Blog

Michael plays a gig at Acoustic Music Centre @ St Brides Centre in Edinburgh on Monday 04 August 2008 at 07.15. as part of Edinnburgh Festival Fringe programme -

Tickets and information available at -

http://www.acousticmusiccentre.co.uk/

and

http://www.edfringe.com/shows/detail.php?action=shows&id=544

Watch out for an interesting wee programme this Monday - 21 January 2008 at 03.30pm BBC Radio Scotland - If you missed the original broadcast you can hear it again by using BBC Radio Scotland's Listen again facility at -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/networks/scotland/aod.shtml?scotland/drama_mon

Burns and Gow
Robert Burns met the great fiddler Niel Gow only once. With Jimmy Chisholm as Burns and Michael Marra as Gow, their encounter is commemorated in this drama by Bryan Beattie.

An article on the piece can be found in the Inverness Courier HERE

The new Family History Centre, at the city's Central Library, brings together the services of the Dundee registrar's office, city archivist, the local history library and the burials administration section.


Local musician and songwriter Michael Marra performed the opening ceremony yesterday and was presented with his own family tree, which dates back seven generations to the middle of the 18th century. 

This portrait of Michael's grandmother, Bridget Keating, photographed when she was a young woman was found whilst researching his family tree.

A spokesman for the local authority said: "More than a decade ago Dundee City Council was the first local authority in Scotland to introduce a family history service, when the genealogy unit at the city's registrar's office established an informal partnership with the city archivist, the local history library and the burials administration section. Qualified staff from Dundee registrar's office will be available to offer advice and to undertake research, provide a family tree and a comprehensive report detailing each entry that is traced."

In most cases the registrar will be able to trace each branch of a family back to the late 17th century and issue authenticated certificates of any Scottish birth, death, civil partnership or marriage record.

Extract from article appearing in Aberdeen Press and Journal

Selections from some of the reviews of The Demon Barber highlighting Michael's contribution to the show. I encourage you to go along and see the show at Perth Theatre. The show's run finishes on 24 November 2007.

"The show's greatest asset is its teetering three-storey set, which features a ramshackle old Fleet Street house ranging upwards from the pie-shop entrance at street level, through Sweeney's spectacularly red-painted barber's shop on the first floor and up to Marra's three-piece band, groaning away Tom-Waits-style in the attic. Marra's wry songs are also difficult to appreciate fully on a single hearing."  - Joyce McMillan - The Scotsman

"Now Perth Theatre associate artist Graham McLaren presents his version, which he has written, directed and designed. His starting point is a “penny dreadful” story about Todd accompanied by a score by Michael Marra. McLaren’s design is outstanding, creating a portrait of 18th century London, oozing with crime and corruption, that chills the onlooker. Shaven headed men with chalk white faces menacingly people the stage, while Kai Fischer’s lighting threateningly suggests the evil that lurks in every shadow. The three-piece band comprising composer Michael Marra, John Sampson and Bill Murdoch are perched high on the roof of Sweeney’s premises, and sometimes again the words of the grimly humorous songs are lost upwards." - Joy Watters The Courier

"On the roof sit Michael Marra and his fellow musicians, resplendent in Tiger Lillies pasty-face-and-titfer ensemble as they serve up a junk-yard commentary on events down below. As emotively illustrative as Marra's gravel-voiced punctuations are, they're pretty much the only thing this stylistically derivative mish-mash of student-revue-level theatrics has going for it" - Neil Cooper - The Herald

Cartoonist George Martin's third book "A Keek Inside" has just been published by Intro2publishing. Michael Marra has written the introduction and designed the cover to this book by his former work colleague.

Signed copies of George's book should be available at the following bookstores -

 - Waterstones, Dundee

 - Borders, Dundee

You can purchase the book online from -

http://www.intro2books.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=20

  

The Demon Barber
Created by Graham McLaren
Music performed live by Michael Marra
Date: Fri 9 - Sat 24 Nov
£5 preview Thu 8
FREE Director’s Take Thu 8 + 22
Time: 7.45pm, 2.30pm Sat mat
Venue: Perth Theatre
Price: Tue-Thu £15.50: £9.50 concessions
Fri-Sat £16.50: £10 concessions
Sat mat £13: £8.50 concessions
children £6.50;
£5 preview
Kids go free Tue:Thu
HX reg discount
£10 first timer
Classic subscription

The darkly delicious tale of Sweeny Todd infused with music performed live by Michael Marra

Welcome to 18th century London. Need a shave or a haircut? Is that a boil needing lanced?

The city’s greatest barber surgeon is waiting here at your pleasure. His shop may be small, but he’s got racks crammed with SCISSORS and RAZORS still warm to the TOUCH.

There are spit-covered jars with freshly pulled teeth and pots full of blood he’s just let. He has wigs made of skin and real human hair and a black fingernail mirrored comb. And there for your comfort and ease is a lone barber’s chair. Please ignore the stench rising up from that creaky trap door and observe over here, attracting the flies, cooling down by the window a fresh meat pie.

Come in, sit back and close your eyes. If you like your comedy dark and your music macabre come along to be surprised and delighted with a specially commissioned production that will re-tell the tale of Sweeney Todd who robbed and murdered his victims, baked them in a pie then sold them back to their loved ones.

This production is fantastically gruesome, so the squeamish be warned!

Dates are confirmed - 28 and 29th December 2008.  Fat Sam's is the Dundee venue for Michael's legendary hometown gigs backed by The Hazey Janes. Tickets are on sale now from following -

Advance tickets from Grouchos Ticket Agency tel 01382 - 228496.

Don't miss this exclusive set of the new Michael Marra Quintet album, featured in this special edition of BBC Radio Scotland's Global Gathering broadcast live from An Tobar Arts Centre on the Isle of Mull.

With support to be confirmed.

Limited Seats Available

An Tobar, 8.30pm, £10


Also playing in Glasgow at The Tall Ship on Wednesday 10th October.

The Tall Ship at Glasgow Harbour, 100 Stobcross Road, Glasgow, G3 8QQ

Doors 7.30pm, £12.50, tickets from http://www.tickets-scotland.com or 0870 220 1126