By 12th April we will all need a bit of this in our lives…

Clear your jam packed diary because a week on Sunday you won’t want to miss a gaggle of famous faces and brummie legends coming together (virtually obvs) to bring you an evening of show-stopping performances and all the lols as well as cook-a-longs with your favourite brummie chefs.

The roster of talent includes Christopher Biggins, Jaki Graham, Shazia Mirza and Doreen Tipton who’ll be streamed live into your living room as part of a three-hour show hosted by Phil Oldershaw. There’ll be cook-a-longs with chefs Glynn Purnell, Aktar Islam and Alex Claridge plus cocktail master classes from some of Brum’s finest mixologists all curated by dynamic duo, Elegant Entertainment.

With around 100 performers taking part in the show which will include a mixed of live-streamed and pre-recorded performances it’s the brainchild of Ben and Chloe Grey, the husband and wife duo behind Elegant Entertainment delivered in partnership with host Phil Oldershaw. Speaking about the event, Ben said: “We’re all living through a pretty crazy time at the moment and it’s hard on everyone, for different reasons. We wanted to do something that brought a little light relief to people’s lives; three hours to sit back and enjoy some incredible performances, alongside food and drink demos, but in a way that we can all feel like we’re together again! Being a virtual show gives us loads of flexibility in terms of both live and pre-recorded performances, and it means that we can really push people to get on social media and share their evening with friends, family and fellow viewers. It’s also a chance for us performers to get back out there; it’s set to be a very quiet, and somewhat challenging, few months with no revenue coming in. By charging a nominal amount for “tickets” we can help performers, who love to entertain people, earn a bit of money. Plus, we’re also donating some of the sales direct to the real heroes of Covid-19… the NHS!”

Brum’s Big Black Tie Bash will stream on Facebook via a private link, which can be accessed once tickets have been purchased. Priced at £15 per household, you can get yours via Eventbrite  and Design My Night or by visiting the Facebook page