 15 years living in the US were well spent.  In addition his own songwriting has produced some real gems, from the truck-stop epic, “Love Never Dies” to the profoundly moving “Never Any Good” and “One Day”.

His career includes collaborations on stage and record with Richard Thompson, June Tabor, Kelly Joe Phelps, Jackson Browne, Danny Thompson, Danú, Martin Carthy, Cara Dillon, David Lindley, Roy Bailey, Martin Taylor, David Hidalgo, Steve Miller, Dick Gaughan and many more.

Martin has been nominated an astounding 26 times in the twelve years of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards – more than any other performer – with nine consecutive years as nominee for Musician of The Year, which he has won twice. 2008 saw an incredible five nominations for “Prodigal Son’ and two wins, whilst in 2010 he had an unprecedented six nominations for his CD, “True Stories” and a win for Best Traditional Track, “Sir Patrick Spens”. 2012′s nominations for Martin include, Best Album for ‘Purpose & Grace”, Best Traditional Track for “The Lakes Of Ponchartrain” and Best Musician.

Whether playing American old-time music, blues, a Dylan song or his own material, Martin Simpson is unpredictable, individual and a guitarist of immense subtlety.

Tickets £14/16otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

The Ropewalk and Mad Dog Folk present Blackbeard’s Tea Party

Playing together since summer 2009, Blackbeard’s Tea Party began as a busking, function and ceilidh band, but quickly grew a reputation as a formidable live act. They soon found themselves selling out venues in their home town of York.

Word quickly spread, and the band began to play gigs further afield, including a number of noteworthy festival concerts and ceilidh bookings through 2010 and 2011.  These included Sidmouth, Shrewsbury and a headline slot at Galtres, amongst others.

During this time, Blackbeard’s Tea Party released a mini-album (Heavens to Betsy, 2009) and a full length album (Tomorrow We’ll Be Sober, 2011) to excellent critical acclaim and public response. Both were recorded in Kajunga Studios (a series of progressively bigger bedrooms) and were funded and distributed independently.

After the release of Heavens to Betsy the band’s distinct sound was picked up by the BBC’s Mike Harding, who played Blackbeard’s Tea Party on BBC Radio 2′s weekly folk show.

Tickets £12/£14otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk    

During his final lecture on the duality of humankind, the respectable Dr Jekyll reveals his strange association with the mysterious Edward Hyde and the shocking truth about his identity: that Hyde, unlike other human beings, is not only fundamentally evil, but also the very definition of it. Combining edge-of-your-seat thrills with stunning physical theatre, Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic “bogey tale” is brought chillingly to life in this award-winning one-man show.

Presented by Brother Wolf in association with Harrogate Theatre and based on the novella by Robert Louis Stevenson.  Adapted and performed by James Hyland and directed by Phil Lowe
“Hyland is a genius. He has to be… extraordinary” ★★★★★(Everything Theatre)

“The outstandingly talented James Hyland” ★★★★★ (What’s On Stage)

“Magnificently intense, riveting theatre from one man” (The York Press)

“Unmissable theatre for lovers of thrilling storytelling.” (Behind The Footlights)

“Hyland’s thrilling solo drama… a veritable tour-de-force” (UK Theatre Network)

www.jameshyland.co.uk/brotherwolf

https://www.facebook.com/brotherwolfproductions

https://twitter.com/JamesHylandUK

Winner – Best Male Act (Solo Festival 2013)

Tickets £11/£13otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

Robin Ince – Sony Gold Award winning comedian and science enthusiast (Radio 4’s Infinite Monkey Cage with Prof Brian Cox) – presents another in his line of unhinged stand up comic lectures.

After dabbling in Darwin and Feynman, and cleaning out Schrodinger’s Cat, Robin now delves into his mind and possibly your mind too.

From Freud and Jung to Laing and Milgram, from rats after rewards to insanity cured by ink spots, Robin looks at the last 100 years of psychiatry, psychology and skewiff brain dabblings. Just how hard is it being a self conscious being on planet earth.

Come along, he may cure you.

