Radio News South Africa

Richard Loring to celebrate 50 years in show business

Richard Loring, former West End musical star and performer in South Africa, will celebrate 50 years on the stage when he and pianist David Crathorne take centre stage on Sunday, 16 December, 2012, at the newly opened Richard's Supper Stage and Bistro.
Richard Loring to celebrate 50 years in show business

Loring has not performed for several years, but will be taking fans, old and new, on a musical journey of nostalgia. In Loring tradition, a continuation of his quest to find the new South African talent, there will also be a surprise item.

Tickets cost R300 and include the show, a complimentary glass of champagne, choice of pastas, salads, baguettes and desserts. The total proceeds will benefit the Theatre Benevolent Fund, which supports artists, some of them famous entertainers with household names, who through bad luck or ill health, have fallen on hard times.

Guernsey-born, Loring was recognised at the age of 16 as a "Carol Levis Discovery" - yesteryear's "Idols" winner, He had honed his vocal talents in the church choir from the age of seven, in Eisteddfods and studying classical Lieder. Following his dream to perform on international stages, he flew to London in 1962 and joined the George Mitchell singers in the Ken Dodd Show in Manchester.

A brash young guy

From his first major juvenile lead role as Rolf in The Sound Of Music at the Palace Theatre in London's West End where he played for three years, Loring, who describes himself then as a "brash young guy", has reinvented himself from musical theatre to the Abbey Road recording studios, from the television and movie world to international cabaret floors. From performer to producer, he presented major events and shows at his Sound Stage Supper Theatre, launching the careers of many young stars and wowing Johannesburg audiences. His major productions include hit shows at the Globe and Lyric theatres to his award-winning African Footprint.

He recently received the "Naledi Lifetime Achievement Award" in recognition of his contribution to the world of entertainment. However, Loring believes it important to share his success and received a Rotary International "Paul Harris Fellowship" for having raised hundreds of thousands of rands through initiatives like his Celebrity Showbiz 11 football team in the 1970s/80s to his recent assistance to initiate Act Now! to assist performers with HIV/AIDS. He has served the Theatre Benevolent Fund for some 35 years, currently sits on the board, and his dream is to create and annual President's Command Performance in aid of the fund.

Tables can be booked from Richard's Supper Stage and Bistro on +27 (0)76 144 4809 or az.oc.nwotepacsdrahcir@sgnikoob

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