April 2009 Archives

Children's Classic Concerts on Saturday, April 25, Glasgow and Sunday, April 26, Stirling

A word play off of the wildly popular TV show, The X Factor, Children's Classic Concerts offers a version called The Wow Factor, where kids and adults will be thrilled to hear some familiar tunes from their favorite TV shows, films, and football teams. Little do some people know, some of the most popular songs in our day are taken from the greatest composers of our time.

"Kids don't really realize they're listening to classical music," said Owen Gunnell, 28, one of the co-presenters of Children's Classic Concerts.

Gunnell will be offering up a well-beloved tune, Ravel's passionate "Bolero," with a twist. He'll be performing the song while on roller skates (not on ice skates like Torvill and Dean dazzled in the Olympics to the same composition.) Will Owen manage it? Will he fall off his skates? Owen recently confessed to having not been on those teeny, tiny wheels in a while. The concerts promise to offer loads of fun and amusement.

This month's concert will also feature a full orchestra so masterpieces like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony will get the full cacophonic effect. Also, kids will get to see how different sections, like the woodwind and the strings, play integral parts in creating the layered harmonies.

For co-presenter Oliver Cox, who goes by Olly, performing in Scotland is a welcome homecoming. Raised in Haddington, East Lothian, since he was 4 years old, he now resides in London. "My mum's family is still in Scotland," said Cox.

The Wow Factor show gives audiences a high dosage of classical music, combined with fun and antics, when really, they'll be listening to songs they've heard in the most unlikely of places their whole life.

Saturday 25th April 2009, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 3pm
Sunday 26th April 2009, Stirling MacRobert Centre, 3pm

www.childrensclassicconcerts.co.uk

Ticket Prices - Single Concert: Child £6, Adult £10, Family £29 (2 adults, 2 children), Concessions £6

To book tickets,
Glasgow - GRCH Box Office: 0141 353 8000 or at www.glasgowconcerthalls.com
Stirling - The Macrobert Centre: 01786 466666 or at www.macrobert.stir.ac.uk

Scottish Ballet Presents Carmen and Cheating, Lying, Stealing

This week, Carmen, the passionate Spanish cigar girl, hits the stage at the Theatre Royal, along with Cheating, Lying, Stealing, choreographed by Ashley Page, Scottish Ballet's artistic director.

The world premiere of Carmen is staged as a one-act ballet piece and based on the original novella, written by French author Prosper Merimee. Many people are more familiar with the Carmen in Bizet's opera. This rendition is choreographed by Richard Alston, who won the De Valois Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance at 2008's Critics' Circle National Dance Awards.

In the second half, ardent emotions continue to run high with Cheating, Lying, Stealing. Exploring the psychology of female control though movement, the piece lets the audience observe a couple as they spiral through the demise of their troubled relationship.

Theatre Royal, Glasgow
282 Hope Street, Glasgow G2 3QA
15-18 April 2009
15-18 April at 7.30pm; 16 and 18 April at 2pm
Tickets £8.50*-£33.50 (*Thu matinee)
Family tickets (group of four, max two adults); Wed and Thu evenings - Stalls and
Upper Circle £58, Fri and Sat evenings - Stalls and Upper Circle £74
Audio described performance Sat 18 Apr at 2pm preceded by a touch tour
Insight Sat 18 Apr at 11am (£5 ticket / £3 concession / £12 family of four)
Free pre-show talks with Artistic Director Ashley Page on Thu 16 Apr at 6.30pm and
Resident Conductor Richard Honner on Fri 17 Apr at 6.30pm. Please book places at box office.
Box Office 0870 060 6647 (bkg fee)
Book online www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow (bkg fee)


Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
13-29 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh EH8 9FT
22-25 April 2009
22-25 April at 7.30pm; 23 and 25 April at 2pm
Tickets £8*-£35 (*Thu matinee)
Family tickets (group of four, max two adults);
Thu matinee-Stalls £72, Dress Circle £82, Sat matinee -
Stalls £92, Dress Circle £102, Evenings - Stalls £92, Dress Circle £102
Box Office 0131 529 6000 (bkg fee)
Book online www.festivaltheatre.org.uk (bkg fee)


His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen
Rosemount Viaduct, Aberdeen, AB25 1GL
29 April - 2 May 2009
29 April - 2 May at 7.30pm; 2 May at 2pm
Tickets £11.50-£27.50
Family tickets (group of four, max two adults); Wed and Thu evenings - Stalls and
Upper Circle £57, additional children £10 each.
Audio described performance Sat 2 May at 2pm preceded by a touch tour
Outside In Fri 1 May at 4pm (£5 tickets with a £3 discount when buying a show ticket
at the same time)
Insight Sat 2 May at 11am (£5 ticket / £3 concession / £12 family of four)
Free pre-show talks with Artistic Director Ashley Page on Thu 30 Apr at 6.30pm and
Resident Conductor Richard Honner on Fri 1 May at 6.30pm. Please book places at box office.
Box Office 01224 641122 (bkg fee)
Book online www.boxofficeaberdeen.com


Eden Court Theatre, Inverness
Bishop's Road, Inverness IV3 5SA
6-9 May 2009
6-9 May at 7.30pm; 9 May at 2pm
Tickets £11-£26
Audio described performance Sat 9 May at 2pm preceded by a touch tour
Outside In Fri 8 May at 4pm (£5 tickets with a £3 discount when buying a show ticket at the same time)
Insight Sat 9 May at 11am (£5 ticket / £3 concession / £12 family of four)
Free pre-show talks with Artistic Director Ashley Page on Thu 7 May at 6.30pm and Resident
Conductor Richard Honner on Fri 8 May at 6.30pm. Please book places at box office.
Box Office 01463 234 234 (bkg fee)
Book online www.eden-court.co.uk (bkg fee)
Concessions and group discounts available at all venues