Home Is Where The Art Is - South West

In this series, the team at Mobius let you in on all their favourite arts venues and regular haunts from their hometowns around the UK.

This edition sees our Junior PR Account Manager Annabelle and Marketing Account Executive Juliet sit down for a coffee and discuss the arts in Bath and Wiltshire.

Check out our other entries in this series from:

• Emma Berge (London)
• Anne Dillow (from Yorkshire)
• Elaine Jones (from Wrexham)
• George Rennie (from Brighton) 
• Frank (from Carlisle)
• Alastair Norton (from Wolverhampton)
• and Flavia Fraser-Cannon (Waterloo)
  

Annabelle: Hi Juliet.

Juliet: Hi Annabelle, I hear you grew up in the south west?

A: Yes! And you grew up in Bath? I just moved there recently.

J: I did! 

A: Beautiful city, let’s talk about the arts scene in the area.

J: What was your first exposure to theatre in the South West?

A: I was very lucky to go to schools with fantastic theatre programs. When I was very young, it was seeing my brothers on stage at my primary school that sparked my interest. But my first proper theatre memory is from 2005, seeing Ian McKellen in Aladdin at the Old Vic.

J: That’s quite a big first moment!

A: Right? I think I didn’t fully appreciate how little exposure there was to big names and shows in the South West at the time—especially ones that connected with whole families. We’d often take the train up to London for that. It wasn’t until later that I discovered how much fantastic theatre there is near us.

J: For me, theatre was always on my radar thanks to my mum introducing me to Shakespeare. In Bath, the Theatre Royal is the heart of it all. The annual panto was a big deal—it has a regular cast and local kids would perform too, so it had this great sense of community. It felt familiar and exciting.

A: Did you ever get involved in productions there?

J: Not at the Theatre Royal, but I did at The Egg. We did a school play there, I played a pig. When I was six I won a photography competition. The prize was photographing the construction of The Egg. It was such a formative experience; my photos were displayed in their rehearsal room. The Egg is brilliant at involving local schools and kids — it really builds a love for theatre.

A: That’s so cool! My first experience with The Egg was through Shakespeare for Schools. Local schools performed scenes, and it gave me my first real love for Shakespeare. Performing and studying it later only deepened that passion.

J: What I love about The Egg is that it’s not just about sitting in a room and watching—it’s immersive and hands-on.

A: I also have some standout memories of Theatre Royal Bath, like seeing The Woman in Black. The staging and multi-roling fascinated me—it was magical.

J: We studied that at GCSE! But my first big theatre moment there was seeing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I was eight, and my mum made it a huge event, it felt enormous and magical.

A: Growing up in a small Wiltshire village, it was a trek to get to Bath. But The Egg managed to involve even the rural schools like mine. It shows their incredible reach. Now that I’ve moved back to Bath, I want to get more involved, especially with the Bristol Old Vic too. They’ve got great tickets under £25, which makes it more accessible.
For me, theatre in school wasn’t just fun—it was a lifeline. I wasn’t great at maths or science, but drama and the humanities gave me a reason to enjoy school.

J: I was lucky to grow up in Bath, where there was access to theatre through family and community, but my school’s drama program was underfunded. Accessibility is a huge thing, and I think growing up in Bath helps overcome that barrier to entry, because there’s so much available and so many kids’ clubs.
I loved going to youth theatre groups growing up—The Egg’s Young People’s Theatre, Curtain Up, and the Natural Theatre Company’s youth theatre. Natural Youth Theatre was the best. Ferg and Heather taught us not just performance but also how to root ourselves in the craft.

A: It’s funny how life circles back. One of my first PR campaigns was with Heather and Ferg for New Old Friends. I even took my parents to their press night.

J: That’s lovely! For all its faults—and there are plenty—Bath has a rich arts culture.

A: True. I’m keen to explore the Bath Fringe Festival too.

J: I didn’t even know that was a thing!

A: It is, and I want to get involved. It’s been great to see how regional theatre has grown. I’ve noticed more rural venues thriving, which is so important for communities outside cities.

J: It really is. Bath may be small, but it’s a great gateway to the larger theatre world.

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