THE CHURCHFITTERS

Frampton Village Hall

BEFORE the show gets under way, the audience are given a hint that this is going to be a unique experience as the stage is full of a variety of stringed instruments, many of them home-made, and there is even a carpenter’s saw and a tray full of wine glasses on display.

When the three piece folk group comprising Rosie, Chris and Boris come on stage they tell us they have named their production Christmas Cracker because, like a cracker, they are “ disappointing and full of rubbish” – now that is a quite an introduction.

However it does not take more than a minute to realise that they are in fact extremely talented musicians with a blend of humour and emotion that is both stimulating and engaging as they move from serious to silly in a few seconds.

As they play well known and self penned songs and carols, narrative accounts are nicely blended with the music and Rosie tells a a jaw-dropping ghost story about Edgar Allen Poe as a child that his adult career as a horror writer makes it seem entirely believable.

We also soon discover that three people are able to replicate the famous Riverdance finale to say nothing of Chris performing a magical Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy on wine glasses and also playing Silent Night on a saw, an amazing feat.

This is a show to celebrate not just at Christmas but at any time of the year with its beautiful music, surprise joke routines and fun. Further performances in the area, brought to Dorset by Artsreach were undoubtedly hugely successful and we can only hope that they can be persuaded to return very soon.

MARION COX