Independent Venue Week (27th Jan – 2nd Feb 2025) is the UK’s annual 7-day celebration of independent music & arts venues and the people that own, run and work in them. IVW has empowered local music communities, with thousands of artists playing thousands of shows in villages, towns & cities all around the UK and the US.

We have just announced that Gilles Peterson, well known broadcaster, DJ and record collector who hosts a weekly Saturday afternoon show on BBC Radio 6 Music is performing on the 30th of January as part of our IVW line-up.

There are more artists to be announced so keep an eye out!

Find out more and grab your tickets here – Gilles Peterson presents Independent Venue Tour feat Oreglo – Marine Theatre

We are delighted to share the news that The National Lottery Community Fund has offered funding to the Marine to continue the Senior Creatives programme for another 2 years!

The Marine’s Senior Creatives sessions have been incredibly popular with our older community with up to 60 people taking part in tea dances and singing every month.

The tea dances are an opportunity for a daytime dance under the twinkling mirror ball in the Marine’s beautiful auditorium. Those that prefer to just watch are welcome to come along too and enjoy the music and atmosphere.

Singing is led by professional choirmaster Sammy Hurden and offers a chance for people to come together to sing some classic numbers such as ‘Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend’

We are truly grateful to be able to continue the sessions at the Marine as we have seen how much joy they bring to so many people. However, we are over the moon that the grant also includes our first cross-county outreach opportunities in Portland and Swanage. For the first time, the Marine will be supporting other theatres to bring creative activities to older people across the county!

All sessions are free of charge and include refreshments.

EXCLUSIVE: WIN TWO FREE TICKETS TO ANY EVENT AT THE MARINE THEATRE, A BOUTIQUE LYME REGIS STAY AND A MEAL FOR TWO AT THE OYSTER & FISH HOUSE.

We have teamed up with @lymeregisstays and @theoysterandfishhouse to give you the chance to win a stay in Lyme Regis like no other.

🦪A meal for two @theoysterandfishhouse
🛌A two-night stay for two @lymeregisstays ‘Waterside’
🎟 Two free tickets to any event @marinetheatrelymeregis

TO ENTER:
✅Like this post
✅Tag someone you’d love to take with you
✅Make sure you’re following all three accounts @theoysterandfishhouse @lymeregisstays @marinetheatrelymeregis
⭐️ For an extra entry make sure to re-share this post to your story!

Don’t forget to do all three to be in with a chance of winning! GOOD LUCK!!!

(The winner of this competition will be announced on the 1st Nov and will be contacted directly by The Oyster & Fish House. You can also to enter in to the competition via email, simply write WIN to comms@marinetheatre.com to be entered into the draw)

T&Cs: UK entries & Over 18’s only.
Competition closes 30th October. Winner will be announced 1st November. Winner to book prize with Lyme Regis Stays by 31st December 2024, to be taken before 31st October 2025. If prize is not redeemed in the allocated time the prize will no longer be valid. Winner will receive a gift voucher to the value of £150 for The Oyster & Fish House which will be valid until 31st October 2025. Theatre tickets are subject to availability and cannot be offered for sell-out shows. Blackout dates apply for independent and state school holidays. Travel & parking not included. This giveaway is not endorsed or sponsored by Instagram. Winner will be announced by this account. Please be aware of fake accounts. Winner will be notified by DM and announced on stories. The prize is not transferable/refundable and has no cash value. Privacy policies for each company can be found on their website.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE LYME REGIS STAYS WEBSITE

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE OYSTER AND FISH HOUSE WEBSITE

Congratulations to all the community players who dressed up in this years community play (‘A Midsummer Lyme’s Dream’) costumes and joined the 2024 Lyme Regis Carnival Procession. A special shout out to the wonderful Rose May and Amanda Kathrens Mayne who designed and made all the costumes.

‘Oi Get Off Our Train’ by John Burningham. Drama workshop.

As a small boy drifts off to sleep, he dreams that he is taking a journey around the world in his model train. He visits many different habitats where endangered animals beg a lift on the train to escape their impending extinction, brought about by the thoughtlessness and greed of those who misuse the environment. Initially unwilling to take more passengers, he relents as he hears each creature’s
plight.

On Wednesday 3rd July at the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis Year 10 GCSE students from Woodroffe School will team up with students from Mountjoy Special School to explore this powerful and enchanting story. Working together the students will use drama games and techniques to bring the story to life
through movement, dialogue, sound, costume and mask. This inclusive and empowering experience will allow participants to learn new skills, work with peers with different life experiences to themselves, build their confidence and have fun.

We are delighted to share the news that Dorset Council has awarded the Marine Theatre a grant to support our creative work for the next three years. Dorset County Council’s Organisational Support Revenue Fund is available to cultural organisations based in Dorset. This funding will help to support the many creative projects we offer at the Marine. In particular, the Marine Youth Theatre which welcomes over 80 local children and young people, aged from 3yrs – 18yrs, to the theatre every week. It will also help to support our Senior Creatives programme which offers monthly singing and dancing for older people.

