THE Palace Court Theatre in Bournemouth was opened in 1931, and for decades was the centre of theatrical activity in the town before closing in 1970, since when it has been used as a cinema, a church and a temporary home for various one-off activities. In 2020 it was bought by Arts University Bournemouth, and…
WHEN Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar hit the stage in the early 1970s, it raised the hackles of many ordinary Churchgoers and those in high positions within the Christian Faith. Tim Rice’s oft quoted remark that they did not see Jesus Christ as God, but simply the right man…
AS part of the Museum of Somerset’s Spotlight Loan programme, from 23rd March to 2nd June 2024, the Tate Gallery is lending The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum (1822) by John Martin. It is a vast and vividly colourful work which caused a public sensation when it was first shown. It also has an important…
THE highlight of this year’s inaugural Bath & West Food and Drink Festival, at the show ground near Shepton Mallet over the weekend 23rd and 24th March, will be the British Cheese Awards. About 600 British cheeses will be judged on Friday 22nd, in the 20th annual edition of the awards, one of the largest…
IF you have seen The Woman in Black before – and after 33 years in the West End and 11 national tours, many thousands of us have – you will know that it is absolutely terrifying. You can keep your Nightmares on Elm Street or Blair Witch Projects – Susan Hill’s chilling novel, adapted brilliantly…
THE south west’s farmers, producers and food purveyors will be celebrated at a major new event in the regional food calendar, the Bath & West Food and Drink Festival at the Royal Bath and West Showground near Shepton Mallet on 23rd and 24th March. On Friday 22nd, the site will also host the British Cheese…
DAVID Nicholls’ 2003 novel Starter for Ten (and the film that followed it three years later) was based at Bristol University, so what better location for the musical version than the city’s famous Old Vic theatre. For those who missed the book and the movie, it’s about working class Brian, brought up in Southend-on-Sea, whose…
TIM Firth’s stage version of his 2003 hit film Calendar Girls opened at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2008 as a straight play, based on the true story of the 11 members of the Rylstone and District Women’s Institute who posed for a nude calendar in order to raise money to buy a new settee…
IN the days when youngsters could ride their bicycles around in comparative safety because there were so few cars on the road, many a show off-took their hands off the handlebars with the cry “Look at me. No hands”. When Liam Mower’s Edward Scissorhands, deprived of the use of his hands because they had been…
THE recent second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a sombre reminder of the trauma and horror that Urkainians have endured – and the continuing need to support the refugees who are living in this area. If most of us didn’t know much about Ukraine’s distinctive culture and history before the Russian onslaught,…