Arts & Entertainments

New Stour & Avon, August 27, 2021 Arts & Entertainment Hamilton ready for Tivoli visit

By Faith Eckersall

Following a year of cancelled shows, zoom quizzes and nose-swabs, award-winning writer and comedian Andy Hamilton says he’s delighted to be getting back on tour, with a visit to Wimborne’s Tivoli Theatre on Sunday, October 3. One of the most noted comedy writers and directors of the last decade, with appearances on TV’s Have I Got News For You and Radio 4 shows including I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, Andy says he’ll be providing an evening of comic reflection, reminiscence and revelation. His TV satires turned up the heat on Westminster with Ballot Monkeys and Power Monkeys, and he and his cowriter Guy Jenkin also penned and directed the hit British comedy feature film What We Did On Our Holiday. In spring last year, their latest sitcom Kate & Koji, starring Brenda Blethyn and Jimmy Akingbola, aired on ITV. The audience will have the opportunity to ask Andy about these shows – or any other topic - as he takes a look back at his 40 years in comedy. Beginning in 1976 as a contributor to Radio 4’s Weekending, Andy went on to pick up a raft of awards for co-writing and codirecting such household TV classics as Drop The Dead Donkey and Outnumbered. He’s also written two books, his debut novel The Star Witness, and the handwritten Longhand. nSee andyhamilitonontour. co.uk and Tivoliwimborne.co.uk.

BACK ON TOUR: Andy Hamilton

In accordance with the Government’s advice to businesses, we would encourage customers to continue to wear a face covering to reduce the risk both to themselves and to others and respectfully request that customers continue to use the hand sanitisers provided, and to check in using the NHS COVID-19 app.

Music on lawns

Live on the Lawn featuring Down With The DJ, Dave and Ellie Folk Duo, the Flamin’ Ukes and the Nigel Revill Acoustic Set is taking place at Greyfriars, Ringwood on August 28. Organisers are hoping the audience can see off summer in musical style as well as enjoy a barbecue or picnic at the event, which kicks off at 4pm. Tickets are £10 each from the Greyfriars centre, or email office@greyfriars ringwood.org.uk to reserve. Payment can be made online via the “Donations” button on Greyfriars’ website.

Just go and sing!

A new community choir is starting at QE on September 5. Over eight years Just Sing has raised more than £30,000 for local charities and causes Visit: justsingadultchoir.com for information.

PLEASE KEEP CHECKING OUR WEBSITE

PETER PAN

Fri 27th & Sat 28th Aug at 6pm + Sat 28th at 2pm Tickets Adults £17.50 U16s £14

1 in 10 tickets FREE! Via Box Office only

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) ANDRE RIEU:

Together Again

(Recorded screening)

Sun 29th August, 7:00pm Tickets £15 (concs £13.50)

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) THE LAST BUS

31st August, 1st, 3rd, 6th (TIME TBC), & 9th September 7.30pm Matinees 2nd, 7th & 8th September 2pm Tickets £8 (eves) £7 matinee U16s £6

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) BE BOP A LULA

Thur 2nd September, 7.30pm Tickets £24

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) PURPLE ZEPPELIN

Sat 4th September, 7.30pm Tickets £19.50

(Box Office bookings incur £1 fee per transaction)

MICK FLEETWOOD

& FRIENDS

(Recorded screening)

Tues 7th & Wed 8th September, 7.30pm Tickets £16.50 £15 Concs.

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) THE HISTORY OF ROCK

Fri 10th September 7.30pm Tickets £22.50

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee)

JOHNNY CASH ROADSHOW

From the Ashes tour

Sat 11th Sept 7.30pm Tickets £24

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) ALBERT LEE

Wed 15th Sept at 7.30pm Tickets £26.50

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) NICK CAPALDI

& THE NEON HEARTS

Thurs 16th September at 7.30pm Tickets £18

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee)

Countdown is on for Christie classic

Wimborne Drama Productions will perform Towards Zero by Agatha Christie and Gerald Verner at the Tivoli Theatre from Thursday to Saturday, October 21 to 23. There are evening performances at 7.30pm with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm. The play, directed by Paul Dodman, is adapted from Agatha Christie’s 1944 novel, which she described as one of her favourite stories. When a house party gathers at Gull’s Point, the clifftop home of Lady Tressilian, Neville Strange finds himself caught between his ex-wife Audrey and his new flame Kay. A nail-biting thriller, the play probes the psychology of jealousy in the shadow of a savage and brutal murder. Publicity manager Richard Neal said: “The play is cast and tickets are now on sale! “We are very excited to be back, as it has been nearly 18 months since we rehearsed and performed a play. “It will so good to meet up with friends again, to get back into the rehearsal room and of course to perform to a live theatre audience once again, with the buzz that gives.” Visit TivoliWimborne.co.uk or call the box office.

