AN EVENING WITH JIMMY CRICKET
Palace Avenue Methodist Church, Paignton is co-ordinating this special event to take place at 7.30 pm on Thursday, 14 May 2009 at the Palace Theatre, Paignton.
With his special brand of family humour, Jimmy has enjoyed great success on stage, TV and radio, over many years. Having produced and written many of his own shows, Jimmy is famed for his catchphrase, '...and there's more...'. However there really is more to Jimmy than meets the eye.
Jimmy was born into a large Irish family, with four brothers and one sister. His father was an undertaker by trade. Most people felt that the whole family must have been extremely miserable at home, because of their father's trade. But Jimmy remembers that it was completely the opposite. Their father had a wonderful sense of humour and the house was always filled with laughter. Their house was also filled with the reality of God. Very much a God-fearing family, they would attend church each Sunday on a regular basis, and Jimmy realises that this is where his faith first took root.
Jimmy literally became 'an overnight star', reaching the finals of ITV's Search for a Star and has never looked back. Summer seasons, pantos and tours still take up a huge chunk of his diary.
For a comic to look funny, even before opening his mouth, is a real bonus and Jimmy quickly found that he had this edge over his contemporaries. "The 'wellies' and stage gear came from experimenting," explains Jimmy. "I picked up the hat in a jumble sale. I looked daft, so audiences expected my act to be daft," he grins, "and I'm pleased to say that I have never disappointed them!"
Jimmy spends as much of his free time as possible with his wife, May and their four children. His favourite hobby is surrounding himself with happiness and contentment, and as much laughter as possible. Jimmy sees laughter as a very important release valve, and his job is to open it, as wide as possible.
In 'An Evening with Jimmy Cricket', Jimmy relishes the opportunity to spend the first thirty minutes raising the laughter gauge as high as he can, "There are enough long faces in the world, and I don't plan to become one of them!" he says. Chris Gidney from Christians in Entertainment then spends the following half-hour finding out how God and laughter fit together in Jimmy's professional and personal life.
It's an ideal, light-hearted evening of fun that will get them rolling in the aisles, but with a message of God's love and laughter-medicine right at its heart.
It is expected tickets will be available from the Palace Theatre Box Office 
01803 665800, in March. It is, however, possible to pre-book now (PDF file) through Palace Avenue Methodist Church. Please contact the Torbay Circuit for full details.
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