Sirens, Babes and a Feast of Culture
When Christian met John
Villages
TWO jazz and fusion musical powerhouses get together for a December tour with Artsreach. Christian Garrick and John Etheridge will present a feast of interplay, improvisation and eclectic repertoire on Wednesday 10th December at Hinton Martell village hall, Thursday 11th at Halstock, Friday 12th at Portesham and Saturday 13th at Shillingstone’s Portman Hall, all starting at 7.30pm.
Garrick (violin) and Etheridge (guitar) are two of Britain’s most virtuosic and versatile performers on their respective instruments. Comfortable with pretty much any style of jazz and contemporary music, from gypsy and Hot Club to jazz rock fusion, this world class duo performs a programme that ranges from Peter Gabriel to Richard Rogders via Dollar Brand and Alison Goldfrapp.
British guitar legend John Etheridge (Soft Machine, Stephane Grappelli, Dizzy Gillespie, John Williams, Nigel Kennedy) and acclaimed violinist Christian Garrick (Van Morrison, Cleo Laine, Budapest Café Orchestra) have played together for many years.
Together the free-wheeling pair use extensive looping and effects to create exotic tapestries of sound which are almost orchestral at times yet switch seamlessly to a pure acoustic with rollicking renditions of Hot Club swing, evoking the spirit of Reinhardt and Grappelli—simply unmissable!
A magical winter wonderland
Dorchester
CHRISTMAS is a magical time for families—but there will be a special sparkle when magician Peter Clifford comes to the stage of Dorchester Corn Exchange on Saturday 13th December, with his festive show, Wonderful Wintery Wizardry.
Peter, who is a well-known actor in Bristol, is highly praised by his magician peers—Derren Brown calls him “one of my favourite magicians and one of the loveliest people I know” and David Blaine says: “Peter Clifford’s love of the art resonates throughout the field of magic, bringing life and hope to us all.”
Join Peter at Dorchester for his new Christmas magic show and be entertained by what Bath and Bristol’s Venue magazine calls his “unique and brilliant blend of bamboozlement and banter, … in a show full of madcap mirth and magical merriment.”
A medieval Christmas
Dorchester
OPUS Anglicanum comes to St Mary’s Church, Dorchester, on Thursday 18th December at 7pm with a programme of medieval carols and readings. This concert has become a favourite for the ensemble which has been performing medieval and contemporary music for more than 30 years.
The music varies from simple Gregorian chant to joyous and even raucous Christmas songs, alongside more devotional pieces, some of which are more than 800 years old.
The programme features masterpieces of the period by Guillaume de Machaut, Magister Perotin, Josquin des Prez, Johannes Ockeghem and Jacob Obrecht alongside recognisable early English carols such as Nowell, There is no Rose of such Virtue and Gaudete! Beautiful mediaeval readings delivered by actor Alex Knox are interspersed within the music, creating moments of quiet reflection.
Opus Anglicanum’s repertoire ranges from light-hearted festive offerings to sequences on the First World War, folk music and contemporary—they have commissioned and premiered pieces from composers including Judith Bingham, Sally Beamish, Howard Skempton and Cheryl Frances Hoad.
Classic Christmas film on stage
Lyme Regis
EIGHTY years ago, Frank Capra directed James Stewart in a film that was to become a fixture on Christmas movie programmes around the world—this year It’s A Wonderful Life is on stage in a new play at the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, from 19th to 22nd December.
Gilroy Theatre, whose productions are now an eagerly anticipated part of the Marine’s summer and winter seasons, delighted audiences last Christmas with Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and this year it is another heart-warming fable. It is set in Bedford Falls, the epitome of small-town America, where George Bailey, a desperately frustrated businessman, is at the end of his tether. He feels that the world would have been a better place if he’d never been born, so an angel is dispatched from heaven to show him exactly what life would have been like for his family, friends and neighbours, had that been the case.
Adapted from the 1946 film, which also starred Clarence Odbody as the Guardian Angel, It’s a Wonderful Life reminds us that “no one is a failure who has friends”—a perfect message for the season of goodwill.
Mother Goose by the sea
Sidmouth
MANY amateur pantomimes are performed in February—often coinciding with half term—but Sidmouth Amateur Dramatic Society stays traditionally close to Christmas, staging one of the oldest and best-loved stories, Mother Goose, from Saturday 27th December to Saturday 3rd January.
In this version by pantomime maestro Alan P Frayn, the “leading lady” is a beautiful goose named Priscilla. There is, of course, a good fairy, as well as two baddies and Mother Goose’s son, the very silly Billy.
The audience is invited to journey with this host of colourful characters to the magical waterfall, to fly with the geese and eventually to see good triumph over evil.
Folk at the Beehive
Honiton
FANS of folk music have a double treat in December at Honiton’s Beehive Centre, with gigs by St Agnes Fountain and Seth Lakeman.
