10 minute read
Arts & Entertainments
Puppet master performs for theatre
Comedian/ventriloquist Paul Zerdin, who won America’s Got Talent in 2015, is set to return to the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil.
Paul, a patron of the theatre’s Name A Seat initiative, will be helping to raise funds for the redevelopment of the venue.
The puppet master will be accompanied by his regular puppet playmates Sam, Baby and Albert, plus newcomers Roger, the bodyguard who claims to be ex-CIA, and a troublesome Urban Fox which follows him everywhere – most likely for the ‘snack value’.
The show, which will be filmed for future release, will feature a mix of Paul’s best loved comedy along with new material he will be ‘sneak-previewing’ for his forthcoming Edinburgh Festival shows.
Octagon arts and entertainments manager Adam Burgan said: “Paul has always been a brilliant friend
America’s Got Talent winner Paul Zerdin is coming to The Octagon. and supporter of The Octagon Theatre and his shows are hugely popular with our audiences. “Paul was the first live performance to re-open our venues during the pandemic and as the patron of our Name A Seat campaign he’s always been there to support our theatre. This event will be a superb evening of entertainment from a true master of comedy, all to support the development of our theatre.”
Tickets for ‘An Evening with Paul Zerdin’ on Wednesday, June 15, are for sale on a ‘pay what you can’ basis ranging from £5-£25 via www.octagon-theatre. co.uk/whats-on/comedy/ an-evening-with-paulzerdin/8844. All proceeds will go to the Foyer Club registered charity.
For more information about the Name A Seat campaign visit www.octagontheatre.co.uk/discover-more/ name-a-seat/
Although it is not currently a legal requirement, please consider wearing a face covering to protect yourself and others when visiting the Tivoli. PLEASE KEEP CHECKING OUR WEBSITE
LES BARKER & THE POLLY MORRIS BAND
Friday 10th June 7.30pm Tickets £16.50
(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) KATHRYN ROBERTS & SEAN LAKEMAN
Saturday 11th June 7.30pm Tickets £18.50
(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) THE ROAD DANCE (15) TOYAH, LENE LOVICH & SAFFRON OF REPUBLICA: ELECTRIC LADIES
13th June 7.30pm Matinees 15th & 16th June 1.30pm Tickets £8, Mat £7, U16s £6
(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) Tuesday 14th June 7.30pm SOLD OUT (SOLD OUT)
(Box Office bookings incur £1 booking fee per transaction) DEBORAH BONHAM BAND
Wednesday 15th June 7.30pm Tickets £19
(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee)
PETTY CRIMINALS
(Tom Petty Tribute Band)
Thursday 16th June 7.30pm Tickets £21.50 THE BOOTLEG ROCK SHOW: LEATHER & LACE
Friday 17th June 7.30pm Tickets £24.50 BON GIOVI The World’s Premier Tribute to Bon Jovi
Saturday 18th June 7.30pm Tickets £18.50 FANTASTIC BEASTS:
THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE (12A)
20th & 21st June 7.30pm Tickets £8 U16s £6
Made To Measure Productions present AVENUE Q
(Parental Guidance advised) 22nd-25th June 7.30pm. Matinee Sat 25th June 2.30pm Tickets £22, £20 concs
Arts & Entertainment
Take two: Opera is back in town!
by Hilary Porter
Bath Opera makes its highly anticipated return to Wincanton this summer with the dramatic opera ‘Tosca’, by Giacomo Puccini.
The 2022 summer tour features nine performances in seven venues over six weekends in June and July. The opera will be sung in English.
Despite last year’s Covid-19 restrictions, bringing grand opera to Wincanton High Street last July proved a great success.
The audience was limited to 100 for ‘The Barber of Seville’ and the sell-out resulted in a return performance being arranged in August at the end of the tour.
Bath Opera chairman John Clark said: “The reviews were amazing – NODA called it a ‘masterpiece of touring opera’ – and the enthusiasm of the ‘Winky opera-goers’ was so great a coach was laid on for them to go up to Bath in February to see Bath Opera’s fully staged main show ‘Eugene Onegin’!”
He added: “It was incredible what happened. We’d only moved to Wincanton from Yeovil a few months before in December 2020. I didn’t know anyone, and I thought it would be too difficult to put opera on here, but tickets sold like wildfire!”
John’s wife Jane is again directing the production, which visits Memorial Hall, Wincanton, on Friday and Saturday, July 15-16, and each performance can accommodate 180.
One of the world’s most popular operas, ‘Tosca’ is highly topical, set in a republic with high religious and cultural values, which has been invaded by a cruel dictatorship.
In the title role is Ghiulnara Raileanu, who has performed ‘Tosca’ in her own country, Moldova, but this will be her first leading role in England.
She told us about her excitement, the emotions, and the relevance of Tosca in these troubled times… NBV: How do you feel to be taking on this role? GR: I am Tosca through my eyes. Performing this role, I feel everything she has gone through. You need to feel Tosca’s pain to understand that and all the challenges the role brings. I guess this role is in my blood. NBV: Do you think the story/ themes will resonate with audiences, particularly as we are witnessing such turbulent times so close to home? GR: There are unmistakeable parallels between the cruel invading regime in ‘Tosca’ and what is happening in Ukraine today. I suppose the story will also resonate with audience, because even though she is a strong fighter woman, she is also the victim of sexual blackmail. A man who uses his power to harm her. Unfortunately, this kind of situation is all too present in our times. NBV: How emotional is it for you when you perform? GR: It’s very high definition. It’s a high level of acting and singing. It’s more like an emotion. In a sense I need an audience’s applause and energy like a vampire needs its daily blood! I feed myself with these feelings. NBV: Why do you think Tosca is such a popular opera? GR: Tosca is without doubt a powerful drama with the most iconic music.
