What’s On

Summer Programme

Activities for all the family to enjoy

Talk – Moeder Land, Cato Pedder

The Grange is hosting a talk by Author Cato Pedder, organised by Friends of Street Library. Moederland is an eye-opening journey across four centuries. Tracing South Africa’s turbulent past and the rise and fall of apartheid through the lives of nine very different women.

Wednesday 5 June. Doors open 5pm. Talk starts 5.30pm.

Summer 2024 Theatre at the Grange

The sun is out, get your picnic baskets ready for a Summer of Theatre. We have a treat in store with three outdoor productions coming to the gardens at The Grange in Street. Time machines, dragons, strawberry pavlovas and more are coming to the Grange this summer in a season of family friendly summer plays in the garden.

Bring a chair, a blanket and a picnic, and your family, and prepare to be entertained by some of the finest companies of performers in town. Tea and coffee refreshments will be available.

Find out more about the programme below and read on for details…..

Here be Dragons – Taunton Thespians

Taunton Thespians a magical tale. A brand-new celebration of Somerset myths and legends written and directed by the award-winning Lorna Evans. Join us for a journey across the magical Somerset landscape accompanied by pixies, witches, ghosts and the Green Man, King Alfred, King Arthur, Merlin, monks, knights, villagers, hunky-punks and … dragons!

Wednesday 24 July. Doors open 6.30pm. Performance starts 7.30pm.
Tickets: £12 Adult / £5 students, under 16s and unwaged / Group tickets – buy 9 tickets and get a 10th free.

Book Tickets

The Time Machine – Tor Theatre

A hilarious, family-friendly mash-up of the vintage Science-Fiction stories of H G Wells. They wanted to call the show: The Shape Of The War Of The Invisible Time Machine Man Of The Worlds To Come! …but didn’t have room on the poster.

GASP as we battle monsters from the future – using nothing but DECK CHAIRS!
GAPE as we witness Martians destroy Somerset – a bit!
SWOON as we show you some really cheap special effects, like…
An Invisible Man crossing the stage!

Wednesday 7 August. Doors open 10.15am. Performance starts 11am.
Wednesday 21 August. Doors Open 2pm. Performance starts at 3pm.
Tickets: Available on the day.

Birthday Day – Wassail Theatre

Family ties, birthday celebrations and pavlova come together to reveal the secrets hidden in Somerset’s strawberries.

“Sweet, poignant, nostalgic and terribly tragic” Audience Member

Birthday Day is a play about the truths and lies of a Somerset farming family. Three performers and the audience seamlessly entwine to create an annual family party, spanning 70 years. Uncle Brian, Cousin Georgina, Granny and Grandad: they’re all there to celebrate Jeanie and Lily, two sisters who share everything – including a birthday. But one year, on one birthday, at one family party, things change forever. You are invited to join the Birthday celebrations on the farm, and watch their story unfold.

Sunday 1 September. Doors open 11am. Performance starts 11.30am.
Sunday 1 September. Doors Open 1.30pm. Performance starts at 2pm.
Tickets: on a sliding scale £8, £10, and £12.

Book Tickets

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Past Exhibitions & Events

Each year the Alfred Gillett Trust welcomes people to visit with a wide programme of exhibitions, shows, talks and events. These are opportunities to come together and be entertained by talented thespians, inspired by local speakers, and to celebrate the collections throughout the year and on special occasions such as Heritage Open Days and International Women’s Day. Here are a few past events.

  • On International Women’s Day 2024 we highlighted some of the incredible women whose stories may have been lost in time. We hosted ‘A Few Forgotten Women’ a project who seek to preserve the stories of women in local and family history. They will showcase one of their research projects into the School of Housewifery which was based at the Grange in the late 1800s (image above). We were thrilled to be joined by historian extraordinaire Janet Few who delivered a popular talk ‘Forgotten Women: Researching the Marginalised Women on your Family Tree’. We hope that meeting some of our forgotten women will encourage you to tell the stories of your own ancestors.
  • Our Wassail 2024 was an amazing success – thank you to everyone who attended. Come to the 2025 event!
  • Iceskating – The Grange hosts to the Clarks Village ice skating rink between December and January.
  • A New Museum in Street – A poster exhibition setting out the plans, drawings and intentions for the new museum coming to Street in 2025.
  • Heritage Open Days 2023 – Creativity Unwrapped was a free exhibition offering a rare glimpse into the collections, from the shoes and fossils to ‘Pedro’ the Teddy Bear, with an invitation to visitors to use the displays as inspiration for artistic activities including drawing, poetry and crafts.
  • Community Mural Painting. Artist Jon Minshull lead a summer holiday community painting project. Over 100 visitors added to four mural boards celebrating the collections. The boards will be on display during the development of the new museum.
  • Immersion Theatre thrilled audiences with a laugh-a-minute adaptation of Shakespeare’s riotous comedy, “Twelfth Night” in the last in our 2023 summer season of Outdoor Theatre at the Grange.
  • The Taunton Thespians entertained us with an evening of Shakespeare with the awesome ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ in 2023 and Arabian Nights in 2022.
  • The Vaccination centre ran up to 30 June 2023 and has now closed.
  • Heritage Open Days 2022 saw the Grange open our doors to celebrate the Astounding Invention that is the Latin Verse Machine. Heritage Open Days return in September 2023.
  • Thursday 7 July 2022: Street Chamber of Commerce Recruitment Fair
  • Thursday 2nd June 2022: Whispering Willows outdoor theatre performance by Wassail Theatre
  • Following the ‘Magic Steps’ of the Clarks Point of Sale collection a talk by Assistant Curator, Karina Virahsawmy
  • Wooden Wonders a talk about how the seemingly ordinary material of wood has been used to create extraordinary footwear with Rebecca Wormald
  • Clarks of Street, Family, Company and Community 1725 – 2005 a talk by Dr. Tim Crumplin as he charts the origins of the Clark family and their beginnings in Street during the 18th century
  • Eureka, the Victorian Automaton that creates poetry a look at the Latina Verse Machine, Eureka to her friends for National Poetry Day
  • Footwear in Focus Will Punter and Kieron Cheek presented a short overview of highlights and challenges they have encountered in digitising our unique and fascinating collection

 

Whats On

Exciting times at The Grange as the building of the new Shoemakers Museum is underway.

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