Arts & Entertainments

Cantata club is calling out for choristers

by Lorraine Gibson

newsdesk@stourandavon.net Do you like singing? And more specifically, do you like singing Bach? If the answer’s ‘yes’, then the Dorset Bach Cantata Club would love to hear from you. The unique choir is seeking new members from around Dorset to join them for a Bach-filled study weekend of rehearsing and performing some of the greatest choral music ever written. There’s no audition and they promise a very warm welcome. The Dorset Bach Cantata Club (DBCC) was founded in 1955, and has been meeting regularly ever since, existing purely to rehearse, study and perform JS Bach’s cantatas. Like some mythical creature, this rare choir only gathers three times a year (February, May and October), so is ideally suited to those who sing regularly but want to experience something different. And, despite more than 60 years of choral interpretations, the club still hasn’t exhausted all of Bach’s 200-plus works! They sing in German but you don’t need to speak the language as they’ll help with pronunciations and translations. Being a study weekend rather than prep for a formal performance, the choir sections sing the arias and recitatives as well as the choruses and chorales. On Saturday, it’s all intense rehearsing with musical direction and piano accompaniment; on Sunday an orchestra joins and the whole thing ends with an informal performance to friends and family. They usually sing two complete cantatas, so some advance preparation will pay dividends and you can download the music for free from their website. Works to be studied are BWV 179 (Siehe zu, dass deine Gottesfurcht) and BWV 186 (Ärgre dich, O Seele, nicht) and the conductor is Christopher Brown, composer, teacher, examiner and lifelong Bach enthusiast. The next meet is on February 12 and 13 at Sturminster Newton High School. Cost is £40 per weekend. For details visit: info073404. wixsite.com or email: dorsetbachsec@hotmail.com

BACH TO THE FUTURE: Cantata Club rehearsals

It is now a legal requirement to wear a face covering when visiting and attending the theatre,

to reduce the risk both to yourself and to others and we respectfully request that customers continue to use the hand sanitisers provided, and to check in using the NHS COVID-19 app.

PLEASE KEEP CHECKING OUR WEBSITE

CHINA CRISIS

Saturday 29th January 7.30pm Tickets £25

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) WEST SIDE STORY (12a)

31st January, 1st, 2nd & 3rd February, 7.30pm Matinee 3rd Feb 2.30pm Tickets Adult: £8 eves Mat £7, U16s £6

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) BELFAST (12A)

4th, 7th, 8th & 10th February 7.30pm Matinees 5th Feb 1pm / 6th & 10th Feb 2.30pm Tickets Adult: £8 eves Mat £7, concs £6

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

Saturday 5th February 7:30pm Tickets £20

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) COUNT ARTHUR STRONG: AND THIS IS ME!

Wednesday 9th February 8:00pm Tickets £20

(Box Office bookings incur £1 booking fee per transaction)

THE ZOMBIES

Friday 11th February 7.30pm Tickets £27.50 SAVE THE CINEMA (12A)

11th, 14th & 15th February 7.30pm Matinee 16th February 2pm Tickets Adult: £8 eves Mat £7, concs £6 WHOLE LOTTA LED

Farewell Tour

Saturday 12th February 7.30pm Tickets £25 WIMBORNE DRAMA presents WHEN WE ARE MARRIED

Thurs 17th to Sat 19th Feb 7.30pm Matinee Sat 19th Feb 2.30pm Tickets £15 Eves £13 Matinee

1 in 10 tickets FREE, via Box Office only

BANFF MOUNTAIN

FILM FESTIVAL (BLUE)

Wednesday 23rd February 7.30pm Tickets £14.50

THE IT SQUAD: Simon Barfoot with some of the donors at the Green Festival and, right, handing the refurbished IT kit to Mandy Stansfield from Wimborne Community Food Supply Green group hands IT over

Did you donate your IT to DonateIT at the Green Festival? The Minster Environment Group reconnected with DonateIT and arranged for a collection of old and unused IT kit last October at the Minster on the Wimborne Green Festival. DonateIT takes old IT kit, ensure it is securely data wiped and then works to recoup useable kit or sell for funds. Simon Barfoot returned to Wimborne in December to give two mobile phones and two Windows laptops. The group was there to see them handed over to Wimborne Community Food Supply who arranged for them to be given to two families with schoolchildren in most need. But don’t worry... there’s still time to donate any old equipment you have. If you have some old IT kit lurking around at home them save the date of February 12 at the Methodist Church hall between 11am and noon when DonateIT will run alongside Win On Waste.

