Whitley Bay will be once again rocking to the sound of pinball machines as Roger Daltrey joins the festival team for a special 40th Anniversary screening of Tommy.
The event at the town’s Playhouse Theatre on Saturday 1st August kicks off an action packed sixth year program of film, music and arts events. The evening will also include an exclusive question and answer session with the star of the film hosted by film and music historian Chris Phipps and the whole package will be introduced by festival patron Ian La Frenais.
Later in the evening, a charity after show party fundraiser for the Teenage Cancer Trust will take place at Whitley Bay’s Avalon Bar with local Who tribute band, The Whodlums.
As a precursor to the event, the festival team are launching a month long pinball tournament throughout July culminating in the final to be held at the Whitley Bay Playhouse prior to the film screening on August 1st. The festival is seeking to find the north east’s own Tommy.
Lavishly directed by Ken Russell, Tommy is a darkly psychological kaleidoscopic ride through 1970s culture. It features a star encrusted cast of acting and musical royalty including Oliver Reed, Jack Nicholson, Elton John and The Who themselves to name but a few. The music is based on a reworking of the band’s classic 1969 rock opera. Set in a seaside town, it features Roger Daltrey as the hero who escapes adversity by salvation through skills at the pinball table.
Festival Director Ema Lea said, “It’s a great honour for the festival to welcome such a prestigious guest and demonstrates how far our community event has come along in the six years it’s been running. As Whitley Bay was once synonymous with arcades and pinball, it will be a great pleasure to reintroduce something of the lost art of amusement to our town”
The event is being organised by the Whitley Bay Film Festival in association with partners TyneIdols, a Tyneside based production company who operate guided music, TV and movie memorabilia tours in an iconic double decker bus.
Tickets for the film and Q&A event are on sale from the 16th April at the Whitley Bay Playhouse priced £15.
Tickets for the Teenage Cancer Trust after show party with The Whodlums are on sale from the Tyne Idols website priced £20.
Details of the Pinball tournament will be advertised throughout the region during May and June.
Please see the Festival website www.whitleybayfilmfestival.org or the Tyne Idols website: www.tyneidols.com for more details.