Morecambe Variety Festival

A magical programme of variety is coming to Morecambe! The first Morecambe Variety Festival takes place at the Winter Gardens on 5th & 6th May 2012.

There will be an exciting range of free events across the weekend, plus two brilliant ticketed shows: a Saturday teatime Family Variety Show, followed by ”King Neptune’s Ball”, an evening burlesque show for adults. Download the flyer for full details of the amazing entertainments on offer as variety makes a welcome return to Morecambe’s peerless palace of pleasure.

Morecambe Variety Festival flyer

Tickets for the evening shows (both are on Saturday 5th May 2012) can be purchased at Dotty’s Vintage Shop, Marine Road Central, Morecambe or from Skiddle.com.  Please click on the links below to book tickets online:

Family Variety Show (6:00pm-7:30pm)

King Neptune’s Ball (8:00pm-midnight) *limited tickets remaining

For enquiries, please call Neil Kendall on 07776 198332.

Links:

• Morecambe Variety Festival Facebook page
• Morecambe Variety Festival blog
• Morecambe Variety Festival on Twitter

(The Winter Gardens is not responsible for the content of external websites.)

You can download a copy of the latest newsletter here:

Newsletter- March 2012

If you are interested in becoming a member, then you can download a membership form on The Friends page.

Morecambe Variety Festival

The programme has been revealed for the first Morecambe Variety Festival, which takes place at the Winter Gardens on 5th & 6th May 2012.

The weekend will feature an exciting range of free events across the weekend, plus two ticketed shows: a Saturday teatime Family Variety Show, followed by ”King Neptune’s Ball”, an evening burlesque show for adults. Download the flyer for full details of a weekend which promises to bring the magic of variety back to Morecambe’s premier pleasure palace:

Morecambe Variety Festival flyer

Tickets for the evening shows (both are on Saturday 5th May 2012) can be purchased from Skiddle.com.  Please click on the links below:

Family Variety Show (6:00pm-7:30pm)

King Neptune’s Ball (8:00pm-midnight)

For enquiries, please call Neil Kendall on 07776 198332.

Links:

• Morecambe Variety Festival Facebook page
• Morecambe Variety Festival blog
• Morecambe Variety Festival on Twitter

(The Winter Gardens is not responsible for the content of external websites.)

Restoring the theatre

The work to preserve and restore the Winter Gardens depends on the wonderful efforts of our volunteers. Would you like to join us?

We are always looking for new volunteers to join our dedicated team. Volunteering opportunities include: basic restoration work, maintenance of the theatre, stewards, tour guides, fund-raising and supporting events at the theatre. It’s a great way to learn new skills, meet new people, have some fun and help with our restoration project.

If you are interested in joining our team, please contact us or call in at the theatre during opening times.

VFM scooter rally

Scooter fans from across the country converged on Morecambe this weekend to enjoy the latest VFM scooter rally. The Winter Gardens hosted a parts fair, scooter jumble and trades exhibition, with hundreds visiting the theatre to socialise and pick-up some scooter goodies. The promenade was buzzing with the sound of scooters and the theatre formed a dramatic backdrop to an impromptu display of scooters along the pavement outside.

Morecambe Variety Festival

As part of the first Morecambe Variety Festival, the Winter Gardens will be hosting a weekend of traditional seaside entertainment on 5th & 6th May 2012, with something for all ages. As well as free events across the weekend, there will be a Saturday teatime Family Variety Show, followed by ”King Neptune’s Ball”, an evening burlesque show for adults. Expect circus acts, family friendly entertainment, jugglers, singers, Victorian side shows, sword swallowers, contortionists and much more. This exciting new festival is sure to bring a memorable experience to Morecambe’s majestic Victorian palace of variety!

Tickets for the evening shows (both are on Saturday 5th May 2012) can be purchased from Skiddle.com.  Please click on the links below:

Family Variety Show (6:00pm-7:30pm)

King Neptune’s Ball (8:00pm-midnight)

For enquiries, please call Neil Kendall on 07776 198332.

Links:

• Morecambe Variety Festival Facebook page
• Morecambe Variety Festival blog
• Morecambe Variety Festival on Twitter

(The Winter Gardens is not responsible for the content of external websites.)