Glitz, glamour... and sass

Expect tassels, teasing and tights as the hit national stage act An Evening Of Burlesque shimmies on to the Tivoli Theatre’s stage for one night only in March. Billed as the UK’s longest-running burlesque show and rated over-18s only, you can almost hear the sassy sax playing over its promise of a ‘scintillating night out of sparkling entertainment’. In this variety show with plenty of front and a line-up of top entertainers and stars of the stage and screen, glamorous cabaret, comedy and music blend with circus, mystery and, of course, burlesque. Fans, feathers, and fabulous costumes are the order of the day, with Champagne Showgirls adding their own brand of effervescence to proceedings. For info call: 01202 885566 or visit tivoliwimborne.co.uk.

Hit play covers groaning pains

The makers of the successful comedy, The Play That Goes Wrong are at it again and you can catch their latest work at Poole’s Lighthouse theatre next month. Groan Ups comes straight from the West End and looks for the answers to the questions, ‘do we choose who we become? and ‘Is the story of our lives already written?’ In short, do we ever grow up? Groan Ups follows an unruly classroom of six-year-olds on their journey through anarchic high school teenagers to the challenges of adulthood. Its makers have already seen their comedies The Play That Goes Wrong, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery, Peter Pan Goes Wrong and The Goes Wrong Show (on BBC One) become smash hits. Groan ups is at the Lighthouse from Monday, February 14 to Saturday, February 19. More details from lighthousepoole.co.uk.

Camp site is topic for talk

The long history of Blandford Camp, now the home of The Royal Corps of Signals will be the subject of a Wimborne Civic Society talk by Col Bob Branigan at the Allendale Centre on Tuesday, February 15. The retired colonel will offer a fascinating insight into the first recorded use of the site as a racecourse in the late 16th century, its military use in the 18th century when local volunteer units used it as a training ground, and the 1806 Royal Navy Shutter Telegraph Station. For more information, visit wimbornecivicsoc.org.uk.

Can Robin save sweet Marian?

That wicked Sheriff of Nottingham is up to his old tricks again! Robin Hood must gather his wits and his friends to save sweet Maid Marian from the Sheriff’s mercenary clutches, with help from Robin’s silly mother, Dame Flatbread, his even sillier brother, Silly Billy, and a lovely fairy. Will King Richard return in time to see the Sheriff caught and facing justice? Delayed by a year due to some virus or other, Colehill Music and Drama will be presenting their version of the pantomime Robin Hood (oh yes they will) at Colehill Village/Memorial Hall, Cannonhill Road, Colehill, on Friday, February 11, at 7.30pm, Saturday, February 12, 2.30pm and 7.30pm and Sunday February 13 at 12.30pm. Tickets, at adult £7, child (up to 16) £5, are available by calling 01202 886303. As always with Co.MaD, a donation will be made to a local project or organisation from the proceeds – this year’s recipients will be the local breast cancer charity Going for Bust (goingforbust.co.uk/) and also the Colehill Scouts and Guides, who will be providing refreshments.

Farewell gig raises £2,400 for causes

HANDOVER: Three local charities are presented with their cheques from Alan Connell, band leader of Haywire, below

THE EXCHANGE

Sturminster Newton

THEATRE MUSIC CINEMA COMEDY VENUE HIRE CAFE/ BAR GALLERY

RADIO GAGA

The Ultimate Queen Tribute SAT 29TH JAN, 7:30PM

£21.50 ABBA FEVER

Live Vocals & Authentic Outfits! FRI 4TH FEB, 7:30PM

£15

SNADS PANTO

SNADS 'The Little Mermaid' WED 16TH - SAT 19TH FEB, various performances

£12/ £8 U18s/ £35 family

NO TIME TO DIE

Latest James Bond Film (12a) THURS 24TH FEB, 7PM A local band who have been playing together for more than 50 years recently performed their last public gig and helped raise more than £2,000 for three local charities. Haywire are a four-piece harmony band who have been working together since they were talent-spotted in 1968. Over five decades, they’ve played with famous names such as Billy Fury and Mungo Jerry and released their own album covers. Now the group, which features Dudley Cooke on lead guitar, Malcolm Bryant on bass, Alan Connell on rhythm and Kevin Uphill on drums have hung up their guitars and sparkly jackets for the final time. The final sell-out gig took place at Hamworthy Recreation Club in Wimborne with more than 200 people bopping away to covers of songs from the Sixties through to the Noughties. Hamworthy Recreation Club presented the band with a cheque for £230 to go towards the local causes and a raffle and auction of two of the band’s glittery stage jackets helped raise a total of £2,400. Wimborne Food Bank, My Time Young Carers and Carer Support Dorset each received a cheque for £800 from Haywire band leader Alan Connell. Alan said: “It was so rewarding for our last gig to help make a difference to such worthy local causes.”

