Learn more about a Hollywood (and Bristol) icon with a brand-new walking tour

Learn more about a Hollywood (and Bristol) icon with a brand-new walking tour

Posted on: 19 Jan 2024

The brainchild of Bristol-based theatre company Show of Strength, throughout the Easter period this tour will tell the story of legendary actor Cary Grant’s life in Bristol.

 

Raising Cary Grant: The Bristol Footsteps of Archie Leach will run in Bristol on Friday 29 - Saturday 30 March and Monday 1 April 2024.

 

Yesterday marked the 120th birthday of the Bristolian Archibald Leach, better known as Cary Grant. In partnership with Cary Comes Home Festival, this new walk will give fans of the acclaimed movie star the chance to walk the streets of his youth, beginning at the Statue of Cary Grant and ending in Castle Park.

 

Tickets can be purchased now from the Show of Strength website.

 

 

Taking place across Archie’s old stomping ground, this tour will lead guests through theatres, cinemas, hotels and restaurants, as well as Bristol’s iconic harbourside. Led by actor Chris Wapp, you will discover a story laced with secrets and lies as enduring as Bristol’s landscape, which transformed him into the Hollywood star we know today.

 

Archie Leach was born in Bristol on 18 January 1904, making this year his 120th birthday. Show of Strength are celebrating by taking us back to his beginnings; from working backstage at The Bristol Hippodrome as a 14-year-old, lunching at Harvey’s Restaurant and buying spectacles from St. Augustine’s Parade to his Hollywood name change.

 

Cary Grant is a name synonymous with the Golden Age of Hollywood, famed for his mid-Atlantic accent and iconic style. A natural leading man, Grant starred in classic films such as North By Northwest, To Catch A Thief, The Awful Truth, Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday.

 

Show of Strength have produced works in non-theatre spaces for more than 20 years. Since 2008, the theatre company have taken to the streets of the city, performing in ‘found’ spaces. They have become known for walks such as ‘Blood and Butchery in Bedminster’, ‘Blood, Blackbeard and Buccaneers’ and more.

Tickets cost £12, lasting 90 minutes and the tour is suitable for wheelchair users. Starting at 6 PM, the meeting point is the Statue of Cary Grant, Millennium Promenade, Bristol, BS1 5DB.

 

Tickets for Raising Cary Grant: The Bristol Footsteps of Archie Leach are available on the Show of Strength website and it is in partnership with the Cary Comes Home festival.

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Article by:

Stanley Gray

Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.