Return of Dorset’s folk stars
Lyme Regis
DORSET’s own folk music stars, Ninebarrow, make a welcome return to the Lyme Folk Weekend, appearing at the Marine Theatre on Saturday 30th August at 8pm.
Jon Whitley and Jay LaBouchardiere, who are patrons of Lyme Folk, are back by popular demand, and will be joined on stage by friends and fellow musicians, Will McNicol and Jack Rutter.
Will wowed the Lyme audiences with his virtuoso guitar playing as part of the Ninebarrow show back in 2018. He was Guitarist Magazine’s UK Acoustic Guitarist of the Year 2011, and Guitar World called him “one of the best acoustic players on the planet”.
Yorkshire folk singer Jack Rutter has established himself as one of the standout voices of the folk, roots and acoustic music scene in recent years. He came to Lyme with the Sam Sweeney band in 2019, impressing the audience with his soaring vocals, powerhouse guitar and bouzouki playing and masterful arrangements of traditional songs and contemporary covers.
Another highlight of the weekend, the finale concert on Sunday 31st, will feature Australia’s Spooky Men’s Chorale, a magnificent, many-headed beast which has single-handedly turned the world of men’s singing upside down. Formed in New South Wales in 2001, the Spooks have become rock-solid festival and theatre favourites in Australia, UK and Europe, with seven albums and 900 gigs under their belts. No subject is too trivial or weighty for their attention, and such ability to find new musical rooms to explore contributes greatly to their astonishing fan loyalty. Both gigs begin at 8pm.
West Dorset’s festival by the seaside
Burton Bradstock
DORSET hosts a packed programme of festivals—classical, jazz, folk and chamber music, literature, food and walking, many of them in beautiful settings and venues. But few have a finer location than the Burton Bradstock Festival of Music and Art, this year running from 10th to 17th August.
Close to the dramatic Jurassic coast, with famous eateries on the doorstep, and the beautiful St Mary’s Church as the principal venue, this is a celebration of music from across the centuries and musical genres.
The musicians—many of them now familiar faces—include outstanding violinists and violists, one of the world’s leading accordionists, brass players and singers, and the programmes include classical favourites, modern masterpieces and a bluegrass and Americana trio.
The festival opens with the traditional Sunday tea party in the rectory gardens with live music and delicious cakes! That evening there is a festival evensong in St Mary’s, with organist Paul Cheater and the choir from Litton Cheney.
Monday’s exciting programme starts with a castaways event in St Mary’s at 11.30am, when virtuoso accordionist Milos Milivojevic talks to festival artistic director, violinist David Juritz, about the music that has played an important part in his life.
That evening, Jaywalkers bring the infectious rhythms and tunes of traditional American bluegrass music to the church, with soaring fiddles, three-part harmonies and dazzling mandolin playing.
The first of three concerts on Tuesday 12th at St Mary’s is a lunchtime concert with violinist Natalie Lomeiko and violist Yuri Zhislin and their daughter Anya Zhislin on violin and piano, playing works by Bach, Mozart, Ravel and Grieg. The 7pm concert features jazz, “From Ellington to Evans,” and the 9.45pm late-night event is the guitar-violin duo of Craig Ogden and David Juritz playing works by Part, Satie and Bach.
Incidental music from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde opens the chamber concert on Wednesday evening, followed by Beethoven, Satie and Ravel chamber works. The late night event features Milos Milivojevic and his wife, violinist Anja Petkovic with pianist David Gordon playing works by Rachmaninoff, Franck, Saint-Saens and An Ordinary Balkan Day by Boiko Milosevic.
Lunchtime on Thursday brings the exuberant Atea Quintet of wind players to St Mary’s with works by Saint-Saens, Paul Dukas and Henry Wood. The evening concert is a celebration of film and television music, with all the week’s instrumentalists taking part. David Gordon, piano, Paul Cavaciuti, percussion, and Richard Pryce, bass are joined by the Festival Players for the late-night concert, UnRavel, exploring how Maurice Ravel was influenced by jazz.
The music programme of the festival ends on Friday 15th at St Mary’s with a gala concert, at 7pm. All the week’s singers and musicians will take part in a delightful programme that includes music by Mozart, Louise Farrenc, Bizet, Vivaldi, Ravel and Oscar Peterson.
The art exhibition runs in the village hall from Sunday 10th to Sunday 17th August and features a wide range of affordable original paintings, prints, ceramics, glass and wood crafts by West Country artists. Proceeds of the exhibition go towards the cost of running the festival.
Sherwood Forest by the sea
Lyme Regis
FOLKSY Theatre comes to the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis on Saturday afternoon, 2nd August, at 2pm, with Robin Hood, a new musical adaptation of an ever-popular story.