If you’re looking for a night out...

By Lorraine Gibson

newsdesk@stourandavon.net A reincarnation of those famous 1970s and ’80s native New Yorkers, Odyssey will be on stage in Christchurch for one night only on February 5. The original line-up topped the UK charts with hits like Use It Up And Wear It Out, If You’re Looking For A Way Out and, of course, Native New Yorker. Now the new line-up, led by Steven Collazo, eldest son of original founder Lillian Lopez, and other talented performers, including vocalists Kate ‘Kay Jay’ Sutherland (who has performed with Alexander O’Neal and Rose Royce, and Michelle John (Whitney Houston and Andrea Bocelli) will be performing Odyssey classics live at the Regent Centre. Odyssey started out as a family act, when Virgin Islands born sisters Carmen, Lillian and Louise Lopez sang in harmony as The Lopez Sisters before Lillian and Louise went on to form Odyssey. Since the sisters died, Lillian’s son, Steven has continued the family legacy by creating a band that’s a cool fusion of soul, pop, dance, jazz, funk and Latin Caribbean rhythms. Odyssey will be supported by Canadian singer/ songwriter Selena Evangeline. Tickets £28.50, Concessions £27.50

THEY KNOW THE SCORE: Odyssey’s Steven Collazo, Kate Sutherland and Michelle John will be performing in Christchurch on February 5

Community Coach Tours

Day Trips & Short Breaks with pickups in Blandford, Wimborne,

Ferndown, Kinson, Poole,

Bournemouth and Ringwood

This is an example of some of our trips... please visit www.dorsetcoachtours.com SHORT HOLIDAY BREAKS

Jersey Apollo Hotel, St Helier. Dinner B & B .................................................. ........................ Monday 21st – Friday 25th Mar, £525pp (No Singles left) London, Knightsbridge Museums ................................ Saturday 16th Apr £30 Adults, £20 u16 Torquay Entertainment - Two Day Trips (Dartmouth/Plymouth) ......... Saturday 28 May - Saturday 4th June, £499pp (u12s £249) No single Sup Eastbourne, 5 Day Break, Dinner, B&B - Queen’s Hotel, Day Trip to Brighton & Hastings ........................ Monday 20th - Friday 24th June £425pp, u11s £325 (£44 Single sup)

DAY TRIPS

Day Trip to Portsmouth ........................................ Sat 5th Feb, £25 (u16 £15) Day Trip to Dorchester Market followed by Afternoon in Weymouth ........................................................................................................ Wed 6th Apr, £20 Mystery Tour & Cream Tea ......................... Sun 10th Apr, £30 (u16s £25) Exmouth and Boat Trip and Cream Tea ............................ Mon 2nd May £42.40 Adults, £25.00 u16 Chatham Historic Dockyard ......................... Sat 14th May, £55 (u16 £39)* Exbury Gardens in full Spring Colour & Steam Train ....... Sat 15 May £39 (u16s £25)* Beaulieu Motor Museum & Gardens ................................... Sat 21st May £45pp (u16s £35, u5s £10)

Contact Jon White: 07760 225520 or 01202 032151

Arts & Entertainment A hypnotic production by Players

Broadstone Players say they are delighted to announce their first production of 2022 and are looking forward to welcoming their audiences again, following their very successful return to the stage in November. Hypnosis by David Tristram is described as ‘a mesmerising thriller with plenty of twists and a liberal dash of comedy’. It will take to the stage from Tuesday 15 to Saturday 19 February at 7.30pm each evening with a Saturday matinee at 2.15pm in Broadstone War Memorial Hall Theatre, Tudor Road., Broadstone. Tickets for all performances are £8.50 each . They can be booked by email to honsec@broadstone players.co.uk or by phoning 01202 678449. Tickets for the unrestricted performances are also on sale at Broadstone News.

Next High Mass at Wimborne St Giles

The monthly High Mass is being offered to all in 2022. It takes place on the first Sunday of each month at 10am. The next is on February 6 and will be set to the music of John Merebecke. All are most welcome 01202 828797.

