MIKE Bartlett’s dystopian play Earthquakes in London was last seen in the region in 2011 when Rupert Goold’s Headlong production came to Bath. Set mainly in the capital, it dashes from a prescient past to an oddly promising future. Using that much-visited framework of three sisters and a disappointing father, its siblings are variously a…
WHEN total strangers leaving a show are so excited and happy that they talk to each other, you know the performance has been something special. And this was an exceptional show that had the audience – of all ages – buzzing with delighted admiration. Juggling and contemporary dance don’t have an obvious or immediate connection…
FOR centuries travellers have visited Shaftesbury, on its hilltop overlooking the Blackmore Vale. Many came to the great abbey, built by King Alfred for his daughter the first abbess, and stayed in the hostels and taverns around it. A famous visitor was the young Katharine of Aragon, who stayed at the abbey, en route to…
A QUICK dash to Dublin to cater for a dinner party and then a Burns Night supper in the West Country before heading to Perthshire for the last pheasant shoot of the season – the life of a travelling chef is hectic, but Philippa Davis from Shaftesbury seems to thrive on the constant changes of…
FOR pushing 30 years now, Andy Cresci has been a familiar presence in the back row of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra with his trademark tuba. Having served under principal conductors Rudolph Barshai, Andrew Litton, Yakov Kreizberg, Marin Alsop and Kirill Karabits, he is in as good a position as any to assess where the orchestra…
A ROUNDELAY is a circular dance, or a song with a line repeated as chorus, or anything circular, and this new work from Alan Ayckbourn is certainly at least one of those three; an evening of circular entertainment. Part of the Brechtian nature of Ayckbourn is that he sometimes likes us to see the scaffold,…
TISBURY Arts Group moved back from Nadder Hall to the more intimate surroundings of the Victoria Hall in the town centre for this year’s pantomime, Peter Pan, and the Saturday matinee packed every seat in the house, balcony included. This home-written version of the famous story (by an uncredited author) has Nana as a human…
THERE are three essential ingredients for a successful village pantomime – a good script, talented performers and a strong sense of community. If you get all three coming together well you hit the jackpot, which is pretty much what Tarrant Valley Players did with Treasure Island at Tarrant Keyneston’s Ann Biddlecombe Hall. The Tarrant villages are…
FARNHAM Maltings’ It’s a Wonderful Life is a reworking of Frank Capra’s classic 1946 film of the same name. The production, which has been touring England and Wales over the past month or so, was brought to North Cadbury Village Hall by Take Art, Somerset’s highly enterprising arts charity. Skilfully directed by Gavin Stride and…
VILLAGE hall pantomime is a uniquely British rural art form. It has a few essential rules. You must know most of the people on stage. There must be some local jokes. Children from the village will come and dance and sing. The costumes will be colourful. Lots of things will go a little bit wrong,…