A capacity crowd at the Stables Theatre was entertained by an imaginative, varied and deeply satisfying blend of words & music spanning the gently macabre to the wildly hilarious. The first half of the evening was a good old fashioned variety show. Ex- Blake’s 7 star Paul Darrow was interviewed and then gave a chilling performance of Edgar Alan Poe’s verse-story The Raven. There were extracts from Sweeney Todd, Les Miserables & Chicago from local musical theatre group Renaissance, all given with great energy and conviction. The star turn Tom Baker gave a highly entertaining and, at times, mesmerising reading of his own short story, specially written for the occasion.

 

The second half of the evening was given over to a question and answer session with Tom being interviewed by the show’s organisers, Steve Corke and Oliver McNeil. The questions, although well put, were at times quite incidental as Tom took command of the proceedings regaling us with often very personal, and at times, hilarious anecdotes from his varied life experience. The evening’s compere, Toby Hadoke, known to Dr Who fans for his affectionate stage tribute to the show, also joined in the proceedings, having kept the audience entertained throughout the first half.

 

The whole evening was a delight and the disparate elements worked very well together. The organisers and participants are to be congratulated on such an enjoyable event which was also a fundraiser for St Michael’s Hospice. SP