The Morris dancing movie Morris: A Life with Bells On was such a success at the Exeter Picturehouse that additional screening have been scheduled for Saturday, October 3 at 1.30pm, Wednesday, October 7 at 6.30pm and Thursday, October 8 at 1.30pm to meet the extra demand.
Apparently, Morris men even turned out in force and danced to celebrate the film’s release.
According to the Picturehouse chain despite a near-zero marketing budget, Morris has on its first day of release (Sunday 27 September) taken a higher screen average than Hollywood heavyweight The Soloist, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx.
And Morris managing to attract more customers per cinema in a single day than BBC-funded Charles Darwin biopic Creation was able to muster across the entire weekend. Even Scottish audiences have proved unable to resist the quintessentially English charms of Morris, snapping up every last seat at Edinburgh’s Cameo Picturehouse.
Described as This is Spinal Tap meets Calendar Girls, the film follows the fortunes of an avant-garde Morris team in their struggle to push the boundaries of the venerable, ancient dance. Set around the country pub The Travellers Staff, the docu-style comedy proves that Morris is not just an innocent pub pastime involving hanky-waving and bearded men with staffs, but also that it has its politics-laden, ultra-competitive side too.
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