SAD news this week – Margaret Chadbourne, one of the region’s finest and most versatile actresses – died in the early hours of 21st June. Mags worked over many years at several theatres around the Yeovil region, notably at The Swan, Ilminster ’s Warehouse Theatre and Strode Theatre in Street. Best known for her dramatic…
THIS year’s Dorset Opera Festival, from 25th to 29th July, features the company’s first ever Rossini, and a welcome return for favourite bass-baritone Mark S Doss in his signature role of Mephistopheles in Gounod’s Faust. This exciting all-French programme will be performed at the Coade Hall at Bryanston School, with a long interval at each…
THE 2017 Salisbury Festival, the last of director Toby Smith’s four year programme, was a big success, with 214 events across 16 days performed by 1200 artists from around the world, including 43 sold out performances and a total of 53,000 people at events with 36,000 enjoying free entertainment around the city. The Ageas Salisbury…
COUNTRY house ballet, glamorous sister of the long-established country house opera season, returns to the perfect setting of Hatch House near Tisbury from 21st to 23rd July. Founded by Matt Brady, the Covent Garden Dance Company returns to Hatch House for the eighth year with a programme that includes the premiere of Les Colombes, created…
BRISTOL’s Colston Hall may have been making headlines recently over its proposed change of name but it is still a much-loved centre of music for all tastes, and its 150th anniversary this year is a big cause for celebration. One of the major events will be an outdoor performance at the Lloyd’s Amphitheatre on the…
FROME Festival’s box office smashed all previous records in the first week of sales, with a total of 2,180 tickets for all events sold at the Cheese and Grain, amounting to more than £27,500 in sales. Martin Dimery, the festival’s creative director, is understandably delighted: “Even accounting for inflation, this is the best advance sale…
LOUISE MItchell, chief executive of Bristol Music Trust, which runs the Colston Hall, has been named Third (voluntary, charity and non profit) Sector Director of the Year, at the Institute of Directors (IoD) South West awards. Against stiff competition from across the region, Louise was commended by the judges for her strong leadership and clear vision. …
DANCE, visual arts and one of the country’s most spectacular buildings combine this weekend, 2nd to 4th June, for the premiere of a new dance work based on the last libretto written by the late Terence Brady. Les Colombes will be seen in a series of open rehearsals and a final performance in the stunning…
LEARN more about what happens at Shaftesbury Arts Centre on stage and behind the scenes at an open day on Saturday 10th June, from 10.30am to 4pm. There is a full programme of activities on the stage, including music and songs, readings and sketches by the Wonderland group of writers and poets and a sneak…
YOU may have been surprised last summer to see men in army uniform, marching across the water meadows near Salisbury Cathedral, or waiting at the station. On closer inspection, you would have realised their uniforms were from the First World War – they were taking part in a national project to mark the centenary of the…