Professional performances will be brought to village halls, pubs and other community spaces across Dorset in 2023 in Artsreach’s spring programme.

Thanks to the support of the Arts Council England and Dorset Council, a total of 29 artists and companies will perform 59 live dates in 42 rural communities.

Music lovers can enjoy a medley of styles and genres from both national and international musicians including jazz group Moscow Drug Club, vocal harmony quartet Windborne, Balkan Klezmer band She’Koyokh, folk stars Janice Burns and Jon Doran, gypsy-jazz band Latchepen, FiFi La Mer with a journey into French music, experimental trio Coracle, and The Neil Maya jazz Quartet.

Artsreach will continue their partnership with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, bringing a trio of flute, harp and cello to rural venues across the county, plus a 14-piece chamber ensemble to Swanage.

Theatregoers can expect the usual mayhem and lots of audience interaction, plus all your favourite Elvis songs in a new comedy, ‘Elvis in Blue Hawaii’ from Spitz & Co. Silent Faces explore permission, patriarchy and pop music through their trademark style of playful and political physical theatre in ‘Godot is a Woman’. Expect a roller-coaster ride across classic monologues and Scottish landscapes in ‘The Scottish Play’, a funny, moving and immersive experience from Bard in the Yard. New Perspectives presents the UK premiere of Kate Hewlitt’s bittersweet comedy ‘The Swearing Jar’ blending quirky characters with heartbreak and humour. Bash Street Theatre are back with a unique blend of physical theatre, circus skills, original songs and live music in ‘The Battling Butlers’. Pursued by a Bear Productions bring a time-travelling tale of female experiences and women taking flight to Dorset in ‘Nothing on Earth’.

Expect an absorbing, poignant glimpse of a bygone time as two silent movies by Frank Borzage are brought vividly to life by an original score performed live by Sonic Silents. Part comedy show, part cooking show, George Egg is back with Set Menu; the best bits, the most delicious jokes, and the funniest food cooked live on stage. Using a blend of theatre, comedy and music, storyteller James Rowland tells the tale of a remarkable friendship he made when he was a lonely, unhappy teenager in ‘Learning to Fly’. The Ridgeway Singers & Band invites you to join them for ‘Tea with William Barnes’, a musical celebration of the Dorset poet’s birthday served alongside a Dorset Cream tea, plus Dorset Music Unboxed!, a collaboration with the Dorset History Centre to bring to life traditional music, folksongs and carols from hidden in its archives. Skilfully weaving myth, song, folktales and legends of the African diaspora with an astonishing personal story, Phil Okwedy shares his captivating compelling, lyrical and warm show, The Gods Are All Here.

Project Dance present ‘Fragments’, the intimate story of a young couple who learn to fall in love with each other again, piece by piece, memory by memory. Blending Kathak dance and live music with a chef cooking live on stage, expect a truly magical, multicultural feast for all the senses as Balbir Singh Dance present ‘Love & Spice’.

There’s plenty for families to see too, with three productions touring Dorset during February half term. Paddleboat Theatre present ‘Hansel & Gretel, a sensory story full of magic, gentle interaction, and integrated signing with an enchanting woodland set, playful characters, and poetic storytelling. Dorsetborn Theatre invite you to join them for an adventure filled with puppetry, jokes, and a heart-warming original story in ‘Georgia and the Iceberg’. Finally, Monstro Theatre set out to prove that people can be made to believe anything in their new Puppet Musical ‘The King of Nothing’, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes.

Artsreach continue the series of Inn Crowd performances specifically designed for rural pubs. Intertwining storytelling and song, Thirst by Callum Patrick Hughes is both a love letter to sobriety and a celebration of all things alcoholic; exploring life, family, theatre, religion and the positivity of the pub. Join poet Brenda Read-Brown on a riotous celebration of growing older in ‘But I Haven’t Finished Yet’, a new show to delight and entertain audiences, however advanced in life they may be. Finally stand-up poet, storyteller and lo-fi theatremaker Jonny Fluffypunk is back with a new show about searching for the hero inside yourself, without involving M-People.

Full details and tickets are available from www.artsreach.co.uk and outlets where you can pick up a copy of the programme include libraries and tourist information centres.