The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Studio Theatre Salisbury

THE members of Salisbury’s Studio Youth Theatre chose Russ Tunney’s highly-praised adaptation of Joan Aiken’s The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (the first of her long series of Wolves books) for the first show of 2023, on at the theatre in Ashley Road until Saturday 18th February. Set in a time that never was – the…

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Russian Rarities from Kiril Karabits

                                      Akimenko Nocturne Glazunov From the Middle Ages: Prelude Tanayev St John of Damascus Shostakovich Symphony No 4 Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, leader Amyn Merchant Bournemouth Symphony Chorus Kiril Karabits: Conductor LAST month the BSO announced that Kiril Karabits would be ending his tenure as chief conductor in the summer of 2024 after 15 years. Karabits’s…

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The Lavender Hill Mob, Bath Theatre Royal and touring

THE current touring production of Phil Porter’s adaptation of The Lavender Hill Mob started its national progress last October and ends next weekend in Cornwall. Directed by Jeremy Sams, it stars Miles Jupp and Justin Edwards with a further six multi-role-playing actors to bring to life this stage version of the classic 1951 Ealing comedy,…

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Launch event for sustainable farming project

PLANS to create an Avalon Agroecological Area, within a five-mile radius of Glastonbury, bringing together farmers, growers, conservationists and local councils will be launched at Glastonbury Town Hall on 19th March. The aim of the project, called 5FF (5 miles farming and food), is to support local farmers and food growers to embrace more nature-…

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Seasonal spice from Salcombe Brewery

SALCOMBE Brewery Co has launched a new spiced farmhouse ale, Saison (ABV 5.5%), which will be available on tap in pubs and from retail outlets. Head brewer Sam Beaman says this spiced ale is the fourth and final ale in Salcombe’s new small batch range: “Saison style ales originated in the farmhouses of Wallonia, the…

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Pushkin’s dramatic life

RUSSIA’s national poet, the creator of one of the world’s most famous and tragic love stories, Aleksandr Pushkin, is the subject of the latest talk by Graham Fawcett at Sladers Yard arts centre, West Bay, on Thursday 9th February at 7.30pm. Pushkin is revered in the West via the Russian composer Tchaikovsky as the creator…

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Girl from the North Country, Bristol Hippodrome and touring

THE current tour of the Conor McPherson play Girl from the North Country, set in Depression-era Duluth, Minnesota, at the bottom western corner of Lake Superior with songs by the city’s most famous son, Bob Dylan, returns to the south west at Bristol Hippodrome until 4th February. It’s an unforgettable piece of theatre, combining the…

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Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), Bath Theatre Royal

WHEN five cleaning ladies, dressed in late 18th century clothes, but with modern boots instead of delicate slippers on their feet, took over the stage with the house lights still up, and informed the audience that they were going to tell them the tale of Pride and Prejudice from their point of view, you could…

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The Cher Show, Bristol Hippodrome

IF you had asked me to nominate when Cher first burst on the pop music scene with her 12- years-senior husband Sonny Bono, (played by Lucas Rush), topping the US and UK charts with I Got You Babe, it certainly would have been much later than 1965. At this time, very much under the influence…

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