The Arts Section

Memory and regret with Beckett

VETERAN actor,David Westhead, takes on the challenge of Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, in a new production coming to Tobacco Factory Theatres in Bedminster, Bristol, on 27th and 28th April. Krapp’s Last Tape is a journey through an old man’s life, filled with hilarious memories and hopes for the future, coupled with the mourning of…

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Baroque quintet with Concerts in the West

CONCERTS in the West’s April series brings Ensemble Augelletti, specialists in the music of the 17th and 18th centuries, to Bridport Arts Centre for the usual coffee-time recital at 11.30am on Friday 10th April, with a 7.30pm concert at Ilminster Arts Centre, and Crewkerne Dance House on Saturday 11th at 7.30pm Founded in 2019, the…

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Gypsy jazz on tour

HUNGARIANS love music and the whirling rhythms and passionate fiddlers Budapest Cafe Orchestra, with the charismatic violinist Christian Garrick, is on tour this spring, with local gigs at Sturminster Newton Exchange on Thursday 16th April, Dorchester Corn Exchange on Friday 17th and the Mowlem theatre at Swanage on Saturday 18th. Founded in 2009 by Garrick,…

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The Spider Woman in Bristol and Southampton

THE first major revival of the musical version of Manuel Puig’s Kiss of the Spider Woman comes to Bristol Old Vic from 29th April to 16th May, and to Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre from 2nd to 6th June. Set in an Argentinian prison, Molina, imprisoned for his homosexuality, is put in a cell with political prisoner…

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Glen Baxter: 1944 to 2026

On 22nd November 1990 (Thanksgiving Day!) Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher resigned as Conservative leader after weeks of rumours and high expectations. That November, the Artiste Gallery in Bath had an exhibition of the paintings of surrealist absurdist cartoonist and writer Glen Baxter, already famous for his hilarious pictures with their bizarre captions, often underlining the…

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The call of the sea

THE sea in all its beautiful, dangerous and unpredictable drama is the focal point of the New Waves Festival, two reimagined classics and a new piece, performed by students of Theatre Royal Bath Theatre School at the theatre’s Egg space, from Friday 10th to Saturday 18th April. Brimming with imagination, energy and creative ambition, the…

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If you go down to the woods …

… on Friday 10th April, look who you may meet, at Westlands entertainment centre at Yeovil. Last Baguette will give two performances at 10am and 11.30, of A Woodland Wonder, a play-along theatre adventure. Join Ratty as she learns about the environment and plant your very own seeds! There’ll be silliness, play-acting, games and music…

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Blues and beyond with Phil Beer

PHIL Beer, multi-instrumentalist and best known as half of the hugely popular folk duo Show of Hands, is currently pursuing his own musical thing, with gigs in the south and west between 18th April and late October. The world-renowned instrumentalist shares the roots of his musical life in the show, Phil Beer Trio, Blues and…

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The Beekeeper of Aleppo, Bath Theatre Royal and touring

CHRISTY Lefteri’s bestselling book The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a story of our times – a chronicle of the lives of a handful of Syrian and other refugees seeking asylum in the famously civilised and welcoming United Kingdom. Now adapted for the stage by Nesrin Alrefaai and Matthew Spangler, it is in Bath until Easter…

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