As part of an autumn programme of curated work, Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre will present The Lost Will and Testament of Jake Thackray on Tuesday, November 14.
On October 28 1973, Yorkshire singer songwriter Jake Thackray played a concert in Cardiff that he later described as the high point of his career. It was the inaugural concert of the newly opened Sherman Theatre and Colin Evans, Reader in French at Cardiff University and friend of Thackray’s, had astonishingly persuaded French chanson ‘superstar’ Georges Brassens to play his one and only UK concert alongside Jake.
Now, more than forty years later John Watterson, the UK’s foremost performer of Thackray’s work brings Jake’s irreverence, humour and humanity back to Cardiff, with a hilarious and heartfelt celebration of the life and songs of one of our greatest wordsmiths. Together with guest Mark Goodall and his band Rudolf Rocker (renowned performers of Brassens’ songs) they will celebrate the event which took place 44 years ago.
The evening will start with some wonderful examples of Brassens’ songs sung in English. Then John will perform a mixture of Thackray classics from the 1973 concert along with many lost songs written by Thackray but never released, uncovered during the research for John’s forthcoming biography of the singer. All this will be interwoven with stories about the original concert and some never heard before anecdotes from the biography.
- The Lost Will and Testament of Jake Thackray takes place at Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre on November 14 at 7.30pm. Tickets are £18 and available by contacting by contacting the box office on 029 2064 6900 or visiting shermantheatre.co.uk