THERE really is something special about Somerset, as indigenous families will know and Taunton Thespians’ original summer 2024 play encapsulates the county’s myths and legends in a most delightfully informative and humorous fashion.

Now on tour, Lorna Evans’ play Here Be Dragons tells the tales of the fears and fancies of generations of Somerset dwellers, stories interwoven with fairies and witches, pixies and hunky punks, dragons and kings, wily workers and wicked women, elves and gurt vurms … you’ll know about those if you live here!

The 16-strong cast is directed by the author, and magnificently and imaginatively costumed by Dona Bullion (who is also a hunky punk and the fairy queen.) It’s all brought together by the green man, verdantly played by Thespians regular maat ward (a man who doesn’t like capital letters in his name), who brings a wry and mysterious framework to the evening.

Here Be Dragons is a spectacular show, complete (of course) with fire-breathing dragons, authentically masked Hunky Punks each telling his/her own story from the church of their origins, witches thrown out of their communities for imagined wrongdoings, talking Sarsen stones, spectres forced to walk the nights reciting their wrongs (or the wrongs they felt they suffered). The strong young man was played in all stories by Peter Meredith with Steve Mercer as the dragon tamer and Merlin, as well as a Stanton Drew standing stone, Alan Coles as the Wassail King, Joseph of Arimathea and Judge Jeffries and another talking standing stone, Phil Brookes as St George etc and Bob Corwin as a Turkish Knight and various other worthies.

Perhaps the audience favourites were the Pixies, all in black with red tulle skirts and talking in a strange gibberish as they dashed around the stage making mischief. I longed for one of them to forget a line, so that Jane Gilbert, sitting behind the book, could have prompted in Pixieish, to add to her own famous Malapropisms from The Rivals. The Pixies were played by Karen Bolton, Marie Fletcher and Clare Howarth, having a great time on their scooters and royally entertaining the picnickers.

The rest of the company was Irene Bradley, Lynda Coles, Karen Kerslake, Lynn Kitson, Wendy Lancaster and Lindsey Cran, all of whom created memorable characterisations, filling the pages of the county’s rich history.

Touring a show like Here be Dragons is an exercise in teamwork and precision, adapting to each different location, the weather, the acoustics and just the business of moving the props and spectacular costumes. Well done to all the team. Next summer the Thespians are taking on Shakespeare’s magical play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I wonder if the pixies will be giving their Moth, Cobweb, Mustardseed and Peaseblossom – no pressure there.

But for now, try to catch a performance of this terrific Somerset extravaganza, on tour until 27th July.

Magic Ears the Majestic