FROME’S Merlin Theatre has a great range of entertainment and live performances coming up – from screenings from the Royal Opera and Royal Ballet, to a performance of Grease by Frome College.
Royal Opera Live screening: Rusalka, Wednesday 24th January. Rusalka, a water spirit, lives with her family in the pure waters of the forest lake. When she falls in love with a prince, she sacrifices her voice and leaves her home in the hope of finding true love in a new world – a world that does not love her back.
NTLive screening: Dear England, Thursday 25th January. Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale) plays Gareth Southgate in James Graham’s (Sherwood) gripping examination of nation and game. The country that gave the world football has since delivered a painful pattern of loss. Why can’t England’s men win at their own game?
Royal Ballet Live screening: Manon, Sunday 11th February. This adaptation of Abbé Prévost’s novel embodies Kenneth MacMillan at his best, his acute insight into human psychology and his mastery of narrative choreography finding full expression in the impassioned duets of the central couple, visceral and urgent in their desire.
Frome College presents Grease, Thursday 22nd February to Saturday 24th February.
NTLive screening: Vanya, Wednesday 28th February. Andrew Scott brings multiple characters to life in Simon Stephens’ radical new version of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. Hopes, dreams, and regrets are thrust into sharp focus in this one-man adaptation which explores the complexities of human emotions.
Frome Writers: new monologues evening: Leaps of Faith, Thursday 29th February. Frome Writers’ Collective presents an evening of new monologues, brought to life by local actors.
Vamos Theatre: Boy on the Roof, Saturday 2nd March. Presented by award-winning full-mask maestros, Vamos Theatre, Boy on the Roof is the story of a cross-generational friendship between teenager Liam, who has ADHD, and his 91-year-old neighbour, Albert.
Charlie Connelly: Attention All Shipping, Monday 4th March.
Lu in Luland (comedy): Self Love Revolution, Friday 8th March. Join Lu on IWD as she takes you with her on her very personal journey to Self Love sharing all the glorious, hilarious, painful, life changing turns; giving you the tools to help you write your own permission slip for life!
Kiki Dee and Carmelo, Saturday 9th March.
Tom Veck: What The Veck, Friday 15th March. Tom Veck brings charm and warmth to a show where relatable domestic ditties, stories from his peculiar past and the confessions of strangers will have you on the edge of your seat wondering What the Veck is coming next!
Royal Opera LIVE screening: Madama Butterfly, Tuesday 26th March. Puccini’s devastating tragedy about a young geisha who falls in love with an American naval officer.
John Otway and Wild Willy Barret, Saturday 6th April.
Royal Ballet Live screening: Macmillan Celebrated, Tuesday 9th April. The Royal Ballet celebrates the breadth of principal choreographer Kenneth MacMillan’s one-act ballets: Danses Concertantes, Different Drummer and Requiem.
Frome Drama Club: A Bunch of Amateurs, Thursday 25th April to Saturday 27th April. When a fading Hollywood action hero finds he has to play King Lear not in Stratford-upon-Avon but in a sleepy Suffolk village with a cast of well-meaning amateurs, emotions run hilariously high.
Royal Ballet Live: Swan Lake, Sunday 28th April. Classical ballet’s most powerful tale of love, treachery and forgiveness returns to the Royal Opera House stage.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.merlintheatre.co.uk
