visit our website thisisnorthdevon.co.uk NDJ-E01-S2 The Journal Thursday April 5, 2012 49

Charlie is the ultimate showman

TheatreFest seeks to swellits top team of volunteersBILL Buffery, organiser ofthe 2012 Fringe TheatreFest,explains why more helpersare needed for this year’sevent in June.

FRINGE TheatreFest justwo n’t stop growing. Whichmeans that more volunteersare needed to help provide thatwarm North Devon welcome tocompanies and audiences.

Now in its sixth year, Barn-s t ap l e ’s Fringe TheatreFestwill play host to 30 companiesin a four-day extravaganza ofmore than 100 performancesfrom Thursday, June 21 toSunday, June 24.

Events take place at theQ u e e n’s Theatre, The BaptistHall, Boston Tea Party, aprivate home and – for the firsttime – on The Square.

This is a complex event thatrelies on the energy and ef-ficiency of a dedicated volun-teer force. From publicity toticket sales, from back-stagetechnical help to marshallingthe audience, every aspect ofthe operation is supported byan enthusiastic team of volun-t e e r s.

Many volunteers have beenpart of Fringe TheatreFestfrom the beginning – it is greatfun and hugely rewarding – sothere is a mass of experience atthe heart of the operation. ButFringe TheatreFest 2012 boastsconsiderably more perform-ances than ever before, so newrecruits are essential.

Volunteers will see someshows in the course of theirduties and they will get freeadmission to a number of othershows depending on hours

worked. But the biggest buzzcomes from being part of aclose-knit team of people ded-icated to making somethinghappen in Barnstaple thatc o u l d n’t otherwise exist.

The present team is made upof people aged from 16 to 85. Ifyou want to be part of a hap-pening event and can give someof your time between June 21and 24, please get in touch withus right away.

Phone Bill Buffery on 07974569849 or e-mail ndfringe@hotmail.com.

Or, even better, come along toan informal gathering at theQ u e e n’s Theatre on Wednes-day, April 18 at 6pm to find outwhat it’s all about.

And you can check out theFringe TheatreFest websitewww.theatrefest.co.uk whereyou will find a form to fill in ifyou wish.

By CHARLOTTE GAY

AS SOMEONE who is relat-ively new to the stand up sceneCharlie Baker has a remark-ably familiar face.

You have probably seen himplaying a cameo role in DoctorWho or IT Crowd. This allsinging, all tap dancing funnyman has more than enoughtricks up his sleeve to keep youentertained when he performsat the Plough this April.

Hailing from Newton Abbot,Charlie is up to speed with hispostcode comedy, with plentyof Devon-specific humour.

“We will probably recreateNewton Abbot cattle marketwith lots of jokes about TragoMills, but it won’t all be aboutDevon, obviously,” he said.

It will be Charlie’s first gig inTorrington. His co-performerand friend Josh Widdicombehas been very positive aboutthe venue so he is looking for-ward to it.

Charlie said: “I’ve been toldgreat things, especially fromJosh, who has done it before.He said it was fantastic.”

C h a rl i e ’s biggest sellingpoint is that he’s a modernshowman. He ticks all theboxes. As well as makingpeople laugh, he possesses aFrank Sinatra-esque baritone.

Plus, there’s his tap dancingfeet which won him and James

Thornton the 2011’s Let’sDance For Comic Relief.

“It was an amazing exper-ience and the fact that weraised loads of money too is ab i - p ro d u c t , ” said Charlie, whowas proud to present thisye a r ’s winner, Rowland Riv-ron, with his award.

“I was so delighted that Ro-land won because he is a bit of ahero of mine and I’ve alwaysloved what he does.”

Since the glitz and glamourof the polished dance floor,Charlie has been working onmany side projects includingstarring in new Channel Fourpanel show, The Short HistoryOf Everything Else, out in May,with Griff Rhys Jones and Mar-cus Brigstocke.

If he wasn’t busy enough,every spare minute he has,

Charlie is in the office writinga couple sitcoms of his own.

“I feel like I am doing a de-gree at the moment because Iam spending so much time at adesk. One’s quite top secret,that no one really knows about,but the other one is called Wed-ding Band, based on the show Idid at Edinburgh last year, andis about my experience as awedding singer.”● Charlie Baker and Josh Wid-dicombe are at The PloughArts Centre, Torrington on Fri-day, April 13. Tickets: £13 (full),£12 (concession), £11 (Ploughsupporter). Box office: 01805624624.

■ BUSY: Charlie Baker.

■ MR ENTERTAINMENT: Charlie Baker brings his talents to The Plough Arts Centre.■ PARTNER: Josh Widdicombe.

■ HELP NEEDED: Fringe TheatreFest is seeking more helpers.

This show will becomplete pantsThe Knicker LadyHats Theatre, HolsworthyFriday, April 27, 7.30pm

IT’S not often you get todescribe a show as pants butthat is the big draw (or shouldthat be big draws) offered byauthor and actress RosemaryHawthorne. From pantaloonsand pantalettes, to divideddrawers, bloomers and bikinis,she offers a brief history ofu n m e n t i o n abl e s.

The evening promises adelightful mix of costume and

social history with a dash ofc ab a re t .

Rosemary is the quintessen-tial English lady – u n i q u e,witty and delightful.

Surrounded by old trunks,cases and boxes, she delvesthrough 300 years of bloomersand the characters who worethem.

● Tickets: £10.50 from Hols-worthy Information Centre on01409 254183 and also fromBude Tourist InformationCentre on 01288 354240.

■ UNMENTIONABLES:Rosemary Hawthorne aka TheKnicker Lady.

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