Lytham Shanty Crew added to open air season

There will be an extra tang of the sea in the air for the performance of The Pirates of Penzance at Lytham Hall next Sunday 19 August, thanks to a special appearance by the Lytham St. Annes Shanty Crew.

The Shanty Crew will sing their largely unaccompanied songs of sailors and the seas for 35 minutes prior to Illyria’s Gilbert and Sullivan show.

Theatre organiser Julian Wilde is delighted with the addition to the evening’s programme.

“This is a wonderful innovation for the outdoor theatre season. Our audience greatly enjoyed the music of the Guardian Concert Band and Lytham Community Choir before the performances of Little Women and The Merchant of Venice earlier in the summer and I know they will find the songs of the Shanty crew most appealing and entertaining.”

The Shanty Crew, formed in 2015 by singer Joel Wrigley, raise funds for the Lytham St.Annes Lifeboat Station through their gigs and recently appeared at the Lytham Festival.

The ten man Crew have a very strong Lytham connection with both Joel and secretary Clive Marquis-Carr being former pupils of “The School by the Sea”, King Edward VII School on Clifton Drive.

Paul Lomax, deputy manager at Lytham Hall, feels the addition of the Shanty Crew to the evening’s entertainment is entirely appropriate.

“Lytham St. Annes has had strong links with the sea for over 200 years, especially through its brave lifeboat crews. Lytham Hall has been at the centre of the community for all that time and I am sure that a musical audience will love the songs and the singing which The Shanty Crew have developed so superbly in recent years.”