Rising star on tour
Concerts in the West
SOPRANO Hilary Cronin was selected by BBC Music Magazine as a Rising Star of 2022, having won both first prize and the audience award at the 2021 Handel Singing Competition. She comes on a three-venue tour with Concerts in the West, starting at Bridport Arts Centre, on Friday 4th October, for the regular coffee concert at 11.30am, that evening at Ilminster Arts Centre at 7.30pm, and at Crewkerne Dance House on Saturday 5th at 7.30.
Hilary is a regular soloist with The Monteverdi Choir, the English Baroque Soloists and Sir John Eliot Gardiner. On the concert platform, she has appeared as soloist with many groups and orchestras including The English Concert, The Sixteen, Solomon’s Knot, Florilegium, London Mozart Players, Oxford Bach Soloists, English Chamber Orchestra, London Handel Players, Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
She will be accompanied by Asako Ogawa, one of today’s most versatile performers on keyboard instruments. Asako plays a wide historic range, from virginals, harpsichord and fortepiano to modern piano. Her wide repertoire covers all periods both on harpsichord and modern piano. She has been performing as a soloist, as an accompanist and as a continuo player in the UK, Europe and Japan.
Hilary and Asako will perform a programme that reflects their wide repertoire, with works by Handel, Schumann, Wolf and Liszt.
Baroque and roll-necks
Lyme Regis
THE Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis hosts two top comedians during October—Fin Taylor, with his show Ask Your Mother, on Friday 11th, and Lloyd Griffith with Baroque and Roll, on Thursday 17th.
Fresh from the viral success of his hit web series Fin vs The Internet, that comedian your mother doesn’t like you watching is touring a new show of his trademark brutally funny stand-up. When he’s not in a roll-neck making influencers squirm, he’s on a comedy club stage near you or on television on Live at the Apollo, Have I got News for You, The Mash Report or Comedy Central’s Roast Battle.
Back with his new show, Baroque and Roll, Lloyd Griffith is having a big year. He’s turning 40 and with it comes the impending midlife crisis—or ‘renaissance’ as he’s insisting it’s called—complete with body hair removal, head hair additions, teeth whitening and obviously the obligatory half marathon sign up. It’ll be funny and yes, there’ll be the odd song or two from that magnificent voice of his.
A musical history of slavery
Cerne Abbas
WEST Country folk singer-songwriter and story-teller Reg Meuross is on an Artsreach tour with the West African musician Suntou Susso, with a powerful show called Stolen from God, coming to Cerne Abbas village hall on Tuesday 22nd October.
Stolen from God is an investigation of the history of England’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. In it, Reg Meuross unearths incredible tales and uncomfortable truths of a history which needs to be told. Featuring the enchanting and virtuoso playing of kora master Suntou Susso, these stories are brought to life in a stunning folk music cycle of moving and thought-provoking songs alongside narration on the background to each piece.
The show is also with Artsreach at Langton Matravers village hall on Wednesday 23rd October. Much later in the year, Reg Meuross will be playing at Crewkerne Town Hall with Phil Beer on 20th December.
Return to 23 Railway Cottages
Bridport
FOR readers of a certain generation, the names of Tony Hancock and Sid James—and their radio and television programme Hancock’s Half Hour—will ring many laugh-filled bells. The miserable Hancock and his eternally optimistic and well-intentioned sidekick, were a comedy duo made in radio heaven. Now three “lost” episodes have been reimagined for the stage, and are coming to Bridport Arts Centre on Monday 7th October, at 7.30pm.
Celebrating the centenary of Tony Hancock’s birth and the 70th anniversary of the BBC comedy, Hancock’s Half Hour—The Lost TV Episodes, written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and adapted by John Hewer (who plays Hancock), is presented by Hambledon Productions—the company’s other TV-to-stage shows include Just Like That! The Tommy Cooper Show and Steptoe and Son.
In 1954, comedian Tony Hancock burst onto the BBC with a comedy show unlike anything the British public had experienced before. Based at the fictional 23 Railway Cottages, East Cheam, the show featured the lugubrious Hancock surrounded by a stellar cast including Sidney James, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams—who would all go on to star in many of the Carry On films. The show proved equally successful when it transferred to television.
The new show recreates three ‘lost’ episodes from the original television series. Missing from the BBC archives, this UK Tour will mark the very first time these hilarious scripts have been brought to life since their original broadcast.
Hancock’s Half Hour—the Lost Episodes is back in this area, at the Princess Theatre, Paignton, on Wednesday 13th November and the Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne, on Thursday 14th.
Comedy hit on tour
Bridport and Swanage
ONE of the great comedy hits of the past 20 years, Richard Bean’s One Man, Two Gunners, is coming to the Electric Palace at Bridport on Friday and Saturday 4th and 5th October, and the Mowlem Theatre at Swanage on Friday and Saturday 11th and 12th October.