September rains in September

By Faith Eckersall

In a year when most people will have been obliged to enjoy a staycation, Salisbury Playhouse taps into the mood next month by staging John Godber’s September in the Rain. The play is set in 1950s Blackpool and stars newlywed Yorkshire couple, Jack played by Ian Kelsey, who has appeared in Coronoation Street and Emmerdale, and Nicola Sloane, who has sttarred in Call the Midwife and Les Miserables. The couple have crossed the Pennines to spend their first trip to the iconic resort. Beneath an uncertain September sky, they holiday in a world of stripy deckchairs, sandy sandwiches and stroppy donkeys. As the Wurlitzer organ plays, they sway together on the dance floor of the Tower Ballroom and then proceed to enjoy a similar holiday for the next 30 years. Moving backwards and forward through time, their married life unfolds through squabbles, children, laughter and tears against the backdrop of the heyday of the British seaside. September in the Rain runs from Thursday, September 16 to Saturday, October 9.

n From October 14- 23 the Playhouse is staging a world premiere – Julian Barnes’ The Lemon Table, starring Ian McDiarmid. The performance centres around two of the Barnes’ short stories from his book, The Lemon Table, which examine the theme of old age in a way that McDiarmid describes as: “Witty and touching reflections on mortality and the workings of love.” Ian McDiarmid wil be known to fans of the Star Wars franchise as Emperor Palpatine from the Return of the Jedi as well as the the psychopath Hugo DeVries in the Morse episode Masonic Mysteries and he is also an accomplished stage performer, having received both Olivier and Tony Awards. The Lemon Table sees McDiarmid and director Michael Grandage renew their long-term creative collaboration, having previously worked together on productions including The Doctor’s Dilemma (Almeida Theatre and UK tour. n More information at wiltshirecreative.co.uk.

STARS: Ian Kelsey, Nicola Sloane and, left, Ian McDiarmuid

Rotary Club short story competition

Writing is one of the pastimes that’s boomed during lockdown – so now’s the perfect time to showcase all that work via Blandford Rotary Club’s annual competition. The competition is in its seventh successive year and is offering prizes in a number of categories including Under 18s, Flash Fiction and Poetry. The Open winner receives a framed certificate and has their name engraved on the Mayor’s Cup and the Poetry winner receives a certificate and the Lesley Shand Cup, also appropriately engraved. Competition administrator Adrian Ford said: “With profits being donated by Blandford Rotary to good local causes, we want to remind people that this is a small-scale competition open to all, giving entrants a great chance of picking up a prize.” The closing date is September 30. More details at facebook: @Blandford Rotary or blandfordrotary. org.uk.

E TH T H EXCHANGE

Live a more eventful life Mon/Tues 6th/7th Sept Living Spit present Beauty & the Beast

7:30pm Tickets £14 ––––––––Thursday 9th September

Lucy Worsley presents A Very British Murder

An illustrated talk looking at our fascination with murder 7:30pm Tickets £22 ––––––––Tuesday 14th September Neil Sands presents Bringing Back the Good Times

2pm Tickets £13/£11/£9 ––––––––Saturday 18th September A Vision of Elvis

7.30pm Tickets £22 ––––––––Sat. 2nd Oct. 7.30pm Mary Anning Lost in Time

We’ll be Bach: Choir returns to Minster for concert

Bournemouth Bach Choir is excited to be returning to Wimborne Minster after the easing of Covid restrictions. The celebration concert with a professional orchestra and soloists is on Saturday, September 18, at 7.30pm. The program is Handel’s Zadok the Priest and My Heart is Inditing, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Haydn’s Nelson Mass. Tickets are £15 (all unreserved, children free) from Square Records, Wimborne, and on the door.

