Wednesday 21 January 2015

Stan Laurel: Comic Genius in Tynemouth


Stan Laurel: Comic Genius on North Tyneside

Aileen Brewis
19 January 2015

The comic genius of Stan Laurel will be celebrated in North Tyneside next month exactly 50 years after his death on 23rd February 1965.

The Grand Hotel in Tynemouth will host an evening of celebration on Monday 23 February with a talk, excerpts from a play and screenings of two classic films.

Delivered in partnership between North Tyneside Council, Whitley Bay Film Festival and theatre company Cloud Nine Productions, the evening will be a great celebration of both Laurel and Hardy and the life of Stan Laurel.

It will include:

A talk by Danny Lawrence, author of The Making of Stan Laurel: Echoes of a British Boyhood. Danny will talk about the significance of the time Stan Laurel spent in North Tyneside and how echoes of this experience can be discerned in some of his most famous works.

Cloud Nine Productions will perform an excerpt of Laurel and Hardy in Tynemouth a play by the eminent local playwright Tom Hadaway.

The evening will continue with the screening of two Laurel and Hardy classic films, The Music Box and Towed in a Hole, presented on the big screen by the Whitley Bay Film Festival team.

Tickets cost £15 and are on sale from Friday 23rd January. Demand is expected to be very high so early booking is advisable. Tickets are available from North Tyneside Council at North Shields, Whitley Bay, Wallsend and White Swan Customer First Centres. They are also available through Cloud Nine Productions Tel. (0191) 253 1901 and Whitley Bay Film Festival Tel. (0191) 2802413 (www.whitleybayfilmfestival.co.uk ).

Stan Laurel (Arthur Stanley Jefferson) spent his formative years in North Tyneside. Stan grew up in North Shields after his family located to the area where his father would manage a local theatre. He moved to North Shields at the age of five in 1895 and remained there until the age of 15. Stan's connection with the town continued throughout his life. He was actively corresponding with people from the town until his death in 1965.

Danny Lawrence, The Making of Stan Laurel: Echoes of a British Boyhood (Published McFarland 2011)

Author Danny Lawrence is a retired sociologist from the University of Nottingham. He was born and raised a few hundred yards from Stan's North Shields home. His groundbreaking biography examines Laurel's family background, his formative years and his struggle to establish a show business career. The book analyses how Stan's boyhood experiences are often echoed in some of the best known Laurel and Hardy films.

Laurel and Hardy in Tynemouth - Tom Hadaway

An unfinished play by North East playwright Tom Hadaway. The script is currently being completed by Tom's playwright daughter Pauline Hadaway in preparation for a full production later in the year.

Cloud Nine Productions will perform a sample of this outstanding piece of work.

The Grand Hotel

The Grand Hotel provides a fitting venue for this Stan Laurel anniversary event. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are among many esteemed guests who have stayed at the Grand. The comedy duo first stayed at the Grand on Thursday 28th July 1932. They returned again on Wednesday 26th February 1947, for a civic reception with the Mayor of Tynemouth, while appearing at the Newcastle Empire Theatre. Their last stay at the Grand was from Monday 17th March 1952, for two weeks, while they were once again performing at the Newcastle Empire.

The hotel has a room named after the duo in recognition of their association with this historic Tynemouth landmark.

http://www.northtyneside.gov.uk/browse-display.shtml?p_ID=558201&p_subjectCategory=23


North East set to mark anniversary of death of Stan Laurel with Tynemouth event
Grand Hotel in Tynemouth to host tribute event to mark 50th anniversary of comic Stan Laurel's death on February 23

Tom Henderson
20 January 2015 

The 50th anniversary of the death of comedian Stan Laurel will be marked by a tribute event on Tyneside.

Stan spent his formative years in North Tyneside, and the Grand Hotel in Tynemouth will host the event on February 23 with a talk, excerpts from a play and screenings of two classic films.

The evening will be staged by North Tyneside Council, Whitley Bay Film Festival and Cullercoats theatre company Cloud Nine.

It will include a talk by Danny Lawrence, author of The Making of Stan Laurel: Echoes of a British Boyhood.

He will talk about the significance of the time Stan Laurel spent in North Tyneside and how evidence of this experience can be discerned in some of his most famous works.

Cloud Nine will perform an excerpt of Laurel and Hardy in Tynemouth, a play by the North Shields playwright Tom Hadaway.

The evening will continue with the screening of two Laurel and Hardy classic films, The Music Box and Towed in a Hole, presented by the Whitley Bay Film Festival team.

Tickets cost £15 and are on sale from January 23.

Tickets are available from North Tyneside Council at North Shields, Whitley Bay, Wallsend and White Swan Customer First Centres.

They are also available through Cloud Nine Productions and Whitley Bay Film Festival.

Stan Laurel (Arthur Stanley Jefferson) grew up in Dockwray Square in North Shields after his family moved to the area where his father would managed local theatres. He moved to North Shields at the age of five in 1895 and remained there until the age of 15. Stan’s connection with the town continued throughout his life. He was actively corresponding with people from the town until his death in 1965.

Author Danny Lawrence is a retired university sociologist who was born and raised a few hundred yards from Stan’s North Shields home.

His biography examines Laurel’s family background, his formative years and his struggle to establish a show business career.

Laurel and Hardy in Tynemouth is an unfinished play by the late Tom Hadaway.

It is currently being completed by Tom’s playwright daughter Pauline Hadaway in preparation for a full production later in the year.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy first stayed at the Grand Hotel in July 1932.

They returned on February 26 1947, for a civic reception with the Mayor of Tynemouth, while appearing at the Newcastle Empire Theatre.

Their last stay at the Grand was from March 17 1952, for two weeks, while they were once again performing at the Newcastle Empire.

The hotel has a room named after the duo.


No comments:

Post a Comment