THIS week I was joined in the studio by Lisa Townsend, company manager for 'The Beast,' a brand new community production having its opening night at The Sterts Theatre, Upton Cross on Wednesday, August 23, writes Mike Allsopp.

Lisa, who herself has a background in theatre performance, told me that after four or five difficult years there is a great deal of excitement at the new-look Sterts.

The Beast is a tale centred on the legendary Beast of Bodmin Moor and Lisa describes it as "A light-hearted, fun musical set in the Victorian times with an alternative take on Cornish History”.

On the run-up to the opening night Sterts are holding three separate 'Community Days' starting on Saturday, June 22, with an 'Open Day' at Liskeard Library, from 10am until 1pm, when a small team from the production will meet with visitors to discuss the project and upcoming Sterts productions, visitors can also take part in craft activities and also have the opportunity to dress in period costumes under the guidance of their costume designer Trish.

On Saturday, July 13, a small group of production cast will be on the music stage at The Liskeard Show, Merrymeet performing a 'Beast Mash-Up' to give the audience a flavour of the actual show.

Finally, on Sunday, July 14, Sterts will be holding a Theatre Professional Development Day whereby industry professionals, including agents, will be offering a day of workshops with advice and tips to anyone looking for a career in the arts. Full details of the workshops will be available at the Liskeard Library 'Open Day' on June 22.

As the events season gets underway we will be out and about and kick off with an appearance at Liskeard Carnival Fun Day on Saturday, June 29, where we be performing at The Workshed.

We follow that on Sunday, June 30, with a short, afternoon, stint at Looe Beach where we will be supporting the RNLI Open Day and music performances.

Sunday, July 7, sees our return to the ever-popular Hannafore Kiosk in Looe where we take centre stage as the sole entertainment for the day — not forgetting, of course, Ginas's fabulous menu of hot and cold food, drinks and great atmosphere.

Further upcoming Roadshow events will be advertised on our social media pages.

Finally, Sunday evening saw an impromptu get together with friends where the lovely Mrs A and myself found ourselves at Choklet in Higher Market Street Looe where the proprietors Alison and Adam invited us to try their off-the-list pina-colades which were, indeed, excellent.

Then, just a short walk across the road, we met with Jason and Sally the new-owners of Pepe's Tex Mex in Looe who scored full marks for food quality, service and entertainment — Sally is a bit of a mad Brummy with a wicked sense of humour who easily strikes a good rapport with the customers...congratulations guys and good luck.