The Arts Section

An adult feline frolic

BATH’S Ustinov Studio opens its 2025 season with three performances of CAT the Play, performed by Richard Kieswick as a man who dreams of fame in one of Lord Lloyd Webber’s most popular musicals, based on the work of T S Eliot. Described as a comedy drama with a dark twist, CAT the Play was…

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Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet at Bristol Hippodrome

WHEN Shakespeare wrote “The most excellent and lamentable tragedy of Romeo and Juliet”, he created the two most loved and recognisable pair of lovers the world has ever known. Originally Romeo was described as being 16 years old and Juliet 13, but while Romeo appears to have matured in age over the years, Juliet remains…

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The month of the Midnight Mole

BATH Theatre Royal’s dedicated children’s theatre space The Egg welcomes Midnight Mole back from Friday 10th January to Sunday 9th February. No sooner has the team said goodbye to Snow Mouse than they return with this Chekhov-inspired show, by popular demand. Described as a heart-warming adventure for the very young, it is full of puppetry…

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The ART of friendship

INCREDIBLY popular – but seriously contentious – Yasmina Reza’s play ART is one of the great plays of the last 30 years. There are many who think it is laugh-out-loud funny and others who find it navel-gazing and pretentious. Make up your own mind when you watch a performance of ART by Somerleigh Players at…

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Powerful play starts Swan’s new season

YEOVIL’S Swan Theatre starts it 2025 season with a production of Diane Samuels’ 1993 play Kindertransport, on stage from 20th to 25th January at 7.45. Evelyn is happily settled into middle aged, middle class England. But when her daughter Faith discovers some old documents in the attic, she is forced to confront her past –…

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Off to see the wizard!

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,…

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Off to see the wizard!

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,…

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Humbug Carol at Mere and Downton

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,…

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Miss Havisham – doomed expectations

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…

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