NapaShakes Presents First Burns Night Supper In The Gallery At Brasswood Napa Valley

On Friday, January 25, 2019, NapaShakes celebrates the birthday of Scotland's Bard: Robert Burns, and the music, food and culture of Scotland, with its first ever Burns Night Supper. Guests will savor the words of Scotland's greatest poet (and a bit of Shakespeare's Macbeth) accompanied by bagpipes and a lively Ceilidh band, plus engaging performances by two acclaimed actors from Britain and Broadway: Jane Carr and Victor Talmadge. The evening includes a delicious Napa Valley-style feast with traditional haggis (meat or vegetarian), neeps and tatties, and other delights in the candle-lit Gallery of St. Helena's Brasswood Napa Valley. The event is for age 21 and older, and attendees are welcome (but not required) to wear kilts and other traditional attire.

Each $100 ticket (per person) includes the Burns Night festivities, dinner, wine, and a wee dram (of whisky). A limited number of Early Bird tickets are available at $85 through December 31, 2018. Tickets are available on Eventbrite and through links on the NapaShakes website. The evening is directed by Sir James Forbes, Chieftain of Scotland's popular Lonach Highland Gathering & Games (www.lonach.org), a documentary filmmaker, and creator of the Dramophone Whisky app (www.bearshead.com). The event is presented by NapaShakes and by Brasswood Napa Valley, located at 3111 Saint Helena Highway North, in St. Helena, off of Highway 29 between downtown St. Helena and Calistoga. Capacity for this seated dinner and performance event is extremely limited.

Jane Carr is a beloved British actress with a lilting voice and bubbly disposition, who first became known to American audiences as a teenager, playing "Mary McGregor" in the 1969 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie opposite Maggie Smith. A multiple Olivier Award nominee, she has had a brilliant stage career, giving acclaimed performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company including in A Midsummer Night's Dream and J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, and again with Maggie Smith in The Way of the World. She toured the United States with the RSC's production of the Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby, played "Mrs. Brillin" for three years in the Broadway production of Mary Poppins, and was part of the original cast of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, the Tony Winner for Best Musical in 2014. A veteran character actress, her numerous television credits include Minder, Dear John, Babylon 5, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Star Trek: Enterprise, Friends, Gilmore Girls, and How I Met Your Mother. Jane currently appears in the series DC's Legends of Tomorrow on The CW.

Victor Talmadge is a versatile Bay Area-based actor, director and playwright who has appeared in featured roles at Cal Shakes, Z Below, Berkeley Rep, ACT, Theater Works, The Aurora, SF Playhouse, The Magic Theater, and Santa Cruz Shakespeare. He has worked extensively in regional theaters, at Canada's Stratford Festival, and appeared on Broadway in the world premiere of David Mamet's, November. He played "The King" in the Tony Award winning production of the Broadway National tour of The King and I (originally opposite Hayley Mills) for which he received the Bay Area Theater Critics Award, and was seen as "Scar" in the Los Angeles production of The Lion King. Talmadge boasts extensive film and television credits, including a recurring role on the TV series, Manhattan. An accomplished playwright, his play: The Gate Of Heaven was awarded The Nakashima Peace Prize, was the first live theater to be presented at The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, and has been subsequently performed at The Old Globe Theater, Fords Theater, and The Annenberg Center, as well as various venues around the country. Talmadge is currently a Professor and Director of Theater Studies at Mills College.

Robert Burns (January 25, 1759 - July 21,1796), also known as Rabbie Burns, the Bard of Ayrshire, and the Ploughman Poet, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, and is considered a pioneer of the Romantic movement. Celebration of his life and work achieved near cult-status during the 19th and 20th centuries, and his influence has long been strong on Scottish literature. As well as creating original compositions, Burns also collected folk songs from across Scotland, often revising or adapting them. His poem (and song) "Auld Lang Syne" is often sung at Hogmanay (the last day of the year) in Scotland and on New Year's Eve in the United States, and "Scots Wha Hae" served for a long time as an unofficial national anthem of the country. Other poems and songs of Burns that remain well known across the world today include "A Red, Red Rose," "A Man's a Man for A' That," "To a Louse," "To a Mouse," "The Battle of Sherramuir," "Tam o' Shanter," and "Ae Fond Kiss." He died of heart disease at the age of 37.

NapaShakes is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting professional productions of Shakespeare and classical plays with a commitment to the highest level of quality, plus dynamic community outreach and educational programs. Tapping the wellspring of Shakespeare's work, NapaShakes pairs the theatre's greatest actors with the Napa Valley's most memorable wines, celebrated culinary delights, idyllic weather and spectacular stages. For more information about NapaShakes, visitwww.napashakes.org.

Brasswood Estate, Napa Valley's Wine & Food Village, is a one-of-a-kind wine and food destination offering multiple wine tasting experiences along with spectacular dining and shopping. Brasswood complements its contemporary winery and tasting room with two unique dining experiences: Brasswood Bar + Kitchen and Brasswood Bar + Bakery. Its Gallery showcases beautiful artwork, and hosts a variety of events and celebrations. For further information visit the website at www.brasswood.com.

More Information about the Burns Night Supper and ticket links at: www.napashakes.org/tickets.

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