“When someone writes a history of modern comedy, they should make room for Robin Ince” The Guardian

“Thoughtful, provocative and very funny” The Times

Tickets £13/£15otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

North Country Theatre present J L Carr’s  A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY                         

Adapted  for the stage and directed by Nobby Dimon

Two men, an artist and an archaeologist, recently returned from the horrors of the trenches, find themselves working side by side in a North Yorkshire village church.  What they slowly uncover is an ancient village mystery, hidden passions and the healing power of a month in the country.

This prize winning novel was made into a film with Colin Firth and Kenneth Branagh in the starring roles. In 2014  by kind permission of the estate of the late J L Carr, North Country Theatre will be reviving their 2002 production which was the first stage adaption of this moving story.

A Month in the Country is a story of a fondly remembered rural past , a story of love, loss and recovery.

Though we can’t promise you Colin Firth and Kenneth Branagh you know that with North Country Theatre there’ll be wit, invention and imagination as this moving story comes to life on stage.

Tickets £12/14otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

Northern Accent, a new series of literature events, presents The100 Years’ War – A Poetry in Performance Show                                                                 

The chaos and cruelty of war has inspired wonderful poetry.  The Hundred Years’ War is a new poetry-theatre piece that uses forty poems composed around war from 1914 to 2013 as the basis for a deeply moving portrayal of our lives under fire.  Three performers, live and recorded music and striking images are all combined to create a heart-wrenching drama whose every word is charged with poetry. This piece is a partnership between Bloodaxe Books, Midland Creative Projects and the Belgrade Theatre Coventry and follows their acclaimed show Being Human, described as “Pioneering work… an amazing theatrical experience.”

Tickets £10£12otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

Originally commissioned by Manchester’s Cornerhouse, this special event features vocal sculpture, beatboxer and sound artist Jason Singh performing a live score to John Grierson’s acclaimed 1929 silent film Drifters.

Using techniques of pre-recorded vocal sequences, live vocal processing and sampling, Jason will create a sonic backdrop of ambient textures, experimental atmospheres and rhythms created solely by the use of the voice to accompany the film.

Born in London and now based in Manchester, Jason has worked with organisations and performed at events across the world, ranging from Glastonbury Festival to the V&A and The Rajasthan Folk Festival to BBC’s Springwatch.

John Grierson was an influential Scottish documentary filmmaker, often considered the father of British documentary. Premiering in London alongside Battleship Potemkin in 1929,Drifters follows North Sea herring fisherman through their dramatic daily routines.

“If you can tell me a story with a better crescendo in energies, images, atmospherics and all that make up the sum and substance of cinema, I promise you I shall make my next film of forthwith.”- John Grierson

Tickets £8/£10otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

The return of the excellent Ezio, the highly underrated duo from Cambridge, two of whose songs were selected by former PM Tony Blair for his Desert Island Discs. You will get honesty and passion as well as entertainment from the duo who can sell out the Shepherd’s Bush Empire and have a huge European following.

Remember the last time a song really reached you? Straight in, deep inside, talking directly to you, about what you feel – just as if this song was written especially for you, about you? Well – this is what the music of Ezio is about – deep, honest, emotional songs that hit a raw nerve. Ezio always has two sides: It has two lead guitarists in one band, Ezio Lunedei and Mark “Booga” Fowell who together form a perfect unit. And it has two different kinds of music – at home it’s the perfect studio recordings, on stage it’s breathtaking live performances to which you will get addicted after the first gig you’ve been to.

They have just released a new cd, Adam and the Snake, which has been well received by the critics, so come down to Ropery Hall and see one of the finest duos in Europe.

Tickets £13/£15otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

Following a hugely successful spring leg, the comedian, broadcaster, journalist, and chef extends his hilarious stand up show with additional dates added for this autumn.  In addition to being a regular voice on BBC Radio 4, Hardeep has also been seen on television shows ranging from Question Time and This Week to The One Show and Celebrity Masterchef.  Join Hardeep as he offers his take on life, love and finding romance in middle age.

 “Immensely funny” Daily Express

 “A master of pace, mixing stories with fantastic, quick-witted patter” **** The Skinny

Tickets £13/£15otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

Finding a string quartet with the right sound and attitude for his ideas was hard, but finally Snake discovered four perfect players whose credentials included the Mercury nominated album “The Sea” by Corinne Bailey Rae and performances with some of the worlds finest conductors and soloists, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, The Halle, Opera North, Sting, Martin Taylor, The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, The Pet Shop Boys and more.

