As the recession bites harder and budget cuts shrink everyone’s pockets further, live entertainment venues around the country are struggling to survive. Grants have disappeared, funding reduced to a minimum and the ticket buying public are increasingly choosing to save whatever disposable income they possess. Theatres and arts centres are universally complaining of hardship and out of necessity cutting back on the diversity of entertainment that they have on offer.
However, amongst all this gloom, there is one Worcestershire landlord who is determined to buck the trend and prove that with imagination and tenacity a full and eclectic program of live events can be offered to its local population at prices that break nobody’s pockets.
Peter Fryar, the energetic, enthusiastic and determined landlord of The Rose and Crown at Severn Stoke has allied herself with Cheltenham based theatre and live music promoters Beyond Eternity Promotions to ignite an entertainment program in this recently refurbished venue that will cover most, if not all tastes. Amongst the regular live music nights there has also been a world premiere production of An Audience with Sherlock Holmes – a one man show starring Andrew Meller which has subsequently gone on national tour. The Songs of Jake Thackray presented by ‘Fake Thackray’ John Watterson will be causing much hilarity when it detours from its theatre schedule to perform in the pub on Wednesday 15 February and for jazz fans the pub will be turned into a monthly jazz club every third Tuesday of the month – starting on January 17 with The Hot Fingers Trio.
These are brave steps that Mr Fryar is taking, something that he is all too aware of. But he has the support of the local population and he has an infectious enthusiasm that has made him a popular local figure even though he has been at the pub just a matter of months. His belief and passion for music and the arts gives this country pub the potential of becoming a social hub of the county - from dawn til after dusk.
There could well be a lesson here for venues around the country that are feeling depressed by their loss of funding. With some belief, passion and entrepreneurial skill the arts can survive this recession – they are certainly doing so in Severn Stoke!
Helpful links: www.beyondeternitypromotions.com, www.finepub.co.uk/roseandcrownsevernstok
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