NEWS: Live performances return to Poole's Lighthouse

Lighthouse: OUTSIDE A short season of live performances outdoors 

Saturdays 19 & 26 September; 3 & 10 October Amphitheatre 

Tickets & information 01202 280000  www.lighthousepoole.co.uk  

It is with enormous relief and no small amount of excitement that Lighthouse, Poole’s centre for the arts, can at last announce the return of live performances in the form of Lighthouse: OUTSIDE, a short season of weekly live shows outdoors. 

Taking place in the amphitheatre to the side of Lighthouse on four Saturdays in September and October, Lighthouse: OUTSIDE will offer our much-missed audiences their first taste of live comedy, music, magic and theatre since our doors were closed in March. 

The season opens on 19 September with an afternoon Comedy Club 4 Kids, a swear-free hour of stand-up comedy and sketches, and a very special evening in the company of Live and Unheard, the monthly showcase of unsigned original music talent that has taken Lighthouse by storm over the last 18 months. Mischa and His Merry Men will headline with support from Chris Payn and Becoming Branches. 

Renowned magician and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Ben Hart brings his 2-Metre Magic show to Lighthouse: OUTSIDE with an afternoon show on 26 September and in the evening Coastal Comedy has pulled out all the stops to present a stellar bill headlined by BBC Radio 2 award winner Angela Barnes. A regular on Mock the Week and Live at the Apollo she’ll be joined by rising star Luke Honnoraty and the hilarious Sunjai Arif all kept in line by host Adrienne Coles. 

Lighthouse Associate Artist Lorna Rees presents Cloudscapes, her uniquely memorable sound installation, in a series of six daytime sessions on 3 October. A cloud-gazing duologue for performer and clouds it is guaranteed to live long in the mind. That evening, singer songwriter Olly Olsson jumped at the chance to return to Lighthouse, a venue that has been central to his development, and will be showcasing new material and old favourites to an audience that has been hungry to see him perform here again. 

Lighthouse: OUTSIDE draws to a close on 10 October in the company of the world’s first cycling theatre company, The HandleBards who are touring their ‘seriously silly’, pedal-powered production of Romeo and Juliet with a new children’s show, Gnora the Gnome’s Daytime Disco. 

All measures have been taken to ensure a safe, COVID-secure environment for artists, audiences and staff alike with capacity limited to 100 tickets for each show and households and social bubble groups seated at a social distance from each other in line with the latest regulations. 

Tickets for all performances need to be booked in advance. 

In the event of bad weather, performances will move inside to the Theatre. 

Lighthouse: OUTSIDE 

Saturday 19 September Comedy Club 4 Kids (2pm) Live and Unheard: Mischa and His Merry Men + Chris Payn + Becoming Branches (7pm)  

Saturday 26 September Ben Hart (2pm) Coastal Comedy: Angela Barnes + Sunjai Arif + Luke Honnoraty (7pm) 

Saturday 3 October Cloudscapes (11am) Olly Olsson + support (7pm) 

Saturday 10 October Gnora the Gnome’s Daytime Disco (1pm) The HandleBards: Romeo and Juliet (4pm)  

More information and bookings at www.lighthousepoole.co.uk.