DORCHESTER'S record-breaking seventh community play, Spinning the Moon, is officially launched this weekend after organisers received a £14,000 grant from Arts Council England.

The public launch, which is free to attend, takes place at Dorchester Library on Saturday, October 19 from 7-9pm. It will include scenes and music from the play and the chance to meet previous cast members and backstage crews to discover more about what is involved.

Although the arts council grant goes a long way towards helping finance the play, which will be staged in Dorchester on 11 days over Easter 2020, thousands of pounds still need to be raised. Several donations have been received from local councils and businesses, and three of the play’s 11 ‘performance sponsorship’ slots have already been filled by local solicitors Porter Dodson and Nantes, and the electronics firm ASM in Weymouth.

Rowan Seymour, spokeswoman for Dorchester Community Plays Association, said: “We are so delighted that Arts Council England have supported us to the sum of £14,000 as it means we can definitely give the green light for the play, which is so exciting.

“We must also thank local businesses and organisations that have sponsored us so far – they had the confidence in us and we are extremely grateful for their support and generosity. However, we still need funds to stage a play to the standards and professionalism that previous Dorchester community plays have met.”

She continued: “Our last play, Drummer Hodge, was in 2014 and a lot of time and effort has gone into getting Spinning the Moon off the ground so we are so excited to have taken this next massive step forward.”

Spinning the Moon is written by professional playwright Stephanie Dale and will be directed by Peter Cann and assistant director Penny Levick, with musical direction by well-known actor and musician Tim Laycock.

It is the seventh community production staged by Dorchester, more than any other town in the world, and is a semi-historical, researched tale of social change, divided family loyalty, witchcraft and Spanish monarchy set around Dorchester and Abbotsbury shortly after the Wars of the Roses.

The play will have a cast of more than 100 as well as musicians, backstage and front-of-house staff.

Rowan added: “I have been in several of Dorchester’s community plays with my family and they have changed our lives.

“People say to me ‘oh no, I couldn’t possibly go on stage’, but you’d be surprised what you can do and what skills you have that you didn’t even know about. Apart from actors we also need people who can sew costumes, sell programmes front of house, help design the sets, work behind the bar, steward audiences and chaperone cast members – there really is something that anyone and everyone can do.”

As well as the launch on Saturday, there is a workshop for beginners on Sunday, November 3 at Dorchester Corn Exchange between 2-4pm, and the casting weekend will run from Friday November 29 to Saturday, December 1.

Dorchester Community Plays Association is a registered charity (No 1140952) and you can help make the next play happen by donating to the play’s fundraising page at: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?charityId=1017849&pageId=1069937