J B Priestley wrote the 1912-set An Inspector Calls in 1945 as the second World War was drawing to a close and shortly before the start of the First World War. The hypocrisy, greed, abuse of power, particularly towards the working classes, that he saw in Edwardian society, had, he felt, helped trigger that conflict,…
NINE years ago, when Forest Forge dropped its eagerly awaited annual Christmas tour, long-time FF member Dom Phillips determined to fill the gap and created the Bumblefly company of Travelling Players. Now the circle has been reconstituted, and the two companies, along with Mischievous Theatre, came together for a tour of A Humbug Christmas Carol, which…
IF you think a chamber ensemble is all about serious string quartets, solemn musicians in evening dress playing beautiful but often quite austere music, you haven’t met Bowjangles. This is the quartet that puts the swing into strings. They are back in Dorset, at Litton Cheney community hall on Thursday 23rd January, Lytchett Matravers hall…
CIRENCESTER’s adventurous independent Barn Theatre opens the 2025 season with a new comedy featuring a casting director facing the challenge of casting an actor for the world’s most famous spy. Jordan Waller’s A Role to Die For, running from 30th January to 15th March, stars Olivier Award-winner Janie Dee, and is directed by another Olivier…
A STARRY line-up of celebrities, including the Queen’s son, food writer Tom Parker-Bowles, singer-songwriter Toyah Willcox and Lord Michael Grade, will take part in a special edition of The Weakest Link, chaired by the TV programme’s founder presenter Anne Robinson, at Cirencester’s Barn Theatre on Saturday 18th January. The charity event is raising funds for…
HOT on the heels of the triumph of Wolf Hall on television, Bath Theatre Royal takes audiences once again into the dark corridors of power and the dangerous glamour of the court of Henry VIII, with a new production of Robert Bolt’s great drama, A Man for all Seasons, running at the theatre from Thursday…
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…
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…
MIDNIGHT Mole continues at Bath Theatre Royal’s dedicated children’s theatre space The Egg until Sunday 9th February. Described as a heart-warming adventure for the very young, it is full of puppetry and music, and specially created for younger audiences aged between six months to four years old. Audiences can join Madame Ranevsky in her favourite…
THE music of the baroque is some of the most engaging, moving and enjoyable of any classical music era. Shaftesbury Arts Centre celebrates this colourful musical genre at a festival which runs from Wednesday 22nd to Sunday 26th January, with a programme of recitals, talks and film. What and who do you think of when…