They’re Special

THE Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis celebrates the 45th anniversary of the release of the Specials’ legendary hit, Too Much Too Young, when the Specials Ltd come to the venue on Saturday 15th March, re-creating the energy and enthusiasm of the legendary two-tone and ska band that formed in Coventry in 1977. The band, which…

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Cheese-maker crowd-funding for sustainability

A £65,000 crowd-funding campaign has been launched by Greg and Nicky Parsons of Devon of Devon cheesemaker Sharpham Dairy, to enable their business near Totnes to invest in renewable energy and water recycling. The campaign, called Curd Is The Word, offers cheese-centered rewards that people can bid for, ranging from £20 to £2,000. As well…

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Happy birthday, Bath Literature Festival

ASK many people which is their favourite English city … the answer will often be Bath. It’s hardly surprising – a pearl of fine Georgian stone houses, terraces, circuses, crescents and streets, set in a spectacular valley, with some of the country’s finest Roman remains and a history of art, culture and literature. A roll call…

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A choral journey from Dorset to Covent Garden

DORSET’s Artsreach rural touring charity is working on a unique collaboration with the Anglo-Chilean band Quimantú and community singers from several Dorset choirs to perform Misa de los Mineros, The Miners’ Mass, in a series of concerts across the county, starting in April. The first Dorset concert takes place in Blandford Parish Church on Friday…

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Luke Wright’s Joy of poetry

OVER the last quarter of a century, performance poet Luke Wright has built up a reputation as one of Britain’s most popular and entertaining performers, winning a host of awards along the way. His 2025 tour continues at Corsham’s Pound Arts Centre on 14th March, Salisbury Arts Centre on 17th April, Theatre Shop at Clevedon…

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March workshops for Dorset Women

DORCHESTER has a rich history, and one of its most recent important contributions not only to the town, county and country has been its community plays. It has staged seven – the greatest number of community plays anywhere in the world. The most recent, Spinning the Moon, was due in 2020 and was scuppered by…

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Moviola in March

A FILM which has already garnered many awards and is expected to win more at the Oscars suddenly feels uncannily topical as well. Conclave, the drama surrounding the selection of a new Pope, could hardly be more timely as one of the most in-demand films for March with Moviola audiences. Based on Robert Harris’s gripping…

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Rainforests teetering on the edge

EAST Devon’s Shute Festival continues its series of inspiring talks on 12th March at the Peek Chapel in Pound Street, Lyme Regis, with Julia Hailes, ambassador for the Rainforest Trust. She has recently returned from the Guyanas – British Guiana (as it was), Suriname and French Guiana – where the forests still stand, 83.5%, 93%…

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Dickensian ghosts with a comic twist

THE Gavin Robertson company returns to Dorset in March with three performances of a double bill of Dickens’ short haunted stories, with a comic twist! The Ghost of a Smile will be at Sandford Orcas village hall on Friday 7th, Powerstock Hut on Saturday 8th and Shillingstone’s Portman Hall on Sunday 9th, all at 7.30pm….

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The 39 Steps, Salisbury Playhouse

ALFRED Hitchcock’s film version of John Buchan’s 1915 novel is widely regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time, and every subsequent iteration is judged by this 90-year-old behemoth. So perhaps it is no surprise that a member of the audience, leaving Salisbury Playhouse’s terrific new production of the Patrick Barlow four-handed version…

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