Following a week of non-stop excitement at the From Page to Screen Festival, Bridport Arts Centre has unveiled its exciting new programme for May-September 2013. They are also pleased to announce the impressive news that two huge names have been added in for special performances in June and July.
The Arts Centre will be opening the season of theatre on Wednesday 8 May with Mike Maran’s stage adaptation of Juan Ramon Jimnez’s much loved story Platero and Me. The show paints a picture of the timeless Andlucian landscape using beautiful puppetry for adults and a musical score brought to us by top selling classical guitarist Craig Ogden.
European Arts Company, who recently brought a Pinter double bill return with the Pythonesque Four Farces on Friday 24 May. You will also see the return of family theatre when PuppetCraft tell the story of Zoe, her Unicorn, a greedy King and his cunning aid Doctor Slythe – Nobody rides the Unicorn will be performed during Half Term on Friday 31 May, 11am.
Other theatre highlights include the hard hitting The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, a harrowing tale where we learn the truth about the Chinese workers toiling to make our I-phones (Saturday 15 June, 8pm) and the return of Illyria Theatre Company, with open air theatre on the Millennium Green. They will be presenting Babe by Dick King Smith on Sunday 28 July, 7pm and the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera The Mikado on Tuesday 6 August, 7pm.
The season of music starts with Bridport Summer Sounds (Saturday 4 May, 7.30pm), a fundraiser that will showcase some of the best of Bridport’s musicaltalent. Whether you’re a foot tapper or a full on dancer you’ll be treated to a range of tunes from Fill the Sky, Shelby’s Elbow, Sketchy and No Country for Old Men.
Next up there will be Cubana Bop – West Side Story revisited by Cuban style musicians (Saturday 18 May, 8pm), followed by an eclectic range of music including world music from Quinmantu (Thursday 20 June,8pm) and Nuba Noir (Wednesday 3 July, 8pm), Cabaret with local chanteuse Charlie Bicknell (Saturday 6 July, 8pm), Classic music with Divine Fire (Saturday 3 August, 7.30pm) and Jazz from Gwyneth Herbert (Saturday 20 July).
Perhaps the highlight of the music season will be the return of The Spooky Men’s Chorale in July. The group of Australian male singers are a firm favourite at the Arts Centre and tickets are expected to sell fast so do book early to avoid disappointment!
Comedy lovers can look forward to the return of the hilarious Josh Widdicombe, who will be accompanied by rising star Sean Walsh (25 May, 8pm) and a special performance from Jo Brand who will be trying out brand new material on 5 June, 8pm.
The Arts Centre’s calendar is also packed full of take part activities from Friction writing workshops with Paul Dodgson to regular ‘BACStage’ theatre workshops for children and teenagers. Summer 2013 will also see the return of family favourite Sculpture on the Beach (Sunday 28 July, 11am – 3pm).
In the gallery, art lovers can look forward to a varied programme of exhibitions starting with Yovil University’s Fine Art Foundation Degree’s summer show ‘Emergance’ in the Allsop Gallery (11 May – 1 Jun).
Marketing Manager Lisa Wilcock said ‘We are delighted to present you with a season of excellence, diversity and choice. There really is something for all tastes. My own personal highlights are Mike Maran’s adaptation of Platero & Me and Paul Dodgson’s writing workshops. Come to the Arts Centre, pick up a programme and pick out your favourites!”
Tickets are available from www.bridport-arts.com or from the Arts Centre box office 01308 424204
