ANYTHING can happen at Bewdley Festival – and usually does.


On the day of a Julian Lloyd Webber concert in 2002, for instance, Trisha Weaving suddenly learned that she was to be the page turner for his pianist. 
After a very brief rehearsal, she acquitted herself brilliantly and was less nervous than Julian who, being used to the Royal Albert Hall, was frightened by the closeness of the Baptist Church audience.


Bewdley Festival has usually avoided cancelling.
 

In 2007  Bob Lawrence was representing the sponsor when the  advertised performer failed to turn up. Bob collected his slides and gave an impromptu presentation about West Midland Safari Park. The evening was a triumph and the offered refunds largely refused .
 

In 1988 Jonathan Dimbleby was preparing to use a hastily assembled panel of locals on Any Questions when the proper panel, delayed by British Rail, arrived with minutes to spare.
 

In 2001 Julian Bream’s agent announced at short notice he was ill. It was decided to go ahead with a highly recommended classical guitar duo, Eden Stell.


To prepare for repaying the whole audience if everyone swept out, or at least  refunding half the price to those who stayed, the festival treasurer and director put a total of  £5,000 into enough envelopes to cover each eventuality. The duo were excellent. Virtually everyone stayed and almost all refused even the half refund.
The next morning was spent taking £5,000 out of the envelopes and paying it back in at HSBC.


In 1996 crowds were attracted by the smell and the smoke when Bryan Erasmus organised workshops in the library grounds for families to create pots exposing clay from the earth  to air, fire and water in  Raku style. The town was filled with people proudly clutching pots.
 

Ray Hewitt remembers 1989. On the Saturday morning of the 24-hour Shakespeare reading, anyone passing the Town Hall was invited (press ganged) into reading a part.
One man with a shopping bag was persuaded to join a rendition of Hamlet. As he was reading his lines he exclaimed, in full flow: “I’m late! Me missus’ll kill me.”
He grabbed his bag and exited right. It fitted into Hamlet rather well.


In the George Hotel, a 1995 talk on Spanish ceramics ended with tapas and Flamenco dancers. Most of the audience joined in, continuing the drinking and dancing in the courtyard below after closing time.
 

Other memories include:

  • The welcoming face of Pat Adams for so many years;
  •  Pete Lawes’ atmospheric video of the first festival;
  •  Henry Sandon on stage with his wife and dog in 1996;
  •  The powerful dancing of the disabled dance group Candoco (1993);
  •  A local headmaster on stage with The Reduced Shakespeare Company in 2004;
  •  Celebrity spotting is popular. Rabbi Lionel Blue (2003) and Gyles Brandreth (2011) were just two of the stars who loved exploring Bewdley.
  •  Town restaurants have served such names as Kate Adie (1998), who didn’t seem to mind being locked out of the Ramada, and Arthur Smith (2010). Laurie Lee (1988) visited most of the local hostelries, and in 2004 after his performance Johnnie Dankworth seemed permanently settled in The George.