“Boxing By The Sea”

A new book, “Boxing By The Sea” tells the story of professional boxing at The Winter Gardens between 1928 and 1964. Boxing historian Larry Braysher has unearthed a wealth of previously unpublished information and his book is illustrated with plenty of photos and memorabilia from the days when Morecambe Winter Gardens was one of North West England’s most significant boxing venues. Larry has also tracked-down some of the boxers, enabling him to tell their fascinating stories.

David Morris MP

On 6th March we were able to visit Parliament to meet with David Morris, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale. David reaffirmed his support for the Winter Gardens project and the work of The Trustees and The Friends. David was delighted to be brought up-to-date on the current restoration work in the theatre and the plan for the Trust to bid for a grant as part of the recently announced Coastal Communities Fund. We also shared details of some of the planned events for this year and fund-raising priorities. After a very productive meeting, David kindly tabled an Early Day Motion in support of the Winter Gardens and posed for a picture with some of our new publicity flyers. Our thanks to David and his team for their continued support and encouragement.

You can read the Early Day Motion in full here: http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2010-12/2832

George and Beryl Formby with William Smirk.

“I am particularly glad to come to Morecambe because I always feel so at home here and because Mr Harry Smirk of the Winter Gardens and myself are old pals. We always have a cup of tea together – with a drop in it: funeral tea.”
George Formby – speaking on stage at the Winter Gardens, Feb 1940.

Harry Smirk was the Managing Director of the Winter Gardens from the mid-1930s, until his death in the early 1950s. Harry was arguably responsible for the heyday of the theatre, when it attracted the biggest stars of stage, screen and radio. He also oversaw a major refurbishment in 1934, which brought the theatre interior ’up-to-date’. His work for charities, particularly during the war years, raised many thousands of pounds and earnt him the respect and gratitude of many. Harry personally booked all of the acts for the theatre and consequently became friends with many stars, including George Formby, who made a number of visits to Morecambe.

Now, thanks to the kindness of Harry’s family, we have been loaned material from the Harry Smirk collection, which we will catalogue and add to the existing archive of the Winter Gardens.

The previously unpublished picture above shows George and Beryl Formby in Cairo during the war, with Harry’s son, William Smirk. William was a Corporal in the RAF and through his father, he knew the Formby’s well. When George and Beryl visited Cairo to entertain the troops on behalf of ENSA, William acted as their host. During the visit, George was invited aboard one of the Royal Navy vessels, but William was refused permission to join him because he was only “other ranks” (i.e Corporal) not officer rank. George chipped-in, “Well, if you won’t let him aboard, then i’m not coming on – he’s my boss.” Needless to say, William was granted permission to join George aboard ship.

Our thanks to the Smirk family for the kind loan of the material. Photograph (c) J.Smirk.

MAODS rehearse The Desert Song

A fascinating glimpse into Winter Gardens history has appeared on YouTube, thanks to local man Doug Armitage. Doug’s 8mm cine film was shot in the theatre in 1973 and 1974 and shows the Morecambe Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society rehearsals for The Desert Song and The Merry Widow. Although the film has no sound, it showcases the wonderful sets and costumes which graced these amateur productions and which were typical of the high standard of shows that local groups staged in the theatre.

Doug takes-up the story: “I took part of the film and a friend took the bits that I appear in. My wife, Janis, and I met at rehearsals in 1967 for the first production of Camelot (the UK  amateur premiere), when the Producer was Dorothy Hardy.

The extracts in the film from The Desert Song and The Merry Widow include a Dress Rehearsal, during which the lights were up and down as the Lighting staff received Dorothy’s directions, hence the poor quality in places.

In the Desert Song I played Mindar, a bit part and Janis played Azuri, a lead role. In The Merry Widow I was Kromov (misspelt Krohov in the Programme) and Janis was a Grisette, Margot.

They were fantastic years for us, with very happy memories of all the shows that we were in.”

Doug’s film is a fascinating (and very rare) glimpse of the theatre during it’s working life. In fact, aside from this and the 1960 movie “The Entertainer”, there is virtually no film of the theatre or ballroom known to exist. Unless you know different?

Watch Doug’s film here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B73KZmEo5tM