AS always, the December film choice from Moviola is somewhat shorter than the rest of the year, with at least one perennial festive favourite popping up on a village hall screen somewhere. This year, the old favourite is that 1946 classic, It’s A Wonderful Life, at Chard Guildhall, on Friday 13th December, produced and directed…
CINDERELLA is the most popular of pantomimes, but this season the only professional production in the south west is at Exeter’s Northcott Theatre, where Le Navet Bete (that’s Daft Turnip in translation) has taken the story and shaken it up a bit, to the delight of children, parents, grandparents and other panto lovers. The three…
LEWIS Carroll’s story of Alice in Wonderland is intended to subvert your expectations, but when our heroine stumbles into Blunderland instead, there are even more twists and turns on the way down the rabbit hole. A packed audience at Mere had a second chance to enjoy Eric Kincaid and Chris Wood’s version of the famous…
THE big Christmas 2024 puzzler in the Cotswolds is whether 3 is less than 6, just like 6, or greater than 6? And if you have already been to Cirencester’s Barn Theatre this festive season, you may well have the answer. If not, I strongly suggest you get your tickets for The Three Musketeers –…
WHEN the First World War ended, it was sometimes called the Great War but, in the aftermath of carnage that looked senseless even at the time to many participants, there was a hope that it would be the War To End All Wars. That worked well, didn’t it? As we hover on the precipice of…
THE National Trust has the care of some of the most enchanting, historic locations in the south west – and they look their best in the run-up to Christmas. From magical illuminated trails through world-famous gardens to Christmas wreath-making workshops, from the chance to visit Santa’s grotto to the excitement of winter storytelling, here is…
SASHA Regan’s award-winning, hilarious, all-male production of ©Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera, The Pirates of Penzance, comes to Bath Theatre Royal from Monday 2nd to Saturday 7th December, direct from a four-week run at Wilton’s Music Hall in London. This original staging has now been winning awards – and fans – around the world for…
ONE of the most popular fairy tale pantomimes is the 2024 choice at Salisbury Playhouse, where Lottie Mae O’Kill plays the title role in Sleeping Beauty, running from 4th December to 12th January. Ryan McBryde returns to Salisbury Playhouse to direct the show, once again written by Plested, Brown and Wilsher, with Claudia Kariuki as…
BRISTOL has always been a special place for Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson’s ever-popular tale of piracy and treasure maps … it’s even said the Scottish writer worked on the story at the city’s Llandoger Trow inn, which might have been the model for the Admiral Benbow. This year, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School has…
JANE Austen is rightly famous for her portrayal of strong women who often make decisions for themselves – sometimes against the advice or desires of those around them. One of the most independent and controversial is Lady Susan, the subject of Dyad Productions’ new Austen’s Women play. It continues its tour at Pound Arts at…