Scrooge by the sea
Lyme Regis
THE Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis has its first Christmas show this year, a production of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, by Gilroy Theatre, who staged the Marine’s successful first summer rep season this year. There are performances from Thursday 19th to Sunday 22nd December, with matinees and evening performances.
Probably the best known Christmas story of them all, this classic ghost story is a feel-good fable for the whole family, performed by a cast of professional actors, with members of the Marine Youth Theatre.We meet Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve, in his counting house, metaphorically counting out his money. What sort of a man is Scrooge? Does he care for anybody else except himself? Or anything else? Yes, perhaps that money he’s spent so long accumulating!
Thanks to the intervention of his business partner, Marley, (who just happens to have been dead for seven years!), Scrooge is introduced to three ghosts, all of whom have a vital, if scary, lesson for him. Will he learn from his mistakes? Will he become a better person? Will he finally realise that some things are more important than money?
And what will happen to Tiny Tim, the poor boy whose poverty threatens his very life?
… in Dorchester
THE Travelling Players, part of New Forest-based Forest Forge Theatre, bring their version of the story, A Humbug Christmas Carol, to Dorchester Arts at the Corn Exchange on Sunday 8th December at 2.30pm.
The Travelling Players, a joint venture of Forest Forge, Bumblefly and Mischievous Theatre, return with their suitcases bursting with merriment, mayhem and humbug to tell the haunting tale of a mean and miserly old man—the tight-fisted curmudgeon, Ebenezer Scrooge!
Between dusk and dawn Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future! Will he mend his ways? Will he become a new man? Will he greet the morning with a … Merry Christmas Everyone?
Through their unique brand of quirky storytelling, live action, music, a puppet or two, a host of Gothic surprises, some ghostly flights of fancy and a clanking of chains, the Travelling Players bring this Yuletide classic to life.
… in Bridport
A Christmas Carol has been frequently dramatised on radio—this December, popular television performers Colin Baker and Peter Purves bring A Christmas Carol—A Radio Play Live to Bridport’s Electric Palace on Thursday 5th December at 7.30pm. The show features a specially recorded appearance by Tom Baker, one of the best-loved Doctor Who actors, as the ghost of Jacob Marley.
As a change from the many stage versions, Bridport Arts Centre has a new film version of the story, being shown on Sunday 15th December at 2pm. With a stellar cast including Simon Russell Beale, Martin Freeman, Carey Mulligan, Daniel Kaluuya, Sian Phillips, Leslie Caron and Andy Serkis, this radical new take gets back to the gritty social comment of the original story and breathes new life into the lyricism of the original text by setting its scenes to extraordinary tableaux of modern dance.
The opening scenes show a Victorian family preparing a toy theatre for their annual performance of A Christmas Carol. As grandmother narrates the story and her grandchildren change the scenery, we enter the imagination of one of the children and watch as the cardboard stage transforms into a darkly fantastical otherworld.
… and in the villages
BUT if you would rather see this festive story in your home village, Artsreach has three performances of David Mynne’s stunning solo performance of A Christmas Carol, at Marnhull village hall, on Friday 13th December, Milbourne St Andrew hall on Saturday 14th and Burton Bradstock hall on Sunday 15th, all at 7.30pm.
Following his popular tours with adaptations of Great Expectations, Dracula and The Odyssey, the acclaimed Cornish actor, a founder member of Kneehigh Theatre, is back with his mesmerising one-man show. The director of Devon’s Plough Arts Centre described the performance as “beautiful—apparently simple theatre with just one actor, but you go home remembering a cast of dozens! He is a genius.”
Joy to all mankind? Bah humbug! Prepare to spend an evening with Ebenezer Scrooge, a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, clutching, covetous, old miser—and see what the Christmas spirits have in store for him!
The story of a violin
Villages
FORMER bandmates of acclaimed klezmer group Moishe’s Bagel are coming to Dorset for four dates with Artsreach, telling the incredible story of Lev’s Violin, which was originally heard in a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week in 2022. The Dorset village tour begins at Hinton Martel hall on Wednesday 4th December, followed by Shipton Gorge village hall on Thursday 5th, West Stafford hall on Friday 6th and Chetnole village hall on Saturday 7th, all starting at 7.30pm.
Born with a beautiful sound but no name, Lev’s Violin was deemed to be worthless. Although its origins remained a mystery, many tales were attached to the violin, some true and some wonderfully untrue … In this live show, audiences can follow the remarkable story of this instrument and hear it played live by violinist Greg Lawson, who is joined by former Moishe’s Bagel bandmate, accordionist Phil Alexander. The show is described as “part storytelling, a wee bit of a music lecture, some stand-up comedy, a book reading and lots of wonderful music”
Old and worn by its travels, Lev’s Violin eventually broke a few years ago, and the instrument became the subject of a book by Helena Attlee, Lev’s Violin: An Italian Adventure, which reached hundreds of thousands of listeners when it was broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
The violin has since been through an extensive restoration and, having passed through the hands of countless musicians, travelled continents and played the music of many cultures, it is now in the possession of Greg Lawson, an acclaimed violinist, composer and conductor who has held principal and leading positions in most of the orchestras in Scotland.
