THURSDAY 24, FRIDAY 25 and SATURDAY 26 JULY 7.30PM (and 26 JULY 2.30PM)

DORSET OPERA PRESENTS

for details please visit their website, www.dorsetopera.com

 

SATURDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 7.30PM
TICKETS £12 concessions £8

HARLEM HOT FEET

A night at The Cotton Club with
The Jiving Lindy Hoppers

Hosted by vocalist Tony Jacobs
With Harry Strutter's Hot Rhythm Orchestra

The Cotton Club Revue is an action-packed show which celebrates the music, dance and songs of the Cotton Club, the famous nightclub which flourished in New York’s Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s.
All the top performers of the Jazz Age appeared at the Cotton Club, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Ethel Waters, Lena Horne, Bojangles Robinson and the Nicholas Brothers.

In this show, the exciting dance routines are recreated by the fabulous Jiving Lindy Hoppers, now surely the world’s premier jazz dance company.

A Unique Tribute to Great Singers
Harry Strutters Hot Rhythm Orchestra displays its collective capacity to communicate the exuberance of the music of that era, and star vocalist Tony Jacobs pays his unique tribute to the great singers who appeared at the club.

 

FRIDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 8.15PM
ASHES to ASHES
On February 21st 1940 it was decided that the former Polish artillery barracks in Oswiecim, south western Poland, would be used as a quarantine camp, intended to hold 10,000 prisoners.

Five years later this decision had led to the deaths of at least 1,500,000 people.

Auschwitz/Birkenau was in fact two separate camps, the largest being at Birkenau. At the height of its power Birkenau held more than 200,000 prisoners. Birkenau was also the single greatest killing centre ever conceived by mankind. It had within its grounds four purpose built gas chambers each one equipped with its own crematorium.

People were shipped to Birkenau from all over Europe, either to be worked to death or to be gassed upon arrival. The 1,500,000 people known to have died there included men women and children.

Ashes to Ashes is the story of two of those people.

The Stage
"Totally brutal, genuinely harrowing and supremely powerful."

 

 

TUESDAY 7 OCTOBER 7.30PM

An unconventional university professor on the brink of tenure tries to assist a struggling student who has come to him for help. The encounter soon sours and both suddenly find themselves grappling with the opposing needs of the other...

Opinions collide, resulting in an epic power struggle born of seemingly trivial beginnings, crashing together the ideals of free speech with invasive political correctness. The result is explosive.

Oleanna, Mamet's most controversial and celebrated work, split audiences on Broadway, in the West End, and around the world since its premiere in 1989. Now in the hands of Guy Masterson and acclaimed new Australian star Joanne Hartstone, the play brutally demonstrates its relevance in contemporary Britain.

Oleanna is theatrical dynamite. It will challenge everyone. Arguments will erupt in the bar. It is a truly divisive work almost guaranteed to elicit debate and emotive response. But, whoever you side with, it might be easier to just say you're wrong..!

"There can be no tougher or more unflinching play than Oleanna" (Harold Pinter)

 

FRIDAY 10 OCTOBER 8.15PM
tickets £8 concessions £5

SPITOON!!!

When Bounty Hunter Jim Daggart springs jailbird Jack Valentine to team up in search of Mexican bandit, Tico, and the lost loot from a bank job in Monterey, then it's time for the enigmatic Stranger to lend a hand....enigmatically, of course.

As hunters and hunted head north towards the Texan border, it's only a matter of time before the two teams cross paths - and double cross each other! Twice!

Part Clint Eastwood, part John Wayne and with more than a hint of Sundance, it’s a non-stop roller coaster ride through the badlands of Texas and the deserts of New Mexico, all on the trail of a very hot fist-full of dollars.

Quick on the draw, quicker on the drawl, you will literally laugh ‘till you cry.

Inspired by Hollywood western and more of a hint of La Spaghetti Leone, Spittoon is a brilliant physical comedy featuring the music of Elmer Bernstein and Ennio Morricone.

 

WEDNESDAY 22 OCTOBER MATINEE (TIME TO BE CONFIRMED) SUITABLE FOR 7+

GRIMM WORLD

Fresh from the recent touring success of MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE and already crowned 'the Tim Burton of children’s theatre' Gavin Robertson tells the story of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm who have finally got the last story they need for their collection - but where can they keep it so it won't get lost?

Caught up in one of their own stories, the two brothers have to get back the stolen tale before their publisher's deadline arrives!

There isn't much time - and there ARE things that go bump in the woods! Ooer!

Both enchanting and funny... with a dash of darkness!

 

WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 8.15PM

2FaCeD DaNcE Company

State of Matter is the latest dance work by 2FaCeD DaNcE, the all male, award winning, break, street and contemporary dance company.

Featuring eight male dancers, with gravity defying moves, acrobatics, break dance, robotics, street and contemporary dance, State of Matter is an hour of intense energy and vibe. Set alongside an amazing soundtrack with stunning lighting State of Matter will take you on a journey that looks at dance in its purist form.

State of Matter is about the dance styles, movement, the articulation and extremes that the body can be taken too. It is about taking dance theatre back to basics, peeling back the layers that complicate and seeing it for what it really is.

An art form that inspires, shocks and entertains.

State of Matter will hypnotise, thrill and challenge you. Brace yourself for the ride of your life!

2FaCeD are one of the UK's leading dance companies. Unique in its seamless fusion of break, street and contemporary dance, 2 FaCeD combine powerful performances and high quality education work both in and out of schools.

 

WEDNESDAY 10 DECEMBER 7.30PM
My Grandfather's Great War

Premiere - Edinburgh fringe 2008. Touring from Autumn 2008.
Performed by Cameron Stewart
Adapted and directed by David Benson

A new solo drama interweaving material from the First World War diaries of Captain Alexander Stewart with the contemporary reflections of his grandson, the actor Cameron Stewart. This is an undeniably powerful account comparing the very different lives led by young men from generations at opposite ends of the twentieth century.

Renowned, award-winning solo performer David Benson adapts and directs this production, which features many of the hallmarks that set Benson's solo work apart from the crowd, particularly with its auto-biographical aspect and the dark thread of comedy that emerges from the most unlikely of situations.

"Ninety years ago my grandfather wrote a very personal and graphic account of his time on the Somme in the Great War. He typed three copies and called it 'The Experiences of a Very Unimportant Officer in France and Flanders during 1916 - 1917.' Until now it has only been read by one or two members of my family and close friends. But now, as his grandson, I would like to share this amazing piece of personal history of his time in the trenches as an officer serving with the Scottish regiment The Cameronians. This account brings to life the reality and horror of what happened to him in those war-torn fields. I hope you will find it equally fascinating." (Jaime) Cameron Stewart

"Capt. Alexander Stewart's handwritten diary describes the grim reality of the Somme and other battles with a wry sense of humour similar to Capt. Edmund Blackadder in the famous BBC comedy." Daily Telegraph

For information about forthcoming performances please contact Claire Topping on 01258 484623. clt@bryanston.co.uk