IN a recent discussion with a group of young people about the merits of the lyrics in modern pop music compared to those in the 20th century, those of the 1930s were dismissed as having no merit, just cheap romantic nonsense, full of ‘moon and June’ rhymes. A visit to this production where Matthew Bourne…
I MUST confess that having seen mort than a dozen productions of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s musical version of Maurine Watkins 1926 play since it first hit the stage in 1975, I came to this new production with a rather jaded palate. However, it took only a few minuets, and Djalenga Scott’s Velma Kelly…
WHAT is it about the story of Dracula that continues to grip us? Whether it is the 1897 original Bram Stoker novel, the high camp of Hammer horror movies, the dark charisma of the Mark Bruce Dance Company version or any of the stage adaptations, this gothic tale exerts a peculiar fascination. One answer, suggested…
THE first Bridport Dance Festival takes place over the weekend 23rd and 24th May at venues around the town, including the arts centre and the Electric Palace. The programme ranges across the dance spectrum, from tango to tap. With workshops, performance and free events there is something for all ages and dance interests, activities for…
ANTHONY Shaffer’s thriller Sleuth is one of those extraordinary plays whose complexities are such that you forget the outcome, no matter how many times you see it – and that’s even WITH two famous film versions, one made in Dorset’s own Athelhampton House back in 1972 and starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine. Set firmly…
MATTHEW Bourne, the inspired creator of the all-male Swan Lake, and many other dance theatre pieces, scored another hit and won more awards with his 2021 production, The Midnight Bell, which comes to the Theatre Royal Bath from Tuesday 20th to Saturday 24th May, as part of a countrywide tour. His company, New Adventures, makes…
ANYONE who remembers Alfred Hitchcock’s enthralling and dramatic Cold War era thriller, North by North West, with its terrifying scene of the hero being pursued by a crop-duster plane, will want to see how the ever-inventive Emma Rice has adapted the 1950s film for the stage. Find out when her Wise Children company comes, all…
CELEBRITY names may tend to grab the headlines at book festivals, but the real meat of the event will always be the literary writers, the Booker prize-winners and those whose books make us think, tell us things we didn’t know we needed to know, prod us into thinking more deeply or excite our imagination in…
BATH was buzzing on Saturday night – the city’s famous rugby club was winning a big match against Leicester and excited fans were gathering round big screens in bars to celebrate the successes and camp glitz of Eurovision. The atmosphere in the beautiful Abbey was perhaps a little more muted, but the enthusiasm was palpable…
SOME people these days state their intention to work until they can retire at 45 and enjoy their houses, cars, children, pastimes and leisure while they are still comparatively young. And comparing them to Peggy Seeger, that’s sort of half-grown. The American-born singer-songwriter, half-sister of folk singer Pete Seeger, is still perhaps best known as…