IF there is one thing a pantomime dame needs, it is to be seen – or perhaps B-Scene, as the newest company in the area is called. The Yeovil-based group will be bringing panto to Sherborne this Christmas, and it’s the perennial favourite story of Cinderella In this version, the wicked Morsus and the Ugly…
I WAS brought up by a wildly romantic woman whose idea of love and relationships was moulded by the then-superstar Ivor Novello and The Dancing Years. We went to Bournemouth’s Pavilion Theatre Monday after Monday to watch the stars of the day do their thing. Now, watching the Barn Theatre production of the 2001 show…
IT’S hard to believe that 30 years have passed since that seven-minute interlude in the Dublin-staged 1994 Eurovision Song Contest caught the public’s imagination to such an extent that within a year it had expanded into a full-length stage show, which in turn, with its mixture of Irish music, dance and folk lore, has attracted…
PERHAPS the most wonderful, in the true sense of the word, thing about Christmas is to watch the delight and excitement on the faces of young children. And what better way to do it than to go along to Poole Lighthouse’s festive show Little Robin Red Vest, a two-person retelling of Jay Fearnley’s beloved story…
ELEVEN years after her memorable adaptation and production of A Christmas Carol at the Shelley Theatre in Southbourne, Helen Watts returned to Bournemouth last week with a new working of the Dickens classic for students of Arts University Bournemouth, at their home theatre, The Palace Court in Hinton Road. With an energetic cast of ten,…
ACTING legend Sir Derek Jacobi, a star of both the stage and screen, has a short pre-Christmas tour talking about his career, with two local dates, at Bath Theatre Royal on Friday 28th November and Bristol’s Redgrave Theatre on Sunday 30th, both at 2pm. The event will feature insights, memories of appearing in countless Shakespeare…
FANS of Charles Dickens’ festive fable, A Christmas Carol, have their usual huge choice of productions this year, but Dorset’s Artsreach is bringing a company to Dorset with a very different take on the story of Scrooge. Starting on Wednesday 3rd December at Royal Manor Theatre, Portland, the amusingly named Hah! Bumhug! is performed by…
IF you think grand opera is all about very big voice, huge orchestras and vast opera houses, think again! Dorset’s Artsreach rural touring charity is bringing a small scale operatic entertainment to Studland on Thursday 4th December and Yetminster on Sunday 14th. Village halls may not have much in common with Covent Garden, the Met,…
MUSIC at Exeter Cathedral in the weeks before Christmas ranges from Devon-based folk duo Sound of the Sirens, on Friday 5th December, to the traditional favourites, carols and Handel’s Messiah. Sound of the Sirens, pictured right, is a special homecoming gig for the singer-songwriting duo who are based in the city. Abbe Martin and Hannah…
WHETHER you are a fan of pantomimes, Christmas shows or determinedly non-Christmas shows in December, there will be something on stage for you in the south and west this season. In all my years reviewing, I have never seen so many offerings, from the big starry shows in the cities to the unpaid performers in…
MASTER storyteller Vic Llewellyn comes to Sidmouth Manor Pavilion theatre on Thursday 27th November,with a wintery story to make your blood run cold, No One is Listening’(A Ghost Story), a funny and heartbreaking ride through a landscape of ghosts, forgetfulness and fading memories. How do we preserve what is beginning to fade? When a (not…
TOM Moth, the acclaimed harpist with multi-platinum-selling band Florence and The Machine, and a Frome resident, is one of three locally-based acts performing at The Tunnels on Saturday 29th November to launch the fund-raising campaign, 25 for 25, to support Frome Festival I harpist among musicians taking part in Frome Festival’s ‘25 for 25’ launch…
CONSONE Quartet, the first period instrument string quartet to be selected as BBC New Generation Artists, is coming to Bridport Arts Centre, Ilminster Arts Centre and Crewkerne Dance House on 28th and 29th November, for the final Concerts in the West tour of 2025. The four musicians – Agata Daraškaite and Magdalena Loth-Hill, violins, Elitsa…
SOMERSET artists James and Kate Lynch, who live on a hill overlooking the Somerset Levels, have both had work selected for The Life of the Fields, a major exhibition at St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery in Lymington, one of the most adventurous and prestigious galleries in the area. The exhibition runs to 10th January…
AN exhibition, at Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury, from 27th September to 10th January 2026, A Life Outside: Hope Bourne on Exmoor, offers a new appraisal of the work and life of the Exmoor writer and artist. Created in partnership with The Exmoor Society, which cares for The Hope L Bourne Collection, the exhibition considers…
WHEN Clara’s mysterious aunt arrives at the family’s grand Christmas ball with a strange gift, she brings unexpected excitement to the festivities. Find out more when Taunton’s Brewhouse theatre presents The Nutcracker (Not the Ballet) this Christmas, from 2nd to 28th December. Join Clara (Nell Baker) on this magical Christmas Eve when her Nutcracker doll…
IF you are wondering whether your little children are old enough to enjoy a full-blown pantomime this Christmas, but would like to take them to a live show, the place to go is Bath Theatre Royal’s dedicated youth space, The Egg, and its new show Snow Mice, on various days and times until 11th January….
A CRITICALLY acclaimed young pianist, Reed Tetzloff, will give an afternoon recital, The Romantic Piano, at St John’s Church, Tisbury, on Saturday 13th December at 3.30pm. The concert is raising funds for the church. Tetzloff came to international attention ten years ago at the XV Tchaikovsky Competition, where he was dubbed “the lyric hero of…
JOSIAH Wedgwood is best known nowadays for his Jasperware pottery, with its distinctive light-blue colour. But the 18th century potter was a true radical, as historian Tristram Hunt will explain when he gives Salisbury Museum’s annual lecture, on Wednesday 3rd December, at 7.30pm, at Salisbury Methodist Church in St Edmund’s Church Street. The museum currently…
BUMBLEFLY (also known as The Travelling Players) returns this Christmas with a favourite story, Pinocchio, starting on 5th December. Like last year’s production of A Christmas Carol, it is another delightful festive show. The players bring their blend of quirky storytelling, song, merriment and mischief to the wonderful mis-adventures of Pinocchio! – the wooden marionette…
BISCUITS are a familiar feature of most European culinary traditions and they have a special place in the heart of Croatian actress Tina Hofman, who brings her one-woman show, Pepper and Honey, to Sixpenny Handley village hall on Saturday 29th November at 7.30pm and Litton Cheney Community Hall on Sunday 30th November at 2.30pm. Tea…
ALASTAIR Braidwood is a man of many talents. Well-known to fans of the New Hardy Players and Dorset folk music as a versatile musician, musical director and actor, he is also an experienced handknitter and he has just celebrated the launch of his new knitwear brand by knitting an entire fisherman’s gansey from start to…
UNTIL a few months ago, the names of Moth and Raynor Winn provoked respect and admiration, and the their story was filmed as The Salt Path, with a stellar cast featuring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs. That critically-praised film is the most-requested on Moviola’s November programme. In July, The Observer newspaper broke the story which…