WHILE it is a truth universally acknowledged that we all love Jane Austen (well, most of us do), we probably wouldn’t call ourselves superfans as best friends Charlotte and Ellie do, and they want you to join them at their exclusive Jane Austen Fan Club, on tour from 5th February to 5th March. They start…
LYME Regis has two famous literary connections – Jane Austen’s Persuasion and The French Lieutenant’s Woman, the best-known novel by long-time Lyme resident John Fowles. There was a 250th anniversary production of Jane Austen’s Persuasion at the Marine Theatre last year, and this year, from 11th to 14th February, the mysterious cloaked woman returns in…
THANKS to Storm Chandra, audiences at The Exchange in Sturminster Newton were denied the chance to see Cabaret with Balls, but Artreach is delighted that the performance has been re-arranged for Thursday 26th February. Cabaret should always have a frisson of wanton wit, a hint of burlesque, some risqué songs … and even a pinch…
RICHARD Brinsley Sheridan’s play The Rivals gave the world one of the greatest comic characters of all time – the marvellous Mrs Maloprop, whose mangled phrases have ensured her name has even entered the English language. At Bath Theatre Royal, from 27th to 31st January, the beautifully spoken Patricia Hodge takes on this hilarious harridan,…
WE all know the identity of Sherlock Holmes’s arch-nemesis, don’t we – but what if the real “killer” was the great detective’s creator? Find out more when Sherlock Holmes: The Death and Life comes to the Ustinov Studio at Bath Theatre Royal on Friday 30th and Saturday 31st January. The premise of this witty one-man…
THE creative ferment of Frome, Somerset’s most artistically active town, has produced a new play which draws on the writer-performer’s own experience as a taxi driver. Rank, by Dan Gaisford, is coming to Bath Theatre Royal’s Ustinov Studio on 2nd and 3rd February and the Bay Theatre at Weymouth College on 5th February. The play…
WHAT do you do if your cinema is planning to show all three Lord of the Rings films in one epic screening – but you only have the sound-tracks? You improvise. All three parts of the saga – all those hobbits and heroes, elves and orcs, dwarves and wizards … Parody of the Rings is…
THE Boxer Rebellion is remembered as a frightening episode in China’s history – but partisan Western reporting means we have a very one-sided view of the insurrection. An unusual solo show, Chinese Boxing, coming to Bath Theatre Royal’s Ustinov Studio from 27th to 29th January, gives the Chinese side of the story. The play, written…
ALISON Steadman, one of the best-loved and most versatile actresses of her generation, will be the special guest at the Pipeline masterclass at Poole’s Lighthouse arts centre on Wednesday 11th February. Acclaimed for her stage, television and film roles, Alison first came to prominence in television plays Nuts in May and Abigail’s Party – she…
ANYONE old enough to remember the year of the Miners’ strike will be fascinated by Danny Mellor’s Undermined, a solo show coming to Piddletrenthide Memorial Hall on Friday 23rd January and West Stafford village hall on Saturday 24th, both at 7.30pm. Described by one reviewer as “an excellent dramatisation of an immensely important period of…