Local arts and entertainment venue Lighthouse kindly donated tickets for Pramalife Poole to see Legends of Variety live on stage on Thursday afternoon, 14th September. The visit was made possible thanks to the support of the Poole community who have donated to Lighthouse’s annual Christmas Appeal campaign over the years.
A total of 65 members and volunteers were able to attend. Including members from Armchair Keep Fit, Lunch Club, Upton Carers Group and Young at Heart Club.
When the age of Music Hall was diminishing after the First World War, audiences demanded more sophistication from their entertainment and Variety took over from the old Music Halls.
Sir Oswald Stoll started the trend after WW1 and packed theatres welcoming audiences with the Stars of the day and a splendid array of variety acts with his twice nightly shows in London and the provincial theatres with comics, singers, acrobats, sand dancers, ballet stars, magicians, jugglers, mime artists, circus performers and the like.
Many became popular stars of the day and drew their own audiences, but in the main weekly variety tours were forefront in the nations psyche and most towns and cities in the UK had at least one or sometimes two Variety theatres presenting regular twice nightly shows with three shows on a Saturday.
As the variety circuits were still going strong after WW2 American stars would be engaged to tour in Variety for the Stoll-Moss circuit as there was still a huge demand for this type of live entertainment. Many of the new breed of comedy artists now tour with one man shows but Variety, as such, is still popular. Legends Of Variety is exactly that. We aim to put good old school star performers back on the boards and bring the best of those popular star names we all recall and revere.
They are all of a certain vintage, but their experience and knowledge gained by years of honing their craft is still a joy to behold.
Long may you enjoy our true legends of variety.
A member of the PramaLife community,
D. Armstrong, attends weekly groups with their Mum who has Dementia said…
“Just a very huge thank you to Prama Life and yourself for organising the outing to The Lighthouse Theatre in Poole yesterday.
It was a lot of hard work for you but the appreciation can be summed up with my mum’s comment to me this morning 'it sort of made me feel.....when I got home, I don’t know the word but I was singing as I went round the bungalow and I haven’t felt like that for a very long time'. I said 'happy mum?' She replied 'yes that’s it'.
It was first class and so nice to see all the club members from Young at Heart taking the opportunity to dress up in their finery which in itself gives a ‘feel good factor’.
Looking forward to the club beginning again at the end of this month.”
PramaLife Manager, Sue Warr expressed…
"For many of the people we support at PramaLife, an outing with ‘friends’ is a rare and enjoyable opportunity. For one reason or another, older people and carers will not be able to visit the theatre and enjoy a show.
This could be due to financial constraints because of the current economic situation, it could be because they are caring for a loved one and may need to get someone else to sit with that person whilst they ‘take time out’, and then they don’t bother for something ‘just for themselves’, it may be that they don’t know who else could go out with them, or for a whole host of other reasons.
The kind gift of many tickets to PramaLife for the Legends of Variety Show, meant that people who attend day-time groups together, could all go out together and have a jolly good time at the Lighthouse Theatre. We are very grateful for this act of kindness, which has given many people a really enjoyable afternoon out, a good laugh, and a bit of respite from the mundanity of everyday normal life!"
To get involved with the PramaLife Poole Community, please contact Bridget Barrett to help find a group that suits you or your loved one.
Bridget Barrett 07867 354578
bridget.barrett@prama.uk