Your guide to What's On in and around Exeter this Bank Holiday weekend

Your essential guide to What's On in and around Exeter this weekend (25-28 August).

THEATRE

Curtains
Friday & Saturday,  7.30pm, Shaftesbury Theatre, Dawlish
Putting on a musical show can be murder - as audiences will find out when The Mitre Players return twith Curtains, a musical comedy whodunnit.bIt's opening night and the leading lady is so dreadful, she is killing the show. But her final bow at the curtain call turns out to be her last - minutes later, she is dead. Enter musical theatre fan and local detective Lieutenant Frank Cioffi, who must crack the case and stop the body count climbing higher. Tickets £12, under 16s £8. Box office: 01626 863061.  www.ticketsource.co.uk/mitreplayers

Sidmouth Play Festival
Friday & Saturday, 8pm, Manor Pavilion Theatre, Sidmouth 
Birthday Suite by Robin Hawdon. Tickets: adults £17/£16, under 16s £8. Box office: 01395 514 413. www.manorpavilion.com

A Tomb With A View: Open auditions
Sunday, 2.30pm, Blackmore Theatre, Bicton Street, Exmouth
Open auditions for A Tomb with a View, a comedy-thriller by Norman Robbins. Click here for full details. 

MUSIC

La Vie en Rose
Friday, 8pm, Bike Shed Theatre, Exeter
This Exeter based group of musicians have wide-ranging individual backgrounds in classical music, traditional jazz, rock, blues, country, ragtime and roots, all drawn together by the shared pleasure of playing gypsy jazz and hot swing. www.bikeshedtheatre.co.uk

Exeter Street Arts Festival after party
Saturday, Exeter Phoenix
While the city is brought to life with live performances from musicians, acrobats and artists, Exeter Phoenix is hosting acts on the terrace, a graffiti art workshop and bands and DJs from 8pm until late. Tickets £6. www.exeterphoenix.org.uk

Purple Rain
Sunday, 8.15pm, Exeter Corn Exchange
A world class live celebration of the music, life and legacy of Prince. Purple Rain, a full eight piece live band, delivers a non-stop, hit packed show, complete with backing vocals, horn section, keys and of course Jimi Love as the unsurpassed Prince... Expect to see, hear and feel all of the hits from one of the most loved artists of all time.  Tickets £23.50/£26. www.exetercornexchange.co.uk

Blackdowns Early Music Projects: Grand Baroque III
Monday, 7.30pm, Exeter Cathedral
Spectacular concert of rarely heard German Baroque choral masterworks, exuberant early music!Grand Baroque lll features works by Johann Rosenmüller and Johann Schelle, both familiar to C17th Leipzig as highly accomplished musicians and composers. Tickets £12-£28 from Exeter Cathedral box office. 

Gypsy Jazz at the Boat Shed!
Monday, 8pm, The Boat Shed, Exeter Quay
An evening of swing music from the 1930s inspired by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. Acoustic jam session for gypsy jazz enthusiasts. If you play, bring your instrument, if not, sit back with a glass of wine or an ice cream and enjoy the parisian atmosphere on the waterside. Free entry.

EVENTS

Exeter Street Arts Festival
Saturday, Exeter City Centre
Exeter will be brought to life with dozens of exciting live art performances including musicians, acrobats, jugglers, artists, poets, dancers, bizarre circus acts, mimes and bands, 10am-5pm. 

Cider and Sausage Festival 
Saturday & Sunday, Double Locks Canal Banks, Exeter
The 7th cider and sausage festival with live music, lots of different ciders to try and a range of different sausages! Full details: www.doublelocks.com

Wonderland
From Sunday, Powderham Castle, Kenton
Join the Mad Hatter for the ever popular theme and cause mayhem in the gardens. Themed sessions take place twice a day, until 1 September.  www.powderham.co.uk

Car Boot Sale
Monday, 9.30am, Topsham Rugby Club, Exeter Road, Topsham
Public on foot free entry, £1 donation for parking. Sellers welcome to set up at 8am with fees £6 per car and small vans, larger vehicles at £10 each. The clubhouse will be open with hot food and drinks available all morning. Bar will also be open towards lunchtime, with guest ales and longstanding favourites on offer. For more details call Bee Jenkins on 01392 873651. Open 9.30am-1pm.  http://www.topshamrugby.co.uk

EXHIBITIONS

The Summer Show
Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Riverside Mill, Bovey Tracey TQ13 9AF
This year marks the 62nd annual Summer exhibition of selected pieces by Devon Guild Members. The show features a diverse range of contemporary craft from across the South West. You can also gain an insight into what makers do all day with diary snapshots of Members' everyday lives displayed alongside the exhibits. Open daily until 10 September, 10am-5.30pm. Free entry. http://www.crafts.org.uk

Hannah Murgatroyd: Landscape as a Peopled World
Exeter Phoenix
Hannah Murgatroyd’s works can be seen as island spaces of the imagination; painted and drawn worlds inhabited by protagonists who spring from a history of the body, as told through high art, popular culture and personal narrative. Her images often explore a moment of desire; one that is owned equally by men and women. The exhibition runs until 2 September. Open 10am-5.30pm daily. www.exeterphoenix.org.uk

Sea Life: Glimpses of the Wonderful
RAMM, Queen Street Exeter
Catch a glimpse of the magic and mystery of the world under the sea. Dive in, and delight in the wonders of aquatic life. Through a playful mix of historic objects, film, illustrations, live creatures and contemporary craft, the exhibition combines science and art to inspire a greater appreciation of Devon’s glorious coastline for visitors of all ages. The exhibition runs until 17 September, open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-5pm.

Exeter’s Fine Art Collection: Modern
RAMM, Queen Street, Exeter
The exhibition includes two works by the British Pop Art movement artist Brian Rice, gifted through the Art Fund and on display for the first time.
This diverse selection features Barbara Hepworth’s remarkable figurative drawing Preparation, Leighton Hall Woolatt’s Post Eleven Speaking and Patrick Heron’s Two Vermilions, Green and Purple in Red. RAMM’s art collection is rich and varied. It consists of over 7,000 paintings, prints, drawings, watercolours, miniatures and sculptures, dating from the 1400s to the present day. The collection includes donations from individuals, bequests and purchases. The display changes to show the variety and range of RAMM’s artworks. RAMM’s fine art collection is on display from 12 September until 29 April 2018 and can be explored online at: http://bit.ly/RAMMFineArt