Silent film comedy with live violin and piano in the beautiful village of Marsden

The films

Laurel and Hardy are the eternal optimists of slapstick comedy — two well‑meaning souls whose every attempt to do the right thing somehow ends in disaster. In The Finishing Touch, they are hired to build a house. The result is - of course, complete mayhem. Joining Laurel and Hardy on the bill this afternoon is Charlie Chaplin, in his 1917 short comedy, Easy Street. Charlie plays his ‘Little Tramp’ character, who enrols with the local police force. He gets his brand new uniform, and a truncheon, and is sent to the roughest, most lawless street in the whole city. It looks like our little hero doesn’t stand a chance - but Charlie wins out in the end. We’ll round the show off with a cartoon featuring the biggest animated star of the 1920s, Felix the Cat.

The music

Marsden violinist Susannah Simmons and Holmfirth pianist Jonny Best will bring the films to life with original, improvised scores. Susannah can frequently be heard performing with the Opera North orchestra and The Hallé. She’s also a specialist in folk fiddle and gypsy jazz. Jonny Best is one of the UK’s leading improvising silent film pianists and the Artistic Director of Northern Silents.

Doors at 1.30pm

The bar will be open before the show and during the interval

This event is the first part of a Sunday afternoon double-bill of silent film. Following at 4pm is the classic 1926 romantic adventure Son of the Sheik starring Rudolph Valentino. Why not come to both? Great value discount double-bill tickets are available below.