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An Afternoon with Michael Buerk, Hazlitt Theatre


“Dawn, and as the sun breaks through the piercing chill of night on the plains outside Korem, it lights up a biblical famine, now, in the 20th century.” It was a sentence at the beginning of


BBC journalist Michael Buerk’s report from Ethopia three decades ago which, some claim, changed the world. Perhaps an exaggeration, but it did instantly stir former Boomtown Rat Bob Geldof to such sincere, sorrowful, exasperated anger that he was prepared to take on the world and its leaders to help the plight of starving Africans.


Governments – ours included – were


questioned aggressively, embarrassed, cajoled and charmed by Geldof. Band Aid and Live Aid soon followed in a worldwide, people-led push for funds to be sent directly to those affected, ignoring all usual diplomatic niceties or international accords and conventions. Few can forget Geldof screaming into


a camera during Live Aid that “there’s people dying now…so gimme the money”. Tens of millions of pounds were raised. Buerk, whether he wanted it or


not, became complicit in a global phenomenon, a piece of history. Geldof may not have changed the


world, judging by what is happening in parts of it today, but 28 words by Michael Buerk broadcast on October 23, 1984, certainly made us alter the way we look at it. By the time he uttered those


Dom Coyote: We Can Time Travel The Quarterhouse, Folkestone


As sensual experiences via sound go, Dom Coyote is probably as intense as anyone is likely to experience. This show, staged at The Quarterhouse in Folkestone, neatly follows his award- winning Songs for the End of the World. The respected musician and


theatre-maker now presents a keenly anticipated new solo show. The venue is great, too. The Quarterhouse is probably the most modern of all the theatres in Kent, small but functional and frequently used to road test big name acts before they go


Art Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury


One of the most successful comedies ever written stars Nigel Havers, Denis Lawson and Stephen Tompkinson. The play follows the relationship between close friends when one splurges a lot of money on a piece of modern art. Great cast and a great reason why it’s been on stage across the globe for more than 20 years.


Marlowe Theatre, June 5-9, 7.30 plus three matinees. Tickets range from £43.75 to £11.25 marlowetheatre.com 01227 787787


26 Mid Kent Living 26 Mid Kent Living


on national tours. According to the promotional blurb: “Since he was a boy, Dom has been receiving messages from The Traveller, a mysterious voice at the edge of time. Join him for an experiment in Harmonic Time Theory to prove, once and for all, that time travel is real.”


The Quarterhouse, Tontine Street, Folkestone, April 20, 7.30pm. Reserve a seat and decide what to pay on the day. Call on 01303 760750 www.quarterhouse.co.uk


lines, Buerk was already a respected reporter with an impressive pedigree behind him – local, regional and national newspapers, then regional broadcasting and a berth at BBC News. Along the way, he has won a BAFTA for his broadcasting. Now at 72, he has been off the


frontline of reporting for some time, although his unmistakable drawl can be heard on the Moral Maze on Radio 4 and once made a questionable decision to appear on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.


He is at the Hazlitt Theatre to talk about his career and to doubtless share anecdotes from his life and times. This is probably not one to miss.


Hazlitt Theatre, April 8, 2.30pm Tickets £26 and £23.50. Call 01622 758611 or go to hazlitt.boxoffice@ parkwoodtheatres.co.uk


Ed Byrne: Spoiler Alert, Marlow Theatre


Ed Byrne has been, although it is hard to credit it, a fairly constant presence on our screens and upon the comedy boards for more than 20 years. Hailing from Dublin, Byrne – now


45 and that’s hard to believe, too – he has been one of the sharpest observational comics around. He started getting some TV


work back in the mid-1990s while his comedy circuit presence was burgeoning all the while. Nowadays, his television stage credits


are many and varied – Mock The Week, Have I Got News For You, The Graham Norton Show, Live At The Apollo, The One Show, Comic Relief Bake Off 2015, The World’s Most Dangerous Roads and, most recently, he and Dara O’Briain filmed the follow-up to their Big Adventure show for BBC2 entitled Dara And Ed’s Road To Mandalay. Now in his middle years, he is using


his experience of life to make people laugh and is probably a good enough reason to pop along to the Marlowe.


Marlowe Theatre, Sunday April 22, 7.30pm. Tickets £25.25. marlowetheatre.com 01227 787787


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