SnakeStrings perform a mix of funky, classical, soulful and world music, all with a Snakey twist.

Expect tunes ranging from “River Deep, Mountain High” and “A Little Respect” to self penned numbers such as “Sugar Loaf Mountain” and “Shiro Sunset” to classics from Albinoni, Faure and Bach.  This is a great show for all the family, crossing genres and introducing a wide spectrum of music to audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

Snake Davis                         Saxophones, Flute, Whistle and Shakuhachi

Jayne Coyle              Viola

Damion Browne       Cello

Adam Robinson       Violin

Raymond Lester       Violin

Tickets £14/16otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

Enjoy an uplifting evening of: blues, folk, jazz, African grooves and much more from two outstanding guitarists 

John Etheridge is one of the world’s most respected guitarists and his music spans a myriad of styles and influences. He was the guitarist for the celebrated jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli and he has also performed with: Soft Machine, Pat Metheny, Andy Summers, Dizzy Gillespie, Nigel Kennedy and is currently in a duo with the eminent classical guitarist John Williams.  This is a rare opportunity to see John performing a solo concert, which features tracks from his highly acclaimed album I Didn’t Know.

“I never wanted to be a star, just a highly respected musician like John Etheridge.”  Sting – The Guardian  

Kit Holmes “Macy Gray meets Nick Drake” said The Observer – Kit’s trademark sultry vocals and virtuoso guitar playing have wowed audiences across the UK through extensive touring. Her blues-driven roots with a soul sensibility have guaranteed her three headline shows at the International Guitar Festival.

Kit’s third album, Driving into the Blue features the legendary double bass player Danny Thompson.

“Impressive…all the makings of a new British guitar heroine”  ««««The Guardian 

www.johnetheridge.com

www.kitholmes.co.uk

Tickets £15/£17otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

Martyn Joseph is as performer like no other.  He has been called “The Welsh Springsteen”, but there are also shades of John Mayer, Bruce Cockburn and Dave Matthews there may be – but he stands in his own right, built on a reputation for giving what thousands have described as the best live music experience of their lives.

Juxtaposition is a key theme in Martyn’s work. The simplicity and the complexity of the human condition and all that it encompasses is underpinned with a heady promise of hope. There is a versatility to Martyn’s music that is hard to categorise.  Many have tried, resulting in labels such as Folk, Rock, Soul, Folk Funk and Americana; all of which somehow miss the mark. But sometimes music doesn’t need a defining genre and with the ability to articulate a sense of the bigger picture, Martyn’s music and social commentary manage to empower and speak for many. His songs are pictures, and stories, and feelings all put to music and delivered by a master craftsman.

Martyn Joseph. A unique talent driven by passion and love for his trade, continues to write, sing and play from the heart.

Tickets £15/£17otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

The Ropewalk and Mad Dog Folk present; The Lucy Ward Band at Ropery Hall

Lucy Ward is an award winning 24-year old acoustic artist from Derby. She plays guitar, ukulele and concertina but considers her voice to be her first instrument.

After getting her first guitar at the age of 14, Lucy ventured into acoustic clubs, it was there that she first heard the traditional music that she now loves. Captured by the lyrics and stories of traditional song Lucy delved further into the world of folk music, visiting clubs and sessions up and down the country before getting booked to play gigs in her own right. In 2009 Lucy reached the final of the BBC Young Folk Award and she hasn’t looked back since!

After winning the Horizon Award for best newcomer at the 2012 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Lucy’s career has gone from strength to strength establishing her as one of the hottest performers on the UK Folk scene, pulling a full capacity audience for her Cambridge Folk Festival debut.

In 2013 it was announced that she had been nominated for the acclaimed ‘Folk Singer of the Year’ at the 2014 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, making Lucy one of the youngest people ever to be nominated for this most prestigious award.

Recently, she wrote and performed the soundtrack for a new documentary film called Folie a Deux (directed by Kim Hopkins), which premiered in Amsterdam in November 2012.

Her debut album ‘Adelphi Has To Fly’ was released in June 2011 by Navigator Records and was met with widespread critical acclaim.  Lucy was named by MOJO as “Britfolk’s most vibrant and forthright new young talent” and attracted four star reviews from The Guardian and Maverick Magazine among others.

