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

The films

This show brings together three of the greatest silent film comedians from Britain, the USA, and France - Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Max Linder. In The Rink, Charlie Chaplin is a disastrous waiter in a posh restaurant who spends his spare time at the roller skating rink. The film is based on two of Charlie’s most successful musical hall sketches, and his rollerskating skills have to be seen to be believed! In The Balloonatic, Buster Keaton takes a ride in a hot air balloon and finds himself stranded in the wild countryside and fighting off bears. This is one of Buster’s most charming films. In Max Takes a Bath, Max has one simple aim - to take a bath in his brand new bathtub. But of course, everything goes wrong and the film takes ever more surreal turns in its compact seven minutes.

The music

Violinist Susannah Simmons and 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 7.30pm

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