Celebrate Summer on Ecos

SCHOOL’S out and the Merlin is celebrating the summer with four plays on Ecos, their very own european community of stone, starting with Folksy Theatre’s version of Quentin Blake’s Mr Magnolia on Friday 26th July at 6.00pm.

Mister Magnolia has many things, such as an old trumpet that goes rooty-toot, some very fat owls learning to hoot, a big purple dinosaur who’s a magnificent brute, two sisters who play the flute – and even a swimming pool. But he still only has one boot! 

Join Mister Magnolia on his wacky adventures. Filled with Folksy Theatre’s bold characters, live music, puppetry and audience interaction, it’s a day out not to be missed! Tickets are £12.50 adults, concessions £10.50 and a family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) is £38. Recommended 4-11 years.

Then, on Sunday 28th July at 7pm, Immersion Theatre present Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Set in Great Britain just before the start of the Great War, this hilarious and highly accessible adaptation sees Shakespeare’s fantastical characters transported to a time of unparalleled peace and prosperity. 

Four young lovers, a band of hapless actors, and a magical realm populated by enchanting spirits set on causing mischief and mayhem at every turn culminate in an unparalleled open-air experience of beauty and hilarity. Tickets are £14.50 adults, with concessions £11.50, and a family ticket (2+2) £40.

The ever-popular Illyria return to Frome with their brand-new musical adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein on Tuesday 30th July at 7pm. Brilliant young student Viktor Frankenstein discovers how to endow dead organic matter with life itself. It is one thing to stitch together an anatomically complete organism, but quite another when it becomes a living, breathing creature that shows intelligence, feels torment – and demands answers of its creator.

Mary Shelley’s seminal novel was published in 1818 when she was just 21 years old, and has never been out of print. It was conceived when she and her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley spent the summer of 1816 at Byron’s house on Lake Geneva. Byron proposed that they each write a ghost story to entertain the others. Mary was the last one to come up with her idea – but her story was by far the best and the most enduring.

This production features a fully orchestrated musical score, a cast of professional actor singers, spectacular stage effects, puppetry – and flashes of the wickedly dark humour for which Illyria is justly celebrated.The show contains mature themes but is suitable for all ages 5+.Tickets: adults £14.50, concessions £11.50, under 16s £9.50, family £40.

Finally, Folksy Theatre returns on the last day of July with a production of  Shakespeare’s classic tale of mistaken identities, The Comedy of Errors. After being separated from their twins in a shipwreck, Antipholus and his slave Dromio go to Ephesus to find them. The other set of twins live in Ephesus, and the new arrivals cause a series of hilarious mishaps. The show is filled with Folksy’s wonderful live music, audience interaction and downright silliness! Bring along your friends and family to watch this wonderful open air production. Tickets: adults £12.50, concessions £10.50, family £38.

All the above shows will take place outside at ECOS Amphitheatre and audiences are invited to bring picnics and cushions.  However, in the event of bad weather the performance will move inside. Please note that senior citizens are no longer automatically eligible for concessions.