For this concert Lucy will be performing with a five piece band including the award winning Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow.

Tickets £12/£14otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

Tom Binns aka psychic Ian D Montfort does hospital DJ Ivan Brackenbury, other characters and stories. Edinburgh award nominee, Chortle Award nominee and featured in 50 most memorable gigs of the decade.

“Special in every sense of the word”  Scotsman.

Tickets £13/£15otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

Son of the legendary UK singer-songwriter Roy Harper, Nick was born in London and raised in Wiltshire. Having played the guitar from the age of 10 and surrounded by the likes of Keith Moon, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and Dave Gilmour as he grew up, it was no surprise when Nick made his recording debut on his father’s Whatever Happened to Jugula? in 1985.

To call Nick a superlative singer/songwriter could put his highly lauded guitar talent in the shade, and to call him a guitarist’s guitarist might slight his distinctive, soulful voice and passionate songs.  Not forgetting the wild ride that is one of his live shows – from personal introspection to biting political satire via a charmingly caustic wit that would make Groucho Marx proud. He often segues from his own compositions to well-loved covers he makes his own – he takes on Presley, Zappa, Jeff Buckley, Led Zeppelin, Monty Python and Public Enemy (yes, on an acoustic guitar). He also has the alarming ability to break guitar strings almost by sheer force of will… and then change them without dropping a beat. For over a decade, he has been dazzling audiences and reviewers alike with this heady mix of virtuosity, boyish charm, showmanship and sheer bravado. His talent and showmanship were recognised in 2003 with a (Glasgow) Herald Fringe Angel award for excellence in live music during his Edinburgh Festival run. “Harper has so much musicianship in him that it just leaks out all over the place.” The Time

Tickets £13/£15otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

Using a real magic lantern projector, poet and broadcaster Ian McMillan and documentary photographer Ian Beesley tell a story of the First World War from the point of view of men who survived it and lived on to old age and a changing world.  Here too are the tales of women who worked in the factories that oiled the wheels of war.

We often view war as a series of huge historical sweeps and this show reminds us that war is made by people who each have their own narrative of what happened.

The two Ian’s also explore the culture of magic lantern shows  -  from the natural world to engineering and from small disasters to Empire.

Ian McMillan  is poet-in-residence for The Academy of Urbanism and Barnsley FC. He presents The Verb every week on BBC R3 and he’s a regular on Coast, Pick of the Week, You and Yours, Last Word and The Arts Show. Previously, Ian has been resident poet for English National Opera, UK Trade and Investment, Yorkshire TV’s Investigative Poet and Humberside Police’s Beat Poet. He’s been a castaway on Desert Island Discs and was featured on The South Bank Show. Cats make him sneeze. twitter logo@IMcMillan www.ian-mcmillan.co.uk

Ian Beesley, Hon FRPS, is artist in residence for Bradford Institute for Health Research. His work is held in the collections of the National Media Museum Bradford, The Imperial War Museum, London and The Smithsonian Museum, Washington, USA. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 2012. www.ianbeesley.com

Tickets £13/£15otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

Root Music and Band on the Wall present Bill Laurence Project and Strings.

Bill Laurance is the pianist with Grammy- winning band of the moment Snarky Puppy, the Brooklyn (via Texas) collective that has taken the international scene by storm. Joining Laurance on stage are fellow Snarky Puppy main-men Michael League (bass) and Robert ‘Sput’ Searight (drums), with the trio augmented by a string quartet drawn from the ranks of the fabulous Heritage Orchestra.

This rare date in a very short tour supports the release of Laurance’s acclaimed debut solo album, ‘Flint’ on GroundUP Records.

Part of the Music-Net Strategic Touring scheme supported by Arts Council England

Tickets  £15/£17otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

A dramatisation of ‘De Profundis” by  Oscar Wilde

Directed and dramatised by the award-winning Gareth Armstrong

Performed by Gerard Logan (“Olivier Nominee” – RSC, Winner of The Stage Newspaper’s “Best Solo Performer” award at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival for his performance in the acclaimed “The Rape of Lucrece”, also directed by Gareth Armstrong), “Wilde Without the Boy” is a dramatic interpretation of “De Profundis”, the letter Oscar Wilde wrote to his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, from his cell in Reading gaol. Two years previously, Wilde had been imprisoned for acts of gross indecency with other males. Brilliant, loving, witty and passionate, “Wilde Without the Boy” is a glimpse into the humbled, bruised, loving soul of one of the greatest geniuses ever to have lived.