Set against the enchanting backdrop of the eerie Sherwood Forest, this whimsical production sees King John and the Sheriff of Nottingham trying to thwart the legendary outlaw, Robin Hood and his band of merry men, as they steal from the rich to give to the poor.
Will Robin and his band escape the Sheriff’s clutches? And whose side is Maid Marian truly on?
Filled with Folksy’s signature live music, audience interaction and delightful silliness, this adaptation promises to have you laughing and singing along! Don’t miss out on this unforgettable summer adventure.
This is an outdoor production, so please bring a picnic and a chair or blanket to sit on, and dress for the weather.
Improv on trial
Stockland
COURT rooms are the stuff of drama—comedy, not so much. Improv comedy comes to Stockland village hall on Friday 1st August at 7.30pm with This Is Your Trial!, a show in which the audience is fully involved.
When you come to this court, your role is that of juror. You’ll decide the guilt of those accused. You may be called to deliver evidence, give a witness statement or even be put on trial. You get involved as much as you want.
If you are facing charges, you’ll be provided with the best legal defence your ticket price can afford! And that could be any one of a long list of top comedians, including Al Murray, Clive Anderson, Susan Calman, Josie Long, Tim Fitzhigham, Jess Fostekew, Thom Tuck, Deborah Frances-White, Marcus Brigstocke, Daliso Chaponda … or any of This is Your Trial’s regular, top class representation.
“All rise for some proper off-the-rails anarchic humour and wit,“said the reviewer in The Mirror. You submit accusations against your friends or family—the judge and jury (ie the audience!) decide their guilt or innocence.
To book visit: https://villagesinaction.co.uk/ or call Wendy 01404881207
Murder at the Beehive
Honiton
HONITON’s hard-working and popular Community Theatre tackles a drama from the Queen of Crime for the summer show, A Murder is Announced, at the Beehive Centre from Thursday to Saturday, 7th to 9th August at 7pm.
An announcement in the local paper states the time and place when a murder is to occur in Miss Blacklock’s Victorian house. The victim is not one of the house’s several occupants, but an unexpected and unknown visitor.
What follows is a classic Christie puzzle of mixed motives, concealed identities, a second death and a determined inspector grimly following the case’s twists and turns.
Fortunately, Miss Marple is on hand to provide the solution—at some risk to herself—in a dramatic final confrontation.
A home-grown dance star
Yeovil and villages
SOMERSET has a new dance star—the county that gave the world the award-winning choreographer and dancer Christopher Wheeldon is also the home of choreographer and dancer James Bamford. His Project Dance company is giving the premiere of an exciting new dance theatre work, Busk, at the Westlands entertainment centre at Yeovil on 28th and 29th August.
The production is also at Exeter’s Northcott Theatre on 31st August as part of a national tour.
Project Dance is an award-winning, professional dance theatre company, known for presenting emotive, accessible productions that resonate with audiences of all ages. Busk is a bold and compelling new production that celebrates the raw energy of street performance and live music, brought to life entirely through dance.
As part of the company’s commitment to supporting local artistry, Busk features an original score by local composer Charles Harrison, further cementing the production as a celebration of homegrown creative talent.
“This collaboration represents our mission to commission and platform exceptional local artists, while creating work that remains accessible and meaningful to both seasoned dance audiences and first-time theatregoers alike,” says James, who has previously danced with the English National Ballet Youth Company, and is the founder and artistic director of Project Dance.
But it’s not just big theatres and exciting premieres—Project Dance also works hard at the grass-roots, this year collaborating with Dorset’s rural touring charity Artsreach to bring a dance workshop for young people aged six and over, at Marnhull village hall, on 5th August, from 10.30am to 3.30pm.
If you have ever wondered what it’s like to be part of one of those joyous dance numbers that you see in the movies, why not join James Bamford for an energetic and exciting day of showbiz music and dance. Participants will learn a number of musical theatre dance routines before performing them for friends and family at the end of the day.
A village opera festival
Oborne
THERE is grand opera in world-famous venues, country house opera in historic and beautiful gardens—and there is village opera at Oborne, a pretty little village close to Sherborne. Here local music lovers, with Jon and Jenny Fletcher of the Grange at Oborne hotel, have established a small but perfectly-formed summer festival which brings musical theatre from Puccini to silent movies to rural Dorset.
Opera in Oborne opens on 6th August with the first of three performances of Puccini’s great tragic melodrama, Tosca, famous for the peerless soprano aria Vissi d’arte, and the terrifying power of the corrupt and sadistic chief of police, Scarpia. Set in Rome during the Napoleonic Wars, the story focuses on the tempestuous love affair between opera singer Floria Tosca and painter Mario Cavaradossi, caught up in dangerous political intrigues and Scarpia’s ruthless machinations.
Performances are at St Cuthbert’s Church at 7.30pm, on 6th, 8th and 9th August.
