New Play THE DANCING CLUB Adds Kidderminster Venue To Its 2018 National Tour

Due to popular demand and with sell-out shows in Kidderminster and Bewdley at the start of the 2018 tour, The Dancing Club, a new play written and directed by Caroline Jester, has added a very special performance and venue to its world premiere national touring schedule.

The Dancing Club is based around the remarkable and inspirational true story of Kidderminster legends Frank and Wynn Freeman and their selfless drive to get the town dancing. The exciting additional performance on Thursday 22 March at 7.30pm will take place in Frank and Wynn's original dancing club space, now a large function room above La Brasserie restaurant on Lower Mill Street in the heart of Kidderminster's town centre.

Still with its original wooden dance floor, the nostalgic venue with room for only 70 audience members to watch this extra performance, promises to recreate a very special time in Frank and Wynn's Dancing Club and Kidderminster's history.

After World War II, Frank moved back to his hometown Kidderminster and with Wynn's support they realised a life-long ambition and opened a dance school in 1948. Through the gentle traditions of ballroom dancing to the explosion of rock and roll, northern soul and disco, Frank and Wynn continued to inspire Kidderminster to move for over six decades. But it wasn't just about the dancing for this remarkable couple. In their Dancing Club people learned the waltz one night and watched live music by Marc Bolan, Captain Beefheart and Led Zepplin the next.

Original music for The Dancing Club is by composer Jon Bates and the performance will include a special recording from the Kidderminster Male Choir. Choreography is by Steve Elias who got three Yorkshire towns moving in the 2017 BBC2 series Our Dancing Town.

The Dancing Club culminates in an invitation for the audience to join the cast on the dance floor to learn a dance. Characters Frank and Wynn - played by Mark Jardine and Ali Belbin - will highlight the importance of community spirit and will once again, get Kidderminster dancing.

Before the tour start, Len Goodman, Dance & TV personality, BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2004 to 2016 and a judge during the original Dancing Club's heyday, said: "I think people underestimate the value of dance schools and how important they are to the social wellbeing of towns. I wanted to run my dance studio just like Frank ran his."

The Dancing Club is funded by The Elmley Foundation, Arts Council England, Wyre Forest District Council, Worcestershire County Council, the Sir Barry Jackson Trust and support from Kidderminster College.

With thanks to the restaurant's management, audience members can also book a pre-show dinner at La Brasserie (booking details included in the listings information below), just downstairs from the performance space.

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