Rural Arts Touring Listings Sept 2018 - July 2019 - Theatre, Music, Dance, Circus, Storytelling

Impromptu Shakespeare p.16.

Music

Dance

Circus

Family

Theatre

Storytelling

PRESENTS

Pound Arts Touring

Sep 2018Jul 2019

poundarts.org.uk

Big Ideas in Small Spaces

How to Find a Performance

Encounter astonishing, world class performances, live in your village.

Each performance has been allocated a number which can be found on the map at the back of this brochure.

Thanks to inspiring local volunteers and funding from Arts Council England, Wiltshire Council and South Gloucestershire Council, we present an amazing collection of the best theatre, music, dance and visual arts in churches, village halls, back gardens, pubs, woods, and community rooms.

Search by Performance Have a look through our brochure to discover what’s on including theatre and dance, live music, visual arts and Christmas events. Use the numbers next to each event and the map on the back to discover where each performance is taking place.

Rural Arts Touring is run by Pound Arts and covers two counties: Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire. Pound Arts works in partnership with volunteer promoters in over 60 villages across the two unitary authority areas to stage up to 100 professional performances every year.

Search by Date There is a diary in the centre of this brochure where you can find performances listed in date order with location and page number for more details. Numbers in green correspond with the map on the back of this brochure.

Booking Information Tickets are sold directly by volunteer promoters in each venue, plus online and at The Pound box office – see each listing for direct ticket sales information.

Prices range from £5 to £15.

For more information please call Pound Arts on 01249 701628 or email box.office@poundarts.org.uk

Search by location Use the map to find where performances are being held. You can then turn to the diary in the centre of the brochure to find the numbers corresponding with your chosen location and the page number for more details on that performance.

Accessibility

Pound Arts aims to make as much of its work accessible to as many people as possible.

Rural Touring productions take place in a range of venues so the degree of access provision varies. If you have a query about access at a venue please contact the box office. It’s best to book as early as possible and we will endeavour to meet your needs.

Could you be a Rural Touring venue?

If you live in rural Wiltshire or South Gloucestershire, have a venue in mind that’s not already listed and think your community would love to be part of the Rural Touring programme, ring us today to find out more on 01249 701628.

2 | box office 01249 701628

Music Harbottle & Jonas An Evening with Harbottle & Jonas Harbottle & Jonas will provide a performance of stunning musical entertainment. Together the husband and wife duo combine the rich traditions of folk music with original and contemporary interpretations through a blend of closely intertwined vocal harmonies.

The music is performed with integrity and on instruments that include the concertina, harmonium, banjo, stompbox, acoustic guitar and dobra.

Each song has been carefully written and researched, and is always accompanied with a great story and a good degree of humour; however macabre the content may be! The songs cover a range of social, political and historical issues.

So warm up your vocal chords, pack your hankies, put on your finest tweed and prepare yourselves for an unforgettable evening of beautiful folk music.

1 Horton and Little Sodbury Village Hall Friday 5 October, 7.30pm Tickets: 07711 672007 or www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/harbottle-and-jonas-tickets-46649605225 2 Bishopstone Village Hall Sunday 9 December, 7pm Tickets: 01722 781044 or bvhticketoffice@btinternet.com

4 | box office 01249 701628

Jim Causley An Evening with Jim Causley Multi-award winning folk singer, Jim Causley is an all-round entertainer. This show offers beautiful singing, moving ballads and hilarious ditties. Jim draws upon traditional repertoire, modern songs, his own compositions and settings of celebrated Cornish poet Charles Causley’s work. Accompanied on piano/ accordions and served with a gurt dollop of West Country humour.

An immensely warm, engaging and humorous performer, Jim Causley has been nominated six times for a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award and last year as Singer of the Year. His unique voice and persona have helped him become one of the most well-loved and respected figures in the contemporary folk scene, and his warm-hearted, inclusive stage presence makes for a great night’s entertainment.

