MY mother began taking me to the theatre as a very young child, but my first “grown up” memory of the moment I realised that live performance would be a lasting passion was seeing Joan Plowright play St Joan at Chichester Festival Theatre. I was staying with my godmother in Brighton, and for the next…
PATRICK Hamilton’s 1938 thriller, set in the late 19th Century in a London townhouse over the course of a foggy evening, is a favourite with companies professional and amateur, with productions off Broadway and in London’s West End within the last ten years. This is surely now one of the classics of British Theatre, with…
RUDDIGORE (or The Witch’s Curse) may not be one of the most popular of the Savoy Operas but, in the capable hands of director Claire Camble-Hutchins and her talented cast from Bournemouth’s Gilbert and Sullivan Operatic Society, it makes for a rousing night’s entertainment. Musical director Keziah Jacombs and a small orchestra handle Sullivan’s extremely…
THE building that houses The Ticked Pig in Wimborne has been serving food for 65 years, and before that it was a shoemakers. When Niki Barfoot was a child she used to go there with her grandmother and eat cream teas and Black Forest Gateau Now she and husband Jez run their Cafe Deli Kitchen…
HARRY Fehr’s Welsh National Opera production of Handel’s Orlando brought American counter-tenor Lawrence Zazzo to Bristol, demonstating why he is regarded as one of the very best singers of his generation. This demanding role calls for vocal pyrotechnics, and along with the flexibility and speed, a huge range and sensitivity balanced with attack. All these…
THE National Theatre’s production of Simon Stephens’ adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has achieved the sort of success that followed its War Horse. Most non-London theatregoers first heard of it after its West End transfer from the South Bank to the Apollo Theatre came to an…
VISITORS and locals all love The Grange at Oborne, a tiny village on the outskirts of Sherborne. It’s a beautiful old building, with a warm atmosphere that is reflected in the welcome from the owners and their staff. The Grange at Oborne has been a country house hotel for many years, with a great reputation…
A PLAY about early-onset Parkinson’s Disease and Parkour might sound a bit heavy-going and a trifle improbable, but Kinetics is neither. Sue Wylie has deftly turned a serious medical diagnosis into an inspiring journey, and a barmy extreme sport into an accessible and exciting adventure. Sue is well-known as an actress, both professionally and as…
TIME and Tide is a Wareham based non-profit-making company which specialises in acoustic performances. They made a welcome return to Springhead at Fontmell Magna on Sunday 18th October with King’s Shilling, a folk-drama which told the touching stories of a number of ordinary men and women who fought for king and country. The company, which…
JOURNALISTS and playwriting partners Lesley Bown and Ann Gawthorpe quickly recognised the comic potential of the Church of England’s decision to accept female vicars into the once wholly patriarchal workforce. But for their hilarious farce Don’t Get Your Vicars in a Twist, on stage at Salisbury’s Studio Theatre in Ashley Road until 24th October, they…