A couple of years ago somebody predicted that after the pandemic people would travel less for arts, culture and entertainment.

This month we see that our local creative community is providing so much incredible choice that not only will there be no need to travel elsewhere but there will be no time!

From a brand new musical written by the wonderful Dorchester-based Susan Grant and Joni de Winter to the internationally acclaimed Bournemouth-based Enchanted Cinema creating sonic magic and so much more the local choice is huge.

We also look at why the show Mamma Mia has enjoyed 24 years of success, talk about the importance of play for all of us with Adele Cleaver and examine how to successfully deliver our creative ideas.

Coming up soon.

June 3 – Hugh The Musical, The Black Cherry, Boscombe.

This hilarious original fringe-style musical is brought to you by Dorset-based singer/songwriters Susan Grant and Joni de Winter. A light-hearted look at love, female friendship and the trials and tribulations of being a performer!

Click here for more details and to book.

May 20 – An Evening of Burlesque, Lighthouse, Poole.

Grown up, glamorous and stylish this show led by the incomparable Lucy Ryan as Ivy Paige is selling out theatres nationwide. For 18+ only

More information at lighthousepoole.co.uk

May 13 and 14 – Alice In Spring, Bournemouth Town Centre.

A free family-friendly wonderland with a thrilling line-up of events presented by the AUB Events Management Team and Bournemouth Town Centre BID featuring live entertainment, an interactive trail and a carnival procession. More info at aliceinspring.co.uk.

June 3 – Enchanted Cinema, The Red Turtle, Sandy Hill Arts.

A magical, jam-packed evening with live cinema performers led by Kieron Chissik. You’ll become the sound of an island forest, scuttling beach creatures and seabirds using your voice or instruments provided in a workshop inspired by Studio Ghibli’s The Red Turtle.

Details at sandyhillarts.co.uk/purbeck-art-weeks

Check out my interview with Enchanted Cinema Creative Director Kieron Chissik by clicking here.

Review: Mamma Mia – Novello Theatre, London – COMING SOON to Portsmouth

Being a bit of a musical theatre snob, I always avoided Mamma Mia and filed it away as “just a feel good” show. But there is much more to this show than great party bangers – although I was on my feet at the end screaming along with everyone else! This show makes us feel good because its lead character, Donna, is taken on a journey of self acceptance by her daughter, her friends and the three men she slept with during her hot girl summer 20 years ago. Once Donna learns to accept herself it helps us in the audience do the same which makes us all feel good.

Mazz Murray as Donna and Frankie Jones as her daughter Sophie were both exceptional and had amazing support from a hugely talented cast including Gemma Atkins as sexy cougar Tanya and a sharp ensemble of incredible dancers and singers.

Mamma Mia will be at the Kings Theatre, Portsmouth from May 19 to 27 as part of its UK and International tour.

Lay All Your Love on this show and get a ticket!

Adele Cleaver, Author, Illustrator and Playworker.

Adele describes herself as a nomadic Brummie but now lives in Bournemouth with her husband and four-year-old daughter. She started writing in November 2019 through an art therapy course she enrolled on after her second miscarriage. She began reflecting on her varied career in playwork and how her professional experiences helped her overcome some of the challenges of parenthood.

What inspires your creative ideas?

Children and free play! I feel really honoured that I was exposed to playwork theory and practice right at the start of my career nearly 15 years ago. Playworkers create and protect spaces for children to play freely so there’s very minimal intervention or instructions from adults. There’s a lot of observation and reflective practice involved when working with children in this way so I feel extremely privileged and inspired to see such creativity and innovation from these young minds. Seeing children play reminds me of all the creative possibilities and all playful places life can take us.

Why are arts and culture important to everyone?

I often describe the play spaces I facilitate as live art exhibitions or a living museum where the children are the curators. Freedom to creative expression through play is, to me, the most powerful form of communication; we can all “speak” play. I have worked with many non-verbal communicators and also with people where there is not one common language but it is play that gives everyone an opportunity to feel heard, increasing self-worth; play is extremely empowering.

What advice would you give to a business to help them become more creative?

Foster a culture of play. Invite playful people into the workspace to shift the dynamics and ignite employees in new ways. Meaningful play is unique to each and every one of us so a traditional team building day with “fun” games and “exciting” activities is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. In playwork theory there are 16 different play types! I just don’t think it is possible to have a one size fits all approach to wellbeing in the workplace; we have to understand, respect and celebrate individual play preferences. And we need to encourage our colleagues to rest. I am a big fan of the four-day working week.

Who is your creative hero?

I have two! One is Kezia Soul my childhood friend, an incredible singer song-writer and a single mom of two wonderful boys (who are now almost men! Eeek!). Over the years she has shown a huge amount of tenacity and patience juggling the demands of motherhood, while holding down a day job and blessing so many audiences with her breathtaking voice. The other is a prolific writer called Julia Cameron. She was an addict in the 1970s and has used her experience to help others with creative unblocking through a 12-step self-help programme called The Artists Way, which was published as a book in 1992. I followed the course in 2019 to help me recover from my second miscarriage and it was an incredible experience.

What piece of creative work are you most proud of?

My first book! I published Children Don’t dissolve In The Rain: a story about parenthood and playwork in 2021 just 30 days before my second child was born. Publishing while pregnant and with a preschooler at home was no mean feat but the response has been brilliant and I am so pleased that it is having a positive impact. More children are experiencing child-led free play as a result of their parents reading my book, and several readers (and not just parents!) have also fed back that they understand the importance of their own play in adulthood.

What are you working on now?

There’s an audiobook in the pipeline. Not a traditional audiobook but a podcast series that includes readings from my book and discussions with guests about its themes. I’m also really pleased to share that I have been commissioned by Poole Museum to host a series of free play environments that I call Pop Up Playgrounds. So this summer I’ll be taking over 5 outdoor spaces in Poole and turning them into immersive, sensory play spaces where children can play freely with minimal intervention from adults and explore themes such as Harbour Life, Shipwreck and Setting Sail.

How do you know when your idea is a good one? Last month Netflix released a show called Dance 100 that on paper had everything needed to be a monster smash hit. It features 8 hugely talented choreographers competing for a $100k prize, there are 100 of the world’s best commercial dancers, a huge budget and some of today’s biggest hits as a soundtrack. This show had success stamped right across it

But something happened between concept and delivery because the show turned out to be confusing, poorly paced and a bit dull. So what went wrong? There is a step in the creative process that we all need to work on; Verification. This is when we refine and distil our idea or concept to its most simple form which is often a one sentence description. The key here is only to describe. As somebody once said about politicians “If you find yourself explaining rather than describing then you are in trouble!” And it is the same with creativity.

The next time you are creating a new concept, product or service spend some time refining the idea into its simplest form before commissioning it into a six part TV series!

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