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The good old days of Music Hall & Variety 150 150 mhamer

The good old days of Music Hall & Variety

Jimmy CricketJimmy Cricket is leading a return to the good old days in 2013.

The famous Irish comedian will  headline a national tour of a Music Hall Show which is being produced by Mark Andrews Productions.

It will feature all the typical hallmarks of a ‘Good Old Days’ format, complete with a chairman who will throw out to the audience some linguistic challenges!

The show, called The good old days of Music Hall and Variety, will visit the following UK towns and cities during next year: Shrewsbury, Billingham, Stockport, Derby, Cheltenham, Cleethorpes, Tunbridge Wells, Swansea, Ipswich, Kings Lynn, Skegness, Cardiff, Redhill, New Brighton, Nottingham, Dudley and Harlow.

More details for each date can be found within the tour dates section of this website.

Please note that most performance times are scheduled for the afternoon, but there is the odd occasion when an evening show has been arranged in addition to the matinee performance.

Events calendar fixed – and improved! 150 150 mhamer

Events calendar fixed – and improved!

Jimmy Cricket events calendar

The feature on this website showing all Jimmy Cricket’s forthcoming appearances is working again!

And there’s more! The old calendar, which stopped functioning properly a while ago for unknown reasons, has been replaced by something bigger and better.

An enhanced feature allows fans to subscribe to the calendar if they wish through Google, meaning they can now receive phone texts and email reminders.

There is also the facility for Google maps to show everyone exactly where events are taking place.

Famous Irish comedian Jimmy says: “I’m really excited that the calendar is working again and even more so that it has been improved and will provide more information about my forthcoming shows.

“This will respond to feedback we have been receiving from fans enquiring why the calendar function was not working properly. It just took a bit longer than we expected to be put right – but it is has clearly been well worth the wait!”

Go straight to the new-style calendar here.

Evening of fun – with a special message 150 150 mhamer

Evening of fun – with a special message

“A light-hearted evening of fun that will get you rolling in the aisles…but with a special message of God’s love and laughter-medicine right at its heart.”

That write-up set the scene for famous comedian Jimmy Cricket’s show at the Ruskington Methodist Church in the village of Ruskington, just outside Sleaford in Lincolnshire, last Friday (16 November).

An Evening With Jimmy Cricket was organised as an outreach event – such activities provide services to populations who might not otherwise have access to those opportunities – and was well attended.

The Irish funnyman was joined on stage by his compere for such events, Chris Gidney,  who runs his own production company called That’s Entertainment Productions.Jimmy Cricket appeared at the Ruskington Methodist Church

His company is involved in producing several pantomimes over the forthcoming Christmas season, including for the Medina Theatre in Newport on the Isle of Wight.

Jimmy said: “I would especially like to thank the organisers of the event – Bob Potter, Colin Porter and Roy Carter – who did a sterling job in making sure all the tickets were sold.

“I would also like to note the excellent contribution that Nick Page from Shorehill Arts played in making this show a success, as he helped arrange the event with Ruskington Methodist church.”

Journey into the archives 150 150 mhamer

Journey into the archives
Jimmy Cricket performs in the 1985 Royal Variety Performance show

Jimmy Cricket in 1985

Got any old videos or photos of your favourite entertainer?

If you have still pictures or moving footage from down the years of famous Irish comedian Jimmy Cricket – like the Royal Variety Performance clip on the homepage of this website – then we would love to hear from you.

This video from 1985 was sent in by one of Jimmy’s fans and if anybody out there wants to send anything from the archives, then it will also be put online.

The Royal Variety Performance – also known as the Royal Command Performance – is a gala evening held annually in the UK and attended by senior members of the Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch.

Performances showcase a variety of family entertainment, including comedy, dance, singing, magic and other acts, with many of the performers and hosts being popular celebrities.

It is organised on behalf of the Entertainment Artistes’ Benevolent Fund, of which Elizabeth II is patron, with all proceeds donated to the fund.

  • Please email any archive material to jimmy@jimmycricket.co.uk
Praise for community volunteers 150 150 mhamer

Praise for community volunteers

Jimmy Cricket on the Festival Drayton Centre posterIrish comedian Jimmy Cricket was impressed by a festival centre in Market Drayton which is owned and run by the local community.

The Festival Drayton Centre hosts dance classes, martial arts, adult educational courses, a licensed coffee shop and a state-of-the-art cinema and theatre.

And Jimmy really enjoyed his visit to the north Shropshire theatre, where he performed at the weekend.

He said: “There is one paid member of staff called Glyn Jackson, who is the theatre manager. But everyone else – including the technical staff and box office staff – are all dedicated and passionate individuals who want to retain a live venue in the town of Market Drayton.”

Jimmy was especially full of praise over how the theatre is run by Glyn and was grateful for the help of Peter the technician who helped him with the running of the show.

Established in 1984, the centre underwent a major refurbishment in 2004, resulting in it becoming the Best Regional Winner of the West Midlands Market Towns Award two years later.

Rocking around the clock (on the beach) 150 150 mhamer

Rocking around the clock (on the beach)
Famous funnyman Jimmy Cricket met professional organist Chris Mannion in Eastbourne

Jimmy Cricket met professional organist Chris Mannion in Eastbourne

Jimmy Cricket had them rocking around the clock on the beach this summer!

The famous Irish comedian has recalled the occasion he met professional organist Chris Mannion.

It was on the day that Jimmy appeared live on ITV’s breakfast show, Daybreak, in Eastbourne on the south coast.

“Chris was playing his keyboard as part of the outside broadcast when I arrived on the scene and got the assembled crowd to sing Rock Around The Clock,” laughs Jimmy.

“Chris is a professional organist and is very accomplished. He not only plays at various concerts in Eastbourne, where he lives, but he is much in demand across the country and this extends to playing engagements on cruise ships.

“He is not just a talented person, but a really lovely guy as well.”

Find out more about Chris at http://www.chris-mannion.co.uk.

Jimmy was in Eastbourne two days a week during the summer, starring in Sentimental Journey, which ran at the Royal Hippodrome Theatre in the East Sussex town until 26 September.

‘Hit for six by star comic’s latest reinvention’ 150 150 mhamer

‘Hit for six by star comic’s latest reinvention’

South Wales Argus article about Jimmy Cricket

Jimmy Cricket and his wellies had them laughing in the Valleys recently.

The famous Irish comedian performed at Pontypool Park in Pontypool, south Wales, in mid-August.

A feature all about Jimmy and his successful showbiz career appeared in the South Wales Argus a week before the show.

The newspaper article began… If you were a keen viewer of comedy sketch shows in the 1980s, the name Jimmy Cricket stirs up many a comical image.

Remembered for reading humorous letters from his “mammy” while sporting an out-of-shape hat, a dinner jacket matched with a pair of cut-off evening trousers and a trademark pair of wrongly matched wellies clearly marked “L” and “R”, Jimmy was loved by young and old alike for his numerous TV and radio appearances.

The Irish-born comedian’s training ground stretches back to the 1960s when he was a redcoat in Butlins holiday camps organising everything from darts matches to hula-hoop contests.

“Looking back, it’s like what young people do for these performance degrees,” he says.

“I suppose the holiday camps were a bit like that because you learned how to project to the back of the theatre and to put stage make up on. It held me in great stead for pantomime and things like that…”