Impressive summer line-up at Courtyard

9:41am Friday 11th April 2008

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LAZY summer evenings at the Courtyard in Hereford are looking more and more appealing by the minute.

An impressive summer season is lined up to coincide with the art centre's 10th anniversary - and with more Worcestershire residents crossing the border for entertainment than ever before the coming months look set to be busy.

The season starts on Thursday, April 17, when the London Mozart Players perform with Tasmin Little, followed by Australian-born guitarist Craig Ogden, who made his debut at the Royal Albert Hall, performing a week later. Then comes Jane Gilchrist, winner of Channel 4's Operatunity, award-winning Richard Digance and Ola Onabule, who performed at David and Victoria Beckham's wedding.

Hereford College of Arts returns with two productions - Murdering Marlowe, a blasphemous romp through Elizabethan London, followed by Lark Rise, a play charting the life of a rural Oxfordshire community during one harvest day.

As well as traditional drama -The Importance of Being Earnest (May 10), Abigail's Party (May 15/16) and Cider with Rosie (July 2), there is a helping of new innovative drama such as The Three Graces (April 16).

Stand-up fans are also expected to descend upon the centre, first to see Andy Parsons, from BBC 2's Mock The Week, on Saturday, April 19, followed by the ever-energetic Lee Evans (May 7); Red Dwarf's Hattie Hayridge and Norman Lovett (May 30); and the much-loved Rodney Bewes, best remembered as Bob in The Likely Lads.