Two Idiots & An Absent Friend - Keith Donnelly & John Watterson Pay An Affectionate Tribute To The Great Les Barker

Folk in the Barn - Presents 'The Tea Cosy Sessions' 2027

^{Doors 2.30pm for 3pm start}

^Tickets

^{£18 online}

^{£22 on the door}

^{£9 under 25s}

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Two Idiots & An Absent Friend

An Affectionate Tribute To The Great Les Barker By Keith Donnelly & John Watterson

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Les Barker - 1947 - 2023

The best and funniest Poet Laureate we never had

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Les Barker was the folk world's well-kept secret on three continents. Outside its confines the general public were blissfully unaware of his talent for side-splittingly hilarious originals such as "Dachshunds with Erections Can't Climb Stairs' or 'Spot of the Antarctic' or 'Have You Got any News of the Iceberg?' (An alternative to the Titanic story from a polar bear's point of view.) Is it possible to be silly and a genius? Les Barker proved that it was. The Financial Times praised his work as “a blend of Edward Lear nonsense, Stanley Unwin wordplay, the surreal inconsequentiality of Reeves and Mortimer and the demonic robustness of Stanley Holloway monologues.”

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Les's long-time friends, Keith Donnelly and John Watterson, each well loved performers in their own right, are bringing his poetry to a wider audience.

Keith Donnelly and Les Barker used to share a stage as Idiot and Friend, so Two Idiots and an Absent Friend has followed naturally.

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Keith Donnelly is a stand-up comic, fall-down comedian, surreal snigger-songwriter, guitar-hero, performance-artist, [tall] story-teller, wit, half-wit, raconteur, Geordie-cultural-attache, word-juggler, smile sculptor, Great-British eccentric, champion tiddly-winker, and... all-round good egg.

https://keithdonnelly.weebly.com

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John Watterson is the UK’s leading performer of Jake Thackray's songs and is a long-time Les Barker aficionado. He has toured with Fairport Convention and performed at Latitude, Cropredy and the Edinburgh Fringe Festivals amongst many others. John is a talented guitarist, vocalist, and an engaging performer. On Les's death he stepped forward to help sell Les's stock of books featuring poems both silly and serious.

https://www.fakethackray.com

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Please Note

This is an afternoon Gig, in a gorgeous room. There is no Bar, just teas (coffee) and home-made cakes in the interval. And an early finish so there's time to get home for Strictly Come Dancing. Why not book lunch at the nearby Black Robin beforehand, make a day of it.

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