Make ’em Laugh

A tale of food and typhoid

MARY Mallon is an Irish immigrant, an amiable host … and a killer? A talented cook in New York City in 1906 takes a job preparing delicious meals for yet another high society family, and yet again they begin to fall ill and die. Coincidence? Mary thinks so. She’s put all that nonsense behind her…

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Sequins and comedy

BEING a foster parent doesn’t sound like an obvious subject for stand-up comedy, but in the hands of the whip-smart and very funny Welsh comedian Kiri Pritchard-Mclean it provides some unexpected laughs in her new show, Peacock, touring with dates in our region continuing from 18th September. Kiri, well-known from many radio and television comedy…

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All the fun of the Fringe

IF your thoughts go north of the border at the mention of “the Fringe” you clearly haven’t discovered the Shaftesbury Fringe, a weekend of entertainment, comedy, music, dance, theatre, cabaret, poetry, eccentricity and all-round original creativity. This year’s Shaftesbury Fringe, running over four days, from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th July, features a massive line-up…

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Not madding but laughing

IF you are among the many who think Thomas Hardy is not a barrel of laughs, Tom Browns at Dorchester will be looking to change your mind with Hardy Har, the town’s first comedy festival, on Saturday 13th July. Laughter comes to High East Street as Tom Browns pub joins forces with Dorchester Arts, The…

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Griff is the cat’s pyjamas

GRIFF Rhys Jones has almost as many parallel careers as he has comic expressions – comedian, actor, writer, broadcaster, architectural enthusiast and campaigner … the multi-talented performer is back on the road with his much-anticipated new stand-up tour, and will be sharing his funny observations and comic stories with the audience at Bridport’s Electric Palace…

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The comedy of politics

TIMES Radio presenter and political columnist Matt Chorley is looking forward to the general election and he wants to share his thoughts and expertise with audiences across the country, including the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis, where he will perform his show, Poll Dancer, on Friday 26th April. Drawing on his own two decades of…

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Travelling through time, music and literature at Bath

THE 2024 Bath Festival, running from Friday 17th to Sunday 26th May, will take audiences on an astonishing and exciting journey through some of today’s most exciting writers, challenging thinkers, hilarious comedians and brilliant musicians, with subjects that range from the climate crisis to silent horror classic Nosferatu, from the Sky at Night presenter Dr…

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Aida continues to Fascinate

THE ever-popular Fascinating Aida ­­– Dillie Keane, Adele Anderson and Liza Pulman – continues the lengthy countrywide 23/24 tour with stops across the south and west.  The trio will be at Bournemouth Pavilion on 20th March, The Playhouse at Weston-super-Mare on 21st March and Kings Theatre, Portsmouth, on 23rd March.

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Jon Monie plays Grimaldi

MULTI-talented John Monie, the writer and star of Bath’s annual pantomime and a frequent performer in improv shows, tackles one of the greatest figures of pantomime and comedy history, Joseph Grimaldi, in a new play which has its world premiere at the Bath Comedy Festival from 14th to 20th April. SLAPSTICK! hauls its audiences into…

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What are we here for?

BRISTOL-born Mark Watson has been making people laugh for most of his life, but sometimes he wonders what he (or any of us) is actually here for. He brings his latest show, Search, to Dorchester, appearing at Hardye’s School theatre, on Saturday 17th February at 8pm. Mark Watson’s 12-year-old son has just got a phone….

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