She’s been to Benidorm; She’s been to the Jungle; and now the one and only CRISSY ROCK is returning to her favourite seaside town to play a one-night comedy spectacular, LIVE AND LOUD, at North Pier Theatre on Saturday 30 June.

Crissy Rock is best known for her jungle antics in I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and for starring as Janey York in three series of the hit comedy show Benidorm alongside Johnny Vegas, Tim Healey, Steve Pemberton and Sheila Reid. This spring Crissy is taking her one-woman show Crissy Rock: Live and Loud (From Benidorm to the Jungle and Back) on tour and specifically requested to her agents and tour managers that she return to Blackpool to play the famous North Pier Theatre.

Crissy, who performed last summer at the pier’s Merrie England venue, said, “I'm really glad to be back at the North Pier. I've been around the world, through jungles, through hotels, and I've ended up back where I started... in Blackpool... and I can't wait.”

Crissy Rock has a unique ability to reduce her audiences to tears of laughter with her hilarious one-woman stand-up shows. Her style of comedy is outrageous, yet at times mesmerising, and is fast becoming “must-see” theatre.

Crissy Rock: Live and Loud (From Benidorm to the Jungle and Back), on Saturday 30th June at 7.30pm, will see her perform her full comedy routine, which may contain adult language. Tickets are priced at just £17 and are on sale now from the North Pier Box Office (situated next to the Merrie England) on 01253 623304 (open 11am to 3pm daily) or via Ticketmaster on 0844 847 2452; or online at www.northpierblackpool.co.uk or www.ticketmaster.co.uk. Suitable for adults only.

Crissy’s most recent theatre shows have been sell-outs! So book your seats now before they all go!

This year’s Blackpool Pride is set to go with a bang as Britain’s best loved boy band Blue, have been announced as the main headliners.

The iconic boy band, who are currently working on new material, will be reforming especially for Blackpool Pride and have said they can’t wait to play in Blackpool! Blue originally reformed to take part in last year’s Eurovision and Blackpool Pride will see the boys once more perform live and exclusively as a 4 piece.

Blackpool Pride, which takes places on Saturday 9th June on North Pier, will also see a stellar line up rock the party on the pier. A spectacular line up of live artistes will also be performing throughout the day including kitsch pop funsters Scooch, 80’s icons Toyah Wilcox and Hazell Dean, the flamboyant international performer Ikenna, Soyara Vivian (of Hed Kandi / Fierce Angel fame) and dance divas Angie Brown and Tina Cousins. There will be performances from popular Britain’s Got Talent finalists Father and Son and New Bounce.  Ace performers Lemon, who are currently supporting Steps to wild acclaim and current chart toppers Lee Lee will also perform.

The Carousel Bar will host the very best live local acts and entertainment throughout the day including Rob Eagle and Kaos Theory. More artistes and performers will be announced in the coming weeks.
As well as the exclusive Blue performance, The Blackpool Pride VIP wristband allows access to a host of surprise soap stars, reality TV favourites and celebrity guests who will be attending and hanging out with Blackpool Pride partygoers in the VIP.

A full on non stop party and live music event has been organised to make Blackpool Pride bigger and better than ever and the super glamorous event on North Pier boasts four entertainment arenas featuring a whole host of stars and acts plus funky pop up bars, fabulous food, exhibitions and market stalls.

Local businesswoman, Gayner Sedgwick has joined the Blackpool Pride committee as Entertainment Director and has big plans for the most exciting and flamboyant day in Blackpool’s 2012 event calendar.

Gayner has committed considerable event management skills, showmanship and investment to the Blackpool Pride event on North Pier and is delighted to be part of the Pride team and event:

“I’m delighted to be involved in this year’s Blackpool Pride and am sure that the event will be a huge success. Everyone on the Blackpool Pride committee are all working very hard behind the scenes to ensure this year will be a huge success. It’s been quite a coup to secure an iconic act the calibre of Blue to play at the Blackpool event so we hope everyone will join in the party and support Blackpool Pride on what promises to be a fantastic day.