Follow the journey of Lev’s Violin and hear some of the music from its past, from Bach and Arvo Part to Armenian and Macedonian music and klezmer.
A wintry tale
Honiton
ONE of the classic winter tales, Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, comes to the Beehive Centre at Honiton this Christmas. The show, on Friday 20th December at 4pm, is performed by puppet company Theatrix Arts founded by artistic director Paul Batten, who trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
The Toy Maker is in his workshop, making toys for the children, when all of a sudden they come to life to tell the story of The Snow Queen. Follow Gerda on her adventures as she sets out to rescue her brother Kai from the evil Snow Queen, who is holding him prisoner in her ice palace. And meet the magical creatures who help her on her mission.
The wonderful fairytale by the Danish master storyteller is told through the eyes of puppets Gerda and Kai, with changing scenery, music and sound effects.
After the show there will be a workshop, with a chance to meet the puppets and create your own puppet of a character from the show. The workshop is optional, but is included in the ticket price.
Into the dark woods
Sidmouth
HANSEL and Gretel make their way into the dark wood in the famous fairytale, which is the theme for the 2024 pantomime at Sidmouth Manor Pavilion, from 27th December to 4th January. There are no performances on New Year’s Eve or 2nd January.
Following the award-winning success of last year’s show, Sidmouth Amateur Dramatic Society has chosen Alan P Frayn’s retelling of Hansel and Gretel, a pantomime for all the family. Alan Frayn, who lives in Somerset and is a former director of entertainment at Alton Towers, has written many pantomime scripts for amateur groups, breathing new life into old stories, and catering to the needs of amateur groups of all sizes.
Talking of trees and woods at Sidmouth, on Friday 6th December at 2.30pm, Ed Dolphin talks about his new book, Sidmouth’s World of Trees. The garden of The Knowle provides a world tour of trees from China, Portugal, the Balkans, California, Persia, New England, Louisiana and Ireland. Around the town, there are many more trees from different countries. In his talk at Manor Pavilion, he explores the origins of some of these trees and how they came to live in Sidmouth.
Rock’n’rolling back the years
Yeovil
NOT everyone loves pantomime, so for those who would rather party than shout “He’s behind you!” Yeovil’s Westlands entertainment centre has a Back to the 80s Christmas party on Friday 20th December.
This popular DJ show is described as “the biggest 80s party … ready to get you in the festive mood!”
Prepare to dance the night away to all the favourite hits from Wham!, Bananarama, Rick Astley, Bronski Beat, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. Fancy dress is encouraged, so dig out your 80s glad rags!
Inside out and upside down
Dorchester
MOST of us never got much further than the odd handstand in the garden when we were children, or perhaps some slightly more ambitious gymnastics in school sports lessons. But Natalie Reckert has taken that simple exercise to the highest level of acrobatic circus skills, as one of the world’s leading hand-balancers. See her in breathtaking action at Dorchester Corn Exchange on Thursday 5th December at 7.30pm.
The performance, Natalie Inside Out, is a unique collaboration between Natalie and digital artist Mark Morreau, using technology and video projections to turn our conventional ideas of circus upside down and inside out—literally.
Fusing circus skills and interactivity to examine the inner workings of the body, Natalie and Mark combine live acrobatic performance, close-up video and spoken word, as they pool their talents in a strikingly intimate show about the vulnerability of a circus artist, as she struggles to achieve something extraordinary.
The pair, who have been working together for 16 years, mix live acrobatic performance of challenging hand-balancing moves with extreme close-up slow-motion video and talk about the personal emotions, challenges and stories behind the thrilling facade.
Telling Tales with Dickens
Dorchester
DICKENS is so synonymous with Christmas—and the tale of Scrooge and Tiny Tim in particular—that it is easy to forget that he wrote many more short stories and tales with a winter theme. You can hear some of them in Telling Tales with Dickens at Dorchester Corn Exchange on Tuesday 10th December.
Created by Jonathan Goodwin, founder and artistic director of Don’t Go Into The Cellar, this is an original and authentic recreation of the great author’s dramatic performances, adapted from some of his shorter tales, including the ghostly classic The Signalman and comic selections from The Pickwick Papers.
Formed in 2010, Don’t Go Into The Cellar is one of the country’s finest exponents of theatrical Victoriana in a macabre vein.
Folk greats at Christmas
Lyme Regis
SOME of the biggest names in British folk music are coming to the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis during December, starting on Monday 2nd with the legendary Martin Carthy and his multi-talented, twice Mercury Prize-nominated daughter Eliza Carthy.
Long established as a duo—and members of one of folk’s great dynasties, Waterson/Carthy—Martin and Eliza were nominated for a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 and won Best Album in 2015 at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. They join forces at Lyme Regis to perform an eclectic range of songs and tunes from their vast family repertoire, drawing from the traditional canon as well as selections from a more contemporary songbook.
The following evening, another star from a famous family of folk singers, Devon-based Seth Lakeman comes to Lyme as part of a tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his album, Kitty Jay.
