The Arts Section

You – the accused, the jury, witnesses …

COURT rooms are the stuff of drama – comedy, not so much. Improv comedy comes to Stockland village hall, near Honiton, on Friday 1st August at 7.30pm with This Is Your Trial!, a show in which the audience is fully involved! When you come to this court, your role is that of juror. You’ll decide…

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Lark music-making winners announced

A STUDENT from Wareham, a counsellor from London and a former art teacher from Southsea have been announced as the winners of the inaugural Lark Music-Making prize, in conjunction with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. They have each won £1,000. The competition, which is sponsored by Lark Music Insurance, was launched by the BSO in the…

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Colourful Indian circus returns

THE colourful exoticism and drama of the traditional circus and street theatre of Rajasthan returns to Bridport’s Millennium Green on Wednesday 30th July with an afternoon of exciting music, dance and enthralling acrobatics. The visit follows the sell-out success of last year’s performance, featuring the vibrant, noisy, musical, heart-stopping performers of Circus Raj from the…

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Godber’s look at Northern Soul

THE sounds of Northern Soul come to Bath Theatre Royal from 29th July to 2nd August, when John Godber’s touring play Do I Love You? takes the stage. Sally, Nat and Kyle, 20-something and ready to keep the faith, learn about the genre from the hits of Edwin Starr, Frankie Valli, Frank Wilson, Eloise Laws,…

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The Rivals, Rain or Shine, touring

RICHARD Brinsley Sheridan’s wonderful comedy of manners and class, The Rivals, celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, so what better choice of summer touring play for the aptly- named Rain or Shine Theatre Company. The company was founded in 1998, with the specific intention of performing whatever the weather, and many nights have found sodden…

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Dorset Opera, Rigoletto, Suor Angelica, Cavalleria Rusticana

THIS year is the 20th anniversary of Dorset Opera’s move from Sherborne’s Big Schoolroom to the Coade Hall at Bryanston School near Blandford, and something special was needed to celebrate the occasion. Artistic director Rod Kennedy could hardly have anticipated the extraordinary thrill that South Korean baritone Hansung Yoo would bring to Dorset in the…

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A Hundred Words for Snow, Swan Theatre, Yeovil

SOME psychologists will tell you that early teens is the worst time for major life crises, like divorce or death, and one thing you learn in life is that nobody, absolutely nobody, can tell you how to grieve. It is something you have to find out for yourself. Bright-but-stroppy Rory is 15, and suddenly faced with…

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Momentum, London City Ballet, Bath Theatre Royal

THOSE choreographers and dancers involved in juke box musicals who believe that tremendous energy, masses of lighting effects, flashy costumes and over-amplified music constitutes top class dancing should be frog marched to see this superb, elegant production. The ten strong ensemble of The City of London Ballet, former residents of Sadler’s Wells, follow up last…

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A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Taunton Thespians on tour

WHAT is the summer open air theatre touring schedule without its Shakespeare, and no Shakespearean play is more popular than A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Revolving around love, mystery, demanding parents, jealous spouses, authoritarian rulers and blundering rustics, and with a beautiful forest setting, it tells a timeless story. Taunton Thespians began their summer tours back…

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Alice in Wonderland, Athenaeum Warminster

NEVER out of print since it was first published in 1865, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one of the best known stories ever written. Although thought of, and usually described as, a children’s novel, full of symbolism and surreal twists and turns, it has also found itself dissected and interpreted in literally hundreds…

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