Cleo and John

Cleo Laine and Johnny Dankworth cook up red hot jazz together live on stage, chat about married life together, and recall lengthy musical careers.

Jazz legends Cleo Laine and Johnny Dankworth perform live on stage at the Stables Theatre, Wavendon, discuss life together, and recall their careers in music. Describing herself as ‘a privileged coloured girl’, Laine, born to a Jamaican father and an English mother in Southall, West London, reflects upon being a singer, her childhood and considers prejudice - in and out of the music business.

Cleo Laine and Johnny Dankworth, who were married for more than fifty years, founded The Stables Theatre in a converted barn in the grounds behind their house. Still a popular performance venue, it was entirely rebuilt in the year 2000.