Barefoot guitar maestro Richard Durrant is throwing a candlelit Christmas party in Swindon.

Richard is heading for the Arts Centre at 7pm on Sunday, November 30 with masses of candles and a sack full of musical treats, many taken from his latest album, Christmas Guitars.

Mixing silvery-toned guitar with winter wonderland film imagery, the musician shows all sides of Christmas.

He captures the wonder in the eyes of children waking to find Santa has visited and revels in the cultural differences in carol singing from around Europe.

The guitarist is keen to raise awareness of the plight of those in need, whether humans or animals, and his guitar suite called The Polar Bear is the story of a mother and her cubs as they fight for survival in the shrinking icy wastes of the Arctic. There is a narration on the album by Barry Cryer, a well known voice on Radio Four.

Other elements in Richard’s Christmas offerings include Christian carols such as Emmanuel which has guest vocalist Amy Kakoura adding her haunting voice to the musician’s virtuoso guitars.

Pagan celebrations of this time of year are also remembered in such numbers as Winter Solstice.

Richard, who is known for performing in bare feet, studied at the Royal College of Music in London and was often found busking in the London Underground, playing Bob Dylan tunes.

He is much in demand from concert orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic but he is equally at home on his solo tours in rock venues.

Richard will also be telling tales from his time on the road as this summer he completed a charity tour on push bikes, gigging around the UK for 1,500 miles on a bicycle carrying his show equipment and pa system with him.

Tickets to see Richard and tickets are £15 and £10 for under-16s. Visit swindontheatres.co.uk or call 01793 524481. – Flicky Harrison