Hay-on-Wye will host an evening of music and humour with Rhapsody in Green at St Mary’s Church on Thursday, January 29 (7pm–9pm).

The concert features classical and jazz piano alongside vintage songs and character comedy.

At the centre of the programme is a new work for two pianists on one piano, Rhapsody in Green, composed by Mike Hatchard and performed with Martin Litton. Both trained at Colchester Institute, they move effortlessly between classical pieces such as Rachmaninoff’s Romance and lighter favourites like Tea for Two.

Special guest Janice Day performs as her 1930s character Mrs Pinkerton-Lovely, a lady “cryonically frozen in 1939 and, thanks to global warming, recently defrosted.” She sings songs by Gershwin, Porter, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, accompanied by a baritone ukulele, blending angelic vocals with witty, risqué humour.

Hatchard, trained at the Royal College of Music, has toured the USA with Cleo Laine and performs widely along the Sussex coast. Litton is an internationally recognised pianist and bandleader with extensive BBC Radio 3 broadcasts and collaborations with leading jazz musicians.

Tickets and further information are available at: www.vintagebythewye.com