The London Evening Standard 5-a-side tournament (organised by the Sports Council now called Sport England) was first introduced in 1954. And the last time in 1995. The competition, was usually played towards the end of the season (April, May). It featured the capitals league clubs. Roger Hillier says. ‘Initially the tournament ran for seven years…
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It is more than fifty years since Tennis went ‘Open’. This change allowed professional and amateur open tennis players to compete together at major Grand slam championships. Namely the US Open, French Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon (the oldest Tennis competition in the world). Since 1968 the game has soared in popularity. With millions watching…
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As a child, one of my favourite Ladybird Books was ‘Captain Scott’ a true dramatic story of a naval officer and explorer, who died attempting to be the first to reach the South Pole. The story of Captain’s Scott’s journey to the Antarctic tells of the courage, determination and devotion of five very brave men…
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Richard Inverne vigorously approves of Chelsea Walker’s new production of the Tennessee Williams classic, currently running at NST City, Southampton. In a 1975 interview with New York Times columnist Robert Berqvist*, Williams insisted that his plays contained ‘very little’ autobiographical content, although John Lahr’s excellent 2014 biography of the writer, Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of…
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Up beat There is a sense of excitement and hope around the county ground nowadays. After two rather miserable years on the field and plenty of challenges off it. The professional game of cricket continues to change. Getting it right off the pitch often reflects what happens on it. Rob Andrew is a determined chief…
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Raymond Colin Wilkins MBE, often known as “Butch” Wilkins at the start of his career, was an English former footballer and at present a television pundit. He was a key midfielder for the England national football team during the 1980s, and enjoyed success at various clubs including Chelsea, Manchester United, A.C. Milan, Queens Park Rangers…
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Ken Dodd was undoubtedly a comedian’s comedian. A true master of his art. A life dedicated to making people laugh. What a legacy of comedy he has left us. At his best few comics could live with him on stage. Dodd used all forms of humour to get his laughs, visual, one liners, musical routines…
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In 2014, Mike Poulton adapted Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall novels for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The result was a huge success, garnering such plaudits as ‘As in Mantel’s book, you feel this is history made manifest’ (Michael Billington, The Guardian) and ‘an adaptation that knows exactly when to speak and when to stay silent and…
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A Business Speakers Conference provided its members with a group of diverse, interesting and thought-provoking guest speakers (Luise Usiskin, Tori James, Dr.James Bellini & Kirk Kinnell) at South Lodge, Hotel tackling a number of interesting subjects. The team met as a panel to discuss delegates questions, with the conference hosted by BBC reporter / compere…
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In ‘How the other half Loves’, Alan Ayckbourn explores the different social attitudes to supposed infidelity. This, six hander play (three couples), set in the 1960’s, contains all the hallmarks of strong comic plotting with moments of extreme farce. Originally written by Ayckbourn in 1970, being his second work, much waited for after the success…
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Actor Warwick Davis joined a group of Sussex Executives to enjoy the start of the Beaujolais Nouveau season and raise funds for his charity ‘Little People’ UK. This small man has made a major impact in important films such ‘Star Wars’ & ‘Harry Potter’ as well as guesting and presenting many other TV shows and…
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On November 8th, Ken Dodd turned 90 years old. This master of stand-up comedy has transcended generations of comedians, including cultural changes in entertainment from variety theatre (where he started), to the social & cabaret club’s scene and the now comedy club circuit. Yet he still applies his art today in often packed out theatres…
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The Chimes of Pompey rang out to all Portsmouth fans to come to the Kings Theatre to watch a potted amusing, informative theatrical history of their football club: The Pompey Story. This highly entertaining show was introduced by BT Sports commentator Ian Darke with the help of Peter Brackley bringing his now famous caretaker character…
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NOT Sunday Night at the London Palladium! But Sunday Night at the Theatre Royal Brighton with all the glamour, glitz and talent associated with the London Theatre, along with the variety talent which had many switching on their TV sets in the 50’s and 60’s, but now making their way to Brighton for the same…
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In his Guardian obituary of 12 September, Michael Billington suggests that Sir Peter Hall, who has died at the age of 86, was ‘the single most influential figure in modern British theatre.’ As well as leading the RSC and then the National Theatre through the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, Hall was a formidable artistic director…
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Bruce Forsyth was the last of the great entertainers, schooled in variety theatre making his name known to the public through early Television, in particular on ‘Sunday Night at the London Palladium’ a flagship entertainment show of the time. His ability to chat effortlessly and entertainingly to the general public came through in his compering…
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A recent real life event drew my thoughts to how writing comedy plots often takes from real life experiences. It was 4:00am, only six people left in the bar at the Metropole Hilton, after a great ‘Hire a Hero’ event. Time to collect my coat from the bands changing room and home. Entering the area…
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You’ve fought in the Falklands, completed trips to Afghanistan and Northern Ireland, perhaps seen awful things that many of us in our life will fortunately never see. Yet what does one do when leaving the service? How does one cope adjusting to what most of us consider everyday life? The yearly average net outflow from…
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Over 500 people packed into the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury avenue, to enjoy a Comedy Benefit Night show that only comes around once in a lifetime. There seemed more stars than the night sky. All giving their time free to support their colleague Jim Tavare who had been through an horrendous car accident and now faced…
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To Michael Caine he was a very close friend, saying ‘I am devastated at losing one of my oldest and closest friends ROGER MOORE, my world will never be the same again’. To me he was part of my TV & Film childhood popping up constantly in ‘The Saint’, ‘The Persuaders’ and the first James Bond…
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[slideshow_deploy id=’2695′] We are pleased to announce a Comedy Benefit night for Jim Tavare at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London on Monday 12th June 2017. The support from his colleagues has been amazing and the bill of comics performing that evening reads like a who’s who of modern stand up. Dara O Briain, Jo…
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Nowadays, Comedy Impressions and Impressionists are a rare sight on stage and screen. This art form has been left behind with flared trousers and the eighties word processor. Comedians are now more observational, chatty, satirical and find no room for impressionism within their acts. A vocal jamboree of celebrity characters is seen as ‘old hat’…
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Farce is never an easy form of theatre to succeed in. Yet Ray Cooney has made it his lifetimes ambition and work to create some of our best loved and well written British Farce. ‘Out of Order’ is not one of Cooney’s best (even though it won an Laurence Oliver award for Best Comedy 1991)…
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The wet mist descended slowly across the empty County Ground, as a small tractor moved across the moist grass while business people sipped champagne over light conversation in the Focus conference room. This can only mean one thing: the start of the English cricket season. The 2017 squad of Sussex players mixed socially with corporate…
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