“…The gods had given me almost everything….genius….brilliancy, intellectual daring. Whatever I touched I made beautiful…..I summed up all systems in a phrase, and all existence in an epigram……Along with these things I had things that were different. I let myself be lured in to long spells of senseless and sensual ease……The danger was half the excitement….They were to me the brightest of gilded snakes!”  Oscar Wilde, De Profundis

Tickets £11/£13otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

After a highly successful tour of the UK in 2013, China Crisis return in support of their new album ‘Autumn in the Neighbourhood’, their first album of new material in 20 years. Eddie Lundon and Gary Daly are the founder members of the band which started in Kirkby, Merseyside back in 1979. Known for their string of hit singles, including African & White, Christian, Working with Fire and Steel, Black Man Ray and Wishful Thinking, the band will be performing these classics and more, alongside tracks from the new album.

Tickets £15/£17otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

The Ropewalk and Mad Dog Folk present; Sam Sweeney’s Fiddle: Made in the Great War at Ropery Hall                   

In 2009 Sam Sweeney, fiddle player with Bellowhead, bought a violin in Oxford.  It had all the appearance of a new instrument but the label inside gave the date 1915 and the name Richard S Howard.

Research revealed that the violin had been made, but never finished, by a luthier and some-time music hall performer from Leeds called Richard Spencer Howard.  He had been conscripted in 1915 at the age of 35 and two years later was killed during the battle of Messines Ridge.  His violin had been left unfinished in his workshop.  The pieces were given to his daughter Rose in a manila envelope, as a memory of her father.  She kept them all her life.  On her death they were sent to an auction house.  The parts were bought and the violin was finally finished by luthier Roger Claridge in 2007.  The fiddle was then placed in the window of an Oxford music shop where it was spotted by Sam.

Discovery of the history behind the fiddle has inspired Sam to create a multi-media performance telling the incredible story of the fiddle which took nearly 100 years to complete, to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I.  Collaborating with award-winning story-teller Hugh Lupton, fellow Bellowhead band mate Paul Sartin and acclaimed concertina player Rob Harbron, as well as Bellowhead lighting designer Emma Thompson who has developed set, projections and lighting for the show, MADE IN THE GREAT WAR will bring the reality of World War I into 2014, as Sam performs the show with the actual fiddle made by non-returning World War I soldier Richard Howard.

Sam Sweeney’s Fiddle: Made In The Great War is supported by funding from Arts Council England and the English Folk Dance and Song Society.

Tickets  £12/£14otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

BRIT-Award winner Beverley Craven will be embarking on an extensive UK tour supporting the release of her brand new album, ‘Change of Heart’, being launched in summer 2014. Beverley is looking forward to performing her new songs live alongside timeless classics Promise Me, Holding On, Woman To Woman, Love Scenes and many more. With a witty narrative and unforgettable melodies, her poignant sentiments will leave you with a warm glow of nostalgia, or maybe even the odd tear.  

Tickets £17.50/£19otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

John Otway is an English singer-songwriter who has built a sizeable cult audience through extensive touring, a surreal sense of humour and a self-deprecating underdog persona.

He comes to Ropery Hall armed with a surreal sense of humour, his winning underdog personality and a bucket-load of top songs.

Arriving on the back of punk rock and a gymnastic performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test, his first single, the half-spoken love song “Really Free” soared to number 27 in the UK Singles Chart. The song earned him a five album deal with Polydor Records, who thought he was a punk rather than merely eccentric. His first album was recorded with Wild Willy Barrett and produced by Pete Townshend, and the follow up singles came with some imaginative promotion, which included an offer for Otway to come to a lucky buyer’s house and perform the single if they had bought a winning copy.

