Carn to Cove is Cornwall’s rural touring scheme for performing arts, and presents a wide variety of professional touring artists in village halls throughout the county.
Tim Smithies, the Project Director, tells us “we fill our wonderfully varied community spaces with poetry, laughter, music, drama, stories and dancing. Local people choose the live shows they want to see and hear in their halls. This means we have loads of variety for everyone across Cornwall. Our Music Out There venture promotes new and world music of the highest quality in Cornwall in authentic community surroundings. This year we are especially excited to launch our autumn season with a new partnership with St Ives September Festival to present a Carn to Cove show at the Guildhall.”
This first musical offering is the Budapest Cafe Orchestra, who will be spinning traditional, gypsy and folk music native of the Balkans and will be performing on Thursday 22nd September at 8pm, and then at The Tolmen Centre on Friday 23rd and up at St Endellion Church on Saturday 24th September. Lead violinist Chris Garrick plays on the Poldark theme tune, so if you listen carefully you might hear the familiar strings…
Also that weekend, the traditional but modernly executed Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by Le Navet Bete. The award-winning clown group demonstrates a high level of energy and balances their performances between audience participation, laughs and witty lines. Their rewriting of the Wizard of Oz is hilarious and the storyline is brilliant. Dorothy and Toto’s journey on the yellow brick road has never been funnier. You can see this show at Wadebridge Town Hall on Saturday 24th September at 7:30pm. Tickets for all of the above can be obtained from www.carntocove.co.uk or www.tolmencentre.co.uk – or by phone to Cornish Riviera Box Office on 01726 879500.
Also this season Panta Rei Danseteater, Carn to Cove’s favourite dance company, are back from Norway, with an amazing performance of I Wish Her Well, a series of stories about four women who are closely related to the dancers on the stage, followed by a second act based on the past of a 82 year old woman. She relates experiences and thoughts from her youth alongside the dancers.
There is more dance from Protein , an award-winning company that presents a captivating show which examines our relationship with food, the influence of social occasions and life during the meals. Involving the audience, the artists will invite you to sit at a table and offer you a tasting meal as they observe your relationship with it. And the final dance show this year will be a completely immersive experience in Portreath – Lila Dance will perform The Deluge, a show with four professional dancers, a supporting community cast from the local primary school and pupils from Freefall dance classes.
There is a strong offering from local companies this season as well – North South Theatre return with Canvas & Rum, a show that is inspired by tales such as “Moby Dick” and based on the historical figures and events in Falmouth. Pipeline Theatre are back from a run at the Edinburgh festival with Spillikin – a moving romance telling the story of the relationship between Sally and Raymond, from their first meeting to 2029, when Sally copes with her widowhood and her Alzheimer’s with a humanoid robot designed by Raymond. The cast includes three live actors, plus an actual high tech robot, with great staging and design. Bagas Degol present a very Cornish evening will be rich in stories, tales, music and songs written by Annamaria Murphy (Kneehigh Theatre, BBC Radio 4, Cscape, Rogue Theatre) and played by musicians and composers following the Salt Road around the coast of Cornwall. There are also more chances to catch a screening of the Cornish feature film telling a story of friendship, partying and how it feels to get lost on Bodmin Moor – Brown Willy the micro-budget comedy drama is being screened in December.
Musically, a more laid back groove is provided by Ninebarrow, the multi-award-winning folk duo from Dorset, a cross between Simon & Garfunkel and Seth Lakeman. The Celtic theme is then continued with performances Jim Causley, a gifted composer of both words and music, and The Calum Stewart Trio, who combine old and new melodies resulting in an energetic and decisive show. The trio is performing in Newquay as part of the Lowender Peran festival in the town.
On a completely different note, the curious Moscow Drug Club, reserved for adults, recalls the 1930’s and includes some elements of Berlin Cabaret, Hot Club de France, Nuevo Tango & Gypsy Campfire. Coming next, the Senegalese singer Amadou Diagne and his dynamic and creative team of musicians ‘Group Yakar’ bring world music to Cornwall. Amadou is a multi-instrumentalist based in UK, and plays guitar, percussion and kora. The band makes music out of the ordinary and transcends categories: it goes from Afrobeat to Blues, Jazz Funk to Mbalax, African Salsa with a Rock attitude combined with their love of spontaneity. Gareth Lee & Annie Baylis have been defined as a slick contemporary folk duo, with a modern approach to creating a classic sound. And finally, Clive Carroll who was described by Acoustic Guitar magazine as “probably the Best and Most Original Young Acoustic Guitar Player and Composer in Britain” returns to Cornwall to play a gig in Praa Sands in Noember.
There is plenty more music, storytelling and theatre to keep you entertained as the nights close in, and you can find out more about all these shows and book tickets through the Carn to Cove website, and you can keep up to date by liking the Facebook page or following on Twitter and Instagram. If you are interested in joining the mailing list to receive a brochure, please call Tim or Claire on 01209 312500.