Name: Pick & Mix
Start: 2026-04-24T19:30:00+01:00
Location: Merlin Theatre

After the runaway success of Crimes Against Christmas in December, multi-award-winning theatre company New Old Friends is back at the Merlin this April with another Pick & Mix variety night. Hosted by company founder Fearg, they welcome in another batch of stellar acts.
If you haven’t yet been to a Pick & Mix, the nights are welcoming, entertaining evenings of curated performances offering a wide range of different styles and genres. There is sure to be something for everyone in the eclectic mix. Bringing buckets of joy with his “evocative distinctive” and “infectiously silly” stand-up is up-and-coming circuit comic Joe Riley. He’s a countryside kid who stumbled upon a city and comes armed with imaginative jokes and stories that have to be heard to be believed.
Continuing Pick & Mix’s burgeoning reputation for unearthing unique and interesting musical acts, the headliner for April is the alter-ego of Crimes Against Christmas star Andrew McGillan; Heybus. Once described as a ‘one man group hug’, Heybus was born on a cold January morning in the late seventies to short, hard-working, Glaswegian parents. His particular brand of folky guitar-based storytelling harkens back to a simpler time, a time of bards, ballads, and affordable housing. He roams the land in a nuclear ambulance, playing vaguely humorous songs on his old guitar, with all the excitement and charm of a wet dog.
Returning to open the show once again are Frome’s own glorious dance company, Tri-Art, with some all-new pieces.