“The finest singer of his generation” Mojo Magazine “A voice in a million” Geoff Lakeman 3 Bremhill Village Hall Friday 23 November, 7.30pm Tickets: 01249 661369

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The People’s String Foundation Violinist, Ben and Guitarist, Zaid are the founders of the bohemian 32 piece gypsy orchestra The People’s String Foundation. This epic supergroup have a new album, Puppetree, which Ben and Zaid are taking on the road as a duo mixing world, classical and urban styles in anarchic embroilment.

Get ready for a musical journey through a variety of styles based around classical, Gypsy and world music, threaded with a theatrical and dramatic narrative.

“The People’s String Foundation is one of the great wonders of the West” Charles Hazelwood (Composer and Conductor) 4 St Peter’s Church, Frogwell Thursday 6 December, 7.30pm Tickets: 01249 653400

6 | box office 01249 701628

Pagoda Project Pagoda Duo An evening of captivating and original music from Paul Hutchinson (accordion) and Karen Wimhurst (Clarinets). A playful blend of folk and improvisation which can wander from klezma to classical and back via a quick tango! 5 star reviews in fRoots and featured on Songlines Top of the World CD 2016.

This is an enthralling, intimate evening of virtuosic musicianship coupled with a relaxed and laugh out loud rapport with the audience led by Paul Hutchinson’s inimitable sense of humour. This unusual combination of accordion, clarinet and bass clarinet is full of instrumental colour, passion and surprises, both moving and entertaining. As one reviewer wrote ‘I came away educated, entertained, amused and uplifted. Congratulations!’

5 Fovant Village Hall Friday 25 January, 7.30pm Tickets: 01722 714343 or beryl.paton@outlook.com 6 Mere Lecture Hall Saturday 27 April, 7.30pm Tickets: 01747 860163 or margaret.durkee@btopenworld.com

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Bookends Simon and Garfunkel: Through the Years Simon and Garfunkel: Through the Years is a unique concert, which celebrates the unforgettable music of Simon and Garfunkel. Fronted by the duo Bookends, the concert has toured the globe extensively being described as ‘simply breathtaking’.

Performing the songs in a truly captivating way, Bookends’ delicate recreation of the unmistakable sound of the American folk-rock duo is something of a masterpiece. Hear many of the hits such as The Sound of Silence, Mrs Robinson, The Boxer and Bookends’ own beautiful rendition of the unforgettable Bridge Over Troubled Water.

“One of the greatest tribute shows anywhere in the world” Stuart Cameron, BBC and ITV Broadcaster 7 Holt Village Hall Friday 25 January, 7.30pm Tickets: Holt Superstore or 01249 701628 8 Sherston Village Hall Saturday 26 January, 7.30pm Tickets: Sherston Post Office Stores or 01666 840375 9 Kington Langley Village Hall Saturday 2 February, 7.30pm Tickets: 01249 750362 or event@klvh.org

8 | box office 01249 701628

Will Finn and Rosie Calvert Beneath This Place Will Finn and Rosie Calvert are a dynamic up-and-coming duo from the heart of Newcastle. Playing traditional music with a contemporary flare, their shows are a veritable smorgasbord of folk fusion, utilising piano, steel pan, ukulele, and close knit harmony singing to tremendous effect. Beneath This Place is their incredible debut album and this tour brings the album to life with beautiful harmony singing and superb musicianship, with plenty of witty banter to boot!

10 Bremhill Village Hall Thursday 4 April, 7.30pm Tickets: 01249 661369

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Higgs Bison Led by a big voice and wonderful songs, this trio lead you through a journey of original song - about hurricanes, slippery politicians, a despairing Messiah and... Brexit. If you want comparisons, it’s a bit of a mash-up of Cave, Lehrer, Hannon, Bart and the like - but very much in its own style.

Higgs Bigson will leave audiences moved, entertained and thinking and they are not to be missed!

11 Compton Bassett Village Hall Saturday 27 April, 8pm Tickets: 01249 760273

10 | box office 01249 701628

12 Brinkworth Village Hall Saturday 11 May, 8pm Tickets: 01666 510545 or 01666 510045

Lewis Clark Vaudeville Vaudeville explores the musical concept of a renegade Harlequin in a show that melds the kitsch vaudeville styles of by-gone days, with wider stylistic innovations. This show ties in with the 250th anniversary of circus in the UK and will be supplemented with original songs from Lewis Clark’s previous album.