On Saturday 7th, the mood ramps up with the energetic, foot-stomping music of Sheelanagig, a quintet with an armoury of stringed instruments—guitar, fiddle, double bass—plus flute and drums and a bagful of joint-jumping tunes. Together they create a powerful dynamic with their furious dance medleys as well as their thoughtfully arranged original pieces.
Audiences can join in at one of the regular free monthly shanty sessions. December’s is on Thursday 12th and as always features Lyme’s Chantry Buoys, singing traditional sea shanties and other songs, from 7.30pm.
A different dance of death
Buckland Newton
DEATH is the end—but how should we approach it? Join dancer and storyteller Solene Weinachter at Buckland Newton village hall on Thursday 5th December, in After All, a celebration of our vulnerable and courageous existence.
The show, which was a sell-out at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe, has attracted enthusiastic reviews—“Enough charm to power an ocean liner and the comic timing of a precision watch” said Broadway Baby … “confidently warm and funny” according to The Guardian.
Solène Weinachter melds comedy, dance, storytelling and theatre to ask: what happens in the end? Through a series of re-enactments of the funerals of those she’s loved, as well as imagining her own, Solène attempts to conjure a better space to be with death, dying and loss.
After All is described as a heartfelt exploration of the death rituals we have, the ones lost and those that need inventing. With a strong narrative that is told through speech, movement and comedy, Solène brings the audience together to explore the role that dancing might play in healing … until the last laugh, the last breath, let’s dance…
Doing festive time
Halstock
CORNWALL’s Near-ta Theatre returns to Dorset in December with performances of the seasonal comedy, Christmas. Time. The two-man show begins its short Artsreach tour at Halstock village hall on Thursday 5th at 7.30 pm.
Lock up your inmates … Near-ta Theatre brings bucket-loads of Christmas spirit and festive cheer in this alternative to Christmas pantomime for local audiences.
Charlie and Toby are feeling low—and why wouldn’t they? It’s Christmas Day and they’re serving time at His Majesty’s pleasure. But why shouldn’t they be having a Merry Christmas despite their incarceration? What’s stopping them from creating Christmas around them? Absolutely nothing! And so they set off on their festival of carols, Claus, Christ and custody!
Join them on a fantastical adventure through Dickens, pantomime, musical, Christmas dinner and Christmas films! See as they build a wonderfully Merry Christmas around them with songs, snowmen and lots of laughs in this truly festive show that puts the ‘cell’ firmly back in ‘celebration’!
The show has been written and is performed by Daniel Richards and Ciaran Clarke, and directed by Simon Harvey (Olivier Award winner and veteran of Kneehigh Theatre). Christmas Time is also at Corfe Castle village hall on Friday 6th December and East Stour hall on Saturday 7th. All performances are at 7.30pm.
Festive favourites
South Petherton
CHRISTMAS wouldn’t be Christmas at South Petherton’s David Hall without the annual December visit by folk group St Agnes Fountain. This year the multi-talented musicians will bring their seasonal show to Somerset on Saturday 14th December at 8pm.
Since their first get-together, to record the eponymous St Agnes Fountain album in 2001, the original quartet of David Hughes, Fairport Convention’s Chris Leslie and multi award winning duo Chris While and Julie Matthews, has brought musical invention and laughter to the star-dust atmosphere of the season.
In 2020, David decided to leave the band and very sadly died last year. He is much missed. His vision to create traditional Christmas carols with a twist led to the creation of the group. The remaining trio say “his unique style of rhythm, of hearing and playing a groove, his satirical wit and sartorial style, his dead-pan presence on stage and his beautiful turn of a lyrical phrase” will never be replaced.
There is more music at the David Hall on Friday 20th from Bare Jams, whose musical influences include rock, pop and jazz, and a New Year’s Eve ceilidh with Crooked Furrow, who were formed in the 1980s as a Wurzels tribute band.
A Christmas soiree
Dorchester
TRADITIONAL and new carols make up the programme for Bournemouth Sinfonietta Choir’s popular annual Noel Noel soiree with Dorchester Arts at the Corn Exchange, on Friday 20th December. The concert is an eclectic mix of music, old and new, well-loved festive favourites and exciting new pieces, ensuring something for everyone. This year the choir will be led by celebrated guest conductor Jonathan Willcocks. Until recently the conductor of the Leith Hill Festival, Jonathan is known as an accomplished and witty director, who has genuine Christmas credentials, with compositions featured in Carols for Choirs.
Chocolate for Charlie
Bridport
BRIDPORT’s Electric Palace has a hugely popular Roald Dahl story rather than a traditional pantomime in December. Bridport Youth Performers will be staging Charlie and the Chocolate Factory from Monday 16th to Thursday 19th at 7.30pm.
In this musical adventure inspired by Dahl’s original story and subsequent films, Willy Wonka sets out to find a new person, who is kind, creative and loves all things sweet, to run his factory. He devises a competition in which five lucky children (Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Mike Teavee and Charlie Bucket) find a golden ticket in a Wonka bar. They get the chance to visit his factory to compete for a ‘grand prize’. We follow Charlie, the last to get a ticket but most passionate about Wonka’s work, as he sees things that must be believed to be seen!
GPW
