President: Craig Ogden
"Bringing big names to a small town"
MUSICAL THEATRE NIGHT
Jacqui Dankworth
Thursday 10th September 2026 at 7.30pm
Reserved seats £10 - £45
“One of our finest singers regardless of category” Sunday Times
“Makes almost any material sound special” The Guardian
Come and join the internationally acclaimed vocalist Jacqui Dankworth as she takes to the stage to celebrate the incredible musical legacy of American music-theatre composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, in an intimate concert including a sparkling collection of music, inspired by Jacqui's own collaborations with Sondheim.
Sondheim's brilliance in combining lyrics and music broke new ground in musical theatre, and his work covered a huge spectrum of shows including Into the Woods, which intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, and in which Jacqui originated the rôle of Cinderella in the 1990 London premiere.
Jacqui and her fellow musicians will steer you through a selection of Sondheim's most celebrated work, alongside stylish reworkings of his lesser known gems.
When American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim died on November 26, 2021, at the age of 91, the world mourned the passing of a songwriting titan whose music and lyrics set the standard for musical theatre in the 20th century — a legacy that endures to this day. Known for his innovative contributions to musical theatre, his works include Sweeney Todd, Pacific Overtures, Company, A Little Night Music, and Merrily We Roll Along as well as a career-defining early collaboration with Leonard Bernstein contributing the lyrics for the iconic West Side Story.
His choices of topic and narrative constructs are unique to each individual show, and range from the murderous activities of a deranged Victorian era London barber, to the frustrations of modern-day relationships in Manhattan, to being corrupted by showbiz success, and he even takes in the American westernization of Japan along the way. Each song ingeniously moves the story forwards, while exploring and developing character, as he expertly draws the audience into his own extra-ordinary inner world of storytelling.
Daughter of Dame Cleo Laine and Sir John Dankworth, it’s no surprise that Jacqui Dankworth has become regarded as one of the UK’s finest jazz vocalists. Although known primarily as a jazz singer, Dankworth has collaborated with a sparkling and diverse range of artists, including the Carducci String Quartet, Courtney Pine, Marvin Hamlisch, Paloma Faith, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Gretchen Parlato, Clare Teale, Georgie Fame, David Gordon, Charlie Wood, Gregory Porter, The London Symphony Orchestra, and legendary jazz pianist Chick Corea.
'Send in the Clowns' became an
instant modern classic...
Here's a selection of what Jacqui will be singing
on this wonderfully theatre-inspired night:
...and a flavour of Jacqui in action, back to her jazz roots!
