EDMOND Rostand’s 1897 verse play Cyrano de Bergerac draws its inspiration from the true story of a Gascon hero and poet, and its swashbuckling romance continues to excite and delight audiences in theatres and cinemas across the world. It is currently one of the flavours of the year, with new several new stage productions and…
GIANT problems don’t come much bigger than plastic – it’s choking our oceans and according to the World Wildlife Fund by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish. Many of us are far more conscious about our use of plastics than ever before and people power has been instrumental in persuading…
IF the story contained in this opera was to appear on one of the film channels on television it would undoubtedly has a pre showing warning that it contains racially discriminatory language and out of date social images that might be offensive to some viewers. The producers of this show did not think it was a necessary to print such a warning in…
AMATEUR theatricals are the butt of many jokes but the best amateurs often bring a level of professionalism to their productions that stands comparison with many professional companies. Ian Hislop and Nick Newman used this well-known fact to great comic effect in their screenplay, A Bunch of Amateurs, but despite terrific performances by Burt Reynolds…
WASSAIL Theatre’s latest play, Over the Wall Picking Apples, is currently touring the west country, in November stopping at the David Hall in South Petherton on 1st, Exeter Phoenix on 3rd and at Yeovil College on 21st. Written and performed by Richard Crowe, the play is directed by Ged Stephenson. Happily married with a lovely…
SALISBURY’s Celebrate Voice festival, running this year from Friday 25th October to Saturday 2nd November, is not only a celebration of the musical voice in all its aspects – opera, jazz, choral, folk – but of spoken word, comedy and story-telling. This year’s festival takes place in the glittering setting of the pop-up Wilson’s Piccolo…
THE Arranz Ensemble comes to the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis on Hallowe’en, Thursday 31st October, playing a newly composed score live for the silent horror film, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. This classic of the silver screen was first released in 1922 and is based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The significance of Nosferatu was…
FIVE geodesic domes – the Pollution Pods – will be installed on Brownsea Island from Friday 25th to Tuesday 29th October in a joint venture for Dorset’s Activate arts group and environmental arts charity Cape Farewell. After giving world leaders in New York for the UN Climate Action Summit a taste of the toxic air…
CLIMATE change and the challenges facing the environment are high on the agenda for this year’s Purbeck Film Festival, with a surprise late addition to the programme, The Big Dry, a 25-minute documentary from ABC television in Sydney, which will be screened at Durlston Park, on 23rd Wednesday, before Blue. The Big Dry focuses on…
AFTER a year of outdoor adventures, being cluster-bombed with yoghurt on Taskmaster and half-killed by Bear Grylls, award-winning comedian Mark Watson is back on tour in a more familiar setting – indoors – on a tour that takes in Bristol Old Vic on Sunday 3rd November and Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre on Saturday 9th November. Inspired by…