The Play’s the Thing

Witty fools and foolish wits

MIRACLE Theatre, Cornwall’s most prolific touring theatre company, returns to Dorset for its summer 2025 open air tour, with a new production of one of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies, Twelfth Night, coming to Ibberton village hall on Thursday 31st July, Kimmeridge Bay on Friday 1st August and Higher Orchard at Sandford Orcas on Saturday 2nd, all…

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All the fun of the fringe

SHAFTESBURY Fringe, three days of every kind of entertainment imaginable, returns to the historic Dorset town from 18th to 20th July, with a programme of more than 300 events (a record number) spread around 37 venues. As director Rob Neely says, it’s all about Shaftesbury: “From its very creation, Shaftesbury Fringe has acted as a…

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The Frankenstein Experience

THE ever-inventive Show of Strength theatre company continues its occasional series of theatrical walks, drawing on the history of Bath or Bristol, with The Frankenstein Experience, exploring Bath’s connection to Frankenstein and his creator, Mary Shelley. The two hour-long show, which includes a one-hour walking tour and entry to Mary Shelley’s house in Bath, is…

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Dreaming in Bath Abbey

ANTIC Disposition returns to Bath Abbey on 8th August with a Shakespeare’s ever-popular A Midsummer Night’s Dream, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the company creating visually striking productions in historic buildings and unusual non-theatre spaces. Building on the success of last year’s award-winning Romeo and Juliet, the production features nine professional actors – all with…

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Sidmouth – home of the oldest rep

SIDMOUTH’s Manor Pavilion theatre hosts its annual summer season of plays in repertory from Monday 23rd June to mid-September. The season, at the seaside town’s Manor Pavilion theatre, is now said to be the longest running continuous summer rep in the country. Over 12 weeks, local theatre-goers and holiday-makers are entertained with a programme of…

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Let’s play …

FORGET all the hype around The Traitors – the hottest, darkest game in town is The Witching Hour! ReBels Young Company, based at Plymouth’s Barbican Theatre, will bring this exciting and very different show to Dorchester Corn Exchange on 29th June as part of a long national tour. Black cats, broomsticks and pentagrams? It sounds…

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Summer rep returns to the Marine

THERE will be a second and longer season of summer rep at the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, following last year’s successful inaugural season, with five popular plays on from 23rd July to 27th August. There’s something for everyone with comedies, thrillers and classic drama, including a Jane Austen adaptation, celebrating the great novelist’s 250th anniversary…

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Prescient play at the Ustinov

ONE of the world’s leading playwrights, David Hare made a remarkable journey in 1997, visiting the Middle East, where he interviewed 33 people in Israel and Palestine – these interviews formed the basis of play, which is being staged at Bath Theatre Royal’s Ustinov Studio on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th June. Via Dolorosa, a…

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Peter James thriller at Bath

PETER James is of the UK’s most popular crime writers, and DSI Roy Grace is his best-known character, from the novels, television versions, starring John Simm, and stage adaptations, the latest of which, Picture You Dead, comes to Bath Theatre Royal from Tuesday 17th to Saturday 21st June. Set in Brighton, Picture You Dead sees…

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