Let's Dance sang the late great David Bowie, but did he even imagine THIS ?

Two shows in one ticket: Frome's own Kerchief Theatre and their new friends from Taunton aKa Dance, with an energising fizz of an evening and shhh.. yes a little fragile piece of hope.

The group aKa has been whipping up a storm across Somerset with dance theatre and extraordinary piece of endurance A Real Fiction, which was, as billed, fun, funky and filled with foam bananas - a winner every time.

It was indeed an unexpected joy and worked across the generational divide, with something for all ages - for Frome Nub News the running dance gag about Jaws took us right back to the smoky seats in the 1970s Odeon - with just those three notes.

A big shout out to the core strength involved to keep the main dancing dervish spiralling across The Merlin stage - at one time turning his work upside down in a tub.

He carried out a hyper beat perfect mix of dance, theatre, meme and pop culture. A slightly younger member of the audience was clearly a little troubled by some of the intensity of the moves, but for everyone else the tightly wound choreography brought together the funny and frantic, in a news beat performance strung together in yellow.

Mellow - no - worth catching if they are ever in town again - yes. This talented pair host workshops across Somerset. Find out more HERE:

Jennifer Grant is the Artistic Director and aK Dance Theatre is the Company in Residence at the Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre.

Hope and friends isn't that a meme for the pandemic?

The second offering was a beautifully positioned short, a nod to the Greek tale of poor Pandora, blamed for all the ills of the world, as curiosity got the better of her by opening the box of unhappiness. It was all imagined by the super-talented perfect-pitch Kerchief, based in Frome, which has been entertaining audiences across the county with Boxes, a dynamic piece of theatre about the need for, and value of, hope. Frome Nub News does not Tik Tok, (we are far too old) but we can enjoy a superb piece of storytelling, with a song, a story (and some impressive clapping) with just some boxes and a hat for company. Each box reveals part of the tale, as the hunt for hope began. Madeleine Herbert, founder of Kerchief and Esmé Patey-Ford took the simplest of constructs, in essence just a few boxes, and filled them and The Merlin with songs, dance and a hugely enjoyable reset button on life after the pandemic. Find out more about the talented duo HERE:

They say nothing is off limits.

The Kerchief site What was not to smile about was the sadly depleted audience at The Merlin, shows like this deserve a heaving house. Frome's theatre is a delight which too few people are enjoying as they re-open post Covid. The Mark Bruce company is coming - hold on to your seats for this world debut - and a murder mystery whodunnit. Please do check out the bill by clicking

HERE: The Merlin site