THOSE of us who loosely refer to ourselves as ‘middle aged’, especially classical music lovers, will remember the tragic story of the brilliant cellist Jacqueline du Pré. From an early age, her glittering career and marriage to concert pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim seemed to forecast a charmed life, but all that changed when she…
ONE of the most stylish and best-loved musicals of all time, Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady, is the autumn choice for the award-winning Bath Light Operatic Group at the Theatre Royal, from Tuesday 10th to Saturday 14th September. The classic stage production, which was also a famous film with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison,…
SOMERSET is a county full of myths, legends and magic – from King Alfred and the burned cakes to King Arthur and Camelot. These and many other tales are brought to life in a new play, being toured by Taunton Thespians, from 16th to 27th July. Here Be Dragons, Somerset’s own mythical comedy, is a…
ACTOR James Corden is back on the London stage, for the first time in more than 12 years, starring in a new play, The Constituent, at the Old Vic. He was last seen in London starring in One Man, Two Guvnors, the hilarious hit play by Richard Bean based on an 18th century comedy. It’s…
IF you are old enough to remember Tommy Steele in his heyday, you almost certainly will recall his brilliant performance in the musical Half A Sixpence, in which he played the Cockney draper’s apprentice who unexpectedly inherits a fortune. More than 60 years after its West End debut, the revamped, renamed Kipps is the summer…
‘Grief is love that has nowhere to go’ – Anon WHAT happens to a happy family when one member dies suddenly? This is the poignant and powerful theme of Sue Ashby’s new play, Sweet Sorrow, which will be staged by SNADS – Sturminster Newton Dramatic Society – at the Exchange on Friday and Saturday 21st…
DORSET’S New Hardy Players take a break from Thomas Hardy stories this year to bring to life – and new audiences – the true Dorset story of the men whose courage and sacrifice were the most important factors in the development of the English Trade Union movement. Six Men of Dorset will be performed in…
THE 2024 Lyme Regis community play will be A Midsummer Lyme’s Dream, a local reimagining of the favourite Shakespearean comedy, at the Marine Theatre from 12th to 15th June. Locally based actor and writer Andrew Rattenbury, who has written the community plays for several years, has created an irreverent, modern-day blast through this enchanting comedy,…
ERIC Chappell’s comedy thriller Theft is the next play on stage at Sherborne’s Studio Theatre. Amateur Players will be directed by Jessica Colson for this hilarious game of cat and mouse, from Monday 3rd to Saturday 8th June. In it, five very different people play a complicated game, and it’s up to you to find…
THE next Poole & Parkstone Productions show at Poole’s Lighthouse is Lionel Bart’s immortal musical Oliver!, on stage from 5th to 8th June. The remarkable show, which made its debut at the Wimbledon Theatre in 1960, not only brings Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist to vibrant life, but every single one of the songs is tuneful,…