BRISTOL has always been a special place for Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson’s ever-popular tale of piracy and treasure maps … it’s even said the Scottish writer worked on the story at the city’s Llandoger Trow inn, which might have been the model for the Admiral Benbow. This year, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School has…
JANE Austen is rightly famous for her portrayal of strong women who often make decisions for themselves – sometimes against the advice or desires of those around them. One of the most independent and controversial is Lady Susan, the subject of Dyad Productions’ new Austen’s Women play. It continues its tour at Pound Arts at…
HOT on the heels of the Swan Theatre’s own mystery horror, Civic Players will be performing The Murder Room as their pre-Christmas offering at the Yeovil theatre from 4th to 7th December. Described as a hilarious murder mystery spoof, Jack Sharkey’s The Murder Room was scheduled for production in 2020, when COVID restrictions shut down theatres…
PLAYWRIGHT Stephen Lowe adapted Robert Tressell’s partly-autobiographical novel The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists in 1978 for Joint Stock, and the members of Frome Drama chose it for their autumn show, hot on the heels of a general election that has brought the Labour movement to power after years of Tory rule. Tressell was a painter and decorator,…
TRICK photography has been used in-film making almost from the time of the first moving pictures – Georges Méliès’s Trip to the Moon featured a rocket landing in the Man in the Moon’s eye way back in 1902. It had become much more sophisticated by 1937, when Cary Grant and Constance Bennett caused comic havoc…
SOME years ago we visited a remote castle in Scotland, as a possible choice for a big family holiday. Within minutes of entering the ancient stone tower we were chilled and alarmed, wrapped in a an insidious sense of misery that only grew worse as we went through more rooms. Later, we learned that for…
ONE of the most enchanting stage stories for children, Snow Mouse returns to Bath’s Egg theatre this Christmas for the tenth consecutive year, from Friday 29th November to Sunday 5th January. This “delightful” (The Stage) seasonal tale for the very young, performed in the Roper Room, is perfect for children aged six months to four…
AN aged raw sheep’s milk, Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado from the Portuguese maker Quinto do Pomar, has been crowned world champion at the 2024 World Cheese Awards. The washed rind cheese from Serra da Gardunha is a soft, buttery ivory-coloured cheese with a mild flavour. It is made with vegetarian rennet that comes from a…
THE Grange at Oborne, one of Dorset’s most attractive small country house hotels, has taken the top award in the 2024 Taste of the West Awards. The hotel, run by Jon and Jenny Fletcher, was named Best Hotel in the South West. Jenny and Jon were delighted and gave “an enormous thank you to all…
ON Friday 22nd November composer Jenny Bliss will be at Wells Cathedral with a programme of baroque and contemporary works for St Cecilia’s Day. Her new compositions, Let there be light and O Cecilia, will be performed by some of the best known players on the baroque music scene, including Joanna Lawrence from the Orchestra of…