Reviews

CentreStage Productions Youth Theatre  The Arch, EastleighJon Cockeram05 August 2026 The evening was bright, down the road I did march To go see a show, that was on at the Arch Seussical Jr, a show I’d not seen So listen up closely, hark and be keen Enough of the rhyming for the moment (my editor will have a fit if I carry on like that), on with the review! Dr Seuss is a well-known kid’s author, having created such oddities as the Grinch, the Lorax and, perhaps, most famously, the Cat in the Hat, all whilst telling us why he won’t

BOAT  Canford School, WimborneMichelle Barter04 August 2026 When I was asked to review BOAT I jumped at the chance having travelled across the sea with my friends and family to devotedly watch The Bard being performed by a top notch amateur theatre production house year upon year. This year sees The Tempest being performed on what looks like a shipwrecked boat, but without us having to risk an actual tempest by getting on a boat. Now housed at Canford School Wimborne, travelling to this particular spot is now slightly easier. Canford School reminds me of a sprawling village in itself,

BMT Productions   The Regent Centre, ChristchurchBethany Sivewright30 July 2026 Ohmigod, ohmigod you guys! What a joyful, uplifting evening of entertainment from BMT Productions. Even before entering the auditorium, I could tell I was in for an exciting night by the sheer amount of pink making its way towards the seats – the audience was in the spirit and ready to have a good time, and BMT certainly delivered. From the moment the band struck up right through to the closing note the room was full of energy, enthusiasm and fun! For those who don’t know, Legally Blonde is a musical

CentreStage Productions Youth Theatre  The Point, EastleighDavid A Putley29 July 2026 Based on the hit film starring Jack Black, this Andrew Lloyd-Webber written musical adaption including a book by Mr Downton himself, Julian Fellowes, follows Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star as he is propelled in false identity as a substitute teacher at Horace Green, a prestigious prep school. There, he turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-playing, piano and drum rock band. While teaching these strait-laced pupils what it means to truly “rock”, Dewey ends up falling for the uptight headmistress, helping her rediscover the wild child

Sturminster Newton Amateur Dramatic Society  The Exchange, Sturminster NewtonKD Johnson23 July 2026 This is the first time for me at The Exchange in Sturminster Newton and the innovative but challenging work of the Sturminster Newton Amateur Dramatic Society – aka SNADS.  Hopefully it won’t be my last. Tonight’s two one-act plays are a double-bill by Claire Dowrie, first published in the late 90s.  They both explore human sexuality – but from different angles.  I might suggest that these are not the sort of plays that you would take your mother to see, as they both feature sexual swear-words and graphic

New Forest Players   Ballard School, New MiltonJon Cockeram22 July 2026 Everyone loves a wedding, right? A joyous occasion where the happy couple can be celebrated and happy memories made. But everyone’s also got stories about those weddings, the ones where something goes a little bit wrong; the one with an aunt who drank a little bit too much and started making out with a groomsman, or the one where two sides of the family decide that today is the perfect day to reignite a feud that’s been simmering for years. If we’re lucky, any wedding has at most one teensy problem; Chris Chibnall,