[D]escribed as ‘wicked and wonderful’ by BBC Radio 3, TBTL is excited to be playing host to Simon Mayor’s Mandolinquents for a duo of brand new, riotous musical performances on Sunday 20 August.
Kicking us off at 3pm will be a family-friendly concert The Musical Mystery Tour, featuring Simon Mayor and ‘one of Britain’s finest voices’ (BBC Radio 4), Hilary James. Packed with original songs, humorous sketches and audience participation (kids only, I’m afraid!), come and join us for a sing along with Parrot-Parrot from Hong-Hong-Kong-Kong and twist your tongue around the Flock of Fat Flamingos! It’s certain to be a real afternoon treat for all the family.
Then pop the kids to bed and head back to TBTL for an infectiously funny evening. At 7.30pm Simon and Hilary will be joined by gifted and talented guitarist Gerald Garcia, who has toured the world with the likes of John Williams and Paco Pena, and deft-fingered banjo artist Richard Collins, whose flair for performing bluegrass and country music sees him regularly touring with American artists, including in Nashville. The band will be entertaining us with offbeat humour, stunning virtuosity, and bluegrass banjos, fiddle, guitar and vocals. All of the Mandolinquents are internationally renowned musicians in their own right but when they come together they stagger audiences. Playing mandolins of all shapes and sizes, their wide ranging repertoire covers everything from classical giants like Vivaldi, Dvořák and Bizet to hauntingly beautiful traditional and world melodies as well as hot swing, bluegrass and ragtime music.
The group brings together talent, wild wit and a huge variety of musical genres in what has been described by Musician Magazine as ‘highly recommended to anyone seeking a 21st-century example of British wit and skill’. Sing Out! described the band as ‘a stunning acoustic tour de force, played by a quartet at the top of their game’.
For more information and to book please visit www.theatrebythelake.com, or call our Box Office on 017687 74411. Tickets for The Musical Mystery Tour are £5 and for The Mandolinquents are £18, £15 & £10.