ONCE seen, never forgotten: an indefinable confusion of top musicianship and comic savvy, the New Rope String Band are truly unique entertainers. Elements of circus, clowning, vaudeville, slapstick and sheer inspired silliness are spliced with beautiful acoustic music from various world traditions, in precision-honed yet uproarious performances that have delighted audiences from Borneo's Sarawak rainforest to the Shetland Folk Festival. Equally at home in tiny village halls or on major festival stages, these three maniac minstrels mix up long-time favourite routines with ever-evolving new material. From musical gyrations to deconstructed nursery rhymes, Python-esque absurdism to pyrotechnics, dream sequences and live, interactive film, expect the unexpected.

See them live at St Laurence Church Hall, The Shambles, Stroud on Monday, February 2, at 7.30pm.

Tickets are available from the Sub Rooms.

Winners of the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Herald Angels Award The New Rope String Band are: Pete Challoner, Tim Dalling and Jock Tyldesley.

"They made me laugh until I cried, and played some great music. If the Queen could knight them or something, it would be a good idea."

(Tim O'Brien)