YEOVIL’S Christmas offering whisks its audience back to the Martock suburb of Old Peking, all ready for the retelling of the story of the villainous Abanazar and his plans for world domination. In his way stands a boy, Aladdin, whose only motivation is love … and as we all know love wins the day. The…
SAY “The Nutcracker” and you immediately think of a vast Christmas tree, centre stage – and that’s just what you get in Scott Ward and Amy Maughan’s production at Frome’s Merlin Theatre, on until 15th December. This totally delightful show, with its book and lyrics by Jenifer Toksvig (sister of Sandi) and memorably tuneful music…
FANTASTIQUE is the only word for Andrew Pollard’s delightful and delicious version of Beauty and the Beast, on stage in Salisbury until 13th January. He cut his teeth with Bath’s Natural Theatre, so there’s little Andrew doesn’t know about observing the public and adapting to their needs. And there’s nothing that Salisbury needs more than…
THERE’S the world premiere of a musical play on at the Redgrave Theatre in Bristol until 13th December, performed by students at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. With music and lyrics by Eamonn O’Dwyer and words by Helen Watts, it reunites the team behind Dorset Corset’s Frankenstein in 2010, a collaboration that continued in the…
BRISTOL Old Vic brings its Year of Change to a triumphant conclusion with two five-star Christmas shows that underline the importance of imagination, courage and transformation. In the main house, the Old Vic’s artistic director Tom Morris pulls off a seemingly-impossible feat, stripping away the accumulated sickly sentiment to produce a fresh, taut and convincing…
BRISTOL Old Vic brings its Year of Change to a triumphant conclusion with two five-star Christmas shows that underline the importance of imagination, courage and transformation. In the newly-created Weston Studio, Ad Infinitum joins with BOV to bring colour back into a grey world, in a show that’s aimed at audiences aged from four to…
THE new Bea Roberts version of Mary Norton’s fantasy children’s book The Borrowers is on stage at the Tobacco Factory in Bedminster until 20th January. To judge by the audience reaction on the press night, this is going to be a monster success, with its clever props, agile cast and live band. The writer’s Little…
BILLED as “a giant of a family pantomime”, Steve Bennett’s new version of Jack and the Beanstalk is on stage in Exeter until 6th January. Steve has not only written the script, but directs AND plays Dame Dotty Trott in this traditional telling of the story of a village under greed siege and how a…
THE incredibly prolific Alan Ayckbourn has turned his attention to Christmas with the Family on more than one occasion, and perhaps his funniest play is Season’s Greetings, chosen by Anthony von Roretz and Studio Theatre in Salisbury for the festive show, on stage until 8th December. Set over three days in the home of Neville…
NEVER, ever, make a promise that you can’t keep. That’s the message behind Bumblefly’s 2018/19 touring show, which opened to a packed Greyfriars in Ringwood on 1st December. Dom Phillips was stage manager for Forest Forge for many years, quietly honing his acting skills, and when Bumblefly emerged four years ago, there he was on…