Reviews

Redlynch Players  Redlynch Village Hall, RedlynchJon Cockeram 13 May 2026 If I was to say “1970s” to you, you’d probably be thinking psychedelic patterns, bellbottom trousers and platform shoes, David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust and more disco than you can shake a stick at. Redlynch Players have brought us an evening of one act plays all set in this decade with their production A Touch of 70s Nostalgia. First up was Bus Stop by Rae Shirley, and you won’t win any prizes for guessing where this one is set. Five minutes before the play was due to start, Ali Silver came

Wimborne Drama Productions  Tivoli Theatre, WimborneKD Johnson 14 May 2026 To read the synopsis in advance of watching the performance or not?  That is the question.  Some people are well acquainted with this story by the erstwhile “Queen of Crime”, Agatha Christie, but I am not.  I have decided against knowing what is going to happen and so I start the evening mostly in the dark.  I know that I am in the safe hands of the usually excellent Wimborne Drama Productions and let them bring it on. As the curtains open there is scarcely a spare seat to be

AUB Productions  Palace Court Theatre, BournemouthVictoria Liechti 14 May 2026 Moonfleet is an 1898 historical novel by J Meade Falkner, the plot an adventure tale of smuggling, treasure, shipwreck, friendship and love, set mostly in Dorset.  This production has been adapted from Angel Exit Theatre’s 2009 touring production in which director Tamsin Fessey appeared.  In this adapted AUB offering, we have an ensemble cast of 10 talented individuals on stage, fully supported with costume designers & makers, hair & make-up artists, technical and stage management provided by BA Hons university students, and the results are visually stunning. Set in 1757, the

Lymington Players  The Malt Theatre, LymingtonJohn Sivewright 14 May 2026 Lymington Players are celebrating their 100th anniversary (a highly commendable achievement) in some style with a memorable offering of Nell Gwynn at the Malt Theatre.  Jessica Swale’s Olivier Award-winning script is highly amusing, bawdy (some of the innuendo and physical humour wouldn’t have been out of place in an adult pantomime) and contains some delightful musical numbers – the piece is clearly a celebration of the theatre and a homage to their reopening under Charles II, when fun and frivolity were the order of the day, following the puritanical laws of Oliver

Scaplen’s Community Players  Bournemouth Little Theatre, BournemouthSuzanne Viney 01 May 2026 150 years ago, the brutal crimes of a serial killer, dubbed Jack the Ripper, cast shadows across the London district of Whitechapel. Despite extensive investigations, these heinous murders remained unsolved; the Ripper became synonymous with all that is depraved and diabolical about humanity. Inspector Frederick Abberline, a Dorset man (born in Blandford and later residing in Bournemouth), was the officer assigned the onerous task of apprehending the Beast of Whitechapel. Ironically, one of the prime suspects for the murders, Montague Druitt, also hailed from Dorset and was laid to

Milton Musical Society   Regent Centre, ChristchurchSusanna Greenwood 30 April 2026 There’s something deliciously defiant and inspiring about Funny Girl, a musical that begins with a woman who doesn’t quite fit the chorus line and ends with her owning the entire stage. Based on the true story of Fanny Brice, a talented but unconventional young woman who dreamt of making it big in show business, despite not fitting the typical “showgirl” mould. Funny Girl delivers show-stopping tunes such as Don’t Rain on My Parade, while also poking fun at the superficial world of show business. Its message remains strikingly relevant for young women