Dorchester Festival 2012
Thursday, May 31st, 2012
Dorchester Festival is famous for bringing an eclectic variety of fabulous international performers to Dorchester each year for the annual celebration of multiculturalism in the county town. This year’s line-up looks great as always, with an exciting mix of music, comedy and other performances taking place from 1st to 5th June in several venues around the town.
Below are a few highlights we’ve picked from the Festival brochure (which you can download from the Dorchester Festival website).
Music
Alejandro Toledo and the Magic Tombolinos have been highly recommended by our Twitter followers this week, so be sure to check them out at the Corn Exchange on Sunday evening. They are an international ensemble of musicians whose style has been described as a mix of jazz, punk and tango all in one!
Another star of world music who will be appearing at the Festival is Modou N’Diaye, a master drummer and kora (a huge 22 string guitar-like instrument!) player from Senegal. He will be showcasing his skills and West African rhythms at the Corn Exchange on Friday – don’t miss it!
Comedy and Other Arts/Entertainment
Hardeep Singh Kohli (you may recognise him from the Celebrity Masterchef finals) will be a headline act on Saturday, combining comedy, anecdotes and cooking in his touring show ‘Indian Takeaway’. The concept for the show is brilliant – he will order a takeaway to the theatre live on stage, then attempt to cook his own feast before it gets there!
Also not to be missed are the author’s talks and book signings by Andy Kershaw and the heroic Zimbabwean cricketer Henry Olonga, whose book details the brave stand he made against tyranny in his country and the very serious consequences that followed. Olonga’s appearance will be on Friday, while Kershaw will appear on Sunday to discuss his autobiography covering his long and incredible career as an influential DJ and globe-trotting BBC journalist.
If you’re on Twitter, tweet us at @DorchesterBID with your recommendations and favourite bits from the festival – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
