James Burton Meets Marlene Dietrich
Writer/performer Patricia Hartshorne brings her new show With A Bit Of A Swagger to The Regency Rooms at Crown House on 20 June. Based on her recently published memoir of the same title, she entertains with a mixture of songs, anecdotes, and posturing personae. It’s “saucy, sassy, and darkly humorous”, and includes the ultimate swagger of her award-winning Marlene Dietrich.
Patricia Hartshorne
“When I discovered that Crown House was designed by James Burton” says Patricia, “I wasn’t surprised to see the beautiful split staircase opening out from the hallway. Apparently, he created this grand building as his own home, and the young Princess Victoria also stayed there throughout the winter of 1834. So it’s the perfect place for a few songs from a Hollywood legend!”
Patricia moved to St Leonards in 2016, from her previous base in Manchester city centre. The following year she took her full show, DOPPEL DIETRICH, to Kino-Teatr on Norman Road, returning to this historic venue in 2018 with DARK DEEDS, her comic and dark cabaret about love, murder and crimes of passion. Between 2019 and 2023, she appeared at venues in Eastbourne, Tunbridge Wells and Brighton. Finishing her memoir in 2024, she launched it at the Hastings Book Fair last September:
“That took a bit of swagger” she says. “When I arrived to set up my stall, my books had still not arrived from the printer! I’d already decided it would make a good talking point, if nothing else. However, half an hour before the public made their appearance, two hundred and fifty copies of my memoir made theirs, and I breathed a sigh of relief … “
Performance will include an interval – and a bar. Patricia enjoys interacting with her audience, so bring along your own swagger!
8pm Friday 20 June Doors/Bar open 7.30pm The Regency Rooms @ Crown House, 57 Marina St Leonards TN38 0BE £10 cash or card. Reservations: 07957 839045
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