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Latest News

Keep up-to-date with everything ‘Grand’. Here is just some of the stuff we want to shout about.
Wind in the willows : A review by The Clitheroe Advertiser and Times
05 January 2012, 14:11 pm
Published on Friday 30 December 2011 12:28

I KNOW how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to review so many great professional productions in the North West, but I also love amateur theatre.

I have seen some great shows this year, Burnley Light Opera’s “Cage Aux Folles”, Bolton-by Bowland’s fantastic “Cinderella” and to round off the year a fascinating version of “Wind in the Willows” by Ribcaged Productions at our splendid local venue, The Grand.

An accomplished adult cast, Keith Flood, Arthur Geldard, Kaitlin Howard, Richard Hoyle and Stephanie McKervill take on the principal roles. They are supported by a very impressive group of young actors. What struck me most about the interpretation is the clever idea of opening with a grandfather reading to his bored granddaughter and encouraging her to use her imagination.

This then means that the Girl, a remarkable performance by Katie Edmonson, is present throughout the action and we can relate to her reactions. She is also extremely adept in helping to shift the minimal scenery around, of which the most incredible device is a seemingly simple pale green plush three-seater sofa/settee/couch. Real credit must go to producer Deb Groves and her team for such imaginative use of such an everyday object.

The group of young players are amazingly confident. Helena Fearnley-Brown is a delightfully comic Stoat, the rather more tender-hearted sidekick to Wicked Weasel. Lewis Reed and Hannah Yates are charming rabbits and together with Lauren Hensey, Isabelle Smith, Phoebe Hope, and Mollie Yearby, they play a range of animals, both friendly and dangerous Wildwooders.

The Grand’s audience enjoyed it and the sound, lighting and particularly the clever filmed section were much appreciated. This show is coming back to the Grand on January 13th and 14th and is worth seeing. Ribcaged Productions are back in April with “Romeo and Juliet” and I shall be interested to see their “fast-paced modern adaptation”.

Further performances on January 13th and 14th. Box office: 01200 421599

PIPPA MUNRO HEBDEN
Martin Bell coming soon!!
13 December 2011, 11:40 am
Former BBC foreign correspondent Martin Bell is to make a special appearance at The Grand in March.

Bell, who covered assignments in 80 countries, including 11 wars, will tak about his life on the front-line in Bosnia, where he was wounded by shrapnel as he delivered a bulletin from Sarajevo.

He will also speak about life after journalism including his spell in politics as an independent MP.

An evening with Martin Bell is on Wednesday, March 7. Advance tickets are now on sale at £12 and £10. Proceeds go to Help for Heroes. 
The Grandstand Winter Edition
06 December 2011, 14:40 pm
The new Grandstand Winter Edition is now available to read here. Click on the following link to gain an insight into what we have been doing, what future events we have on and many other interesting topics

http://issuu.com/grandclitheroe/docs/grandstand  
Riding On In The Slower Lane
07 October 2011, 13:54 pm
Earlier this year saw the 20th anniversary reissue of "nowhere" - the seminal debut album from Oxford guitar group Ride.

It was reviewed with a reverence that greeted it at the time. US website Pitchfork remarked: "Ride's music wasn't neccessarily game- changing bu the songs are the kind that last" awarding it 9-5 out of 10.
Forerunners to a musical style the music press dubbed "shoegaze", the young quartet delivered intense yet harmonious songs with an urgency that created a stir and spawned a subsequent fanbase.

The band were to become part of the well-documented Creation Records story, the label set up by Alan
Mcgee and respnsible for the careers of bands such as Oasis, Jesus and Mary Chain and Primal
Scream.

Lead singer Mark Gardener is not the type to dwell on the past, nor is he churlish to ignore the significance that those early Ride records would have on his life, so he brings both old and new to the fore for his 

Performance at The Grand on Friday, October 14th, playing on a double- bill along with emerging Manchester Musician Denis Jones.

"You can expect a mixture of some new stuff and some Ride Songs thown in, "says Mark.
"I still love playing and enjoy the freedom of playing solo with acoustic guitar and loop pedal, with no-one but myself to worry about. I'm happy to perform some Ride songs. I think underneath all the noise there were some strong songs in there"!

Mark has recently been making guest appearances in support of the Creation Records documentary "Upside Down" which he helped soundtrack. "The Film's been great", says Mark. "it hits the nail on the head with regards to the label's story."
 Directed by music enthusiast Danny O'Connor, finding the finance for the music licensing was the difficult part."that's where i came in, producing the incidental music for the film's score."

