Celebrate the summer with Artsreach

This summer, Dorset touring arts charity Artsreach continues to bring professional performances to village halls, pubs and other community spaces right across Dorset with the launch of its brand-new summer programme, featuring 13 artists and companies set to perform 17 live dates in 17 rural communities. With the support of the Arts Council England and Dorset Council, teams of Artsreach volunteers across the County will host a variety of live music, theatre, dance, storytelling, poetry, family shows and more for people to enjoy right in the heart of their communities.

The season kicks off with an exciting and immersive performance in Gillingham by acclaimed Norwegian Dance Company Panta Rei Danseteater. Through movement, sound and spoken word, and a set which encompasses the audiences, three dancers and a live DJ explore why they became professional artists in Make Me Dance, an exhilarating piece which is fundamentally about the choices we make and the small, universal stories that shape us as human beings.

Living Spit are back with their hilarious rural romp, ‘One Man & His Cow’, which tours to Cranborne and Studland. Farmer Trevor has a big problem. Given just months to live, he is faced with the dilemma of which one of his three children to bequeath his beloved farmstead to. Each has their own beguiling qualities and Trevor just can’t choose between them, until one fateful night in the cowshed, help arrives from the most unlikely of sources. Expect a multitude of agricultural antics and farmyard frolics, told entirely in rhyme and song!

West African multi-instrumentalist and composer Amadou Diagne and Franco-American guitarist and songwriter Cory Seznec head to Blandford and Chetnole for two live gigs with their trio. Drawing heavily on the traditional music and rhythms of West Africa, expect the kora to dance playfully around the banjo and guitar. The calabash and other percussion add powerful, driving beats, all overlaid with entrancing, silky vocals; expect world-class entertainment that will leave you uplifted and inspired.

The INN Crowd series of performances in pubs continues this summer, with three shows heading to Dorset. The Gaggle of Geese in Buckland Newton welcomes writer, performer and radio producer Rosa Torr with Rattus Rattus: The Epic Tail of Man vs Rat – a funny, real-life story about family, growing up, and the times we all find we’ve gone a little bit mad. Callum Hughes heads to The Royal Oak, Drimpton and Swanage Mowlem Showbar with Thirst, a love letter to sobriety and a celebration of all things alcoholic which combines storytelling and song. Finally, prize-winning playwright and poet Brenda Read Brown will be in The Bibbern Bar at Sturminster Newton Exchange with But I Haven’t Finished Yet, a riotous celebration of growing older.

With a mix of absurd and extravagant theatre, impressive acrobatics and a pinch of satirical spice and puppetry, Brainfools head to Halstock with Lucky Pigeons, a soulful open-air circus show for all the family featuring daring aerials and acrobatic feats.

Combining comedy and tragedy, Opera in a Box presents an exhilarating retelling of what is widely considered to be one of the greatest operas ever composed. Mozart’s Machiavellian feast Don Giovanni follows the notorious womaniser as he lusts his way towards a dramatic downfall. Sung in English, this exciting young ensemble offers the perfect introduction to opera as they perform live in Lytchett Matravers.

Leading Balkan band Paprika features Zivorad Nikolic (She’Koyokh) on accordion, Vladimir Strkalj on guitar, Marko Tesic on violin and Rastko Rasic on percussion. Join this electrifying group in Portesham and Langton Matravers as they fuse together Eastern European, Balkan, Gypsy and Classical music in a whirlwind performance of frenzied virtuosity, where fiery melodies and foot-tapping rhythms are interspersed with lilting laments.

The Three Inch Fools are heading back to Sandford Orcas with their calamitous take on the legendary folktale, Robin Hood. Grab a blanket, pack a picnic and prepare for a riotous summer adventure fit for all the family in the great outdoors as a hapless troupe of actors hit the road with a production which can only be described as disastrous!

With a plethora of costume changes, a pantheon of Gods and a prohibited peek into a pithos, The Last Baguette retell the preposterous and problematic story of Pandora in Pandora’s Box Jar at Winterborne Stickland sports ground. Join them as they lift the lid on this classic myth in a gallop through Greek mythology featuring goofy gods, hilarious heroines and daft deities! This riotous and ridiculous retelling written by Sunday Times award-winning playwright Tiff Woodsmith is for anyone aged 6 to 126 who’s ever asked why.

Calf 2 Cow head to Springhead Gardens, Fontmell Magna with a hilarious new adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s famous poem The Jabberwocky. Expect multi-rolling, floor-stamping rock ‘n’ roll and a giant dragon puppet, breathing actual fire! Grab your Jubjub bird, and your best mad hat, and prepare yourself for the belly-laughing quest of a lifetime – this is the Jabberwocky as NEVER seen before!

In a special season finale, Artsreach invite you to take a turn in the saddle of one of 16 special bikes as they team up with Portland’s b-side festival for a pedal-powered cinema screening of The Illusionist in the stunning gardens of Pennsylvania Castle. Director Sylvain Chomet presents a cartoon adaptation of French comedy genius Jacques Tati’s magical tale of friendship and fatherly love. With bikes suitable for both adults and children to pedal, all the electricity for the screening is produced by you, the audience!

Yvonne Gallimore of Artsreach said “Following a fantastic spring season full of sell out performances, we are excited to unveil this exciting new summer programme. With music, circus, cinema and family theatre andmore taking place across the county, we hope that there is something for everyone to enjoy with friends and family in the coming months.”

This is just a taster of everything happening around Dorset with Artsreach this summer. Full details and tickets are available from www.artsreach.co.uk and outlets where you can pick up a copy of the programme include libraries and tourist information centres. You can also find Artsreach on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with the latest rural touring news.

Artsreach summer 23 brochure cover

Some of the artists appearing this summer… (click to enlarge)