Sunday for Sammy, the ever-popular “Geordie Command Performance” will be staged at Newcastle City Hall at 2pm and 7pm on 28th February 2016.
Sunday for Sammy has been held every two years since 2000 and raises funds via the Sunday for Sammy Trust to support performers, writers and directors at the outset of their careers and also to fund projects that enable them to follow their dreams.
One such rising star that has benefited from the Trust is 22-year-old Carly Burns from Wardley. Carly was given £2000 towards her stage school fees where she studied musical theatre. The grant paid off as she has since landed prestigious roles as The Acid Queen in the rock opera Tommy the Musical at Greenwich Theatre and a lead role in Cinderella in Halifax last Christmas. Carly has also appeared in previous Sunday for Sammy performances, coincidently dancing to Pinball Wizard.
“The Trust has really helped me find my feet in the entertainment world. They’ve given me the confidence and start I needed to succeed at this level,” she said.
In time honoured tradition, the cast-list for the upcoming show is top-secret, with an extravaganza of music, sketches and stand-up. Award-winning director Geoff Wonfor will film it and there will be a DVD released later in the year. 75% of the profits of all Sunday for Sammy DVD’s are donated to the Sunday for Sammy Trust.
In previous years Geordie legends as diverse as Mark Knopfler, Tim Healy, Brian Johnson, Denise Welch, Kevin Whately, Jill Halfpenny and many, many more have returned to Tyneside to perform in the show.
Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, writers of hit shows The Likely Lads, Auf Wiedersehen Pet and Porridge will be contributing a new script featuring the Geordie builders but once again, they are keeping things very close to their chests.
“We can’t say what the theme is for the scenes this year but we hope that the audience will love it. We think it’s funny and it’ll be even better once the cast apply their magic to it too.”