Half Cut Theatre Blog

I’ve done a number of gigs for local groups and societies, all of which have been well received. I had a stand at Crick Boat Show to sell the novel and also performed in the bar tent on all three days. I had a stand at the Stoke Bruerne Gala and performed there as well, but only on the Saturday.
On June 29 and 30 I shall be at the Foxton Locks Festival with a stand and performing on the Saturday. I shall also be performing with the Peterborough Male Voice Choir at St Dionysius Parish Church at Market Harborough on 6 July in aid of the Foxton Incline Plane Trust. Tickets are £10 (£9 Concessions) and available on line at http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/pmvc/
See you there!

Up the Cut went down well with Northborough Women’s Institute last Thursday. My next gig is the Foxton Canals Festival on 30 June and 1 July. I am performing both days on the main stage – Saturday at 12.00 noon and Sunday at 11.30am.
I’ll be very pleased to see you there!

The two gigs I told you about earlier went really well and I had lots of excellent feedback. Since then I’ve done Up the Cut for the Peterborough NHS Retirement Fellowship and one of the audience ‘phoned me the day after to say she had passed my details on to another group she belongs to. Keep ’em comin’!

Haven’t had a lot of time do much on the blog since the site went live, I’ve been too busy working on the novel!

Anyway, my next gig is Up The Cut at the Rotary Club of Grantham Kesteven on 29 Feb.  I get to go to the dinner at that one!  Then on 2 Mar I am at Peterborough U3A Architecture Group with a brand new show A Cruise On The Cut.  Bit of a new departure for me, this one.  It consists of slide show about the architecture and engineering of the canals, along with some songs – most of which I have written myself (Well, the lyrics, anyway!)

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this blog so far!

Intended front cover picture

Writing under the name of Rupert Ashby, Derek hopes to publish his first novel, “Izzie, A Child of The Cut” later this year.  Watch this space!!

Derek first became fascinated by canals as a small boy while walking the towpath of the
Grand Union Canal near his grandparents’ home at Blisworth in Northamptonshire.
The interest stayed with him and, along with two school friends, he hired his first boat for a holiday at the age of sixteen.

Immediately bitten by the boating bug, he wanted a boat of his own. Thirty years, and a
number of hire boat holidays later, he and his wife had a boat built to their own design.

Derek has been singing with Peterborough Male Voice Choir for over 35 years. He has also performed with Westwood Musical Society in Peterborough.

If you are interested in booking Derek to come and perform one of his One Man
Shows for your group, club or association or for a specific event, please get in touch with him using the Contact Details.

In asking Derek to perform, you will also be supporting the necessary and worthwhile
cause of Canal Restoration as 50% of all his performance fees is donated to the:

Foxton Inclined Plane Trust