We are actively looking to widen access to young people from diverse backgrounds in our creative engagement opportunities. We will do this by investing in our ambition to encourage more participation in the Marine Youth Theatre and technical skills training sessions. As well as providing cultural activities for our Lyme Regis community, this funding will enable the Marine to lead creative programmes further across Dorset. We have already started to reach out to areas where there is little access to culture. This financial security now allows planning to start on a series of out-reach projects to bring communities together and promote social well-being for some of the most vulnerable members of our Dorset communities. 

Gabrielle Rabbitts, Director of the Marine Theatre said that ‘this funding really will make a positive difference to the quality of life of so many people and I would like to express heartfelt thanks to Dorset Council for the support of our work. The Marine has created many ways to welcome people of all ages to join in with creative activities and build their own theatre community. I am very much looking forward to seeing our community grow with an increased range of events at the Marine as well as helping other areas, especially children and young people, to enjoy the benefits of building their own theatre communities’

Below are some words from Su who will be running this exciting summer season of plays.

Hello. My name is Su Gilroy, and I’m bringing a 3-week season of 3 plays to the Marine Theatre this August. The plays have not yet been announced (as they’ve not yet been decided!) so watch this space. From what I’ve found out so far, there was a rep season here back in the 60s, but there’s been nothing since. If anyone has any more information about that, or remembers it at all, I’d be really interested to hear about it – click here to contact Su.

Why do I want to bring rep to Lyme Regis? Well, for one thing, Lyme Regis is such a beautiful place, and who doesn’t want to spend their summer in a gorgeous town on the amazing Jurassic coast? Although, actually, I love rep and would do it anywhere! In fact, I have done rep in Torquay, Swindon, Wolverhampton, Redditch, Crewe, Billingham and Sidmouth (some of which could not be called beautiful!). It’s hard work, as we’ll be doing a different play each week, but it’s great to bring a number of
traditional rep plays to a community in a short period of time – I love standing in the foyer as people leave, and listening to them talking about the play they’ve just seen, sometimes comparing it to the play they saw last week, or wondering what parts members of the acting company will be playing next week. Pablo Picasso said ‘The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls” and I think theatre is a great way of doing that.

I also wrote my dissertation on rep – specifically the sort of commercial rep that would have been in Lyme Regis in the 60s. I was looking at reasons for its decline and hopes for its future, and spent a lot of time researching the history of rep. You’d think that would mean that I could tell you exactly what ‘rep’ is but, alas, I can’t, as it’s meant different things to different people at different times. It’s been able to
survive because it has always adapted. However, I did find that there were several things that all reps had – popular plays, reasonable prices, a company of actors for the season, and the desire to be part of the community. Those are all the things I want to bring to the Marine Theatre this summer.

I interviewed a lot of people for my dissertation, and I asked them why they thought rep was important, and I quoted their responses: “…they felt it fulfils many good functions: it entertains, it gets audiences interested in theatre, it brings people together in a community, it provides an apprenticeship for actors by allowing them to perform in a large variety of plays and to learn from an audience, it maintains and
augments the repertoire of plays.” I do hope that you’ll agree with them, and come and support the rep this summer. I look forward to seeing you!

The Oyster & Fish House Lyme Regis is pairing up with the theatre for very special offer! The Oyster & Fish House is arguably the most picturesque spot in Dorset to enjoy locally sourced fish and seafood. Patron of the Marine and the owner of this Lyme Regis gem Mark Hix is frequently lauded as one of Britain’s most eminent restaurateurs with an unrivalled knowledge of ingredients with provenance.

Marine theatre tickets holders can now enjoy a fantastic two course pre-theatre meal for £21 or an unforgettable 3 course meal for £25. This deal is only applicable on the Marine’s evening events and you must bring your Marine Theatre ticket confirmation to access this offer.

Poco Pizza is offering a very exciting pre-theatre deal for Marine ticket holders. Poco Pizza is a small, friendly restaurant overlooking the beach we pride ourselves on serving you a no-compromise, authentic Italian pizza. We use only the best ingredients, thoughtfully sourced, prepared by hand and served with passion. This deal will only apply on the day of the event and the ticket must be presented to validate the discount.

Marine Theatre ticket holder can enjoy a wood fired *pizza, green salad and drink* for only £20.

(Pizza must be from the main menu and drink must be a beer, glass of wine or soft)

If you’re looking for a location with a view, you’ve found it. Swim is perched right in front of the beach, with epic views looking over the world famous Jurassic Coastline. Pop in for a relaxing coffee with breakfast or enjoy burgers, seafood, and desserts.

Marine Theatre ticket holders* will now receive 10% off all food.

(*The discount is only applicable if used on the day of the event)