SHAFTESBURY Arts Centre’s music and drama group will be stepping out on the yellow brick road for this year’s pantomime, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. at the Bell Street venue from 23rd January to 1st February. Written by Nigel Holmes and directed by Sophia Ruel, the show follows the original book by L Frank Baum,…
Marley was dead, to begin with … NO matter how grumpy Scrooge is, you can be sure he will be bringing smiles and festive joy when he makes his annual visits. His last appearance for the 2024/25 season comes with A Humbug Christmas Carol from The Travelling Players – a joint venture of Forest Forge,…
WE all have our image of Miss Havisham, the jilted bride, bitter in her dark, cobweb-filled mansion, in her ageing wedding dress with the wedding breakfast crumbling on the table … but what really happened? Actress, writer and producer Heather Alexander brings one of Charles Dickens’ iconic characters from Great Expectations to life in her…
ONE of the great mysteries of the inter-war years is the death of TE Lawrence – Lawrence of Arabia – in a motorcycle accident not far from his Dorset home at Clouds Hill near Wareham. On Saturday 18th January, Bridport’s Electric Palace has a screening of a fascinating documentary, Who Killed Lawrence of Arabia? is…
WORLD-famous Scottish actor Brian Cox is coming to the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis on 28th January for the launch of a new cinema programme. The actor, currently playing the composer Johann Sebastian Bach in The Score at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, was most recently the fearsome Logan Roy in Succession, and has starred in…
THE internationally acclaimed vocal ensemble Windborne travels from New England to Dorset in January, making a welcome return to the Artsreach circuit with To Warm The Winter Hearth, showcasing the singers’ powerful and innovative vocal harmonies. The four singers come to Blandford parish church on Friday 17th January, and Yetminster’s Jubilee Hall on Wednesday 22nd,…
ONE of the most influential and high profile scientists in the country, Prof Tim Spector, is coming to Bath Forum on Tuesday 28th January for a give a talk, as a special guest of Bath Festivals. Tim Spector, the author of bestselling books, including The Diet Myth, Spoon-Fed, Identically Different and Food for Life: Your…
THE New Year opens for Moviola in our area with two films which are distinguished by the remarkable veteran actors starring in them – Thelma and The Critic. Thelma is the most requested film of the month, with more than 30 screenings across our region. Amazingly, it is the first action movie leading role for…
MARK Twain’s famous quote about comedy provides the title for Ed Byrne’s current tour, which is coming to Weymouth Pavilion on Sunday 19th January. One of the UK’s favourite television comedians, Ed Byrne has extended his nationwide Tragedy Plus Time tour, winner of British Comedy Guide’s Best Comedy Show 2023 – and his most personal show…
LIKE so many theatres across the country, Strode Theatre in Street is facing difficult times. Situated in the first county in the UK to “proudly” proclaim it had stopped all arts funding, the theatre has to maintain and shout about its position as an educational hub and a place where the community in a wide…