Imagine a situation where you as a listener actually become a member of the action. Well in this show you are taken by the spirit of Harlequin to explore the realms of delight and wonder of the circus that crosses all realms of kitsch and by-gone music styles. From up beat swing to music box, kletzmer and dark cabaret, the show takes you through the eye of the needle, through the light, the night and the half-light. It’s a show that will entertain and perhaps even question the listener’s notions of performance and reality.

13 South Wraxall Village Hall Saturday 27 April, 7.30pm Tickets: 07545 985628 or clarins15@gmail.com 14 Bouverie Hall, Pewsey Saturday 1 June, 7.30pm Tickets: 07786 532093

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Rachel Newton Singer, Harpist and winner of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Musician of the Year, Rachel Newton is a brilliant musician and captivating performer. She specialises in interpreting traditional folk songs in both English and Gaelic as well as writing and arranging her own music. An engaging performer, she draws audiences in with her tales from the tradition and dazzling instrumental skills. Her stage presence is warm and accessible – inviting listeners in.

“Haunting and compelling.” The Guardian 15

Collingbourne Kingston Village Hall Friday 10 May, 7.30pm Tickets: 01264 850436 16

St Peter’s Church, Frogwell Saturday 11 May, 7.30pm Tickets: 01249 653400 17 Newton Tony Memorial Hall Sunday 12 May, 7pm Tickets: 0751 485537 or joanna@dewfallmosaic.co.uk

12 | box office 01249 701628

Christmas The Last Baguette The Little Match Girl, a warming tale for winter The story follows Alice on a cold Christmas eve. While she searches for her Grandmother, she encounters the funny and zany characters of the vibrant London streets. In an attempt to stay warm she strikes a match. The flames blaze to life and illuminate her fantastic Christmas visions of talking turkeys, dancing rats, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their chattering Christmas tree.

In this touching, madcap and heart-warming family Christmas show, we invite the audience to laugh, to care and maybe to cry a little for the tale of this small fierce girl, and perhaps, illuminate a little the world that we live in.

18 Sherston Village Hall Sunday 9 December, 2.30pm Tickets: Sherston Post Office Stores or 01666 840375 19 South Wraxall Village Hall Saturday 5 January, 2.30pm Tickets: 07545 985628 or clarins15@gmail.com

