Pop Singer, Pianist and Comedian. Join us as we chat to the Kirsty all about her newest show; Bottomless Poptastic Singalong.

1- Tell us a little about yourself.

Hellooooo! I’m Kirsty Newton, a very silly 46-year-old, living in my beautiful West Yorkshire hometown of Hebden Bridge, which isn’t nearly as murdery as Happy Valley would have you believe. I’m primarily a musician and singer/songwriter/musical improviser and get to mess about on stage for a living and make people happy, which suits me just fine.

2- What’s your background in performance?

I joined several London bands in the 90s and 2000s, including releasing an album as half of the duo Siskin with Galen Ayers. She’s just released a brilliant album with Paul Simonon from The Clash which you should all buy immediately. Then I accidentally fell into the comedy industry in 2003 and have been happily splashing around non-stop with fantastic, award-winning comedians for 2 decades, being ridiculous, travelling the world, singing, playing piano and making people laugh. It’s a very fun life.

3- What is Bottomless Poptastic Singalong?

The Singalong is an interactive, spontaneous, feel-good afternoon of fun, fizz and singing your summer socks off! I host it like a lovely big party gathering. The audience members choose all the songs, the lyrics are displayed on a big screen and the whole crowd sings with me at the tops of their voices as I play everything on the piano off the top of my head. It’s like an afternoon of old-school entertainment, but you can even get up and sing on the guest microphones to show off your skills and there are even some bonus “special” prizes to be won! Basically, it’s an amazing excuse to let your hair down with all your mates, have bottomless prosecco and belt out all your favourite pop tunes, like live piano karaoke. PLUS I’m bringing my super-cute little maltipoo dog, Adelaide Parkin, who will perform tricks, woofalong and help choose prizes.

4- How was Bottomless Poptastic Singalong created?

I’ve always had a natural talent to be able to play any song by ear, since I was a small child, so as I grew up, I always ended up being pushed onto the piano at parties and taking everyone’s song requests while they all merrily sang into the night… It just seemed a shame not to share that party atmosphere, so I turned it into an event for everyone to come along and join in. It is always a bit precarious, as every show, there will be a few requests I have never ever tried before, but that has always been part of the charm – watching my brain figure it out in real time as the song unfolds and there’s no sheet music or safety net! Quite often, I really am flying by the seat of my sparkly hot-pants, but the audience are always behind me and cheering me on! I suppose I must like a challenge…