Having already raised £10,000 for The Theatrical Guild (TTG), many of this year's participants, along with some new bikers from the industry, will trade their blacks and hard hats for leathers and helmets and hit the open road. Riders will boldly go where no First Night Rider has been before, as they visit even more of the UK's most significant and historic theatres and opera houses.
The 2011 ride will depart from the National Theatre on Saturday 18June 2011, and finish on Friday 24 June. The exact route and places FNRs will visit will be confirmed later in the year.
Lending their support to the cause are familiar faces from stage and screen including: Peter Benson, James Fleet, Cyril Nri, and Trevor Peacock along with TTG President, Phyllida Law, and some of the actresses of TTG Committee including - Belinda Lang, Liz Robertson, Issy Van Randwyck, and Tilly Tremayne.
As before, once the ride starts you will be able to track the FNR's progress, communicate with the participants live and set them challenges on the FNR's Blog. For now however, the blog still features all the blogs and stories from this year's motorbike diaries and the hundreds of fascinating photos taken during the trip.
Should anyone want to experience the freedom of the open road, raise money for a deserving cause and learn more about the history of the theatre there's still plenty of time to sign up, take a bike test, buy or rent a bike and join in.
The brainchild of David and Brenda Edelstein, First Night Riders (FNR) is a charity motorcycle ride organised to raise much-needed funds for The Theatrical Guild (TTG). 2011 will be the FNR's second outing and see many of the same industry bikers undertake a round Britain tour of a fresh raft of the UK's most interesting and historically significant theatres.
(Jim Evans)
