Start spreading the news… fresh from an acclaimed residency at the Broadwater Theatre in Hollywood, actor Richard Shelton is making a bee-line for Barnard Castle to perform Sinatra: Raw on Tuesday, October 31 at 7.30pm.
The British actor and singer, whose international career spans theatre, music, television and movies, was nominated for best actor for his portrayal of the Rat Pack star, Frank Sinatra.
In the show we meet Sinatra as he prepares to retire for the first time in 1971 in Palm Springs. Gathered among friends he sings a few songs around the piano, smokes a few cigarettes and reminisces.
He rails against the iniquities of Mafia allegations, a trail of broken love affairs, a life as leader of the Rat Pack and a life littered with indiscretions and even a suicide attempt.
At the heart of it all is his great love, Ava Gardner. He recalls the heartbreak of their doomed love affair and marriage, but despite it all, he emerges triumphant in a belting rendition of That’s Life!
Richard’s lifelong affinity with Sinatra, has seen him tour the world extensively, performing by Royal Command for both British and European royalty, at the world-famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Big Band.
There is still time to book tickets, which cost £25, to see Sinatra: Raw by contacting The Witham box office on 01833 631107 or visiting the website: thewitham.org.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
