THE Sterling Studio at Poole’s Lighthouse was packed when Crowded Room brought its touring play The Listening Room to Dorset. It’s an intense and thought-provoking piece about restorative justice, and one which is increasingly relevant to all sections of society in 21st century Britain. Five actors (one also the writer) perform three unconnected stories. At…
MOST professional violin and piano duets will present performances of the Fauré Opus 13 and Brahms Opus 108 violin sonata that are note-accurate and have well-considered musical thinking. There are some performers who add a full physical and powerful dimension to their playing that transport the works to higher level. Elissa Cassini (violin) and Alasdair…
CHARLOTTE Keatley’s play about mothers and daughters, celebrating its 30th anniversary, is as relevant and universal today. Translated and staged in 31 countries, its characters are recognisable and its poignant outcome no less effective for its predictability. Performed by four actresses, the clever use of time keeps the audience on its toes as Doris (born…
THERE was a great sigh of relief when Iford Arts director Judy Egglington announced that the organisation would continue, in spite of losing the idyllic venue where it had operated for the first 25 years of its life. The first year of the “new” Iford is, inevitably, a bit of an experiment, with opera at…
THE Regency fashion for “Gothick” novels, with looming castles, endless dark forests, evil barons, mysterious foreigners and hapless maidens, inspired Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. In the hands of the mistress of English social comedy, the story gets a clever spin as most of the horrors are strictly in the imagination of the spirited heroine, Catherine…
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…