Tags
cabaret, Coalville, Corsetry, Cumbria, Rosehill Theatre, Snibston Colliery, songs to make you smile, steampunk, Tom Carradine
Last weekend I had two fabulous gigs, the first was in the Snibston Colliery in Coalville. It was a steampunk event called ‘The New Age of Discovery’ and they asked me to sing some opera tunes from a gantry above the old railway tracks. The audience were beautifully attired in steampunk regalia and I do love dressing up, so it was a thrill to wear a corset and a huge Victoriana skirt and my ship-topped tricorn.
In the 20/20 vision of hindsight, it was maybe not the best outfit choice for climbing gantries on a soggy December evening with a gale blowing through!
It was amazingly evocative, especially when a real steam engine came powering through a screen towards the audience. There was also a most interesting corset exhibition of corsets from the 1890’s.
On the Saturday, I went on a stunning roadtrip (the A66 – amazing!) across the top of England, all the way to Cumbria to do a show in Whitehaven. The Rosehill Theatre is situated on the top of a hill in the middle of nowhere, overlooking the sea with far reaching views across to Scotland! Breathtakingly stunning. Once you step inside, it is like a miniature West End Theatre – complete with faux boxes.
The entire theatre is lined in red silk and they had a concert grand piano on the stage! It made my day. So many venues today make do with keyboards or electric pianos so it is such a treat to perform in a place with a real instrument as I feel you never get the depth and delicacy of touch from a souless electric piano. Everyone at the theatre was incredibly welcoming and my mother Dru, Tom Carradine, (who was playing piano for me) and I had an absolute giggle. The show (Songs to Make You Smile), went fabulously with such a warm audience. It was a real joy and I do hope I get the chance to go back to this beautiful, historic little theatre.
It is so rare to find these amazing little venues and I love to perform in such wonderfully intimate spaces, they should be treasured for their history and kept for future generations.
Until next time…
Love Lili.x
