Rime of the Ancient Mariner - a whole family entertainment
Whether you are old enough to recall Monty Python or so young that you have never been asked to learn poetry by heart, anyone visiting Lyme Regis will enjoy this month's Summer Show at Lyme's own little gem of a theatre, the Marine.
“Water, water everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink,
Water, water everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink”
The Theatre, which is hidden behind the Tourist Information Centre midway between the town's only set of traffic lights, welcomes a company of talented actors each summer for a month-long season of top-quality family entertainment.
This year's show tells the story of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, with fun, puns, poetry and song. The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who lived in Watchett Somerset, wrote the original epic poem in 1797-1798 and it was published in 1798. Tradition says that Coleridge was inspired by a contemporary popular story of a polar expedition.
This is a family musical with wit, half-wits and a massive seagull! Visit the Marine Theatre on most days except Mondays and let the Shanty Theatre Company take you on an epic voyage with this entirely new re-imagining of the nautical classic, with storms, holy hermits, a ghostly galleon, silly sailors, live original music and an albatross with a passion for five-a-side football. Shanty Theatre Company has turned this well-known tale upside down and given it a good shake to see what comes out of its pockets.
There is a statue in Watchett of the ancient mariner with the dead albatross hung around his neck, and to find out why the wretched man was required to wear this grisly necklace do visit the Theatre and enjoy the show with its innovative set, audience in the round, and a totally appropriate view of the sea out of the window!
Tickets for the show from now to 25th August (but do check the exact dates) are available from the TIC 01297 442138 or on the door.
Lorna Jenkin,
Published on 03/08/2012.
