Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, leader Amyn Merchant Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, director Gavin Carr Conductor Kirill Karabits Alice Coote, mezzo-soprano Paul Appleby, tenor James Rutherford, bass THE BSO brought its 2018-19 season of concerts at the Poole Lighthouse to a triumphant conclusion with a moving performance of Elgar’s great masterpiece, The Dream of Gerontius, written in 1900….
LOUIS de Bernieres’ 1994 novel Captain Corelli’s Mandolin is an epic story encapsulating the legends, history and life of the residents of Kefalonia, from the bucolic peace of the early 1930s through the tormented years of war to present-day, post-earthquake tourism. Made into a film in 2001 and starring Penelope Cruz and Nicholas Cage, it…
THE students at AUB and Kokoro, mouth Symphony Orchestra’s contemporary music ensemble, continued their memorable collaboration with a production of the RSC Adrian Mitchell adaptation with Shaun Davey’s music. Directed by Katharine Piercey, it captured the essence and spirit of CS Lewis’s immortal story, blending the actual and fantastic as the Pevensey evacuees explore their…
IT is said that you can always tell the quality of a Gentleman by the cut of his clothes, and if you apply that saying to theatrical productions, Matilda must be classed as being a gentleman of considerable quality. Everything about the production had class stamped on it : a multi- purpose brilliantly lit set,…
IT was a special night at the Tivoli for Phil Beer and Steve Knightley, who first made musical contact with each other in the town, at the Wimborne Folk Festival back in 1986. The rest is a long and unique history of collaboration which has resulted in the creation of a new way of working…
RICHARD Brinsley Sheridan’s immortal comedy of fake news, The School for Scandal, is the apposite choice for Swan Theatre Company spring production, directed by Alan Morris and sold out for its run from 6th to 11th May. Set in the late 1700s in London, it’s the story of Sir Peter Teazel, a confirmed old bachelor…
A REGULAR visitor to Bath in the 46 years since it was first seen in London’s Royal Court Theatre (Upstairs), the locals have now become so used to seeing members of the audience – men and women – arriving to see The Rocky Horror Show in torn fishnet stockings, mini skirts and full garish makeup…
WHEN the interval arrived in this Philip Prowse-designed beautifully-staged, expertly-lit and sumptuously costumed production, I was at a loss for a moment to work out why it had so captivated me and my fellow audience members. Yes, it had been a delight on the eye, the animal masks enhanced the characters immensely, and Delia Matthews…
KAZUO Ishiguro’s Booker prizewinning novel The Remains of the Day, and the subsequent film, are favourites with readers and cinema goers, so I was probably in the minority of the Salisbury audience, seeing the story (adapted by Salisbury playwright and author Barney Norris for Out of Joint) for the first time. It is the story…
“THE best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley” – that line from Robert Burns poem To a Mouse just about sums up the problems that befall Mitch Ruscitti when, with the help of an incompetent Warder, he escapes from prison with one aim, to steal a priceless diamond from a Bank run…