COVID changed many lives, not least for Ros Huxley, who quit her full time work to write, after many years in the creative industries and latterly as a charity fund-raiser. After writing several short stories, she has now published her first novel, Kendal Acts Up, the story of an unusual woman who pretends to be…
DORCHESTER’s Tatterdemalion, who began as the band of the New Hardy Players, celebrate their tenth anniversary of folky fun and colourful ceilidhs with a musical family get-together at the Corn Exchange on Saturday 13th September. For 10 years, Tatterdemalion have bounced around stages, bringing traditional tunes known to Dorset people 200 years ago to life,…
VISITORS to Moors Valley Country Park near Ringwood can enjoy an unusual sound installation, Canopy, created for this year’s Inside Out Dorset festival, until 21st September, by Dorset-based artist Lorna Rees, of Gobbledegook Theatre,. It draws on contributions from a range of people including scientists, artists, folk musicians, arborists and Year 4 children from Malmesbury Park…
THE ancient coastal town of Christchurch, the deep woods of Moors Valley and the dramatic ruins of Corfe Castle provide the backdrop and venues for events and installations across Dorset at this year’s Inside OutDorset festival, which runs from 12th to 21st September across the county. The biennial event is an international outdoor arts festival,…
ROYAL Ballet star Meaghan Grace Hinkis brings a dance gala to Dorset over the weekend of 13th and 14th September. The three performances in the grounds of Minterne House, north of Dorchester, are raising funds for the performing arts. Between 2020 and 2022, Meaghan Grace Hinkis, First Soloist with the Royal Ballet, staged three weekend…
THERE is something special about the sound of a period musical ensemble in an old church – the voices and the instruments seem to take on a special feel, and even if the acoustic is not perfect, the effect is always emotional and compelling. And so it was at the beautiful little St Mary’s Church…
IT is strange to think that today’s whooping, selfie-snapping theatre audiences have no idea what “summer rep” was all about. But freelance director and producer Sue Gilroy is determined to prove its value and attraction to new generations with a summer season at Lyme Regis’s historic Marine Theatre. This year she has chosen five plays and…
DORSET’s own folk music stars, Ninebarrow – Jon Whitley and Jay LaBouchardiere (pictured) – make a welcome return to Lyme Folk Weekend, appearing at the Marine Theatre on Saturday 30th August at 8pm. The duo, who are patrons of Lyme Folk, are back by popular demand, and will be joined on stage by friends and…
YEOVIL Town Council has launched a public consultation on funding support for the development and reopening of the currently closed Octagon. The town council wants residents to give their views on whether it should contribute £3,964,500 (including Stamp Duty) towards the future of one of Yeovil’s most significant cultural venues that helps to support the…
BECAUSE the word amateur is often used in a derogatory manner, many people, including those involved, shy away from it when referring to local non-professional productions. Decidedly not of that number are Sir Cameron Mackintosh and his Music Theatre International company. Sean Grey, managing director of MTI, described amateur theatre in these words, “Here at…