His live audience have always remained loyal, due to Otway’s manic energy and the probability of physical injury during renditions of songs such as “Headbutts”. A well orchestrated grassroots campaign saw his “Beware Of The Flowers Cause I’m Sure They’re Going To Get You Yeah” voted the seventh greatest lyric of all time in a BBC poll. His ‘Bunsen Burner’, which featured lyrics to help his daughter with her chemistry homework and contained music sampled from the Trammps classic “Disco Inferno”, was a Top Ten hit in 2002, and earned Otway an appearance on Top Of The Pops.

In order to celebrate his 60th birthday in 2012, Otway booked the Odeon Leicester Square to show the documentary of his life. Titled Otway the Movie, the sell out screening saw cinematic history made with the final scenes of the movie being filmed from the red carpet on the morning of the film. The film was funded by fans becoming producers who, as with his ‘Hit campaign’, were all individually credited in the movie credits.

Tickets £13/15otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

An instrumental solo can break hearts, lift spirits, even change lives in extreme cases. Sax is the favourite instrument for many folk, and for good reason. Saxophone, in the right hands, is so emotional, so passionate; it sings, screams, whispers.

Snake gives us 25 classics, including Baker Street, Careless Whisper, Will You, Still Crazy after all these Years, Respect, Yakety Yak, and his own solos from Million Love Songs, Moving on Up, Search for the Hero, and Lisa Stansfield’s “Change”.

Snake reveals their background and history as well as playing them in context. What is their individual magic ingredient, what makes them classic? How did they come about, how did the players produce that magic?

Sultry sax, searing sax, screaming sax, sexy sax, soulful sax, this show has it all.

Tickets £14/£16otd 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

“A virtuoso saxophonist” Daily Telegraph

“Snake Davis has one of the most passionate sax styles and simple bluesy approaches a-la-Sanborn heard in these isles for a while”  Time Out

 “Snake is a joy to work alongside.  His musical skills have no limit, in fact he is as free as a bird”  Dave Stewart (Eurythmics)

“Snake has been a friend and inspiration for many years and continues to be so because of his exceptional talent, dedication and sheer joy of making music. Long may it continue.”  Heather Small

After more than a decade in Britain, the German Comedy Ambassador has “groan” to like puns…. though he still couldn’t eat a whole one.

As Henning’s assimilation is not yet complete he hasn’t lost his sense of Westphalian wonderment at the foibles of British society.

Why does everybody want to be owned by a house? What’s wrong with having the Euro? And why hold society and government responsible for personal underachievement?

You’ve only got yourself to blame for not being born into a better social class.

Expect an evening-long crash course in personal accountability and have a right old laugh at the same time! Wunderbar!

Henning’s recent TV and radio appearances include various 8 Out Of 10 Cats shows (Channel 4), Would I Lie To You, the Matt Lucas Awards and Room 101 (BBC1); Newsnight, QI (BBC2); The Alternative Comedy Experience (Comedy Central Dave’s One Night Stand (Dave, unsurprisingly), The Unbelievable Truth and The Now Show (BBC Radio 4), Fighting Talk (BBC Five Live) and his own six part series on BBC Radio 2, Henning Knows Best. In 2014, he co-presents with Mark Watson a six part travel series, The Road To Rio, for worldwide distribution which will be shown in the UK on Dave.

Tickets £12 01652 660380 www.roperyhall.co.uk

“A diplomatic master class” The Scotsman

“Brought the audience to its knees” The Telegraph

“Marvellous” The Guardian

The Strongman at Baysgarth Park

Inspired by Charlie Chaplin’s 1928 film ‘The Circus’, The Strongman tells a story of intrigue and jealousy, with a big helping of comedy and musical ‘joie de vivre’.

Set in the 1920′s, the story involves a travelling show that has just lost its headline act. The Strongman has died, and if his assistant doesn’t find a replacement she will be forced to quit the circus. To make matters worse, the Boss is stealing her share of the profits…

Bring a chair and a picnic and enjoy the international awarded winning Bash Street Theatre Company in action.

Free entry 01652 660380

Don’t go into the cellar! presents Warnings to the Curious: The Ghost Stories of M.R.James at Wilderspin School.

It is an original one-man stage show based of some of the Edwardian era’s greatest ghost stories. Atmospheric and flashes of macabre humour, this play is guaranteed to raise the gooseflesh and to make audiences fear that, after all… perhaps the ARE such things as ghosts… Tickets £7 01652 660380