RESIDENTS of East and West Coker are the first in Somerset to enjoy the return of live theatre, as Nick White, founder-director of Wassail Theatre, gets on his bike to bring a new short play into people’s gardens. Wassail and Reveal Productions are piloting performances of Heartbeat, a ten minute one-person play, adhering to social…
YEOVIL’s Westlands entertainment venue has reopened for film screenings in line with government guidance to reopen cinemas, with a reduced capacity and additional cleaning measures will be in place. The venue, operated by South Somerset District Council, will be operating screenings in the ballroom using a sofa configuration. The July programming includes three screenings a…
AS the country moves slowly towards a “new normal,” theatres, arts centres and concert halls begin to look at ways in which they will be able to reopen. The board of trustees off the Brewhouse theatre and arts centre at Taunton, have announced plans for a limited reopening in August. Val Hammond, the board chairman,…
VENUES across the south west, including Poole’s Lighthouse arts centre and Bristol Old Vic were quick to welcome news of the government’s £1.57 billion rescue package for the arts, culture and heritage sector. Elspeth McBain, the Lighthouse chief executive, was on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Mondayt morning. She described the news as “an…
BATH Theatre Royal’s Egg, a flexible space for children’s and young people’s theatre and experiment, has received two grants, from Innovate UK and from Arts Council England, to encourage online engagement and outreach work through the coming months. The grant, from Innovate UK, will enable the Egg to develop online platforms for young theatre makers…
A NEW large-scale mural that has been unveiled on along Boscombe high street pays homage to the town’s bygone era. The 29 metre wide painting by Krishna Malla, commissioned by Bournemouth Emerging Arts Fringe (BEAF), is displayed on the front of the Sovereign Centre . Krishna Malla, commonly known as Tech Moon, was commissioned to…
THERE is some sad news from Ilminster Arts Centre, where the lockdown and Covid-19 crisis has resulted in a decision to make all paid staff redundant. A statement says that difficult decisions are having to be taken for the future of the arts centre in Ilminster’s historic Meeting House: “The challenges include the fixed costs…
THE arts are essential for our morale, our mental health, our wellbeing and for bringing us together and are needed now more than ever. A group of Dorset arts organisations has set up an emergency fund to help freelance artists who are facing the complete collapse of their income as a direct result of the…
THE David Hall at South Petherton, one of the region’s finest live music venues, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help it through the Covid-19 lockdown crisis. In common with arts and entertainment venues across the UK, the David Hall is closed and it is not clear when it will be able to re-open. The…
ARE you going to miss Eurovision? Never fear – Strode Theatre, Tor Theatre and Viv Gordon Company have got together to put on a live online premiere – SofaVision 2020, on Saturday 16th May at 8pm. The theatre is calling isolated sofa surfers: “Don’t let the lockdown be your Waterloo… Don’t settle for Ooh Ahh…