FROME, recently named as one of the “coolest” towns in Britian, has a thriving arts scene which for years has been centred on the Merlin Theatre on Frome College campus. An imaginative and varied winter programme has begun, bringing local players, touring companies, acclaimed comics, musicians, and guest appearances from the Royal Shakespeare Company, the…
THE centenary of the end of the First World War will be the focus of We Remember Them: Armistice at Salisbury Cathedral, with art installations, films, a concert, tours, and a Shakespeare production, throughout November and starting on 25th October. The events to mark the dead of both wars will include a Royal British Legion…
THE appointment of architects for the expansion of the Brewhouse Theatre and Arts Centre was announced during a visit to Taunton by the Rt Hon Jeremy Wright, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. MICA Architects have been appointed by Taunton Deane Borough Council (TDBC) and Taunton Theatre Association (TTA) for the…
LITTLE Mermaid, the 2017 Christmas show at Bath’s egg theatre, has been nominated in the UK Theatre Awards, in the category of Best Show for Children and Young People. The winner will be announced on 14th October. The show, co-devised with Pins and Needles and written by Bea Roberts, was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s…
FOR the first time in its long and illustrious history, Bristol Old Vic has a real facade, a proper welcoming entrance with a spectacular foyer – the exciting contemporary front is part of a multi-million pound transformation which was unveiled to the world (and to great acclaim) at the start of the autumn season. The…
SOUTHAMPTON’S Mayflower Theatre “went dark” in June as scores of craftsmen and women moved in to repaint the auditorium, replace some seats with new, wider ones and re-upholster others, and generally refurbish historic plaster and wood work. Now the £7.5 million project is completed and the theatre, opened on 22nd December 1928 as the Empire…
TEEN heart-throb turned singer and actor Jason Donovan will be at Strode Theatre in Street on Saturday 29th September to talk about his Amazing Mid-Life Crisis, and a handful of tickets remain. The Australian mega-star came to the attention of the British public in Neighbours, where he played Scott Robinson from March 1985 to May…
BRIDPORT’s Electric Palace has a special film and music event on Sunday 16th September, when a rare silent film, Beggars Of Life will be shown, with a live musical accompaniment by The Dodge Brothers, followed by a Q&A with three leading cinema experts. Beggars Of Life, made in 1928 by William A Wellman, and starring…
DORCHESTER may not have had the first community play but it could probably claim to be the most prolific producer of community plays, so it seems right that the first national community theatre conference should be held in the town, at Dorchester Town Hall on Saturday 15th September. The conference will be led by Stephanie…
JUNO Theatre, the city-based company that supports female theatre practitioners, launches an exciting year-long project, The Salisbury Tales, Ancient & Modern, on Sunday 23rd September at the historic St Thomas’s Church. The project opens with a performance of seven new plays commissioned by Juno and generated at workshops in St Thomas’s Church. Inspired by the…