What's On

Downton Abbey

Excitement is high at Downton Abbey when the Crawley family learns that King George V and Queen Mary are coming to visit. But trouble soon arises when Mrs. Patmore, Daisy and the rest of the servants learn that the king and queen travel with their own chefs and attendants — setting the stage for an impromptu scheme and other shenanigans.. The film begins in 1927, about a year and a half after the TV series ended.
Written by Julian Fellowes, directed by Michael Engler. Staring High Bonneville, Matthew Goode, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Tuppence Middleton, Imelda Staunton & Jim Carter.

February 7, 7.30pm (doors 7pm)

* please note, new date

Tickets £5 OTD

National Theatre Live

Cyrano de Bergerac

By Edmond Rostand, in a new version by Martin Crimp
Directed by Jamie Lloyd

James McAvoy (X-Men, Atonement) returns to the stage in an inventive new adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac, broadcast live to cinemas from the West End in London.

Fierce with a pen and notorious in combat, Cyrano almost has it all – if only he could win the heart of his true love Roxane. There’s just one big problem: he has a nose as huge as his heart. Will a society engulfed by narcissism get the better of Cyrano – or can his mastery of language set Roxane’s world alight?

Edmond Rostand’s masterwork is adapted by Martin Crimp, with direction by Jamie Lloyd (Betrayal). This classic play will be brought to life with linguistic ingenuity to celebrate Cyrano’s powerful and resonant resistance against overwhelming odds.

20 February, 7pm (doors 6.30pm)

Tickets £14

Vienna!

Our friends from the Hallé Orchestra return for a programme of superb music from and inspired by Vienna. This is a gorgeous programme – bringing music from Vienna. Haydn – the father of the string quartet form inspired so many who followed including Schubert whose own short one movement quartet features here. Brahms adored Schubert’s music and in this late work he also pays homage to another Viennese composer, modelling this work on Mozart’s famous quintet for the same combination of instruments.

Franz Schubert                Quartettsatz in C minor

Joseph Haydn                  Quartet in C major opus 20 no 2.

Johannes Brahms            Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in B minor opus 115

Performers:  Sergio Castelló López        clarinet

Peter Liang                          violin

Steven Proctor                    violin

Christine Anderson             viola

Paul Grennan                       cello

Sergio is principal clarinet in the Hallé Orchestra.

Friday 28 February, 7.30pm (doors 7pm)

Tickets £15

Patrick Monahan – Started at the Bottom, Now I’m Here

Multi award winning comedian and Edinburgh Fringe favourite Patrick Monahan returns on Tour with another brand new stand-up show. Patrick discusses his changing and colourful life from working class Iranian, Irish, Immigrant roots with his family living in a caravan to modern middle-class life living in Central London. As seen recently on BBC One’s The One Show.

Constantly touring, comedy website Ents24 listed Patrick for 3 years in a row as in the Top 3 of the hardest working comedians in the UK. Patrick Monahan is adored by his audiences everywhere! He performs all over the UK and Europe and has appeared in far-flung hotspots including Dubai, Bahrain and Costa Rica! He is very much in demand performing literally hundreds of shows a year!
His many TV appearances include ‘The Wright Stuff’ (C5), ‘Weekend’ (ITV), Live Stand-up Set BBC Asian Network’, ‘Safeword’ (ITV2), ‘Celebrity Squares’ (ITV), ‘Fake Reaction’ (ITV2), ‘The One Show Edinburgh Festival’ (BBC1), The One Show (VT Presenter, BBC1). ‘Classy’ Premieres at The Edinburgh Fringe and the extended version tours to June 2020

‘There isn’t a comic quite like him’ thenewcurrent.com ★★★★★
‘Rip roaringly funny….. another hour would have suited everyone’
One4Review (2018) One4Review ★★★★
‘Possesses the rare ability to be hilarious without being outrageous’
THREE WEEKS ★★★★★
‘Patrick is a Fringe legend and it’s easy to see why’ DAILY MIRROR ★★★★
‘Delightful, impressive and very funny’ The Scotsman ★★★★
‘A definite must see’ Edinburgh Festivals Magazine ★★★★
‘He really hits the mark…great depth’ www.broadwaybaby.com ★★★★
‘observational and insightful….not to be missed and extremely enjoyable’
www.thelatest.co.uk ★★★★★

29 February, 7.30pm (doors 7pm)

Tickets £13/11

Adam Hills: Work in Progress

Join Adam Hills as he takes to the road trying out new material.

Host of the Broadcast and RTS award- winning Channel 4 series The Last Leg, Adam Hills is one of the most popular comedians in the UK. With 16 solo shows that have toured internationally, his combination of positive, uplifting comedy and rampant spontaneity has seen him receive a swag of awards, glowing reviews and a legion of fans around the planet.

2018 saw Adam release his much anticipated, Sunday Times best-selling book Best Foot Forward; a collection of stories, thoughts and tales of a life in comedy. His last show Clown Heart toured the UK and Ireland was recorded for DVD at Hammersmith Apollo.

14 March, 8pm (doors 7.15pm)

Tickets £15 SOLD OUT

14+ only.

ABBA Sensation

Widely considered to be one of the best ever ABBA Tribute Acts, they play to packed theatres and festivals throughout Europe. A stunning stage show, which combines costume changes, lighting effects and a faithful reproduction of the ABBA sound.

A great evening’s entertainment is guaranteed for all age ranges.
The band love audience participation, so you can sing along, clap or even get up and dance.

27 March 7.30pm (doors 7pm)

TICKETS £13.50

01629 810152

Simon Evans: The Work of the Devil

Simon Evans’ last show, Genius 2.0 (***** “A Masterclass” The Scotsman) provided an hilarious analysis of the departure of any visible sign of intelligence from modern life. But his new show raises the stakes, with his usual excoriating views of a world on fire given a perspective shift from personal revelations that turned his world upside down this year.