The new production by Revive Theatre, directed by Richard Batt, aims to capture the hilarious, chaotic story of a hapless idiot, Francis Henshall, who finds himself juggling suitcases, gourmet food and his fiancee as he tries to satisfy two bosses, each with a lot to hide—and a lot to lose.
It is based on the equally funny farce, The Servant of Two Masters, by the 18th century Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni.
A primal roar of Welshness
Villages
SONGLINES, the magazine that celebrates folk and indigenous music around the world, described the Welsh folk band VRi as making “a primal roar of Welshness”—celebrating the music and language of their homeland, the trio are coming to Dorset for a short tour with Artsreach, starting at Corfe Castle village hall on Friday 11th October, at Litton Cheney Community Hall on Saturday 12th and Sandford Orcas village hall on Sunday 13th, all at 7.30pm.
Winners of Best Album at the Wales Folk Awards 2023, VRï are Jordan Price Williams (cello, voice), Aneirin Jones (violin, voice) and Patrick Rimes (viola, violin, voice). These three young men from deepest chapel-going Wales have mined the cultural upheaval of past centuries and drawn inspiration from the incredible story of a time when Wales’s traditional music and dance were suppressed by Methodist chapels, and, earlier, its language by the Act of Union.
Three-part harmonies, stunning fiddle and the unusual addition of cello together create VRï’s unique sound. Since forming in 2016, the trio have been pumping out their native foot-stomping dance tunes while maintaining the poise and elegance of a string ensemble. Seizing the remaining strands of subsumed tradition and music, VRï blends them into a joyous celebration of Welsh identity and a contemporary rediscovery of lost traditions.
Typhoid tale
Living Spit on tour
MARY Mallon, a talented cook in New York City in 1906, takes a job preparing delicious meals for yet another high society family—and yet again they begin to fall ill and die. Coincidence? Mary thinks so. And now she’s put all that nonsense behind her … or has she? Find out more when Living Spit bring their latest batty historical performance to a venue near you, starting at Royal Manor Theatre at Portland on Tuesday 15th October.
Irish immigrant. Cook. Amiable host. Killer? Mary is cooking three courses for a very special guest tonight—YOU! … That is, unless health inspector and sanitation expert George Soper can stop her before it’s too late…
There’s Something About Typhoid Mary is on a lengthy West Country tour with Stu Mcloughlin as the much-maligned Mary Mallon and Lucy Tuck as the germaphobic George Soper. The tour has two Artsreach dates, Portland on 15th October and Lytchett Matravers village hall on Wednesday 16th. It will be at The Exchange at Sturminster Newton on Thursday 17th, and in November on Wednesday 13th at the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, Thursday 14th at Bridport Arts Centre and Friday 15th at Dorchester Arts.
With live original music, deliciously tempting food which you can really eat (if you dare), gory deaths a-plenty, puerile puppetry and sackfuls of cross-dressing crassness, this promises to be a feverishly funny feast of fun for some of the family. Just don’t mention the T-word… Are you brave enough to take this contagiously entertaining journey through the dark and sinister world of the killer cook, Typhoid Mary, told with Living Spit’s trademark wit, song and silliness.
The Undercover Hippy
Lyme Regis
IF you know of The Undercover Hippy, you may be one of those devoted fans who will cross the country for one of his gigs, singing along with every chorus in his highly political songs. On Thursday 3rd October you can catch him in our region at the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis.
The Dorset date is followed by three in Devon—Friday 4th at The Junction, Plymouth, Saturday 5th at St Mary’s Hall, Appledore, and Sunday 6th at the Barrel House Ballroom, Totnes—and one in Frome, Somerset, at The Treehouse on Wednesday 9th.
Billy Rowan aka The Undercover Hippy has been performing at festivals since 2008, working his way up from being a solo singer-songwriter playing in small marquee stages to now having a full band and playing main stages at some of the UK’s best independent festivals. The band have been regulars at Glastonbury, Boomtown, Electric Picnic, Eden Festival in Scotland and Beautiful Days at Ottery St Mary.
The music is best described as politically-driven, acoustic roots-reggae folk-hop, with feel-good vibes and a sly sense of humour. The set list includes songs from their 2023 fourth album, Not Paying Attention.
Young writer’s debut
Dorchester
PLOUGH Youth Theatre comes to Dorchester Corn Exchange on Sunday 6th October at 6pm with The Best Life, the debut play of young scriptwriter, Kateryna Rudiakova.
The Best Life reminds us of a huge, transparent issue that we have forgotten about. The madness and pain of war, locked in Roksolana’s teenage heart, makes us both laugh and cry, while her sincerity about the family that remains in Ukraine makes us live through the fear with her.
