ONE of the most spectacular, and difficult to stage, moments from Shakespeare’s Macbeth is to bring the forest of Birnam Wood to Dunsinane castle, and you might think it would be too big an ask in the intimate confines of Bedminster’s Tobacco Factory Theatre, with a cast of only ten actors. Think again. By blending…
SIMON Stephens’ play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time has been hailed as the most popular murder mystery of the 21st century. Now the play comes to Strode Theatre in Street in a production by Street Theatre, from 18th to 21st March. Based on Mark Haddon’s novel of the same name, it’s…
DORSET writer and actor Ed Viney follows his successful play Pot Licker with a new black comedy, Stolen Ram, coming to Dorchester Corn Exchange on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th March, with more dates in the region, including Bath Theatre Royal’s Ustinov Studio on 11th to 14th March. Working in association with Poole’s Lighthouse arts…
“IF Tarantino was to write a play, this would be it,” says Jason Durr, star of the new comedy thriller Murder at Midnight, which comes to Salisbury Playhouse from Monday 9th to Saturday 14th March, and Bath Theatre Royal from 16th to 21st. Written by Torben Betts, it is a follow-up to his previous play…
IN these febrile days of international wars, covert communications and the popularity of The Traitors and its spin-offs, Hugh Whitemore’s 1983 play Pack of Lives will seem frighteningly relevant. It has been chosen for the next Amateur Players of Sherborne production, directed by Adrian Harding and on stage at the APS Studio Theatre from 9th…
CERYS Matthews, on her BBC Radio 2 show, described the Mark Harrison Band as “a bit different and kinda groovy too.” Find out more when the trio come to Dorset from 6th to 8th March, for three dates with Artsreach at Broadmayne, Shillingstone and Corfe Castle. Mark is a multi-award-nominated singer-songwriter, storyteller and virtuoso guitarist…
A NEW musical based on the life of Walter Tull, a pioneering black footballer and army officer, has several local dates, continuing the Redgrave Theatre at Bristol on 10th March, Poole Lighthouse on 11th March and Dorchester Arts at the Corn Exchange on 12th March, as part of a national tour. Commissioned by Show Racism…
FARNHAM Maltings, much-loved on rural touring circuits, returns to Dorset and Devon with a new play, touring the region until 22nd March. All For Your Delight is a celebration of the world of variety, with a dazzling mix of comedy, songs and games – plus some spectacular roller skating! The show is with Devon’s Villages…
AFTER the mysterious disappearance of a world-famous magician disappears, the great Sherlock Holmes is called in to investigate in Holmes and Watson: The Curious Case of The Masked Magician comes to Poole’s Lighthouse arts centre on Saturday 7th March at 11am and 2.30pm and Dorchester Corn Exchange on Sunday 15th March at 2.30. 1t’s 1906…
TWO popular small touring theatre companies have got together to produce a new comedy, General Medical Emergency Ward 10, which continues at Forest Arts in New Milton on 14th March, Teignmouth Pavilions on 15th April and Tacchi Morris Arts Centre at Taunton on 21st April. Award‑winning Dyad Productions and Company Gavin Robertson have reimagined the…
SALISBURY International Arts Festival, running from 16th to 27th June, takes two very different looks at the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet, with a community production of Shakespeare’s play, from 24th May to 7th June, and a dance version, Lost Dog’s Juliet & Romeo, which imagines this enduring tale of love turned upside down….