The STURMINSTRELS

Let us entertain you! 60s & 70s music,

JAWING ON HISTORY: Taking a close look at ancient teeth

Get your teeth into TB skeleton

Zoom Talk: Using Teeth As Tools To Reconstruct The Past – is an opportunity to find out more about the Museum of East Dorset’s Iron Age TB skeleton. It takes place on Thursday, February 3, at 7pm on Zoom. The Iron Age skeleton, displayed in the Life and Death gallery at the museum, is one of the museum’s most significant artefacts. That is because the man, who died between 400 and 230 BC, is the earliest case of TB ever found in Britain. The discovery in the 1980s made national headlines and has made Tarrant Hinton and the skeleton internationally known within the scientific community ever since that time. Now you can join Professor Alistair Pike from Southampton University as he discusses how human movement can be detected in teeth, and how this is helping us understand the arrival of past diseases into Britain and even Neanderthal hunting strategies. The talk will be followed by a live Q and A session. Tickets are £7 and for more information on how to book this zoom event: museumofeastdorset.co.uk/ project/using-teeth-toreconstruct-the-past/

Warm up your winter with BSO

By Faith Eckersall

newsdesk@stourandavon.net

Music by Adele, the Beatles and Handel and Mendelssohn will be performed at Alderholt Village Hall on Saturday, February 26, at 2.30pm, by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s chamber ensemble. The half-term concert, From The Hebrides To Padstow, is suitable for children and is part of a collaboration with touring rural arts charity, Artsreach. Meanwhile, BSO Resound, a professional, disabled-led ensemble that forms a core part of BSO, will be giving two rural concerts as part of its Winter Warmers series. Join BSO Resound for a programme to include music by Mozart, Bizet, Copland, Campkin and more, all introduced by a BSO presenter, at Morden on Saturday, February 12, at 7.30pm, and in Sandford Orcas at 3pm on Sunday, February 13. For more information contact: Morden (01929 459217), Sandford Orcas (01963 220208), Alderholt Village Hall (07709 933652).

Virtual events for LGBTQI+ month February is LGBTQI+ History Month and to celebrate, Dorset Libraries are holding two virtual author events. Storyteller, artist and writer Kevin Walker will be bringing his first collection, Queer Folk Tales, to life on February 1 at 7pm. It’s a collection of 15 short stories, with LGBTQ+ characters at the heart of each one. His latest anthology, Buddhist Folk Tales will be published in February. Meanwhile, on February 10, literary translator Frank Wynne will be in conversation about his book Queer: A Collection of

Model town in cross mystery Literary A gold-coloured cross, fest writingdiscovered more than 30 years ago on the levelled prize openformer site of Wimborne Model Town behind the Corn Market, has become a for entries source of mystery to the Calling all Dorset writers! charity tourist attraction. You can now enter your book The attraction is celebrating for the 2022 Hall & its 70th anniversary this Woodhouse biannual Writing year. Prize. The cross was found and The competition, organised by stored by an anonymous Dorchester Literary Festival, visitor to the former site is open to writers who live in after the miniature buildings or have a strong connection to had been moved to King the West Country and whose Street prior to book has been published redevelopment. within three years of the It was recently returned to submission date. Model Town supporter and All types of literature are contractor Paul Revell. eligible, apart from poetry –An archive search has not books written for children and been able to identify the item self-published books are also in situ in the model layout. allowed, as well as short story Model town spokesman collections. Greg Hoar said: “Archive Books and authors who are pictures do not show this closely connected to Dorset, cross in our miniature Devon, Cornwall, Somerset Minster and although the old and Wiltshire are also eligible site was adjacent to funeral for entry. director Charles Small, A long-list of successful subsequent enquiries suggest entries will be issued in May, the item is not a coffin followed by a short-list to be adornment”. judged by a leading publisher Staff at the Model Town and a leading literary agent, would be very pleased to said the festival. receive reminiscences about The winner of the £1,000 Hall the old site including any & Woodhouse prize for 2022 possible identification of the will be announced at an award cross via e mail, greghoar@ ceremony in July, hosted by a wimborne-modeltown.com, leading local author. or call 0750 3699370. Entries should be submitted as The popular family a conventional book because destination reopens to the those in digital or electronic public on April 2. form, as well as unpublished manuscripts, are not eligible. Entries will not be returned and will be entered into a prize draw for a local charity, LGBTQ Writing From said DLF. Ancient Times to Yesterday. Entries for this year are now Frank has collated 80 pieces open and close on March 15. that straddle the spectrum of The Prize is part of the wider queer existence: short Dorchester Literary Festival stories, poems, essays, which takes place from extracts and scenes from October 15-22 this year. countries the world over. More information as well as *More details on how to competition details can be book from dorsetcouncil. found at dorchesterliterary gov.uk/libraries. festival.com/