Entertainment & Reviews

The Donkey Sanctuary’s 50th anniversary celebrations continues as its multi-award-winning RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden has been re-built back at the charity’s international headquarters in Sidmouth, Devon. The garden will open to visitors from Monday 15 July and like the Sanctuary, will be free of charge for people to visit.

The ‘Donkeys Matter’ Artisan Garden scooped the coveted ‘People’s Choice Award’ and a silver medal in the judges’ awards at the prestigious London show in May. The garden, which has now been skilfully reconstructed at its Sidmouth sanctuary, was designed to...

In July 2019, the inaugural Exeter Fringe Festival will take place with over 100 performances at Exeter Phoenix and Barnfield Theatre across 10 days from 26 July to 4 August. There are 6 performance spaces featuring a wide range of fringe theatre, family theatre, comedy, music and dance. The inaugural Exeter Fringe Festival has been organised by Elaine Faulkner and Alex Jackson.

Headline acts include the magician James Phelan (Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee’s nephew), India Electric Co. a soulful folk double act who recently supported Midge Ure on tour, Sleeping Trees with their new...

This September, the region's leading contemporary arts venue, Exeter Phoenix, will present a significant showcase of emerging and established contemporary visual artists from across the UK. Established in 2006, Exeter Contemporary Open has come to be recognised as one of the UK's most prominent contemporary arts competitions. This year marks the return of the exhibition to Exeter Phoenix after having taken a break in 2018 whilst the venue's gallery spaces underwent a significant refurbishment.

The venue has now announced fifteen shortlisted artists whose work will appear in the...

Local author Alison Huntingford has just had her first novel published, much of which is set in 19th century Alphington. The Glass Bulldog is a work of historical fiction, (or ‘fact-ion’ as she calls it) based on the true story of her Exeter ancestors.

The novel tells the story of Tom, a working man growing up in Alphington in the 1830s, and begins by painting a realistic picture of the cholera epidemic that devastated so many families in Exeter at that time. The hero goes on to commit a foolish crime which sadly takes him away from his beloved home, to prison and beyond. Though...