The Arts Section

Bossa nova a la Francaise

JAZZ by the Sea has a French twist on a Latin American favourite style when Bossa Definitiva comes to the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, on Sunday 8th November. The trio, led by Paris-born vocalist Véronique Joly, with Canadian saxophonist Terry Quinney and guitarist Rob Palmer, celebrate the cool Bossa Nova sounds of Stan Getz and…

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Violin virtuoso on tour

EVEN in these days of social media-inspired hyperbole, it is rare for a player to be praised for her revelatory performance, but violinist Fenella Humphreys’s playing of Sibelius solo works was praised by BBC Magazine as “a genuine revelation in the way it brings out the music’s dark and introspective qualities.” No Sibelius but plenty…

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Sunshine Symphonies as winter starts

AS the clocks go back and we head into winter, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra brings sunshine into the concert hall at Poole’s Lighthouse arts centre with Sunshine Symphonies, on Wednesday 4th November. The event is supported by Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s new Corporate Patron, Paris Smith, one of the largest regional full-service law firms in the…

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Winter with Moviola

THE autumn colours are still gorgeous, but there is a real chill in the air and winter is fast upon us. Top Moviola choices for local villages and arts centres for November and December are The Christophers and My Mother’s Wedding. The Christophers, starring Sir Ian McKellen and Michaela Cole, is a black comedy directed…

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Lanny, Bristol Old Vic

MAGIC can happen when the stars align, the gods unite and the time is right. That fickle chance beamed down on King Street in Bristol at the moment when writer Max Porter, director Nancy Medina, adaptor Bea Roberts and designer Rebecca Jane Wood agreed to adapt Porter’s 2019 book for the stage. The result is…

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The Sea, Bath Theatre Royal

EDWARD Bond described his 1973 play The Sea as a tragicomedy, and certainly, in Jonathan Munby’s new production for Bath Theatre Royal, there are strong elements of both the epically tragic and the hilariously comedic. And there are elements of lots of other theatrical tropes, too. The puzzled audience can look out for moments of…

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Doran returns to Bristol

BRISTOL Old Vic Theatre School, which this year celebrates 80 years since it opened at the suggestion of Sir Laurence Olivier as a training arm for the Old Vic theatre, has an exciting end to 2026. Former student Gregory Doran returns to the city to direct current students in Romeo and Juliet, on the floor…

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Waiting for Godot, Strode Theatre, Street

ADAM Lanfranchi has a theory about Samuel Beckett’s legendary absurdist play Waiting for Godot – that attempting a definitive explanation is a mug’s game. So when the chance came to direct the play for Street’s Strode Theatre, Adam chose his own cast from actors from around the region, gave them the scripts and sent them…

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The Great British Bake Off Musical, YAOS at Powell Theatre

IF there’s one thing we all need in these difficult days, it’s a bit of warming comfort – and that is just what the members of Yeovil Amateur Operatic Society are offering in Sherborne this week. The venerable society makes its first foray out of the home town in 124 years, into the 218 seater…

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Orwell’s future doesn’t seem so far away

THE acting students from Arts University Bournemouth will be performing a version of George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel, 1984, in the studio theatre on their Wallisdown campus from 29th to 31st October. Celebrated director Robert Icke worked with Duncan Macmillan on the adaptation of the 1949 novel in 2013, and their version has been chosen…

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