THE biggest ever Frome Festival brochure is now available in outlets throughout the town and indeed the southwest.
Featuring 260 events from Friday 1st to Sunday 10th July, the festival has increased its number of free performances and workshops with the help of grants from Frome Town Council, the Cooper Hall Trust, and the Foyle Foundation.
This year’s brochure was designed by Jade Berry of Black Ink Studio and features on the cover, a portrait of King Richard the Third by internationally renowned illustrator Sholto Walker, whose distinctive work has become a familiar feature of Frome Festival publicity since 2002.
In the portrait, Richard is seen hovering over the twelve iconic ECOS stones next to the Merlin Theatre. The stones surround a Greek-style amphitheatre which was built 30 years ago to commemorate the founding of the European Union. Each stone represents the country from which it was imported, and they form a dramatic backdrop for outdoor performances.
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of ECOS, outgoing festival director, Martin Dimery has written a new musical, ‘The Haunting of Richard the Third’, collaborating with David Hynds on the musical score. The show, telling the story of one of England’s most controversial monarchs, will run for three nights from Thursday 7th July and is produced by Kairos Theatre Company in association with the Merlin Theatre. It will transfer into the Merlin Theatre in the event of severe adverse weather.
Some tickets are already on sale for large scale performances at the Cheese and Grain, Merlin, and Memorial theatre box offices. These include, at the Cheese and Grain: DJ Jo Whiley; singer/songwriter Andy Fairweather Low, TV historian David Olusoga, the Kris Barras Band, and singer- guitarist Wilko Johnson; on the Ecos Amphitheatre/Merlin Theatre: poet Roger McGough, jazz band Radio Banska, a Frome College Centenary concert and ‘The Haunting of Richard the Third’.
The Memorial Theatre will host the vocal harmony group Blake and tickets are exclusively available from the Memorial’s box office.
Tickets for all events will be available to Friends of the Frome Festival from Friday 20th May and to the general public from Sunday 22nd from the Frome Festival box office at the Cheese and Grain.
After you have got your tickets on 22nd May, why not pop along to see Sticky Toffee Jazz who are performing at Rook Lane Chapel as a festival fundraiser, from 2.30pm to 4pm. The ticket price includes a cream tea! For tickets go to the website: www.eventbrite.com/e/sticky-toffee-jazz-and-cream-tea-fundraiser-tickets-294098425307
For more details of all Frome Festival events, brochures will be available in shops, cafes, bars and performance venues, or online at www.fromefestival.co.uk