To make the most of the Blackpool Pride event on North Pier, and to have the opportunity to rub shoulders with all the celebrities who will be attending the event, a limited amount of VIP wristbands are available.  The wristbands, which cost £35, include full entry to Blackpool Pride but in addition you will receive entry to North Pier Theatre for The Blackpool Pride Gala featuring Blue, access to the exclusive celebrity VIP bar throughout the day, entry to the fabulous Blackpool Pride VIP celebrity after party and on Sunday you can enjoy a FREE ride on the iconic Blackpool Big Wheel on Central Pier. We are looking forward to a spectacular party and top quality entertainment event and enhancing the great work already achieved by Blackpool Pride in the past. Everybody in Blackpool is welcome to this fabulous party but hurry up and get the VIP wristbands before they sell out for brilliant Blue!”

Official Blackpool Pride VIP Wristbands can be purchased from North Pier Box Office either in person or by calling 01253 62 33 04.  The Box Office is open from 11am – 3pm 7 days a week

The full line up for Blackpool Pride, plus much more information, can be found at www.prideblackpool.com

Entry to Blackpool Pride on North Pier is with an official Blackpool Pride Wristband only.

Blackpool Pride Official Wristbands can be purchased in advance from North Pier Box Office either in person or by calling 01253 62 33 04.  The Box Office is open from 11am – 3pm Seven days a week.

VIP wristbands are priced at £35 and standard wristbands, which allow access to all daytime areas, are priced at £10 for adults and £5 for children.

Comedy writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran are responsible for some of BBC television’s most beloved sitcoms including Goodnight Sweetheart, The New Statesman and Shine on Harvey Moon...they’ve now turned their hand to a new stage musical Save The Last Dance, coming toThe Grand from Monday 18th June.

First though,they’ll be bringing a stage adaptation of their most famous andwell-loved comedy to Blackpool audiences from Tuesday 24th April.

One of BBC televisions most popular and fondly-remembered sitcoms, Birds of aFeather, comes to The Grand with all three of its original leading castmembers, Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph.

Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran’s Birds of a Feather ran on the BBCfor nearly ten years throughout the 1990s becoming a massive hit right from theword go and remains not only a classic comedy but also, as a female-centredlong-running series, a truly rare gem.

Now the threestars of the TV series are reunited on stage to recreate their adoredcharacters, sisters Sharon Theodopolopoudos and Tracy Stubbs and their sex-madneighbour, Dorien Green, in a brand-new show created especially for the theatreby The Comedy Theatre Company, producers of the highly successful tour ofVictoria Wood’s dinnerladies and Keeping Up Appearances.

Pauline Quirke could, until recently, be seen as Emmerdale’s Hazel Rhodes. She is also knownfor her portrayal of Olive Martin in the award-winning drama The Sculptress, Down to Earth, Cold Blood and Missing. In 2008 Pauline launched The Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts, to celebrate her fortyyears in the business. She now has over thirty academies across the country!

Both Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph have performed in theatres across the UK inThe Vagina Monologues. A regular guest panellist on ITV’s LooseWomen Linda has also appeared on stage in Grumpy Old Women Live.

Lesley’s theatre credits include Calendar Girls, Hot Flush, Humble Boyand Annie. She took part in, and won, channel 4’s Celebrity ComeDine with Me in October 2011 and presented a BBC Radio London show along side Christoper Biggins.

Save the Last Dancewill take you back through the music and magic of the early 60s, a time when eachpassing week brought another Rock ‘n’ Roll classic!

Written by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote the huge success that is Dreamboats and Petticoats, and featuring the unmistakable music of Doc Pomusand Mort Shuman, Save the Last Dance is a nostalgic, feel-goodjourney.

Two teenage sisters embark on their first holiday without their parents in the summer of ’63. Full of freedom and high spirits they meet a handsome young American who invites them to a dance at the local US Air Force base...but young love andholiday romance is never as simple as it sounds. The sisters soon realise thatwhile the world around them is still watching itself in black and white, lifeand love can be much more colourful.