Silent Movies on Thursday 7th August is an invitation to celebrate the heyday of film a century ago, when the sound-scape was provided by live piano accompaniment. For this year’s screening of the classic comedy, Safety Last, the accompaniment will be provided by John Cuthbert. The 1923 film is best known for its iconic image of comedian Harold Lloyd hanging from a clock atop a skyscraper. Lloyd played an unnamed young man who poses as a department-store manager to impress his girlfriend.
Saturday 9th has an afternoon performance of Leonard Bernstein’s one-act opera, Trouble in Tahiti, in the church at 3pm. This portrait of a troubled marriage in 1950s suburban America follows the day-to-day lives of Sam and Dinah, who, despite seeming to have a comfortable life, are unhappy and disconnected from each other. The opera explores themes of marital discontent, consumerism and the search for happiness.
The weekend festival ends with Opera in the Park, on Sunday from 3pm. This open air gala concert of arias and show tunes performed by Opera in Oborne’s talented singers, will be accompanied by John Cuthbert on the piano. The audience is invited to bring a picnic, and enjoy the music, washed down with a glass of Pimms.
For more information visit www.operainoborne.org.
Brilliant fungi
Litton Cheney
INVENTIVE Scratchworks Theatre comes to Dorset for two dates as part of the Artsreach summer programme of events and workshops for children. The Mushroom Show, which combines facts with fun, is coming to Litton Cheney community hall on Monday 18th August at 2pm.
There’s a secret kingdom full of mysteries … a whole world of strange, smelly and surprising life all around us! Welcome to the extraordinary world of mushrooms.
Augustine Fogwoode might be the world’s MOST enthusiastic mushroom enthusiast! She is on a quest to make sure everyone knows about the brilliance of fungi—their scientific superpowers and amazing abilities. But it’s just her and her puppet friend Goldie. She might need a few more fun-guys to make it happen …
Join the party and discover how fungi grow, connect and help the natural world, including us humans. Packed full of interactive games, playful music and lots of laughs for all the family, this Scratchworks Theatre show fuses the company’s signature style of physical comedy with the world of fungi, bringing together science, music and participatory activities for whole families to experience together.
There is a second show and workshop on Tuesday 19th August at 11am at Alderholt village hall.
Learn circus skills
Stalbridge
IT’s a childhood fantasy to run off to the circus—but Artsreach can make a bit of that dream come true with a circus skills workshop at Stalbridge village hall, on 13th August, as part of the Dorset rural touring charity’s summer programme for children.
Kevin Burke, who has worked as an actor, magician and all-round entertainer for more than 30 years, will lead the afternoon event from 2 to 4pm, for children aged five and upwards to learn new skills that will impress friends and family.
Participants will have a chance to try juggling with clubs, rings, balls and scarves, diabolo, flowerstick/stuntstick, plate spinning, stilts, poi and rolla bolla!
Through the looking glass
Dorchester
THE ancient Roman arena of Maumbury Rings is transformed into Lewis Carroll’s magical world when Quantum Theatre brings its new adaptation of Through the Looking Glass (and What Alice Found There) for next Summer’s outdoor season to Dorchester on Tuesday 19th August, at 2.30pm.
With live music and the full array of Carroll’s fantastical characters, this lively new version follows Alice’s adventures in the looking-glass world she enters through the mirror above her drawing-room fireplace …
Adapted and directed by Michael Whitmore, this enchanting play faithfully charts the fabulous and wonderful world created by Lewis Carroll, retaining all its quirky British charm, classic characters and comedic poems in a true theatrical treat for all the family.
All at sea
Bridport
CORNWALL’s much-loved Squashbox Theatre comes to Millennium Green at Bridport on Thursday 28th August at 3pm with an inventive new children’s entertainment, The Sea Show.
Craig Johnson’s quirky and hilarious mix of puppet show, natural history and comedy cabaret will introduce the audience to crazy characters like Morwenna the ‘beautiful’ mermaid, Ruan the reformed seagull and salty sea-dog Captain Pemburthy, as well as a cast of mischievous sea-squirts, anemones, limpets, crabs and pilchards.
Celebrate the sea with tall tales, silly slapstick, fantastic facts, live music and songs—unmissable fun for children and adults of all ages!
Summer fun with favourite musical
Bridport
THE beautiful Electric Palace in Bridport plays host to the summer show by Bridport Musical Theatre Company—a “Shrektacular” production of the much-loved Disney’s Shrek the Musical, from 27th to 30th August at 7.30pm with a Saturday matinee at 2.30.
This award-winning musical adaptation of the original Dreamworks story brings to life the world of Shrek on stage in an unforgettable production to melt hearts of all ages.
Join Shrek and Donkey on their daring quest to rescue the feisty Princess Fiona. Meet a fire-breathing Dragon, a Gingerbread man with attitude, Pinocchio and a whole bunch of fairy tale misfits who’ll leave you in stitches.
GPW
