THE received wisdom in some theatrical circles is that everything has to be edgy and dangerous and shocking and NEW! This production is a very good reason why this is a shallow and doomed policy. Hobson’s Choice is a very good play. It is described as author Harold Brighouse’s masterpiece and that’s not hyperbole. It…
THERE are many reasons to honour someone in this country, from the battlefield to the classroom, and of course, on the stage, and in the old-fashioned decorous language of pomp and heraldry, “services to dance” sounds so reserved for what Matthew Bourne has achieved in the past thirty years, but that is the reason he…
AS director Doug Cockle is keen to point out, the idea of reverse casting for Shakespeare’s cross-dressing comedy Twelfth Night is not new. But it IS new for the drama students at Arts University Bournemouth, and new for the audience enjoying it at Poole until 27th February. In the original, which would have been played…
TOURISM conferences in Wiltshire and Cornwall in March have been announced as part of the South West Tourism Growth Fund, with the aim of helping businesses in the region to do things differently and increase tourism throughout the year. The conferences are at Bowood House near Chippenham on 10th March and at the Eden Project…
ABOUT half-way through Brendan Murray’s new play, Martin Butler recalls a workmate commenting on the Butlers’ four-year old son Matty. The man says what a lovely little boy he is, but adds “what a shame” that he has Down’s syndrome. Martin (Vic Llewellyn) realises that he and his wife Odette love Matty as he is…
THE 2016 World Cheese Awards, run by the Guild of Fine Food, which is based in Gillingham, will be crossing the Bay of Biscay to take place in the Basque country, at San Sebastian during the city’s tenure as European Capital of Culture. As the dairy industry continues to experience challenging times, this is a…
by Simone Sekers MY mother is now in a care home. This is very much not what she had had planned. At the age of 92 she had decided not to have her flu jab this winter; her plan was to catch flu, which would progress to pneumonia and then end neatly in her demise….
DORSHI, an award-winning street food business run by friends Jollyon Carter and Radhika Mohendas, is opening as a restaurant in Bartholomew’s Hall at Bridport at the beginning of March. Jollyon and Radhika have travelled much of the UK with Dorshi, becoming firm festival favourites with their hand-made dumplings, hand-pulled noodles, salads and sauces – and…
PLAYING the world’s most famous detective is anything but elementary, but the talented members of Salisbury Studio Theatre’s youth section certainly rose to the challenge in Tim Kelly’s clever and amusing play, on at the Ashley Road theatre until 27th February. All the favourite characters are here – Holmes, Dr Watson, Prof Moriarty, Mrs Hudson,…
FRENCH-Canadian actress Catherine-Anne Toupin won awards for her play A Present, translated as Right Now and given its UK premiere at Bath’s Ustinov Studio until 19th March. Michael Boyd’s direction, closely linked with Oliver Fenwick’s lighting design on Madeline Girling’s set, increases the dreamlike – sometimes nightmarish – essence of the story. Running for 75…