Events at the Apex Theatre

1 Charter Square, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 3FD

Tel: 01284 758000

www.theapex.co.uk

Here’s a list of some of the delights in store at the Apex

Blues, Rhythm & Rock Festival

Sun 1 Sept, starts 2pm

With Nine Below Zero, Zal Cleminson’s Sin Dogs, Steve Nimmo Trio, Lee Ainley’s Blues Storm, Southbound, Mojo Preachers, Connor Selby Band.

£27adv / £31door

Martin Simpson

Sat 7 Sept, 7.30pm

40 years after he recorded his first album ‘Golden Vanity’ in 1976, Martin is known as a guitarist of formidable talent. Equally at home playing English traditional folk, American folk and blues and his own compositions, he is consistently named as one of the very finest fingerstyle guitar players in the world.

In recent years, he has been a lynchpin in the award-winning Full English, The Elizabethan Sessions and, in 2015, recorded ‘Murmurs’, an exciting new album with Andy Cutting and Nancy Kerr.

He has had the most nominations of any performer in the 18 years of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, an astonishing 32 times, 13 of those as Musician of the Year (including in 2018), and winning that particular accolade twice.

“One of the virtuoso instrumentalists of the English music scene” ‘Sounds better than ever” **** 4 Stars The Guardian

£17*

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Fat Cat Comedy Club

Sun 8 Sept, 8pm

See www.fatcatcomedyclub.com for line-up.

£13*

The Furrow Collective

Tue 10 Sept, 7.30pm

Winners of ‘Best Group’ at the 2017 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Alasdair Roberts, Emily Portman, Lucy Farrell and Rachel Newton are four fine soloists with playful, boundary-defying musicianship, sharing a mutual love of traditional songs from both sides of the English and Scottish borders.

“A bravely sparse and compelling new take on traditional songs… A quietly classy young folk band” The Guardian.

£17*

Whitney – Queen of the Night

Thu 12 Sept, 7.30pm

This award winning production features a superb line-up of musicians and artistes in a sensational performance in the spirit of Whitney Houston.

£26.50*

Pirates of Penzance

Fri 13 Sept, 7.30pm

The National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company & National Festival Orchestra present one of the most enduringly popular of Gilbert and Sullivan’s great comic creations. Jam-packed with sentimental, swashbuckling pirates, a completely dotty Major General, a bumbling bunch of policemen and memorable melodies you will be humming all the way home.

£31* £26*

The Mikado

Sat 14 Sept, 2.30pm & 7.30pm

National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company & National Festival Orchestra present a farcical Gilbertian plot brimming with humour and memorable musical numbers: ‘Three Little Maids’, ‘Tit Willow’ and ‘A Wandr’ing Minstrel’.

Set in the fictional Japanese town of Titipu, The Mikado satirises British society, customs and pretensions; flirting is punishable by death and Nanki-Poo (the son of The Mikado disguised as a wandering minstrel) attempts to escape from the formidable Katisha and into the arms of his love, Yum-Yum.

£31* £26*

Sam Lee

Sun 15 Sept, 7.30pm

Folk singer Sam Lee broaches a new sound and a refined vision of how the old songs of Great Britain and Ireland hold purpose in this modern age. Sam’s much-awaited 3rd album, ‘Old Wow’, will be released in late 2019 and follows two critically acclaimed albums one of which was nominated for the prestigious Mercury prize.

Sam Lee is Britain’s most inventive folk singer’ Songlines.

£17*

Justin Hayward

Mon 16 Sept, 7.30pm

The voice of The Moody Blues will perform songs from his acclaimed solo albums and Moody Blues favourites.

Last Few Tickets!

£43.50*

Joe Brown

Wed 18 Sept, 7.30pm

Joe combines timeless classics, rockabilly, gospel, country, bluegrass, and rock ‘n’ roll, interwoven with his effervescent delivery and humorous reminiscences.

Last Few Tickets!

£36*

That’ll Be The Day

Thu 19 Sept, 7.30pm

The nation’s premier Rock & Roll variety production returns with another brand new summer show. Featuring a line-up of smash hits spanning the 1950s, 60s & 70s, plus more nostalgia and laughter.