ICELANDIC cellist Geirþrúður Anna Guðmundsdóttir, with accompanist Antoine Préat, joins Concerts in the West’s for the March series, starting at 11.30am on Friday 13th March at Bridport Arts Centre, followed by Ilminster Arts Centre that evening at 7.30pm and Crewkerne Dance House on Saturday 14th at 7.30. The duo will play a programme of cello…
WHEN one of Dorset’s finest painters persuaded one of the region’s most exciting sculptors to be painted at work in her studio, the results were bound to be exciting. And they are. Journey: Binny Matthews and Clare Trenchard, Paintings of the Sculptor’s Studio, is at Sladers Yard, West Bay, until 7th March. Inspired by Moroccan…
CHALKE History Festival, the UK’s leading celebration of history, will return from 22nd to 28th June to bring the past vividly to life through a rich programme of top-class talks, wide-ranging discussions and dynamic living history experiences. The line-up includes classicist Mary Beard, radio presenter and journalist James Naughtie, commentator Anne Applebaum, former White House…
THE Royal Bath and West show ground hosts the Bath & West Food & Drink Festival over the weekend 21st and 22nd March, as well as the 30th anniversary British & Irish Cheese Awards, on Friday 20th. Featuring talks, markets, demos, tours and more, the third annual Food & Drink Festival will be staged around…
THE 2026 programmes of Banff Mountain Film Festival screenings are touring the UK, and local dates continue throughout the year. The short films range from extreme climbing and kayaking to mountain biking and other dazzling adventures in wild places. With extreme climbing, kayaking, mountain biking and the one of the world’s most gruelling races, the…
THE new exhibition at the Somerset Rural Life Museum at Glastonbury is Legacy in Making, running until 10th May. Presented by Somerset Art Works in partnership with the South West Heritage Trust, it celebrates the legacy and future of the Somerset Craft Guild. It shows the remarkable breadth of contemporary and historic craft in Somerset,…
ACTOR and writer David Haig wrote his third play, Pressure, in 2014 for Chichester Festival Theatre. It has its Somerset premiere from 16th to 21st March at Yeovil’s Swan Theatre, in a production directed by Mark Payne. The date is June 1944. The Allied forces are poised for D-Day, and the lives of 350,000 Allied…
PAGODA Project bring their unique blend of contemporary folk and improvisation to Rural Arts Wiltshire at Hullavington village hall on 6th March. There is a second gig, in Devon, with Bradninch Folk Club at the Guildhall, on 17th March at 7.30pm. This adventurous trio is Paul Hutchinson on accordion, Shaftesbury-based composer and clarinettist Karen Wimhurst…
AN acclaimed solo drama, produced by Margie Barbour, former director of the Marine at Lyme Regis, comes to the theatre on 19th March with two performances of Every Brilliant Thing, at 1.30pm and 7.30. Every Brilliant Thing was a sell-out at Bridport last year and a success in London, with a cast on rotation that…
IF you have seen the film Operation Mincemeat, you will know it is an improbable, utterly British story that – amazingly – is true … an account of the ridiculously daring stunt that helped to turn the course of the Second World War. Turned into a hit musical, Operation Mincemeat – The Musical, is on…
GEOFF Norcott is that very rare thing in the UK comedy scene – he is a Conservative! But coming out as a right-winger hasn’t impeded his career too badly, and he is now on a new tour, Basic Bloke 2 – “There’s no Bloke without Fire” – coming to Taunton’s Brewhouse Theatre on 11th March,…
SUSIE Dent, well-known from her television quiz appearances as the ultimate walking dictionary, is as entertaining as she is erudite. She is currently on a national tour, coming to Dorchester Arts at Thomas Hardye School theatre on Sunday 8th March, at 3.30pm. Following her previous hit show, The Secret Life of Words, Britain’s best-loved wordsmith…
RALPH Fiennes, who must be one of the world’s hardest working actors on stage and screen, stars in the most-requested Moviola film in March – The Choral. Co-produced and directed by Nicholas Hytner, the film is written by Alan Bennett. Set in 1916, during World War I, in the fictional town of Ramsden, Yorkshire, it…
THE new exhibition at The Art Stable at Gold Hill Organic Farm, Child Okeford, features the work of 20th century painter and film-maker Humphrey Jennings and his daughter Charlotte. The work is on show in the main gallery and upstairs until 21st March. Best-known as a documentary film-maker, Humphrey Jennings (1907 to 1950) was described…
THE new exhibition at Salisbury Museum, in the Cathedral Close, is Un/Common People: Folk Culture in Wessex, runs to Sunday 10th May. Celebrating the rich folk art, traditions and seasonal customs of Wessex, the exhibition explores how folk culture has been shaped by communities past and present. Created by and for the people, folk culture…
WHEN Cirencester-based Rave Coffee got together with Lacock’s Coco Chemistry the result was destined to be delicious – a treat for sophisticated chocolate lovers – a big, blonde, crunchy, caffeinated Easter egg that you won’t want to share with the children (or anyone else!) Over the years, Rave has developed a reputation for its exciting…