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MEN IN GENERAL
à cappella quadruplets
touring 2019-20 & beyond
à cappella * comedy * understanding men
Features members of A Fistful of Spookies (UK),
The Singing Sous'Chefs,
Three Choirs Festival Chorus, The Spooky Men's
Chorale (Aus) and a
Bargain Hunt expert.
Simon Batten, Oliver Carpenter, Ben Cooper, & Adrian Mealing alive in the Malvern Hills.
‘delightfully, surprisingly masculine’ Daphne
‘I never looked at my watch once until the end
and that’s unusual for me. Spot on!’ Sarah, The Village Singers
‘The gents prowled the stage with immense energy and verve, engaging with the audience and enjoying the repartee and lively banter. If you get a chance to see them, do!’
The Magnificent AK47’s
‘Absolutely brilliant’ Al Jones
‘top entertainment, front to back’ Malvern Coach House
‘But it’s the little things about men that are actually
true’ Amanda
'Audiences disappear after shows. Not one moved tonight. A
really nice atmosphere' Yvonne Colver North Wingfield
'fantastic, one of the best we have had'
Bythorn Village Hall
previously...
The Singing Sous'Chefs
Alive Again!
Directed by John Nicholson of Peepolykus
Theatre Company.
Played 200 shows across the British Isles.
‘Delighfully irreverent romp through Time & Space combining original wit, mime & story telling with some stunning harmonies. Audience participation
guaranteed!’ Rowland Asquith, Hemingby Village Hall
'craft forged in apprenticeship - no shortcuts, skilled improvising - a delight'
Mollington Village Hall
‘I could feel my endomorphins moving’ Lowdham Village Hall
‘a work in perpetual progress, delightful, relevant to today’s fuel crisis and a memorable start to the festival … would have appealed to Salvador Dali’
Patrick Cogswell, Newbury Weekly News
'If I put your posters up too soon, the
snails will eat them' Adforton Village Hall
'that Tonton Macoute - chilling' Frankie
Armstrong
'balsam to the soul’ Cordelia of Finland
'epic - enough testosterone fuelled audacity to render the first three rows with child (probably twins)’
Neil Collins, Midland Audio
‘So cool, so professional, so amusing, so musical' Ledbury
'feast of entertaining music, comedy, contemporary topical comment, wit and banter'
Derek Ball Harvington Trust
'you’re our X-factor’ Lowsonford
‘a cross between Monty Python and a Barber Shop Quartet’ Clee
St.Margaret
'Exquisite harmonies’ Bruce Gomersall
‘took us to places I could only ever dream of' Towersey Festival
‘musicality and life enriching’ Rod Clements Lindisfarne
'I
do think that smaller gatherings have a different atmosphere
- the Coach House Theatre is a wonderful space -
it was like having friends round who just happen to sing wonderfully!
It was a great evening' Helen Davey
‘Your pictures are so much better than the ones on the telly’ Little
Wolford Village Hall
‘you must have a wicked past’ Little Wolford
‘after the week I’ve had, I needed that’ Bretforton, The
Fleece Inn
‘Sharp. Political. Brilliant!’ Bretforton, The Fleece Inn
‘quirky but A-star quirky’ Bretforton, The Fleece Inn
‘five layers I counted’ Bretforton, The Fleece Inn
The Harvington Village
Hall (29.3.12)
According
to the Oxford dictionary, the meaning of a cappella is: “(with
reference to choral music) sung without musical accompaniment”.
So
now we know. Or perhaps we don’t. For if you didn’t take the
advice of the local ticket-sellers that ‘there was nothing worth
watching on TV on Thursday 29th March so hot foot it down to the
Village Hall for the evening’, then unfortunately you missed out
in a big way - you will have no concept of the feast of entertaining
music, comedy, contemporary topical comment, wit and banter that
“MEN IN GENERAL” brought to the Village on the night. As for the
words “choral music” in the definition, purists might not
understand the connection to Marvin Gaye, Billy Joel, Rogers and
Hammerstein, The Beach Boys, and even the veritable King Elvis, but
the near-capacity audience was enthralled throughout the show
nevertheless.
As
reported by other commentators, the five man group blend together
seemingly seamlessly - (try and say that quickly when you’ve had a
few!) - a range of musical and storytelling styles that represent a
cross between Monty Python and a Barber Shop Quartet, with a
formidable undercurrent of typical male blokeishness. (By the way,
this last word IS in the Oxford dictionary!) Their multi-various
comical movements and stances, coupled with ever-changing quizical
facial expressions, kept the performance zipping along. And, of
course, the harmonious singing was faultless and the lyrics very
imaginative and refreshing. Into the bargain, they got the audience
into the act as well - especially launching the embryonic stage
career of Harvington's very own Isobel. A thoroughly enjoyable and
memorable evening.
If by
chance Men in General return in the future to the Village Hall, and
you consider that you…
(a)
are of a generally gloomy and grumpy disposition,
(b) believe that the end of the world is
more nigh than everybody else does
(c) can’t bear the thought of your mascara
running down your face with tears of joy
(d) always turn a blind eye to the
peculiarities of mankind as if they didn’t exist
(e) fear that no ambulance will come when
you collapse on the floor with laughter
then
DON’T ATTEND !! - Derek Ball
View
the pictures in the GALLERY
‘I haven’t seen my husband laugh like that in ages’ Whissendine
Village Hall
‘think Coope, Boyes & Simpson and The Old Rope String Band!’ Karen Tweed
‘a really classy act’ William
Wilson, Lyth Arts Centre
‘makes Green Wing look sensible’ Upton Village Hall
'So bizarrely brilliant and effortlessly charming, we wanted to take them
home.' Tolmen
Centre
'extremely funny and massively melodic à cappella cum
theatre' Niels Eiriksson the Spectater
'kitchen knife wit, great gig, great atmosphere, great future' Marcus Moore Cheltenham Literature
Festival
'I didn't know that was possible' Café Subterranea
'incredible vocal talents' Jules Benjamin The Beatless
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