The Arts Section

Alice in Wonderland, Athenaeum Warminster

NEVER out of print since it was first published in 1865, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one of the best known stories ever written. Although thought of, and usually described as, a children’s novel, full of symbolism and surreal twists and turns, it has also found itself dissected and interpreted in literally hundreds…

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5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, Street Theatre Company

THERE is an understandable degree of secrecy surrounding the meetings of The Susan B Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein, and, as the audience at Strode Theatre in Street is invited to attend the annual celebration, that sense of mystery must prevail. The year is 1956 and the Sisterhood meets in upper New…

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If(ord) Opera moves again

AFTER six years in its second venue, Belcombe Court in Bradford on Avon, Iford Arts’ If Opera moves to the beautiful surroundings of Church Farm, Wingfield, south of the town, for the 2025 season. This year’s festival runs from 7th to 17th August. The Clare Teal picnic prom on Sunday 10th August is now sold…

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A seat in history

SCOTTISH sculptor Nigel Ross developed his art practice during his early career in forestry on the Isle of Arran. Now based in Perthshire, he is a regular exhibitor at Roche Court, the New Art Centre at Winterslow near Salisbury. This piece, dating from 2021, has the evocative name Pictish Oak, and is both a beguiling…

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The Artistry collective opens at Shepton Mallet

A COLLECTIVE of artists and makers from the Shepton Mallet area is opening a gallery and shop in the town centre, with a launch on Thursday 17th July. The Artistry, showcasing the work of more than 30 local artists and makers, is at 37 Town Street, Shepton Mallet. The project is part of Shepton Mallet…

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Witty fools and foolish wits

MIRACLE Theatre, Cornwall’s most prolific touring theatre company, returns to Dorset for its summer 2025 open air tour, with a new production of one of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies, Twelfth Night, coming to Ibberton village hall on Thursday 31st July, Kimmeridge Bay on Friday 1st August and Higher Orchard at Sandford Orcas on Saturday 2nd, all…

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Songs of the sea and the salt

THE acclaimed folk band The Salts has a special concert at Honiton’s Beehive centre on Saturday 26th July, an evening of sea shanties and songs from the sea, at which they will be joined by West Country folk multi-instrumentalist and legend Phil Beer, half of the famous duo Show of Hands.. The five-strong band, whose…

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The blue grass valleys of Wales

THE Welsh valleys are a world away from the misty storied blue grass mountains of Virginia, but the five musicians of Taff Rapids have created their own musical genre – Blwgras from Wales. They have a short tour with Artsreach to village halls at Milborne St Andrew on Wednesday 23rd July, Halstock, on Thursday 24th…

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