After twenty years of watching one of the country’s most erudite, and downright funny comedians, Simon Evans’s fans could be excused for thinking they know who is and what he’s about. Dry, teasingly non-PC and openly baffled by much of modern life – not to say his own family – Evans has created a strongly defined on-stage persona that has served him well over that time.

But incredible revelations about his true identity left him reeling last year – and have made his new tour show, The Work of the Devil, by far his most memorable, and thought provoking work to date. It’s also his most engaging, audiences reporting that tears of laughter mingled at the end with stronger currents of emotion.

“It’s an unusual show for me in that regard,” he says. “Because the message of the show – almost beyond my conscious control – has become one that is genuinely heart-warming and uplifting, rather than just another weary sigh at society’s collapsing values and so on. And honestly, I couldn’t be happier. The subject matter, the show itself and audience reaction to it – it’s no exaggeration to say that it had a positive effect on my mental health, just performing it every night.”

It’s a very different kind of vibe to his last show, Genius 2.0, about the effect that “dumbing down” has had on everything from our political culture to our kids.“It starts in a similar vein – scrutinising identity politics and resurgent Nationalism, subjecting them to my usual piggy-eyed scrutiny and scepticism. But then we move through a gradual shift of perspective as I approach the Big Reveal – the news I received last year that throws literally everything I’ve said in the show – and arguably as a comedian, ever – into a dramatic new light.

The title of the show – The Work of The Devil, comes from Evans’ comedic hero, Douglas Adams. “It’s from one of his unpublished, unfinished passages for Dirk Gently –  a theory about the three different stages of progress in everyone’s life. Firstly, there’s what existed before you were born and until the age of about 12 or 13: with me, I grew up accepting that television, for instance, simply existed. Then there are things which are invented in our late teens and 20s which are exciting innovations that offer us opportunities to experience the thrills our parents never knew. For me, again, computers, digital watches, and arguably sandwich toasters. And then there are things which arrive from our mid-30s onwards, by which point we can no longer keep up with change and which we therefore denounce as the work of The Devil. Any innovation that arrives after that point leaves you saying ‘You mark my words – no good will come of this’.”

Adams intends the theory to relate to technology, but Evans wonders if it is becoming relevant to our relationship with political and social change too now. Everything from changing family structures to geo-political transformations are creating a world that Evans initially feels requires a healthy dose of his good old fashioned, robust common sense. But then comes the big surprise, as Evans virtually whips the rug away from under his own feet.

Tempting though it is to drop clues, the show will be that much more rewarding for those who have no idea what is coming. But satisfyingly, it does follow on organically from some of the loose ends that were left at the end of Genius 2.0.“Part of the inspiration for Genius 2.0 was my sense that my own intelligence, memory, focus, reaction times and so on were all in steep decline, and at a younger age than I would suggest that was inevitable. I did routines about it that got laughs of recognition, but at the back of my mind I had a niggling doubt that this was beyond normal deterioration. It was my investigation into that which yielded the new information which birthed this show.

And Simon is also finding that his stand-up is, to paraphrase an old ad, hitting a spot that other comedians cannot reach. “What I’m gradually realising is that while my views may not have changed that much, the world has shifted underneath me, and I’m now something of an outlier. There seems to be more of a political consensus among comedians than ever before, for want of a better word, and half the country is struggling to find their voice heard; what has happened, of course, is Brexit. It has polarised the nation, and the overwhelming majority of comedians seem very comfortable expressing their Remain views and I do feel that I’m getting an audience which is looking for a break from all that. Not that I’m pro-Brexit exactly, but ironically, I have preached a lot more tolerance for a wider range of views, even though I’ve made my career in character as the most intolerant old bugger you can imagine.”

The joy of any Simon Evans stand-up show is to watch a comic at the peak of his powers dissecting big ideas and exploring complex notions while finding great jokes within it all. The Work of The Devil, however, delivers all that – plus the most incredible true story, one that brings a completely new dimension to stand-up comedy and which will stay with you for a very long time.

“A gripping and, ultimately heart-warming tale… rich with Evans’ wit and caustic observation.” (**** The Scotsman)

“You expect a high standard of stand-up from this veteran performer. But in sharing something so deeply personal, he’s exceeded what seemed to be his full potential… I’d expect it to get even better when it goes out on tour. Outstanding stuff.” ( **** ½ Chortle)

Simon Evans is the star of Live at the Apollo, Mock The Week, BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz, The Unbelievable Truth & Simon Evans Goes To Market. Simon has made appearances on This Week, Question Time, Celebrity Mastermind, Pointless Celebrities and Mastermind The Professionals.

10 April, 8pm (doors 7.15pm)

Tickets £15/13

National Theatre Live

The Welkin

a new play by Lucy Kirkwood

One life in the hands of 12 women.

Rural Suffolk in England, 1759. As the country waits for Halley’s comet, a young woman is sentenced to hang for a heinous murder.

When she claims to be pregnant, a jury of 12 matrons are taken from their housework to decide whether she’s telling the truth, or simply trying to escape the noose. With only midwife Lizzy Luke prepared to defend the girl, and a mob baying for blood outside, the matrons wrestle with their new authority, and the devil in their midst.

James Macdonald (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) directs Maxine Peake (The Theory of Everything, Funny Cow) and Ria Zmitrowicz (Three Girls, Mr. Selfridge) in this bold and gripping thriller from Tony Award-nominated writer Lucy Kirkwood (Chimerica, Skins). Broadcast live from the National Theatre in London.

21 May, 7pm (doors 6.30pm)

Tickets £14