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Event Diary Date Map

Sep 2018 - Jul 2019

Show

Genre

Venue

Page

Impromptu Shakespeare

Theatre

Great Bedwyn

16

Harbottle & Jonas

Music

Horton and Little Sodbury 4

2018 September 27 Sep 20 October 5 Oct

1

An Evening with Harbottle & Jonas Two Gents Productions: Earnest

Theatre

Westbury

17

12 Oct 33

Eva Ahrehalm, Staffan Ekegran and Maria Sedell: Sarajevo Big Bang

Circus, Dance & Storytelling

Newton Tony

22

13 Oct 34

Eva Ahrehalm, Staffan Ekegran and Maria Sedell: Sarajevo Big Bang

Circus, Dance & Storytelling

Thornbury

22

26 Oct 35

Nick Harper: A Wiltshire Tale

Circus, Dance & Storytelling

Gastard

23

Lost Dog: Romeo and Juliet

Circus, Dance & Storytelling

Collingbourne Ducis 24

10 Nov 24

Two Gents Productions: Earnest

Theatre

Brinkworth

17

23 Nov 3

Jim Causley An Evening with Jim Causley

Music

Bremhill

5

30 Nov 25

Farnham Maltings: Brilliance

Theatre

Hullavington

18

5 Oct

23

November 4 Nov

36

December 1 Dec

26

Farnham Maltings: Brilliance

Theatre

Trowbridge

18

6 Dec

4

The People’s String Foundation

Music

Frogwell

6

9 Dec

18

The Last Baguette: The Little Match Girl Christmas

Sherston

13

9 Dec

2

Harbottle & Jonas An Evening with Harbottle & Jonas

Bishopstone

4

Music

2019 January 5 Jan

19

The Last Baguette: The Little Match Girl Christmas

South Wraxall

13

25 Jan

5

Pagoda Project Pagoda Duo

Music

Fovant

7

25 Jan

7

Bookends Simon and Garfunkel: Through the Years

Music

Holt

8

26 Jan

8

Bookends Simon and Garfunkel: Through the Years

Music

Sherston

8

14 | box office 01249 701628

Date Map

Show

Genre

Venue

Page 25

February 1 Feb

37

Beatrice Parvin

Circus, Dance & Storytelling

Avebury

2 Feb

9

Bookends Simon and Garfunkel: Through the Years

Music

Kington Langley 8

2 Feb

30

Uchenna Dance: Hansel & Gretel

Family

Hullavington

20

4 Apr

27

Scratchworks Theatre Company The Great Train Robbery

Theatre

Minety

19

4 Apr

10

Will Finn and Rosie Calvert Beneath This Place

Music

Bremhill

9

5 Apr

39

Corali Technicolour Everyday

Circus, Dance & Storytelling

Trowbridge

26

5 Apr

28

Scratchworks Theatre Company The Great Train Robbery

Theatre

Castle Combe

19

5 Apr

21

Impromptu Shakespeare

Theatre

Bishopstone

16

6 Apr

22

Impromptu Shakespeare

Theatre

Horton and Little 16 Sodbury

27 Apr 11

Higgs Bison

Music

Compton Bassett 10

27 Apr 13

Lewis Clark Vaudeville

Music

South Wraxall

11

27 Apr 29

Scratchworks Theatre Company The Great Train Robbery

Theatre

Bowerchalke

19

27 Apr 40

D’Click: Isla

Circus, Dance & Storytelling

Great Bedwyn

27

27 Apr 31

John Hinton Ensonglopedia of Animals

Family

Cholderton

21

Pagoda Project Pagoda Duo

Music

Mere

7

John Hinton Ensonglopedia of Animals

Family

Kington Langley 21

Rachel Newton

Music

Collingbourne Kingston

12 12

Captain Swing and the Blacksmith

April

27 Apr

6

28 Apr 32 May 10 May 15 11 May 16

Rachel Newton

Music

Frogwell

11 May 12

Higgs Bison

Music

Brinkworth

10

12 May 17

Rachel Newton

Music

Newton Tony

12

18 May 38

Beatrice Parvin

Captain Swing and the Blacksmith

Circus, Dance & Storytelling

Great Somerford 25

Lewis Clark Vaudeville

Music

Pewsey

June 1 Jun

14

11

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Theatre

Impromptu Shakespeare

Impromptu Shakespeare have their tongues firmly in their cheeks and their feet planted in the works of the Bard. Join us, as the cast buckle on the Bard’s breeches to bring you the plays he never wrote.

Audience members will be given balls upon which are written words from Shakespeare’s plays. After a brief intro, the audience are invited to throw their ball ‘into the Bards breeches’. After pulling out 3-5 words, the show is launched - a loose improvised narrative, keeping within Shakespeare’s world!

20 Great Bedwyn Thursday 27 September, 6.30pm Tickets: 07714 236545 or phillips.sam@btinternet.com 21 Bishopstone Village Hall Friday 5 April, 7.30pm Tickets: 01722 781044 or bvhticketoffice@btinternet.com 22 Horton and Little Sodbury Village Hall Saturday 6 April, 7.30pm Tickets: 07711 672007 or www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/impromptu-shakespeare-tickets-46649744642

16 | box office 01249 701628

Two Gents Productions Earnest by Oscar Wilde Earnest by Oscar Wilde – A light, fluffy jibe at cucumber sandwiches, or a profound plea for substance, commitment and compassion? With only two actors on a bare stage, in its signature urgent poetical style, Two Gents Productions examine the play from the contemporary perspective of the migrant and the outsider. Told with wit and deft humour, this show unfurls a riot of love, confusion and high jinks to interrogate the absolute importance of being EARNEST. 23 The Laverton, Westbury Friday 5 October, 7.30pm Tickets: www.westburyfestival.org.uk 24 Brinkworth Village Hall Saturday 10 November, 8pm Tickets: 01666 510545 or 01666 510045

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Theatre

Farnham Maltings Brilliance 1948 and 1963, winter. Everyone is gathering in the village hall.