Save the Last Dance features the classic hits of Doc Pomus and Mort Shumanincluding, A Teenager in Love, Sweets for my Sweet, Viva LasVegas and, of course, the title track, Save the Last Dance plusmany, many more.

If you liked Dreamboatsand Petticoats you’ll love Save the Last Dance! 

Join ‘the birds’ when Birds of a Feather takes to the stage at theGrand Theatre from Tuesday 24th until Saturday 28thApril. Tickets from £16.50.

Save the Last Dance is at The Grand from

Monday 18th to Saturday 23rd June. Tickets from £18.00-£29.00 Booking/transactionfees apply

Book your seats now by calling the Grand Theatre Box Office on 01253 743339, online at www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk or at theGrand Theatre information sales point in the Houndshill Shopping Centre.

A joint productionby The Touring Consortium Theatre Company and York Theatre Royal, thisbeautifully tender and heartbreaking story of Anne Frank charts two years ofher life from 1942-1944.

Hidden from German Nazis with her Jewishfamily in a secret annex in Amsterdam, Anne documented her hopes, frustrationsand day-to-day experiences. She confided all this to'Kitty' - her diary.

Anne's wry observations of herself andher companions have been dramatised in this stunning play, evoking all theoriginal sentiments of a young girl's dramatic and heartbreaking diary, writtenin the most hostile of environments.

Marking the 60th anniversary of the diary’s publication in English this extraordinarypersonal account of hope, courage and survival has united and touched peopleall over the world.

Following the success of last year’s To Kill a Mocking Bird, the GrandTheatre was invited to partner with The Touring Consortium last September.

Led by producerJenny King, The Touring Consortium Theatre Company is a group of UK theatreswho annually co-produce one large-scale drama, supported by high qualityeducation work. This year’s production, Diary of Anne Frank,will be taking to the Grand Theatre’s stage from Monday 16thApril starring Christopher Timothy.

Christopher Timothy is well known for his many television appearances, including Mac McGuire in the BBCdrama series Doctors, which he has also directed, and James Herriot inthe long running series AllCreatures Great And Small. More recently hehas appeared in Lewis (ITV1), The Grapes of Wrath, All the Funof the Fair and Haunting Julia. In addition to this he played Christin the York Mystery Plays in 1980.

Diary of Anne Frank will be supportedby a programme of Education and Learning workshops including a post show discussion on Tuesday 17th April which is open to anyone who has purchased a ticket for Tuesday’s show.

'When I write I canshake off all my cares. My sorrow disappears, my spirits are revived! But, andthat’s a big question, will I ever be able to write something great, willI ever become a journalist or a writer?' Anne Frank

Diary of Anne Frank will be performed at the Grand Theatre on Monday 16th April to Saturday 21st April 2012.
Adults - £20, children - £11 Booking/transaction fees apply.

To boo kfor any show you can call the Box Office on 01253 743339 or clickon www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk, or visit us at the Grand Theatre information sales point in the Houndshill Shopping Centre.

Sandcastle Waterpark has been named as a finalist in the Access for All category of the prestigious VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2012.

As a finalist Sandcastle Waterpark now goes forward to the glittering Awards Ceremony which is being held on 22 May 2012 at Athena, an art deco gem located in the heart of Leicester’s cultural quarter.

Sandcastle Waterpark will have to wait until then to find out which award they will receive. All finalists are guaranteed to receive either a Gold, Silver, Bronze or Highly Commended Award.

Commenting on the finalists James Berresford, VisitEngland’s Chief Executive said “I would like to congratulate all those nominated as VisitEngland Awards for Excellence finalists this year. This is no small achievement in a year when we have received a record number of submissions.  The quality of submissions this year has been outstanding and (Your Business Name here) can justifiably take credit and pride in earning a place at the top of their category in England.  I wish everyone all the best for the final in May”.