What We Do
Our mission statement says that we aim to bring the best of the arts to Dorset’s county town, give our community creative opportunities and nurture local talent. Mission statements can be a bit dry and vague, so here are some examples of what we actually do to show how we put it into action…
Bringing the best of the arts to the county town
We programme some 160 events a year and aim to appeal to all sorts of people. The artists we bring here range from theatre and dance companies to bands old and new, as well as comedians, children’s entertainers, jugglers and magicians. The shows take place mainly in our home venue, Dorchester Corn Exchange, but also at the Hardye Theatre, St Mary’s Church, outdoors in Maumbury Rings and in other venues in and around Dorchester.
We try to offer the widest possible variety, and we are always happy to have suggestions of more great things to bring to town, so if you have seen a great play, concert, dance show or the like, don ‘t hesitate to get in touch and tell us about it. We can’t promise we’ll be able to book them, but we’ll look into it…
Increasingly, we are working together with other local arts organisations, some amateur, some professional, to share resources and make sure that the arts in Dorchester really thrive. For example, Dorchester Drama, the Somerleigh Players, the New Hardy Players and the Dorchester Community Plays Association have become more and more closely allied to us and we are seeing the benefits on both sides.
Creative opportunities
What this really means is being able to join in, rather than just watch. We host all sorts of activities that give people the chance to act, sing or play. We host weekly sessions and annual performances by Dorchester Youth Theatre, who go from strength to strength. We also support Dorchestra, the local community orchestra, where anyone who wants to pick up an instrument (perhaps after a long lay-off or as a beginner) can join in a joyful celebration of music.
We organise workshops and participation sessions under our Creative Health programme, using the arts to help those living with chronic illnesses and low level mental health conditions. See our Join In page for details.
Nurturing local talent
Dorchester is bursting with talented people and we think Dorchester Arts should be an outlet for some of that talent to grow. Examples of our support include:
Potlicker
Produced by Dorchester Arts in association with Lighthouse Poole, a new play Potlicker by local playwright Ed Viney successfully premiered in Poole and went on to tour across the South and West and is now on its second tour. A mischievous new dark comedy, the play looks at what happens when worlds collide, and lines of responsibility get blurred. Teachers Rich, Kris and Zara discover a bag of drugs in school lost property, and should report this straight away. But as the school faces imminent closure, is there another way to deal with the bag?
More information and tour dates through the link below:
https://potlickerplay.com/#more-info
The Script’s The Thing! is a festival of new writing, first presented by Dorchester Arts in 2023. It was such a success – with over a hundred script excerpts presented and many seminars and workshops offered, that we repeated it in 2025 (see the link below for more information and video). The festival continues to grow and develop, and The Script’s The Thing 3 is in the planning stages for October 2026.
Kinetics
local actress and playwright Sue Wylie came to us with her astonishing play Kinetics in 2015 and ever since we have been trying to bring it to the widest possible audience. You can find out more about the play and the film at www.dt2productions.co.uk
A Pure Woman
Local writer Christopher Nicholson’s novel Winter was adapted for the stage by Simon Reade and we helped his production company, Poonamallee, take it on tour – after all, some of the key events in the play take place in our very own venue, Dorchester Corn Exchange. You can watch a trailer for the play at https://vimeo.com/270063966
Apollo – One Giant Leap
A new musical project by local composer Geof Edge lifted-off in time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing on July 19th 2019 as part of a weekend of celebrations called ‘Moonbury Rings’.