Long after its arrival in the city, the slow process of rural electrification is starting to illuminate every corner and crevice of village life. As the dark evenings hold us in, 240 volts of alternating current and the humble electric light bulb allows us to gather and sing long into the night. Brilliance is a 90-minute celebration of our ability to connect and find the light in a bright new world and is a show that is bound to light a spark from the inside out.

25

Hullavington Village Hall Friday 30 November, 8pm Tickets: 01666 837569 or 07816 304904 26

Trowbridge Saturday 1 December, 7.30pm Tickets: 01249 701628

18 | box office 01249 701628

Scratchworks Theatre Company The Great Train Robbery August 1963: the heist of the century is under way. Signals are scrambled, phone lines cut and millions of pounds of cash – stolen. Five days later the first clues are found, the gang is busted and the rest is history.

But what about the ones that got away?

In this version of events, four forgotten females leave behind their kitchen-sink lives and embark on a madcap adventure of mischief and mayhem.

This award-winning familyfriendly show uses a raucous combination of physical theatre, live music and clowning to uncover the truth about history’s forgotten women.

27 Minety Village Hall Thursday 4 April, 6.30pm Tickets: 01666 860369 28

Castle Combe Village Hall Friday 5 April, 8pm Tickets: 01249 782450 or 07503 174161 29 Bowerchalke Village Hall Saturday 27 April, 8pm Tickets: www.bowerchalke.com

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Family Theatre

Uchenna Dance Hansel & Gretel Hansel and Gretel, our superhero guides, discover a strange and colourful world. Finding themselves in a new country, full of strange sights and smells, Hansel and Gretel must outwit the adults to find their way back to their father. Uchenna’s story celebrates children’s tenacity, as Hansel and Gretel tackle situations that would have the bravest of adults shaking in their boots!

30 Hullavington Village Hall Saturday 2 February, 6pm Tickets: 01666 837569 or 07816 304904

20 | box office 01249 701628

John Hinton Ensonglopedia of Animals From the multi-award-winning creator of musical comedies about Darwin, Einstein and Curie join Ensonglopedia for Ensonglopedia of Animals. Twenty-six animal songs, one for each letter of the alphabet. Learn fascinating facts about extraordinary echinoderms, distressed damselflies, crazy corals, batty beetles and amazing archispirostreptuses.

Expect the unexpected. And expect it to rhyme!

31

Cholderton Village Hall Saturday 27 April, 4pm Tickets: 01980 629813 or heath_jane55@hotmail.com

32

Kington Langley Village Hall Sunday 28 April, 3pm Tickets: 01249 750362 or event@klvh.org

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Circus, Dance & Storytelling

Eva Ahremalm, Staffan Ekegren and Maria Sedell Sarajevo Big Bang How does everything fit together? How could that fatal gunshot in 1914 change everybody’s life - even today? Through stories, songs and a crazy cabaret, Sarajevo Big Bang will take you on a surprising journey through power struggles and secret machinations. It is a journey through time and space with characters who really only want to live, laugh and love; characters who will make you understand just how you’re connected to the gunshot that started World War 1.

In a surprising and thrilling performance, two storytellers and one singer from Sweden reveal the modern history of Europe.

33 Newton Tony Memorial Hall Friday 12 October, 8pm Tickets: 01980 629472 or dewfall@talktalk.net

22 | box office 01249 701628

34 Turnberrie’s Community Centre, Thornbury Saturday 13 October, 7pm Tickets: 01454 868485

Nick Harper A Wiltshire Tale An evening of stories and folk songs from one man and his guitar. A Wiltshire Tale is a journey through Wiltshire’s history, landscape and wildlife. Depicted through the voices of three immortal characters, in this one man show, we bear witness to this most magical of counties in spoken word, poetry and live music.

