Artsreach is Dorset’s rural touring arts organisation, giving rural communities all over Dorset the opportunity to see and participate in high quality arts events in their own villages. We are a charitable organisation (registered charity no. 1058198) and aim to make ticket prices accessible to everyone. To enable us to do this we receive regular funding from Arts Council England, Dorset County Council and North, West, East Dorset and Purbeck District Councils, but also depend upon attracting good attendances. When holding an event, venues keep a percentage of box office sales and raise their own proceeds from holding a bar or raffle etc.

Liaising with performers and village promoters we put on live performances covering small and large-scale theatre, live music, dance, comedy, literature, film and puppet shows. We also tour high quality visual arts exhibitions and hold participatory workshops and project work with professional artists and practitioners in local communities.

• Artsreach Equal Opportunities

For all events it is advisable to telephone each venue direct for information about ticket prices, refreshments, access and disabled parking arrangements.

Please note that we don't generally sell tickets or take reservations ourselves in the Artsreach office. If you would like to book tickets for any of our performances please phone the venue Box Office number listed on the What's On page.

Please bear in mind that all of our Promoters are volunteers and the telephone contact number for booking tickets in many instances is the Promoter's home number.


THE PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON REQUEST IN LARGE PRINT OR ON CD - PLEASE CONTACT ARTSREACH: 01305 269512.

Our performance programme is listed under What's On; you can join the Mailing List online to receive the programme by post or opt to receive email alerts. If you are happy to receive emails rather than post, or use this site to check what's on, it does help to keep our costs down. We are also hoping to get more sophisticated with the use of e-flyers for those who have specified particular fields of interest.

The majority of our performances take place in village halls. The combination of an inviting community space along with a local promoter as the host who has a great community involvement and/or love of the arts, provides a lively friendly atmosphere, familiar to many in the village and always welcoming to others.

While people agree that the atmosphere of watching a play or live music in a village hall environment is much more intimate and engaging than in a large theatre, there are a couple of points to bear in mind when planning a trip to a village hall to see a performance:

It is advisable to arrive in good time, to guarantee finding somewhere to park nearby and a good seat. It is also advisable to telephone the promoter beforehand to arrange disabled access if required and to check if there is a hearing loop. Reserved tickets can sometimes be pre-booked with an SAE or otherwise collected on the door. Seats are usually allocated on a first come first served basis, and are generally all on floor level (although some venues have raked seating for some floor-based productions).

Almost all evening productions have an interval, where a bar (licence permitting) is usually available, as well as occasional delicious homemade fare. The proceeds of the bar always go to the village hall fund unless mentioned otherwise.

Live performances are seated, unless stated otherwise on the posters or programme. Very occasionally venues hold dance events with limited seating, but this is advised when booking. In the summer months we programme open-air theatre shows, often against stunning backdrops such as Kimmeridge Bay, the stately grounds of Boveridge House, Cranborne, or Durlston Country Park. We encourage people to bring picnics, rugs and chairs to these very memorable open-air evenings.

We always appreciate feedback from our audiences. If you have any comments to make, or have a query, please either email: ian@artsreach.co.uk or call us: 01305 269512

If you would like to join our mailing list to be notified of children's events and to receive the Children's Summer Supplement of creative holiday workshops and activities, please go to our mailing list page and be sure to tick the box on the left hand side for 'Children's Workshops'. Also, if you would like to be notified of children's events, please tick 'Children's Theatre/Puppets'.

We usually programme puppet shows and children's shows to take place during the half term weeks in February and October. In the spring and autumn these are listed on our What's On page and on our programme.

If you have a query please call us: 01305 269512

Each year Artsreach aim to tour a high quality contemporary art or craft exhibition to rural venues across Dorset. If you would like to be kept informed about our current visual arts project or exhibition then keep checking the website as we will update information on a regular basis or you could be added to our mailing list by completing the email form on our mailing list page.