£27*

Alan Johnson

Mon 23 Sep, 7.30pm

One of the most popular politicians of recent times and now a best-selling author, Alan’s memoirs have sold half a million copies to date. Inspired by his latest book, In My Life, in this highly entertaining show Alan tells his personal story with the help of some of the music that has soundtracked his life, from growing up as an orphan in a West London slum in the 1950s to becoming a postman before rising through the Labour Party ranks to hold several cabinet posts, including Home Secretary.

£19*

Swinging at the Cotton Club

Wed 25 Sept, 7.30pm

Take a step back into 1920s & ’30s New York City and through the doors of Harlem’s hottest nightclub, ‘The Cotton Club’!

The Lindy Hop Dance Company & The Harry Strutters Hot Rhythm Orchestra bring an action-packed show that celebrates the music and dance of New York’s celebrated nightclub.

Performances by Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Fats Waller would have had the club swinging – whilst dancers such as Bojangles Robinson and the Nicholas Brothers lit-up the stage with their breath-taking routines.

£24* (£5 U25s)

Michael Morpurgo

Thu 26 Sept, 7.30pm

Michael has written over 130 books, including The Butterfly Lion, Kensuke’s Kingdom, Private Peaceful and War Horse, which was adapted for a hugely successful stage production by the National Theatre and in 2011 for a film directed by Steven Spielberg.

Award-winning actor and comedian Katy Brand will interview Michael Morpurgo when he comes to The Apex to celebrate his 75th birthday.

How did a boy supremely uninterested in books, who dreamed of becoming an army officer, become a bestselling author and Children’s Laureate? What stories in Michael’s own life motivated him to write more than a hundred books for children?

Now celebrating his 75th birthday, join one of the UK’s best-loved authors as he shares his gift for magical storytelling and reveals the secrets nearly 50 years of writing has taught him.

£33* / £27* (£17* U18s)

JTQ: The James Taylor Quartet

Fri 27 Sept, 8pm

Led by Hammond organ-guru, James Taylor, JTQ stands with one foot planted in 2019, and other, just as firmly, somewhere south of the 1970s.

For more than 25 years, The James Taylor Quartet have set the standard for the coolest sounds in funky acid jazz. They’ve quietly become a byword for distinguished British creativity, with dozens of critically acclaimed albums and legendary live shows both at home and abroad.

JTQ jam out  funky rhythms and kitschy-cool melodies including reworkings of classics such as ‘Green Onions’ and ‘Time Is Tight’, as well as JTQ’s debut single ‘Blow Up’ and favourites such as ‘JTQ Theme’ and, of course, the inimitable, ‘Starsky and Hutch’.

‘A Hammond-led slice of organic retro-funk’ Mojo Magazine.

£20*

Kiki Dee & Carmelo Luggeri

Sat 28 Sep, 7.30pm

An Acoustic Journey: Join Kiki and Carmelo for stories and song, which include unique covers of songs by artists such as Kate Bush and Frank Sinatra and of course Kiki’s own hits ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’, ‘I Got The Music In Me’ and the stunning ‘Amoureuse’.

Kiki and Carmelo have been touring their spellbinding acoustic live show for almost two decades,. Performing in this stripped back fashion allows each of their exceptional talents to shine through and create a wonderful and warm sense of intimacy for the audience.

£21*

Go Now: A Tribute to The Moody Blues

Sun 29 Sept, 7.30pm

Impeccable performances of classic hits including ‘Nights in White Satin’, ‘Go Now’, ‘Tuesday Afternoon’, ‘Forever Autumn’ and a show-stealing rendition of ‘Eve of the War’ from Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds.

Drummer Gordy Marshall played with The Moody Blues for over 25 years. He is joined by Mick Wilson (10cc lead singer for 20 years); guitarist Tim Maple (Leona Lewis and Westlife); bass player Malcolm Moore (James Blunt and Joss Stone); and Patrick Duffin (Jersey Boys).

£26*

Paul Zerdin’s Puppet Party

Mon 30 Sep, 7.30pm

Winner of America’s Got Talent and one of Britain’s finest entertainers, Paul Zerdin & his dysfunctional puppet family. Sam, Albert and Baby will be joined by his new bodyguard, an urban fox, some hilarious audience participation and a talking ice cream – all using a mixture of master puppeteering, state of the art animatronic wizardry and a unique blend of edgy comedy.

‘’The best ventriloquist Britain has discovered for many years…’’ – The Stage

“If you think the words ‘brilliant’ and ‘ventriloquist’ have no place in the same sentence, go and see Paul Zerdin for some brutal re-education” – Evening Standard

£21*

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