 The project has seen Mark tour in tandem with the film and its director, performing gigs and Q and A's at
 festivals round the world. It's one of many exciting projects for a musician who has taken more of a move
 towards producer and remixer in the intervenng years since Ride.
He says: "I love the whole process. Even during the Ride days i was always keen to get behind the mixing desk."
"I still really enjoy working with bands and, although I loved being in one at the time, I see the same things going on and some of it I don't miss at all."In addition to his mastery of the mixing desk, Mark is currently producing albums for The Naturals and The Early Days. He clearly has plenty of knowledge to impact in the development of young bands too. There's a story in Ride's trajectory to be learned from.

A young bunch of college friends who'd already achieved their dream were all of a sudden a commodity of the popular music industry and it's something Mark and his mates found difficult to come to terms with.
He adds: "it's hard when you're in that situation. There's a lot of things going on and pressures come into it. We were growing as people and relationships inevitably got strained."
 Those tensions- particularly between Mark and guitarist Andy Bell ( who has gone on to have a career in the spotlight as bassist in Oasis and guitarist in Beady Eye) - eventually led to the band's demise after thir third studio album, Carnival of Light. 
"When things were in harmony i think we were a powerful combo but when energies change it can turn into a nightmare." "Thankfully, we are all on speaking terms now and meet up on occasions as we still have business to discuss."Could this be the beginners of a Ride reformation?
Mark adds: "We have been offered lots of money to perform a Ride gig again, usually festivals and i guess you should never say never."
 "But i do think there's something a bit dodgy about going backwards. We always did everything against commercial reason and the myth of Ride is great. I'm very motivated by what I'm doing now and although i love playing, i don't feel the need to be the guy on stage any more."

Mark Gardner performs on a double-bill with Denis Jones on Friday, October 14th (7.50 adv). Box Office 01200 421599



 
A Twist of Fate
28 September 2011, 11:04 am
LANCASHIRE lads Rees Parry (13) and Lewis Reed (11), pictured above, have landed the lead roles in Ribcaged’s production of Oliver Twist at the Grand.
They join eight other young students from local secondary schools who will be starring in the play after successful auditions held at The Grand.
Ribcaged’s Artistic Director, Owen Phillips, said it was a very difficult task choosing between a host of rising stars eager to play the orphan, Oliver, in Charles Dickens’ classic tale.
“Every young person we saw at the auditions had different qualities, the standard of the acting was unbelievable, “ said Owen.
“Some of them who came had only acted in school plays, yet they had amazing confidence.
“It was like, ‘I can do this’. It is wonderful to see that confidence coming through.”
He added: “We had a really difficult decision casting the kids, not one of them was a bad actor.
“But the two boys had that X-factor, they were right for the role.  They can really act and had that spark we were looking for.”
Dickens’ emotional narrative tells the story of orphan Twist, who was born in a Victorian workhouse.
But he escapes and travels to London where meets the Artful Dodger, the leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets.
“Oliver is an interesting character, quite a shy boy and neglected,” added Owen.
“But he also has a real edge to him – and he fights back.
“Oliver fights all his life.
“He asks for more food, he escapes from the undertakers and goes to London.
“Oliver copes with the hostility of Fagin and the gang and really holds his own.
“It is an incredible story and we are really looking forward to putting it on at The Grand.”
Owen, a great admirer of Dickens’ work, has promised a very different version of the Oliver Twist story, adding the play will be an adaptation of Dickens’ classic tale.
“The play will be fast-paced, energetic, and humorous – we want the audience on the edge of their seats,” said Owen.
Plans are well underway for a third Ribcaged production at The Grand, when the theatre hosts the children’s classic Wind in the Willows in December and January – with Badger, Ratty and Mole taking the audience on an enchanting journey through the Wild Wood and along the river.
“It is really exciting to be doing a family show for children,” added Owen.
“I was Mr Toad in the Ribchester Amateur Theatrical Society’s Wind in the Willows ten years ago, so it will be really nice to direct that and go back to that lovely story and develop it.”
Oliver Twist will be staged at The Grand, Clitheroe, on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 11th and 12th (Tickets are priced £12 for adults and £6 for children aged U18). Tickets can be booked by phoning The Grand Box office on 01200 421599.
Wind in the Willows will be staged at The Grand on Wednesday, December 21st and on Saturday, January 14th, 2012 (Tickets are priced £12 for adults and £6 for children aged U18).


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