ENJOY A GREAT DAY OUT

£7 ENTRY

Children 14 and under FREE

The Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival returns on 11 & 12 September!

Arrangements are well in hand and it’s all systems go to make the event as family friendly as normal whilst keeping exhibitors & visitors safe within the Covid19 government guidelines. We have 19 Cheese Producers joining us to make it a very special cheesy event, and alongside them are a good number of other fabulous food & drink producers from around the West Country. You’ll also 昀nd a host of art & craft makers alongside our usual variety of stalls. Add in some children’s entertainment, some music, real ale & cider and plenty of food to go to choose from and it’s a very good day out! Entry is £7 pp, children 15 and under go free. To guarantee entry, tickets need to be pre purchased on line, remember to add free tickets for children if required, at www.cheesefestival.co.uk, just follow Eliza Mouse

New Stour & Avon, August 27, 2021 Arts & Entertainment Big bonfire is back for 2022

Christchurch Rotary’s Bonfire and Fireworks, planned for November 6, 2021, has been cancelled for this year but will return as planned in 2022. The event has been part of the community’s celebration of Guy Fawkes Night for more than 40 years and was established to enable residents and visitors to enjoy safely the excitement of a large bonfire and professional firework display. Over the years it has also raised many thousands of pounds for youth charities and organisations. This year, extensive tests of the Stanpit Marsh site have become necessary to ensure safety, which BCP council is in the process of organising. However, owing to the time required for the testing it cannot be completed in time to make the necessary arrangements with the many organisations that are involved. Rotary Bonfire organiser Paul Mills said: “We’re really sorry we cannot run the bonfire and fireworks this year, but we do recognise the paramount need to guarantee public safety. “We’re grateful to BCP for undertaking the testing, and we all hope November 2022 will see a new edition of our Bonfire Night. “We’ll be working with BCP officers to that end.” In them meantime, Christchurch Rotary is organising a new initiative for December, the Christchurch Living Advent Calendar. This will be a series of early evening performance events supporting 24 local charities, one for each day of Advent.

ON THE RISE: Members of the Phoenix Musical Society Phoenix’s nights of music and dance

Like its mythological namesake, Ferndown Phoenix Musical Society is rising from the ashes of lockdown to stage its comeback public performances. The Magic of Musicals, directed by Janet Barrow, takes place on September 18 with a matinee at 2.30pm followed by the evening performance starting at 7.30pm. The performances will feature popular song and dance numbers from different musicals, ranging from Hairspray, Grease, Annie Get Your Gun and Jesus Christ Superstar, and they also have a tap number from Anything Goes. Spokesman Charlotte Prosser said: “This hasn’t been without trials, with cast members having to isolate during rehearsals, but everyone has pulled together.” The society has a long and proud history, having been started in 1985 by Terry Holbert who is still strongly involved within the company. During lockdown, members entertained each other by making videos and doing live karaoke in the evenings. Society members are all ages, including children, and from differing backgrounds and meet on Wednesdays in Staplehill Village Hall at 7.30pm. The Magic of Musicals will take place at Ferndown Village Hall in Church Road. Tickets are £5. n ticketsource.co.uk/ phoenixshow

Embroidery exhibition crosses stitch spectrum

Spectrum of Stitch – an exhibition of embroidery and textile work created by members of the six West Country Embroiderers Groups in Dorset is being held at Upton Country Park’s Gallery Upstairs. Exhibits will include the Frankie Reid Challenge winner, chosen by public vote, which this year is for a piece of 3D work. Along with the exhibits pictures and stitch-related items will be for sale, including inspiration/goody bags to replace all the materials used up during Lockdown. The exhibition takes place from September 2-13 from 10am-4pm and admission is free. There is disabled access, via the cafe, and the exhibition will be subject to any government guidelines in place on these dates.

Society’s art is in the right place

East Dorset BraveArt Society is a group of leisure painters who meet every Monday at Upton Community Centre in Poole Road, Upton, from 7pm to 9:30pm. Painters work on their own projects in whichever medium they prefer. There is no formal tuition but advise can always be solicited from more experienced artists. Demonstrations by professional artists are organised three times a year, the cost of which is included in the membership fee. The society is currently looking for new members so if you would like to know more you can visit: edbas.co.uk, or call Sue Spiller on 07543 555413.