)
Daphne du Maurier Festival of Arts & Literature 2007
- 8th-17th May
- Fowey
This year’s Festival will take place in and around Fowey between Thursday 8th and Saturday 17th May. Festival organisers have just announced the first names of stars and celebrities who will be performing at this year’s Festival, which is managed by Restormel Borough Council.
Tickets go on sale at the beginning of next month and more names are yet to be added to the already impressive list of events scheduled for this year.
Among those lined-up to appear are Rick Wakeman in a special music and comedy show: Rick Wakeman’s Grumpy Old Picture Show, which, in addition to including some of Rick’s favourite musical pieces, takes the form of an hilarious, illustrated (tongue-in-cheek) lecture on his life.
Rick now enjoys fame and a new band of fans through his appearances on the BBC’s Grumpy Old Men series. His show will include a good old moan about things, but will also highlight his amazing keyboard skills.
Dave Gorman will be making a return visit to Fowey, this time to talk about his incident packed drive across America, in which he attempts to travel coast-to-coast avoiding the all-pervading multiple food and petrol outlets that are forcing the traditional “Mom and Pop” enterprises that were once the country’s heart and soul out of business.
Over the years, the Festival has attracted major names from the music world down to Cornwall, often for their first ever concerts in the county and this year is no exception. Leading the way is Marc Almond and his band. The former lead singer with Soft Cell and now re-invented as master purveyor of the defiant torch song, is now fully back, after his near fatal motorbike accident four years ago.
Kate Rusby, who can currently be heard singing The Kinks’ Village Green Preservation Society as the credits roll on the BBC’s sitcom Jam and Jerusalem, will also be coming to Fowey to sing old favourites and tracks from her 2007 album Awkward Annie.
Evergreen favourites The Manfreds will be playing a rare gig in which both lead singers from the band’s hit-packed history, Paul Jones and Mike D’Abo, will be on stage sharing the vocals.
The hottest ticket for last year’s Festival was The Children’s View, in which Daphne du Maurier’s three children swapped stories about life growing up with their famous mum. This year, Lady Tessa Montgomery, Daphne’s elder daughter, will be giving a personal account, recalling her childhood at Menabilly and her travels with her mother.
In another event, Rupert Tower, Daphne’s grandson, will be discussing the extraordinary legacies – both literary and emotional – of the du Maurier family with author Justine Picardie and Henrietta Llewelyn Davies, the great granddaughter of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Daphne’s aunt, who was played by Kate Winslet in the film “Finding Neverland”).
Other names already confirmed include Eden Chief Executive Tim Smit, Orange Prize winner Linda Grant, author David Lodge, former News Quiz host Simon Hoggart, Cornish born-comedian Rory McGrath and presenter Gloria Hunniford.
There will also be over one hundred community events, including, plays, talks, guided walks, concerts, boat trips, garden open days, exhibitions and free entertainment on Fowey’s Town Quay.
The Festival Village is located on the playing field of Fowey Community College, with beautiful views across the Fowey Estuary, adjacent to Fowey Hall Hotel.
More names will be announced soon!
