Villages in Action

02/09/2026

There's something lovely about coming in from the autumn evening for a night of words that make you laugh, wince and think, all at once.

This Saturday we're delighted to welcome Bampton Presents, a brand new local promoter bringing live performance to the village, for the very first time. Come along and give them a warm Bampton wave of support.

Grab a seat, bring a friend, and settle in for stand-up poetry from the brilliant Liv Torc.

📍Riverside Hall, Bampton EX16 9LT
🗓️Sat 5 Sept | 7pm
🎟️Tickets: linkly.link/2pc2T

01/09/2026

At your lowest point, what if the only voice that could reach you came from your mother's wind chime?

Introducing young up-and-coming theatre maker CJ Smith, one of the emerging artists performing a short work-in-progress piece as part of our From Devon With Love 'scratch' night at The Gateway Theatre in Seaton on Friday 18th September.

CJ specialises in solo performance and is passionate about creating compelling stories inspired by the real experiences of young people in the current digital and social climate.

As Son grapples with vulnerability following his su***de attempt, he is left with unanswered questions. Isolated from his family and surrounded by his friends’ toxic banter, he returns to his family home in an attempt to find his place in the world.

Delivered through fast-paced multi-rolling and sharp comedic timing, Windchimes is a story of reconnection reminding us that no one must face their struggles alone.

🗓️Fri 18 Sept | 7.30pm
📍The Gateway Theatre Seaton EX12 2LE
🎟️£14/£10 | Ages 16+ | On sale now: gatewaytheatre.co.uk/event/1173692337

28/08/2026

A prince plays cards with the devil and loses everything. A father gambles away not gold but time, trust and family.

In The Devil’s Picturebook, storyteller Inez Aponte weaves folk tale and memoir into a meditation on captivity, love and the daughters who choose to bring their fathers home.

A performance storyteller based in Devon, Inez will be bringing us a short extract from this developing solo work as part of our From Devon With Love 'scratch' night at The Gateway Theatre in Seaton. With a long-standing practice of community storytelling projects, her work often explores identity, belonging and migration.

🗓️Fri 18 Sept | 7.30pm
📍The Gateway Theatre Seaton EX12 2LE
🎟️£14/£10 | Ages 16+ | On sale now: gatewaytheatre.co.uk/event/1173692337

25/08/2026

Is it cool to let ChatGPT run your Hinge? What do you get an AI best friend for their birthday? When we're all digital humans, will it be jokes living on Mars?

We're thrilled to welcome Devon-based librettist, lyricist and playwright Lucy Bell back to Villages in Action with her new musical Humans in the Loop, co-created with James Joshua Otto – a film, TV and musical theatre composer. The musical in development will be performed live in Seaton as part of our From Devon With Love 'scratch' night for emerging artists, at The Gateway Theatre this September.

We're living life in the midst of a digital revolution. But if AI is shaped by our online footprints, do the people making those footprints across the world have a say in how it evolves?

Humans in the Loop is a fast, playful, intensely human new musical which whisks the audience from New York to Mumbai via a Mid Devon farmhouse. Along the way we meet four very different characters, proving that a new ‘People Power’ movement is already underway...

🗓️Fri 18 Sept | 7.30pm
📍The Gateway Theatre Seaton EX12 2LE
🎟️£14/£10 | Ages 16+ | On sale now via link in bio 🔗

19/08/2026

Don't miss the phenomenal Liv Torc and her wise and wondrous words live in Bampton this September!

Poet, artist, producer and so much more. Liv is a woman on fire. And not in a good way.

This live stand-up poetry show is an absolute feast for your ears. Tickets for Burning Woman are on sale now!

📍Riverside Hall, Bampton EX16 9LT
🗓️Sat 05 Sept | 7pm
🎟️Tickets on sale here: linkly.link/2pc2T

17/08/2026

🎭 From Devon With Love... join an exciting array of artists sharing developing pieces of performance work live in Seaton!

Our rural 'scratch' programme, From Devon With Love', is designed to give artists a platform to share their emerging work and to allow you, the audience, to help shape the future of these wonderful productions with your real-time reactions and invaluable feedback.

The first half of the evening brings you a series of short theatrical vignettes while the second half belongs to one Devon company, with a longer piece that's had more time to grow and develop.

Expect to see something you've never seen before. Come curious, leave inspired and stay tuned for more details!

🗓️ Fri 18 Sept | 7.30pm
📍The Gateway Theatre Seaton EX12 2LE
🎟 £10/£14 | Ages 16+ | On sale now: gatewaytheatre.co.uk/event/1173692337

12/08/2026

George and The Drag Queen - fete brought them together! 🎪💄☀️

Pipeline Theatre brings you their new show, 'George and the Drag Queen': a bittersweet, bonkers cake-mix of the epic and the outlandish, beaten together with the everyday, and the plain silly.

A village fête - bunting, cakes, outsize veg, and wasps. Two bantering first-aid volunteers setting up their tent - George, a stand-in Grandpa for Maddy; and Maddy, a stand-in Granddaughter for George. Oh, and one Lebanese Drag Queen - Eliana Sultana, booked to do the raffle, getting changed in the corner.

In a ‘twist of fete’, their stories entwine with explosive results. Why has a Drag Queen been booked for a village fete? What is Maddy's connection with Eliana's boyfriend? Where has George seen Eliana's face before? And just how allergic is Eliana to wasps?

Don't miss George and the Drag Queen this September in Farway!

🗓️Sat 26 Sept | 7.30pm
📍Farway Village Hall, Colyton EX24 6DQ
🎟️On sale now: linkly.link/2q7je

07/08/2026

Liv Torc is on fire. And not in a good way.

Director of international climate poetry organisation Hot Poets, Stage Runner for the Hip Yak Poetry Shack at WOMAD, UN creative consultant, twice published poet…

She’s done well.

And yet… this last bit has been tough.

Perimenopause.
A divorce.
Burnout.
An autoimmune disease.
Two neurodivergent kids.
Co-parenting.
AuDHD.
More s*x than she can handle. That’s not a bad thing.
A world-saving project on climate change.
And love. Unexpected. Kinky.

This is a woman on fire.

This is a poet coming out of hiding… with a phoenix feather in her teeth.

Don’t miss the wonderful Liv Torc in Burning Woman - a poetry stand-up show live in Bampton!

📍 Riverside Hall, Bampton EX16 9LT
📆 Sat 05 Sept | 7pm
🎟️ Tickets sale now: linkly.link/2pc2T

30/07/2026

An opportunity to get involved in a brilliant regional project!

📢 Opportunity in the South West arts sector! - Closing soon!

Take Art is seeking a Project Co-ordinator for Circus Around And About+ (CAAA+)—an exciting Arts Council England-funded project delivering circus performances, workshops and residencies across Somerset and the wider South West.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work with artists, presenters, Community Producers and partners to help make high-quality circus accessible to more people, including Disabled audiences, families and young people.

The role:
• £27,500 pro-rata
• Part-time (22.2 hours / 3 days per week)
• Hybrid working
• Approx. 21-month fixed-term contract

We welcome applications from everyone and particularly encourage people from backgrounds currently under-represented in the arts sector to apply.

🗓️ Deadline: 5.00pm on Tuesday 4 August.

Download the full recruitment pack via this link: https://bit.ly/4xW8LPF or visit the Take Art website news section.

28/07/2026

If you enjoyed our recent production of Macbeth at The Italian Garden with Wild Thyme Theatre, you can join their mailing list to find out what other exciting projects they've got in store. Just scan the QR code or follow the link in their Facebook bio 🔗