At just 15 years of age, Kateryna Rudiakova found the courage and her voice to tell this story from her own point of view.
This is a Pay What You Can ticket price—all proceeds will be going towards the Plough Youth Theatre.
Original folk inspirations
Villages
ARTSREACH brings folk band Counter’s Creek for three dates in Dorset in October, starting on Friday 18th at Sydling St Nicholas village hall, on Saturday 19th at Briantspuddle and Sunday 20th at The Portman Hall at Shillingstone, all at 7.30pm.
Counter’s Creek is an acoustic folk quartet who play original music inspired by the folk traditions of the British Isles and beyond, including foot-tapping jigs and reels, dance grooves from Eastern Europe and West Africa and a whole lot more!
Featuring Ben Cox (voice/flute/whistles/harmonium), Jonathan Taylor (flute/whistles), Tom Newell (violin/banjo) and Moss Freed (guitar), expect an evening of exciting, uplifting entertainment, with virtuoso performances delivered by engaging and witty musicians who convey their passion for contemporary British and Irish folk music in their playing as well as encouraging the audience to join them in sea shanties and heart-wrenching songs in sublime four-part harmonies!
Between them the four musicians have performed at most of the UK’s leading folk and jazz festivals, played with pop acts including Muse and One Direction, appeared on TV shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and in numerous stage shows on the West End and around the UK.
Must I wait till spring?
Villages
ANGLO-Swiss theatre company Fideri Fidera has three October dates with Artsreach, bringing the delightful award-winning play for children, Oskar’s Amazing Adventure, to Millborne St Andrew village hall on Monday 28th at 2pm, Hinton Martell village hall on Tuesday 20th at 11am and Powerstock Hut on Wednesday 30th, also at 11am.
This original, heart-warming and entertaining play for young children and their families is full of humour, adventure, music and song, storytelling, physical theatre, clowning and puppetry.
Snowbound in Grandma’s little house, fun-loving puppy Oskar runs all the way down a snowy mountain to find a friendly animal to play with. But where are the animals? And why must Oskar wait until spring before meeting his friend Marmot and playing their favourite game together?
This tale of a puppy’s search for friendship in the wilderness of the Alps is perfect for children aged two to seven years and their families
Fideri Fidera is a professional Anglo Swiss theatre touring company dedicated to creating new and original theatre for young children.
The gardener and the magpie
villages
THERE is a delightful play for young children coming to Dorset during half-term with Artsreach. Scarlet Oak Theatre’s Along Came a Magpie will be at Buckland Newton village hall on Wednesday 30th October at 10.30am and at Wootton Fitzpaine village hall on Thursday 31st, also at 10.30am.
This is a playful and heart-warming adventure for young children, aged two to six years, and their families featuring puppetry, plants and lots of pots!
In the intimate setting of a potting shed, we meet the gardener. She loves the smell of the flowers, the feel of the earth and watching her plants bloom.
But along comes a magpie who turns her potting shed upside down! Making friends is lots of fun but can sometimes be tricky. Join the gardener and magpie as they navigate the intricacies of friendship.
Climate change challenge
Dorchester
WISE Ram Theatre brings a powerful play about the climate crisis, Decommissioned, to Dorchester Corn Exchange on Tuesday 22nd October, at 7.30.
The new neurodiverse theatre company makes theatre about the climate crisis and this piece, their first play, is by co-director and writer Molly Anne Sweeney.
“Cariad, I care about climate change too, but I live in a place where there are three buses a day and I can’t afford a Tesla!”
Elis wants to guide a class of ten-year-olds to become ethical, informed citizens. Gwen wants to tell the unvarnished truth—in the next 30 years the village they grew up in will be gone.
Inspired by the true story of Fairbourne in Wales, Decommissioned is a described as a “heart-warming, comical and intimate” play about how we’re meant to care for children, fall in love and stay sane while tackling the climate catastrophe.
Secrets from the past
Dorchester and Lyme Regis
OLIVIER Award-winning theatre company Papatango comes to Dorset with a new version of Robert Wentall’s classic ghost story, The Watch House, at Dorchester Corn Exchange on Sunday 27th and the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, on Wednesday 30th.
“There’s a legend about the Watch House. Scrape beneath the whitewash and you’ll find terror. You’ll find him.” Once a coastguard station renowned for daring rescues, the old Watch House is now all but abandoned. Just like Anne, dumped here while her parents sort their divorce. She’s never felt more alone. But she isn’t …
Sunk deep in the past is a secret which threatens everything. Only Anne can stop it. Catapulted on an adventure through graveyards, discos and shipwrecks, she and her eccentric crew must uncover the truth before it’s too late.
GPW
