Thanks to their family of inspiring volunteers and funding from Arts Council England, they are delighted to present a season of extraordinary world class performances live in villages across Devon.
This autumn you’ll find theatre, dance, circus, poetry, laughter, puppetry, and music from across the world in village halls, churches and community spaces. You can expect cups of tea, homemade cakes and a warm welcome wherever you go.
The Villages in Action website lists the full programme of events, but here are just a few highlights coming up over the next few months…
Chamber Opera Tours presents Jane Austen’s Persuasion: A Musical Drama
One performance only on Saturday, 22 September at 7.30pm
Following performances at the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, Chamber Opera Tours is thrilled to bring its original musical adaptation to the Palace Theatre in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the publication of Persuasion.
This popular production has toured the UK and North America the past five years and features music from Jane Austen’s manuscripts and the era, fully staged with chamber orchestra, beautiful Regency costumes,...
A soldier of the First World War who was born and brought up in Exeter, will be remembered at a public event taking place in the Higher Cemetery of the city on Saturday 15th September, 100 years after he was killed in action.
Walter Hooper grew up at 97 Portland Street before he emigrated with his uncle to America in 1914, the First World War began just a few weeks later.
When United States joined the war in 1917 Walter enlisted with the American Expeditionary Force and served in France as a Private. He was killed in July 1918 aged 21 and was buried in France.
Spectators have 174km (108miles) of Devon’s roads to choose from when it comes to watching the Devon Stage Tour of Britain on Monday 3 September.
The race is being hosted by Devon County Council, supported by East Devon District Council and North Devon Council and working with Cranbrook Town Council and Barnstaple Town Council. Stage 2 of the race starts in one of the UK’s newest towns, Cranbrook in East Devon and finishes in Barnstaple, North Devon. Crowds are being tipped to exceed 2016’s record of 260,000 spectators that lined the route in Devon. And once again the advice is to...
Paramedics at South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) are reminding people to use the service wisely this bank holiday as demand for the ambulance service is expected to be high.
The Trust is expecting more than 10,600 incidents over the bank holiday weekend. Demand is already up 3.8% on last year’s figures, with 54,667 incidents recorded for August 2018 (1-22nd August 2018).
Please help our staff and volunteers to help those most in need by only calling 999 in a life-threatening emergency. For all other situations, we are asking people to #ChooseWell...
Your essential guide to What’s On in and around Exeter this weekend (24-27 August):
THEATRE
Playback Youth Theatre presents: Shandytown Saturday, Barnfield Theatre, Exeter What is home? What is the line between legality and morality? How do we keep a community alive? http://www.barnfieldtheatre.org.uk
Strictly Murder Manor Pavilion, Sidmouth April 1939. An English couple, Peter and Suzy, are living in Provence in idyllic isolation, far away, it seems from the rumblings of the coming war. Their peace is shattered from within when Suzy discovers she has been...
Environmental issues will undoubtedly continue to be the subject of ongoing debate but this year has seen a significant increase in many businesses actually taking action and reviewing current practices. A simple matter of which cup should the staff and/or customers use when drinking tea, coffee or any other beverage, seems to have raised the profile of this important matter.
The media frenzy surrounding the use of non-recyclable or plastic cups has created a positive reaction and realisation that the protection of our world is essential. Devon continues to be at the forefront of...
With an estimated three million children at risk of being hungry during the school holidays in the UK this summer, and as food bank usage is reportedly hitting record highs, Broadclyst Community Garden has joined a nationwide initiative to grow and donate fresh fruit and vegetables to those in need. The charitable initiative sees gardening brand Miracle-Gro connect with FoodCycle projects across the country, including Exeter, to support those at risk of food poverty and social isolation. With the long-term aim to alleviate the nation’s food poverty crisis, the partnership hopes to kick-...
Work to stub out illegal tobacco sales in Devon is being highlighted next week.
Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards Service is visiting Green Lanes Shopping Centre in Barnstaple on Thursday 30 August between 10am and 5pm to let residents know about the real harm caused by illegal tobacco and how residents can help to prevent its supply.
The event is part of the national ‘Report it – Illegal Tobacco: No ifs, No butts’ campaign, which aims to tackle the issue of illegal tobacco in the UK.
Officers from Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards Service will...
Teignbridge District Council’ childcare play scheme Teignstars is celebrating a ‘Good’ Ofsted rating.
Newton Abbot Leisure Centre has been working hard to achieve good grades with the help of the childcare team led by Childcare Officers Karen Bush and Lindsey Thorne.
Teignstars achieved a ‘good’ rating across the board for effectiveness of the leadership and management, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, personal development, and behaviour and welfare.
The Ofsted report commented that ‘children are happy and settle quickly. They benefit from enjoyable...