Film / News
Slapstick goes FAB! for Bristol Beatles weekend
Beatlemania returns to town during the 60th anniversary year of the Beatles’ first headline shows in Bristol, Bath and Weston-super-Mare. It takes place in the form of FAB! at the Redgrave Theatre over the weekend of July 22-23 – a brand new celebration organised in partnership with Slapstick. The four film, music and comedy events kick off at 3pm on Saturday 22 with Billy Bragg in conversation with Rod Davis (original banjo player 1956-57) and Colin Hanton (drums 1956-59) of The Quarrymen – the Beatles precursor skiffle band whose ranks included John Lennon and Paul McCartney. At 5pm, the remaining Quarrymen will be plugging in – with, inevitably, a little help from their friends – to perform a set of material that they originally played in 1957-59 with John and Paul.
Quarrymen drummer Colin Hanton. Pic: FAB! Beatles weekend
Sunday’s moptop revelry begins with Fab Fools: The Beatles Scripts You’ve Never Heard: a celebration of Beatles comedy. Actor and voice artist Kate Harbour will be joined by Beatley legend David Catlin-Birch (Bootleg Beatles/World Party), drummer Keith Bailey (Red Propellors/Silenzio) and as-yet-unspecified special guests for an afternoon of script readings and music. Among the gems being revived are scenes that were cut from the Beatles flicks, John Lennon’s poems, extracts from Joe Orton’s abandoned Beatles movie Up Against It, and even the unmade Ringo Starr sci-fi comedy pilot written by Graham Chapman and Douglas Adams. There will also be a musical tribute to the late Neil Innes – aka the Rutles’ Ron Nasty. Rounding off the weekend at 8pm on Sunday 23 is a screening of Ron Howard’s excellent ‘touring years’ documentary Eight Days a Week, followed by a post-screening chat hosted by Beatles aficionado Samira Ahmed.
“We had a fabulous Beatles event at Slapstick this year and the response was overwhelmingly positive with people asking for more,” says FAB! director and Slapstick founder Chris Daniels. “So FAB! is in answer to all those voices we heard who can’t get enough of The Beatles.”
The Beatles at Shea Stadium. Image from ‘Eight Days a Week’ (StudioCanal)
Tickets for individual events are on sale now. There’s also a weekend pass available, which gives admission to everything. Go here for further information.
Main image from Eight Days a Week: StudioCanal
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