Lanterns will bring Christmas magic to the Gardens

Christmas wouldn’t be the same without Dorchester Arts’ magical annual Lantern Parade.

This year it will be part of a fabulous community celebration of Christmas organised by Friends of the Borough Gardens.On Thursday 15 December, children from local schools will lead a procession through the town centre carrying giant lanterns and take part in the Carol Service at the Borough Gardens bandstand at 6.30pm.

Joining the children will be members of VIVA! - Dorchester’s Community Choir, plus bell ringers, members of Serendipity recorder ensemble and the Dunrovia Silver Band.

The carol singing will be lead by the Encore Singers and there will be hot spiced apple juice, hot chocolate and mince pies to keep the spirits up… plus a hoped-for surprise visit from Father Christmas ! Keep a look out for large sky lanterns flying above the trees along with Santa’ reindeers…..!

The lantern parade leaves the Corn Exchange at 6pm. Everyone is welcome to join in the procession and carry a lantern.

This event is supported by Dorchester Town Council.

Secret Garden set for UK Tour

New adaptation to celebrate the centenary of Hodgson Burnett’s much-loved classic.

The Secret Garden has been created by acclaimed physical theatre company, Angel Exit Theatre. The show will premiere at the Dorchester Corn Exchange before setting off on a four month UK tour, performing 60 times in 36 venues, ranging  from Buxton Opera House to village halls around Somerset, Dorset, Kent and Wiltshire. The tour takes in the oldest theatre in Wales - Monmouth’s Savoy Theatre -  and the second oldest theatre in England, Margate Theatre Royal.

"Theatrical invention is everywhere...visually exciting throughout, this production never loses the quality of a life-changing adventure story" -THE STAGE  (on Moonfleet)


Angel Exit unearth the dark heart of The Secret Garden, which sees spoilt orphan, Mary Lennox, plucked from the bright vibrancy of India in 1899 and transplanted to a mysterious old house full of secrets on the grey Yorkshire moors. As Mary battles loneliness she encounters locked doors, a curious robin, hidden keys, and strange cries ringing down the corridor… 

Presented in Angel Exit's rich visual style and blending ensemble storytelling with striking physicality, beautiful puppets, haunting songs and an original soundtrack, The Secret Garden is performed by an ensemble of five. “The story is about grief and about how people push through it, keep going, and eventually grow” says the director.

“There is so much vivid theatricality and inventiveness at work here that I am already looking forward to its next show” – LYN GARDNER, THE GUARDIAN (on Imaginary Prisons)

The Secret Garden has been written by Co-Artistic Directors Tamsin Fessey and Lynne Forbes under the guidance of playwright Phil Porter (Beauty and the Beast – Unicorn Theatre, Alice in Wonderland – Northampton Theatre Royal). It is directed by Tamsin Fessey (The Black Curtain, Moonfleet), with robin and fox puppets created by Polly Beestone (Beauty and the Beast – Unicorn Theatre) and original music by Tom Ball (from the band Marthas and Arthurs). The costumes and sets are designed by Jodie Gardner, who returned to her college, AUCB, in Bournemouth, where students made the costumes. Mary Lennox is played by Ashleigh Cheadle (Blind Summit, Complicite). Angel Exit regulars Lynne Forbes, Simon Carroll-Jones and Henry Douthwaite, are joined by new company member Max Macintosh.

“They delighted and astonished the packed audience with the extraordinary vision and energy of the work.” –BLACKMORE VALE MAGAZINE (on Moonfleet)

The Secret Garden is co-produced by Dorchester Arts and Bridport Arts Centre and co-commissioned by Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts and Activate. It is funded by Arts Council England, and the design of the production was paid for through a crowd funding campaign on the We Fund website.

In Dorchester the company will be joined by members of Dorchester Youth Theatre who will perform in the prologue to the show evoking the sights and sounds of India in 1899.

The Secret Garden will be performing at the Dorchester’s Corn Exchange on Thursday 5, Friday 6 and Saturday 7 January at 7pm + Saturday matinee 2pm – to book tickets, contact Dorchester Arts 01305 266926 or Tourist Information Office 01305 267992  or book online

For further information, visit www.angelexit.co.uk

Civil rights play comes to Dorset ahead of New York

Call Mr. Robeson, a passionate and powerful award-winning play about the African American civil rights activist, actor and singer Paul Robeson, is coming to Dorset ahead of its New York debut at the Carnegie Hall. Written and performed by Liverpool-based playwright and singer Tayo Aluko, with piano accompaniment by Leeds-based pianist Michael Conliffe, this play was recently chosen by The Guardian’s theatre critic Michael Billington as his top pick for things to see in London. The show is a rollercoaster journey through actor and singer Paul Robeson's remarkable life, showing how his radical activism caused his downfall.

Robeson fought for racial justice but when he became too outspoken for the establishment's liking he was branded a traitor to his country, harassed and forbidden to perform or travel.

The play features some famous songs and speeches, including a dramatic rendition of Ol’ Man River, and a spectacularly defiant testimony to the McCarthy’s Senate House Un-American Activities Committee.

Aluko who has performed this play on stages across the UK, USA, Canada and Nigeria said: “Paul Robeson was introduced to me relatively late in life, but has taken hold of me to such an extent that telling his story is now almost all I do.” “It really is wonderful to see so many people – young and old – being so thrilled and moved by Robeson’s story. “I am sure there will be many people who remember him with fondness, and others who will be profoundly changed and inspired by being introduced to him for perhaps the first time. ” 

See Call Mr Robeson at Bridport Arts Centre on Thursday 1 December and at Dorchester Arts Centre on Friday 2 December.  

Both performances start at 8pm and tickets are £10 plus concessions. 

Box Office for Bridport 01308 424204 for Dorchester 01305 266926.

Festival success for young filmmakers

Film success: Assistant head Craig Holloway with students Jack, Emily, Oli and Jade

Filmmakers from Beechcroft St Paul’s Primary School in Weymouth are celebrating after their film The Sadness of King George was picked for a screening at Britain’s oldest film festival.

The three minute animation, made with a team of artists from Dorchester ARTS was chosen from hundreds of entries by the Co-operative Film Festival at the National Media Museum in Bradford.

“It was too far for the children to go, but two of use from the artistic team went to collect their certificates and badges,” explained Dorchester ARTS Artistic Director, Sharon Hayden. “We met five members of the film selection panel who were very complimentary about the project - they said it had really put Weymouth on the map.”

The Olympic-related drama features King George 3rd in a race against time and a race through time to save the 2012 Sailing events.

Assistant head Craig Holloway whose class made the film said: “I love this film and the children loved making it even more. It means so much to all of them and will be one of those life changing moments in a child’s life.”

Ten year old Lucy, one of the Year Five production team added: “It was an awesome experience to be involved - I am really grateful to have had the chance.”

Sharon Hayden said Dorchester ARTS was planning a number of other Olympic-themed films with local schools over the coming months.

You can watch online at: http://www.firstlightonline.co.uk/movies/the-sadness-of-king-george

The film was lottery funded through the National Film Council’s First Light initiative.