The famous soprano aria ‘Vissi d’arte’ sung by Tosca is one example. In my opinion Maria Callas was magnificent, she lived on stage singing this role.
The heart-wrenching ‘E Lucevan le stelle” sung by Cavaradossi is one of the most popular arias in the Italian tenor repertoire.
And, of course, the impressive ‘Te Deum’ is another example. It’s a religious canticle sung by the evil Scarpia with a chorus.
Tosca is full of musical motifs which represent the different characters and ideas in the story. ’Tosca’ therefore remains a mirror in which we all look, from time to time, for the peaks and descents of the soul. NBV: How do you feel about performing in the UK? GR: It is my first performance in the UK and I am so happy that I will start my experience here with this role of Tosca. It’s a big challenge and an experience for me because I will sing it in English. I hope to bring out those feelings needed in an audience. I was rewarded to see tears in the Bath Opera panel when I auditioned for the part. n For tickets visit summertour.bathopera@ outlook.com or phone 01963 34196 (24-hour answerphone).
‘Tosca’ will provide Ghiulnara Raileanu’s first leading role in England
TOSCA TOUR DATES
Saturday, 18 June, Strode Theatre, Street, BA16 0AB; Friday, 24 June, Rook Lane Chapel, Frome, BA11 1DN; Friday, 1 July, Malmesbury Abbey, SN16 9BA; Saturday, 2 July, Rondo Theatre, Larkhall, Bath, BA1 6RT; Friday, 8 July, Gt Chalfield Manor, nr. Melksham, SN12 8NH; Saturday, 9 July, Gt Chalfield Manor, nr. Melksham, SN12 8NH; Friday, 15 July, Memorial Hall, Wincanton, BA9 9JF; Saturday, 16 July, Memorial Hall, Wincanton, BA9 9JF; Saturday, 23 July, Julian Slade Theatre, Prior Park College, Bath, BA2 5AH.
Four takes on famous author’s life
by Faith Eckersall
Fans of Thomas Hardy are in for a summer treat as four local museums hold coordinated exhibitions, examining different aspects of his work.
Hardy fans can discover more about the Victorian poet and novelist in the exhibitions which run at Dorchester, Poole, Salisbury and Devizes until October.
Dorset Museum in Dorchester is exploring Hardy’s views on social tensions and animal welfare.
Despite his national acclaim, Hardy never lost touch with his experience of the working-class lives and poverty of rural Dorset and the museum is using paintings, writing, costume and drawings to bring his writing to life.
One of the highlights is The Village Choir painting by
A Village Choir by Thomas Webster is on show in Dorchester, © The Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Image no: 2006al3887 Thomas Webster, loaned by the Victoria and Albert Museum, which provides a snapshot of the rural musicians Hardy grew up with and wrote about.
Poole Museum will examine Hardy’s relationship with the coastlines which inspired his writing – from first meeting his wife, Emma, on the wild cliffs of Cornwall,
THE EXCHANGE
STURMINSTER NEWTON
23 WALKS (12A)
THURS 16TH JUNE, 7PM A gentle, sweet, funny, romantic story of love story. Starring Alison Steadman, Dave Johns and Graham Cole. (£5) JAMIE AND THE FALCONS SAT 18TH JUNE, 8PM
Jamie Moses (Los Pacaminos) returns to The Exchange, alongside 3 worldclass musicians. (£15)
THREE MEN IN A BOAT
to his fascination with the Napoleonic wars.
Among the exhibits are the handwritten notebook for his novel ‘The Trumpet-Major’, compete with scribbles and sketches. Visitors can also see the 1816 artwork ‘Weymouth Bay’, by John Constable, loaned to the museum by the V&A.
In Salisbury, the exhibition uncovers Hardy’s links with the city and his views on religion and feminism. During the 19th century, Hardy’s sisters attended a teacher training college based in The King’s House, now the museum. The college inspired an episode in Jude the Obscure, one of the original manuscripts featured in the show.
Meanwhile, at The Wiltshire Museum in Devizes, the theme is Ancient Wessex - Superstition and old beliefs.
With its proximity to Stonehenge, which plays such an important role in Tess of the D’Urbervilles, the Wiltshire Museum is wellplaced to investigate how Hardy’s writing merged his present with the past.
It will also show how many of his plots were set against a background of superstition in these ancient landscapes where old beliefs died hard.
Among the exhibits are his hand-annotated copy of Einstein’s new theories and his ‘Book of Facts’, in which he recorded old beliefs and superstitions.
Battens Solicitors, which has six offices in Somerset and Dorset, is sponsoring Hardy’s Wessex. The law firm was founded at Church House in Church Street, Yeovil, in the 18th century, before moving to its current headquarters in Princes Street.
The branch would have been open in 1876 when Thomas Hardy and his wife Emma lived in lodgings at 7 St Peter Street, Yeovil. The couple stayed there from March to July, during which time Hardy corrected the final proofs of his novel ‘The Hand of Ethelberta’.
More information, including ticket prices and opening times can be found at each museum’s website.
FRI 17TH JUNE, 7:30PM Join Jerome as he recounts the hilarious story of his boating holiday along the magnificent River Thames with his two companions and Montmorency the dog. (£12/ £10 conc) FULL LISTINGS ON
OUR WEBSITE
