Harrogate Film Festival and Cause UK present An Evening with Brian Blessed at the Royal Hall on 15th March 2020. Book tickets.
The larger than life actor, writer and presenter is known for his hearty, king-sized portrayals on film, television and stage including Flash Gordon, Z Cars and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
A giant of a man accompanied by an eloquent wit and booming, operatic voice, he is also an avid explorer and climber. An Evening with Brian Blessed will combine anecdotes from his illustrious acting career with tales of his adventuring.
Adam Chandler, founder of the Harrogate Film Festival, said: “We are delighted to welcome Brian Blessed as a headliner at the 2020 Harrogate Film Festival. He has graced our screens with a career spanning more than 50 years, so this promises to be a very special and very entertaining evening.”
The Harrogate Film Festival has partnered with Cause UK to deliver the event.
Clair Challenor-Chadwick, MD of Cause UK, said: “We have worked with Brian Blessed on many of our veteran charity projects and also famously persuaded him to rap on our 2011 musical reimagining of On Ilkla Moor Baht’at which now has upwards of 240,000 YouTube hits. Brian is a force for good and we are delighted to bring him to the 2020 Harrogate Film Festival, a gem in Harrogate’s arts engagement calendar.”
On screen, Brian Blessed has appeared in everything from Doctor Who to Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespeare films. On stage his credits range from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. His trademark booming voice has also featured on everything from Peppa Pig with the character Grampy Rabbit to a voice download on TomTom’s sat nav system.
As one of the UK’s most famous adventurers, Brian will also be talking about his Everest climb without oxygen; his expedition to the jungles of Venezuela during which he survived a plane crash; his trek to the North Pole (he is the oldest man to go to the Pole on foot) and his many hours of space training in Russia!
Clair added: “It’s a chance to experience a true legend of entertainment, as well as a man of enormous warmth and spirit. His eloquence and humour will undoubtedly have the audience captured from the moment he walks on stage. Brian did warn that the show may not be suitable for people of a nervous disposition or those who aren’t expecting the odd expletive!”
Harrogate Film Festival aims to captivate the residents and filmmakers of Harrogate and surrounding areas by offering innovative events and opportunities which aim to engage and develop audiences with new cinema experiences, film education, interactive events and competitions.
An Evening with Brian Blessed, 15th March 2020, the Royal Hall, Harrogate from 7pm. Tickets from £25. Book online https://www.harrogatefilm.co.uk/ or call the Box office 01423 502116.
About Cause UK
Cause UK hosts events and represents good causes in the media. It works across the arts, the environment, and with ethical businesses. In 2019/20 Cause UK hosts a special series of ‘an evening with’ events including Chris Packham, Steve Backshall, Miriam Margolyes and Brian Blessed.
In 2011 Cause UK designed the creative and produced a re-imagining of Yorkshire’s most famous anthem, On Ilkla Moor Baht’at. Working with songwriter to the stars, Eliot Kennedy, the team even persuaded Brian Blessed to rap! The new twist on a Yorkshire classic has had nearly a quarter of a million YouTube hits and rising!
2019 Cause UK highlights include delivering high profile media profile to the Invictus Trials in Sheffield, project managing a fundraising dinner with Mary Berry and hosting the annual Dickensian Festival in Malton.
About Harrogate Film Festival
The annual festival launched in 2016 and became a major town event in March 2017 with the aim of becoming one of best known and best loved film festivals in the UK in the forthcoming years.
Our motto ‘join in’ encapsulates the vision for the festival where we look to delight film-watchers and film-makers by developing unique events in different venues around the historic town of Harrogate from experience screenings to showcasing the best of cinema and independent film. We are looking to go truly beyond the screen in giving film-makers a platform to showcase their work, develop their skills and learn from experts.
With many business sponsors, Harrogate Film Festival is a unique partnership between public, private and voluntary sectors coming together to produce experiences and collaborations unseen before in Harrogate.