On Thursday 11th, St Agnes Fountain—Fairport Convention’s Chris Leslie and multi award winning duo Chris While and Julie Matthews—bring their much-loved and unique musical invention and laughter to Honiton, continuing to keep the Christmas spirit alive, while still remembering founder member David Hughes who left the band in 2020 and sadly passed away in 2023.
Although their albums are the sound-track for thousands of friends and families putting up their Christmas trees and decorations throughout Britain and around the globe, it is their magical live performances that have endeared them to audiences.
St Agnes Fountain will also be playing their Christmas gig on Sunday 14th December at a venue that has hosted them for many years—the David Hall at South Petherton.
Seth Lakeman gives two concerts on Saturday 13th at 2pm and 7.30. He is one of three brothers who continue a folk tradition started by their father, Geoff—Sean performs with his wife Kathryn Roberts and Sam with his wife Cara Dillon.
Seth was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2005 for Kitty Jay. Multiple albums, tours and high-profile collaborations later, in February 2025, he released his latest studio album, The Granite Way, on his own label, Honour Oak Records. It’s a collection of songs recorded alongside a group of longtime collaborators, staying true to his roots and referring to ancient stories that inspired early West Country storytelling.
Beauty and Santa
Bridport
ONE of the best-loved pantomime stories, Beauty and the Beast: The Musical has been chosen by Bridport Young Performers for their Christmas 2015 show, at the Electric Palace from Monday 13th to Thursday 18th December.
Belle sets out to rescue her father Maurice, who has been taken captive by the mysterious Beast in his castle. She offers herself to free her father from imprisonment, and over the ensuing weeks she begins to learn more about the curse that has left the castle inhabitants as objects, waiting for true love to break the spell placed on their master to return them to human form.
From 20th to 23rd December, Darling Productions UK bring Santa Live!, a new festive extravaganza to the Electric Palace.
Disaster strikes in Christmas-town when the Christmas spirit runs out and all the children’s names have mysteriously vanished from Santa’s naughty and nice list.
In this hour-long interactive show, young audience members can join the cheeky elves Tinsel, Snowflake and Candy, as they try to help Santa save Christmas with the power of song and dance.
The Christmas Hearth
Bridport
FOR many lovers of folk and traditional music, Christmas and the Mellstock Band go together like turkey and cranberry sauce. This delightful quartet, who recreate the music of Thomas Hardy’s time, come to Bridport Arts Centre on Saturday 13th December at 7.30pm.
The Mellstock Band takes their name from Hardy’s fictional Mellstock, the name he gave in his Wessex novels and tales to the villages of Stanford and Bockhampton where he was born and grew up.
In their festive show, The Christmas Hearth, they invite you to their Christmas fireside with a seasonal mix of jovial songs, stirring dance music and haunting carols.
This is a costumed show with early instruments, song and spoken word, with hearty harmonies, soulful solos and exuberant instrumentals. The band brings to life the sound of a 19th century village band with fiddle, clarinet, concertina and serpent.
The music is linked by readings of work by Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, John Clare and William Barnes, telling the story of Christmas celebrations in 19th-century England.
There is more Victorian Christmas music and merriment with The Cratchits’ Christmas Cracker on Friday 19th December at 7.30pm. A festive feast of seasonal silliness and a merry mixture of Yuletide foolery.
The Cratchit family is having a party and you’re all invited! Join Mrs Cratchit, cousin Edith and Uncle Hugo as they celebrate Christmas with a marvellous mix of festive songs, stories and parlour games.
The show has been created and performed by Mary Woodvine, Craig Johnson and Jenny Beare, who between them have decades of theatrical experience with Kneehigh, Wildworks, the Minack, the RSC, the National Theatre and countless village halls.
Grand opera in small spaces
Studland and Yetminster
GRAND opera? That’s for grand opera houses—Covent Garden, the Met, Sydney Opera House, La Scala … but how about Studland village hall on Thursday 4th December at 7.30pm or St Andrew’s Church, Yetminster, on Sunday 14th, at 7pm?
On a short tour with Dorset’s Artsreach rural touring charity, soprano Callie Gaston, tenor Roger Paterson and pianist Elspeth Wilkes, invite you to delve into a heart-breaking and enthralling world of vengeance, love and regret.
Callie Gaston and Roger Paterson work internationally as performers in a variety of touring ensembles, but this new opera gala tour makes it possible to bring the grand drama of opera to life in intimate venues.
The show features well-loved opera arias and duets followed by some musical theatre classics. It’s ideal for a relaxed introduction to the genre. Revel in the romance of Puccini, the passion of Gounod and the heartbreak of Verdi. Each piece is set into context by the performers, so no prior knowledge is necessary.
GPW
