The Play’s the Thing

Mining a year of political turmoil

ANYONE old enough to remember the year of the Miners’ strike will be fascinated by Danny Mellor’s Undermined, a solo show coming to Piddletrenthide Memorial Hall on Friday 23rd January and West Stafford village hall on Saturday 24th, both at 7.30pm. Described by one reviewer as “an excellent dramatisation of an immensely important period of…

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A perfect show for bad times

THE public’s appetite for ghost stories, macabre thrillers and supernatural drama is boundless – and few people have tapped into that zeitgeist more than Uncanny creator Danny Robins, whose hit play 2:22 – A Ghost Story returns to Theatre Royal Bath from Monday 19th to Saturday 24th January. Premiering in 2021, 2:22 is a chilling…

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Sir Tom Stoppard, 1937-2025

PLAYWRIGHT Sir Tom Stoppard, who was born in the former Czechoslovakia in 1937, has died at the age of 88. He lived near Shaftesbury and, despite his international profile and long list of major stage, writing and film awards, was actively supportive of the arts, theatre and music in the area. There was an early…

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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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New community venue for Theatre Royal Bath

“A stage where everyone’s story can be told” BATH’s Theatre Royal has received planning permission for Venue 4, a new community studio theatre for the public on St John’s Place. Subject to a fundraising campaign, Venue 4 will be a new home for the theatre’s Engage adult participation programme and will offer a range of…

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Howard Coggins

THE hilariously funny, cuddly, wry and inspired Howard Coggins, best known in the south west as co-founder of Living Spit and nationally for his Lottery adverts, has died at the age of 52. He was diagnosed with cancer late in 2022. Frustrated with playing bit parts in other people’s shows, Howard and Stu McLoughlin started…

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Ronald Pickup

ACTOR Ronald Pickup, who has died at the age of 80 after a long illness, is now best known for his performances as Norman in The Best Marigold Hotel films and as the Archbishop of Canterbury in The Crown. But for those of us lucky enough to have been around for the early days of…

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