Festival Diary: Day 6

The Queen (2006 film)With last night’s screening of The Queen, we reached the halfway point of the Eighth Annual Prescot Festival of Music and the Arts.

Audiences at the Salvation Army enjoyed Dame Helen Mirren’s Oscar- and BAFTA-winning performance as Elizabeth II, in a moving film based on the aftermath of Princess Diana’s tragic death in 1997. The intriguing behind-the-scenes tension in the Royal Household is expertly dramatised by Peter Morgan, who drew his screenplay from his own factual research. Stephen Frears directed with his usual deft hand (his other celebrated films include My Beautiful Laundrette, Dangerous Liaisons and High Fidelity), and who can deny that Michael Sheen perfected Tony Blair’s mannerisms to a tee?

Rachael DunnThis evening (Wednesday, 20 June), Evelyn Community Primary School hosts the first Young Instrumentalist of Prescot competition. A sneak-peek at the programme reveals everything from Beethoven and Gershwin to Pop Goes the Weasel, as nine young musicians compete. The event starts at 6.30pm, and entry is free.

Then, it’s over to the Old Mill pub for an acoustic evening and open mic with Whiston singer-songwriter Rachael Dunn and friends, including Jessica West, Rob Clarke, Rufus Hock and Matt Swift. Entry is free, but you’ll have to buy your own pint!

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