For more than 35 years, Dorset-based charity Artsreach has presented an eclectic range of professional touring productions in rural communities across the county. Many of the artists it supports have toured nationally and internationally, appeared on radio and television, performed at some of the country’s leading venues and festivals, and won prestigious awards.
Launching on 9 May, its Summer 2026 programme features an exciting mix of open-air theatre, international music, opera, comedy, family-friendly events and more, taking place from May to August in venues ranging from village halls and open-air sites to pubs and stunning coastal locations.
The season opens with O’Driscoll Collective’s immersive dance-theatre adventure Something OUTTA Nothing, combining breakdance, hip hop and audio storytelling in Dorchester Borough Gardens as part of Activate’s annual Street in the Park celebration.
Music lovers can look forward to an outstanding line-up including the Canadian group Diyet & The Love Soldiers, whose alternative country and roots music draws deeply on Diyet’s Indigenous heritage, and acclaimed folk artist Rachael McShane of Bellowhead fame, touring with her band The Cartographers for three Dorset dates. Opera in a Box presents a witty adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera, The Pirates of Penzance, brought to life by an ensemble of eight singers and musicians.
Outdoor theatre features strongly this summer, with Artsreach favourites Miracle Theatre returning to bring a magical twist and love of laughter to Ibsen’s classic story, Peer Gynt, and Ha Hum Ah Theatre delivering a fast-paced, comedy-packed retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel. Renowned for their anarchic, family-friendly performances, Three Inch Fools bring Monty Python-inspired mayhem to Kimmeridge Bay with King Arthur & The Holy Fail.
Thanks to support from Pub is the Hub, the INN Crowd returns, putting spoken word performers and poets into rural pubs across the UK. In Dorset, Luke Wright returns with his razor sharp, funny and heartfelt show Pub Grub, while Jonny Fluffypunk goes searching for the hero inside in ‘If we just keep going, we will get there in the end’ and John Osborne explores the humour section of second hand book shops, jokes overheard on market stalls and finding the positives in life in ‘To Make People Happy’.
Offering something for everyone, full programme details and tickets are available online at www.artsreach.co.uk, with printed programmes also available from libraries and tourist information centres across Dorset. Follow Artsreach on Facebook and Instagram for the latest rural touring news.
