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Artsreach continues to bring professional performances to rural venues right across Dorset. This summer, there’s a whole variety of things on offer; everything from classical quintets to big, bouncy balls; award-winning Balkan bands to contemporary Shakespeare. There’s something for everyone in the new Artsreach summer programme:Music
This summer Artsreach presents a range of high calibre musical performers. Belshazzar’s Feast, featuring the much-loved Paul Sartin and Paul Hutchinson are renowned on the English folk scene for their unusual mix of humour, folk, classical, jazz, pop and music hall. Celebrating their 20th anniversary, expect an unforgettable live experience when they arrive in Dorset! Red Hippo will be parading an array of instruments including sousaphone, Irish whistles, saxophones and strings, as they explore a musical world influenced by traditional English, Irish and Scandinavian folk melodies and tunes. Tim Laycock and Phil Humphries will continue ‘Rooting around the Ridgeway’ following the success of last autumns West Gallery workshops, this time exploring the folk songs collected in Dorset by the Hammond Brothers in workshops leading to a public performance. Following the release of a highly acclaimed new album, She’koyokh are back with more soulful Gypsy melodies, toe-tapping Yiddish music, exhilarating Balkan dances, Turkish ballads, and virtuosic solos. The visible energy and passion poured into their performances won them a host of new followers at The Exchange last summer, and their return is much anticipated. Each representing one of the string sections of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, five gifted musicians come together as the BSO Resonate Strings. Their engaging ‘Summer Serenade’ concert will reflect the wonderful diversity of the classical string repertoire and will feature music from across the centuries from composers such as Bach, Pachebel and Mozart to Jenkins, Joplin and Warlock.Theatre
A whole host of Artsreach favourites will be treading the boards with new productions over the coming months. For anyone who's ever craved the last word, Theatre Alibi presents a very human comedy about arguing. From farcical fisticuffs at a wedding disco to squabbling for control of the TV remote, ‘Hammer & Tongs’ is physical, funny, absurd, musical, moving, and absolutely bloody-minded. The company brings its national tour to a close with one performance in Dorset on the Artsreach circuit. Expect the unexpected in ‘The Ballad of Martha Brown’, Angel Exit's latest original drama based on the life and times of the last woman publicly hanged in Dorset. Presented in the company's rich visual style, blending storytelling and striking physicality, this show is spliced through with wicked humour, an original score and macabre songs. The much anticipated West Country tour this year by Bristol Old Vic Theatre School sees the stars of the future taking on Georges Feydeau’s high spirited romp ‘Sauce For The Goose’. Stuffed with preening characters knitting their legs in sexual frustration, its heady mix of passions, pace and pleasure are the perfect mix for a good night out. Finally, Artsreach and Miracle Theatre invite you to take a trip into uncharted waters, and find yourself wrecked on a treacherous shore. Celebrating their 35th anniversary, they apply their offbeat and humorous style to Shakespeare’s classic ‘The Tempest’ to create a fresh and musical adaptation. This special open-air tour is the culmination of the Artsreach summer season, so wrap up warm, grab a blanket, pack a picnic and be entertained by this outstanding Cornish company.FREE EVENTS!Families in Dorset are in for a treat in May as ‘The Big Bounce’ arrives at Kingston Maurward. In a fun and visually stunning event, a humorous story of learning how to play is told with acrobatics, dozens of large coloured balls and one GIANT ball. This fabulously playful, free outdoor performance is suitable for children aged 5 years and under. Bring a picnic rug and come ready to play; boing boing boing!
PUBS PROJECT
This summer, Artsreach are teaming up once more with the hilarious Living Spit (‘The Six Wives of Henry V111) to bring their latest idea to the County – a show for pubs. In an effort to reach new audiences and support rural pubs, ‘One Man & His Cow’ is specifically designed to be performed in a bar, and will be free for all to enjoy. Overflowing with a multitude of catchy songs, agricultural clichés and farmyard frolics, this show is coming to a pub near you soon...Full details including dates, venues and individual box office numbers can be found at www.artsreach.co.uk, where you can also sign up to the Artsreach mailing list. Outlets where you can pick up a copy of the programme include libraries, arts centres and tourist information centres across Dorset. You can also find Artsreach on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with the latest news and join in the rural touring conversation.