35 Gastard Village Hall Friday 26 October, 8pm Tickets: 01249 713662

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Circus, Dance & Storytelling

Lost Dog Juliet and Romeo–A Guide to Long Life and Happy Marriage Lost Dog’s new show reveals the real story of Romeo and Juliet. It turns out they didn’t die in a tragic misunderstanding, they grew up and lived happily ever after. Well they lived at least. Now they are 40ish, at least one of them is in the grips of a mid-life crisis, they feel constantly mocked by their teenage selves and haunted by the pressures of being the poster couple for romantic love. They have decided to confront their current struggles by putting on a performance – about themselves.

36 Collingbourne Ducis Village Hall Sunday 4 November, 7.30pm Tickets: 01264 850436

24 | box office 01249 701628

Beatrice Parvin Captain Swing and the Blacksmith The new novel by Beatrice Parvin, praised for the “musicality and lyricism of its language” is rapturously showcased with folk music and spoken word. A riotous tale of passion and tragedy, set on Salisbury Plain in the 1840s against the backdrop of the ‘Swing Riots’, will be brought to life by spellbinding voices, fiddle wizardry and accordion.

Prepare to be transported to a time of hardship, drama and passion by beautifully executed folk music performed by inventive and talented performers.

37 Avebury Social Centre Friday 1 February, 7.30pm Tickets: Avebury Community Shop or 01672 539253 38 Great Somerford Walter Powell School Saturday 18 May, 7.30pm Tickets: 01249 720485

Corali Technicolour Everyday Corali is a leader in dance-performance created by artists with a learning disability. Their practice is made through a process of artistic collaboration and they explore the relationship between performers with and without a learning disability, between dance and other art forms, and between professional and participatory artwork.

Corali present an evening of their most recent work showcasing professional artists with a learning disability.

This includes their 25-minute ensemble performance, Technicolour Everyday, Everyday, which is a dance theatre piece that combines the technicolour optimism of post war film-musicals with imagined landscapes.

39

Trowbridge Friday 5 April, 7.30pm Tickets: 01249 701628

26 | box office 01249 701628

D’Click Isla Isla is based on the dreams and hallucinations of three shipwrecked characters who find themselves alone and who need each other to remake their story. These characters will create unbelievable situations and they will choose the most bizarre strategies to overcome the limits of their island.

A story that will make us reflect upon the suitability of taking refuge in the sea or foundering on an island. Based on a work of movement and body, the most typical tools of the circus form part of the show as a scenic language.

40 Great Bedwyn St Mary’s Church Thursday 4 April, 6.30pm Tickets: 07714 236545 or phillips.sam@btconnect.com

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Big Ideas in Small Spaces Encounter astonishing, world class performances, live in your village. Thanks to inspiring local volunteers and funding from Arts Council England, Wiltshire Council and South Gloucestershire Council, we present an amazing collection of the best theatre, music and dance in churches, village halls, back gardens, pubs, woods, and community rooms.

Could you be a venue? Ring us today to find out: 01249 701628.

34 Thornbury

CRICKLADE

MALMESBURY SOUT H 8,18 Sherston GLOS 1, 22 Horton & Little Sodbury M4

CHIPPING SODBURY M4

M4

38 Great Somerford

M4

28 Castle Combe

A350

KINGSWOOD

9, 32 Kington Langley

CHIPPENHAM

4, 16 Frogwell 35 Gastard BRADFORD -ON-AVON

3, 10 Bremhill 37 Avebury

CALNE

CORSHAM

13, 19 South Wraxall

SWINDON BOROUGH

12, 24 Brinkworth

A429

25, 30 Hullavington

27 Minety

MELKSHAM

MARLBOROUGH

14 Pewsey

DEVIZES

7 Holt

20, 40 Great Bedwyn

11 Compton Bassett

A346

26, 39 Trowbridge TROWBRIDGE

A338

A350

15 Collingbourne Kingston 36 Collingbourne Ducis

WESTBURY 23 Westbury

TIDWORTH

W I LT S HIRE WARMINSTER

AMESBURY A303 A36

17, 33 Newton Tony A303

31 Cholderton A36

A303

6 Mere

5 Fovant

A350

WILTON SALISBURY

29 Bowerchalke

2, 21 Bishopstone

Acknowledgements Rural Arts Touring is grateful for the support of:

Pound Arts is a member of: