Mark my words
Mark My Words….Lines from UK Cabaret managing editor Mark Ritchie.
In our fabulous February edition we have a number of reviews and the odd bit of news from the holiday Island of Tenerife. I travelled out to my favourite entertainment Island destination on January 12th and returned on January 30th.
Over 18 days I managed to write a few reviews on notable acts making a crust on the Island. I also took a look at a new cabaret venue, The Sporting Club in the resort of Los Gigantes. On a personal level, one of the most rewarding experiences was taking part in a benefit show for a poorly Tenerife based friend, the Yorkshire born musician Mike Edwards. The show was organised by cabaret ex-pats Cy Benson and Gordon King and was held at The Albatross club in the resort of Costa Silencio. Twenty four Tenerife based acts, plus one fat old comic who sings a bit and runs a magazine took part in the show and the place was packed to the rafters. I hope UK based entertainers thinking of taking a trip to Tenerife in search of work find the coverage interesting and informative.
I will add one caveat to the paragraph above. Over my 16 year period with The Stage newspaper, I wrote many features on UK acts working in a variety of foreign holiday hot-spots. This was back in the days when The Stage used to cover light entertainment, which in my view and the view of many others they now do not, unless they are trying to sell advertising. The immediate response to any piece in The Stage back then was a rash of phone calls and e-mails asking me to provide contacts and a way in. Please don’t do this. UK Cabaret does not exist as an introduction service and I’m afraid I just don’t have the time or staff equipped to field such enquiries.
In this issue we planned to review the Paul Bridson Productions showcase. As I was away in Tenerife, we assigned reviewer Karen Sutcliffe to cover the event. Unfortunately Karen was unable to attend due to illness and we were unable to find another suitable reviewer in time. We apologise to Paul and the team and in this issue you can see pictorial coverage of who was who on the show.
On the subject of the Keeping it Live event in Blackpool, I have received so many messages and phone calls on whether UK Cabaret would be attending. As was the case when I worked for The Stage, UK Cabaret did not receive an invitation to cover this event. I’m sure readers will draw their own conclusions from this.
