Throughout the Spring Blackwood Miners’ Institute are playing host to an amazing selection of comedies, dramas, music and dance shows that the whole family are sure to enjoy!
For Spring & Autumn Watch fans, presenter Iolo Williams will be arriving at BMI on Wednesday 3 February to take you on a tour of his Welsh homeland from mountain tops to seashore.
Comedy enthusiasts should prepare to be spoilt for choice throughout the month of February when ‘Stute Comedy Nights return on the first Friday of every month between February and May which will feature three top comedians touring the UK circuit. On February 6th the brilliant Mike Doyle comes to town to perform his best show yet – that’s earned him the title ‘UK’s best all round entertainer’ by the Western Mail. BMI will also be welcoming Lewis Schaffer straight from New York for his pay-what-you-want free show on February 19th.
It’s not just about comedy in February; there are also family friendly performances such as The Tap Dancing Mermaid on February 18th – a story about a tippetty-top tap dancer who the moon has been watching at night. Come the 24th of February the stage will be transformed into a multi-sensory spectacle for the exhilarating experience of Shine, a show that sends young imaginations wild with a performance suitable for young children and their grown-ups!
If music is more your thing don’t miss Andy Fairweather Low, the lead singer of 60s pop band Amen Corner, & The Low Riders who will be performing at the ‘stute on Saturday the 20th.
February will end at Blackwood Miner’s with a tribute to a man who for many embodied what it is to be Welsh – Ray Gravell. This Torch Theatre Company production explores the life of a man who was as fascinating away from the rugby field as he was on it. Gravwill be shown on Saturday 27th of Feb.
March brings a perfect blend of drama, music and comedy for residents to enjoy, kicking off with Windsongs of the Blessed Bay on March 1st. Memory, myth and history collide in this beautiful and compelling tale of a brave young Welsh woman, blind since birth, who sets out in her grandfather’s fishing boat to make the great catch he had always dreamed of.
Next on the list is a comedy with a whole lot of heart, Meet Fred; He’s just a regular guy who wants to get on with life: get a job, find a nice girl, and settle down. The only problem is that Fred is a puppet, and that’s where his dependency issues start.
On March 14th fans of Irish and Country music have a chance to attend the only and ultimate tribute show to Irish and Country Music. Featuring classics such as Danny Boy, The Galway bay, 9-to 5 and Islands in the Stream, Forty Shades of Green meets Country Roads is not to be missed!
The American classic The Glass Menagerie comes to BMI on March 15th for an evening of drama about a family struggling to survive on fragile dreams.
Cefn Hengoed Ladies Choir will be wrapping up proceedings in March with an evening of musical magic during their Spring into Song performance on Thursday 17th March.
Take a journey back in time to the age of rock’n’roll between 6 and the 9 April withReturn to the Forbidden Planet. Join Captain Tempest and his crew aboard the intergalactic Starship Albatross, as they take you on an adventure through rock’n’roll classics including Wipe out, Great Balls of Fire, Good Vibrations, Young Girl and many more.
For the adventurous souls head to Cwmcarn Forest Drive for a dramatic experience like no other for The Company of Wolves between 7 and 9 April. This beautifully crafted adventure theatre gives you the feeling of stepping inside the pages of a fairytale as you follow the performance throughout the forest.
Diary of a Madman is the next performance to grace the stage at BMI on April 14 followed closely by Big Macs Wholly Soul Band on April 16 for a celebration of sixties soul.
The undisputed King of Comedy is back in a genuinely hilarious drama that will make you cry with laughter when Frank Vickery stars in Tonto Evans between 18-20 April.
April ends with Leaper: A Fish Tale showing at BMI on April 30. This modern fairy-tale explores the colourful and breath-taking world beneath the water’s surface, encourages children to create a relationship with marine life and nurture it for generations to come.
On May 7 spend an evening of music and laughter with Owen Money’s Jukebox Heroes. With singers performing 60s hits by Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield, Matt Monroe and Mama Cass and the backing of Owen’s great band ‘the Travelling Wrinklies’ this is a night not to be missed by fans of the Radio Wales presenter.
Sticking with comedy – don’t miss the brilliant Dinosaur Park on May 9. This award-winning, laugh-out-loud spin on Spielberg’s classic is a theatrical celebration of cinematic nostalgia and a powerful reminder of the ones we love. The perfect parody for those waiting anxiously for the next film!
Residents who are more interested in crime orientated shows will be pleased to see The UK’s Worst Serial Killers, presented by Trevor Marriot, come to Blackwood Miners’ Institute on May 19. The two hour audio-visual show will be sharing stories behind some of the UK’s worst serial killers from the late Victorian period up to the present day.
Kinks fans are in for a treat on May 20 when Kast Off Kinks perform at the ‘stute with three past members of ‘The Kinks’. Mick Avory, John Dalton and Ian Gibbons unite along with Dave Clarke, formerly of the Beach Boys, for a night full of classic hits which will surely make for a great night out!
We finish the Spring on May 28 with the Award winning company, Ballet Cymru, and their extraordinary performances of Little Red Riding Hood & The Three Little Pigs – two stories from the mind of the most popular storyteller in the world, Roald Dahl.
For more information please contact Blackwood Miners’ Institute Box Office on 01495 227 206 or visit www.blackwoodminersinstitute.com