Adult panto: Jack and his Giant Stalk

Get ready for an evening of farcical fun and bawdy sexual innuendo for adults only.

But don’t expect a traditional pantomime. The Adult Panto company offers a cut down version with 3 actors playing a variety of roles, with minimal set and costumes.

REVIEWS: Audiences are amused by the wordplay, jokes and free use of swear words for laughs. Some were expecting a full pantomime experience with dames and songs.

Watch this for a flavour of the company’s work (video).

7.30pm, Thursday 27th February. Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple.

Tickets: from £19.50

No Legs, No Limits

A tale of endurance and spirit told by an ex-British soldier who became the first double amputee to climb Everest.

In a 2-hour talk Hari Budha Magar shares his inspiring journey: born in a cowshed, going to school barefoot, growing up in civil war, losing his legs in Afghanistan in 2010 and battling depression and discrimination.

The former Ghurka’s story is one of resilience and innovation, proving that having a disability is not life limiting.

HIS MESSAGE: Mental agility can remove limits and mindset is everything in conquering dreams.

7.45pm, Wednesday 12th March. Barnfield Theatre, Exeter. Tickets: £20.50

Pam Ayres: Doggedly Onward

The queen of comic insights from ordinary life comes to Exeter to talk about her latest observations in poetry.

The show is based around Pam’s book Doggedly Onward: A Life in Poems, which came out last year and traces the course of her life.

CAREER: Pam found fame in 1975 on the TV show Opportunity Knocks and has remained a national figure ever since as a poet, TV host and entertainer.

The Glastonbury Festival said of her: “Who doesn’t feel warm, sentimental, and downright good when they think of Pam Ayres? She’s a timeless talent and a glorious people’s poet.”

5pm, Sunday 23rd March, Northcott Theatre, Exeter

Tickets: £33

Dracula in Ilfracombe: A modern take on a classic horror

Unusual set design and a haunting soundcape are the stand-out features of this production of the 19th gothic horror tale by Bram Stoker.

PLOT: Set in the late 1800s, the story moves between Transylvania and England. A young lawyer, Jonathan Harker, is captured and imprisoned by the vampire Dracula.

Watch the trailer (video).

REVIEWS: Praise for the eerie music and ethereal vocals. Some took issue with the original story being changed, and others said this version added delicious drama.

7.30p, Friday 25th and Saturday 26th April. Landmark Theatre, Ilfracombe. Tickets: from £28.

Fantasy music in Exeter Cathedral

Experience a night of fantasy movie and TV music from the International Film Orchestra in a beautiful setting with special lighting.

PIECES: Lord of The Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Pirates of The Caribbean, How To Train Your Dragon and more.

7.30pm, Saturday 3rd May, Exeter Cathedral. Tickets: from £16.

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Devon Curiosities #45: The Coffin Stone

It’s a rather ordinary-looking Dartmoor rock…but this granite lump with a mighty cut down the middle is the subject of a spectacular if unlikely moorland legend.

What’s plausible is that the stone was used as a resting place for weary pall bearers with the regular task of carrying a coffin from the moor for burial in Widecombe Churchyard.

Leaving aside the question of why they didn’t use a wagon, the crosses and initials carved into the stone support the story.

According to author Sabine Baring-Gould in A Book of Dartmoor, on one occasion the deceased was an evil man who had terrorised his neighbours. When the coffin was laid on the rock it was struck by a bolt of lightning, destroyed and the stone split in half.

HOW TO FIND IT: From the Yar Tor Down car park on the B3357 walk down the hill towards Dartmeet and the Coffin Stone is about halfway down on the left hand side just a few yards from the road.

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WHAT ELSE IS ON?

🌊 North Devon 

FEBRUARY

Fri 14th

SNOWDROPS | ❄️ National collection of 400 varieties | 2pm to 5pm Higher Cherubeer, near Winkleigh | Also on Sun 23rd. £6

WORKSHOP | 🐦 Willow Bird Feeder Workshop | Quince Honey Farm, South Molton | Tickets £42

Fri 21st

COMEDY | 😆 Comedy Club | Cedars Inn, Barnstaple | Tickets £16.50

Sat 22nd

ART WORKSHOP | ✏️ Drawing from the Subconscious | Burton at Bideford Art Gallery and Museum, Bideford | Tickets £92.80

Sat 22nd to Sun 23rd

CYCLE RACE | 🚴‍♂️ Devon Coast to Coast | Foreland Point, Lynmouth to Prawle Point | Entry £75

Wed 26th

COMEDY | 🎙️ Ed Byrne: Tragedy Plus Time | Queens Theatre, Barnstaple | Tickets from £36.50

Thu 27th

BALLET SCREENING | 🩰 The Royal Ballet and Opera Cinema Screening: Swan Lake | The Landmark Theatre, Ilfracombe | Tickets from £14

See 28 more North Devon events

🐬 South Devon

FEBRUARY

Daily until Sun 23rd

PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION | 🖼️ Dartmoor: A Radical Landscape | Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Exeter | Adult tickets £6, U19s free

Daily until Mon 24th

ART EXHIBITION | 🖼️ A celebration of original prints from Tamar Print Workshop | Ocean Studios Factory Cooperage, Plymouth | Free entry

Sat 15th

NATURE SURVEY | 🐭 Harvest Mouse Project | Mutters Moor, Sidmouth

Sun 16th

GAMING FESTIVAL | 📕 Torbay Comic Con and Gaming Festival | Riviera International Centre, Torbay | Adult tickets £12.19, U14s £8.50

POP MUSIC | 🎙️Jason Donovan, Doin’ Fine 25 | Princess Theatre, Torquay | Tickets from £33.75

Thu 20th

COOKING WORKSHOP | 🥬 Introduction to Fermentation taster evening | Elephant on the Green, Crediton | Tickets £52.17

Fri 21st

TREE PLANTING | 🌳 Tree Planting with Devon Wildlife Trust | Fishchowter’s Lane, Totnes | Free

TRIBUTE ACT | 🎤 Viva Morrissey | Steel Brew, Royal William Yard, Plymouth | Tickets £15

See 49 more South Devon events 

🏆️ Get lucky! Win Devon leisure prizes

FEATURED: ⭐️ A night away for 2 at Exeter's brand new 4-star hotel including breakfast and parking (28th Feb)

🫧 A “bubbles and bliss” spa package for 2 worth £270 including a 50-minute treatment and afternoon tea at Exeter’s Hotel Indigo (16th Feb)

💤 Bedtime pampering treats and a wool duvet, worth more than £300 (16th Feb)

👩‍🎤 2 tickets to an Adele tribute concert at Exmouth Pavilion (18th Feb)

NEW!  2️⃣ + 2️⃣ A 2-night getaway for 2 at 2 quality hotels and a restaurant. Bed and breakfast at voco Zeal and the Two Bridges Hotel, and lunch for two at Rendezvous, including wine (24th Feb)

NEW!  🍷 An escape to Totnes including a 1-night stay at the Forge Hotel, a £60 dining voucher, and cinema tickets (28th Feb)

⛱️ An English Riviera caravan holiday worth £600 (28th Feb)

🍖 Sunday lunch for 4 at The Bucket & Spade Cafe, Shaldon. EX or TQ postcodes only (28th Feb)

🏨 A 1-night bed and breakfast break for 2 at Future Inn, Plymouth (28th Feb)

🍾 A 1-night stay with dinner for two, plus Prosecco on arrival, at one of the oldest pubs in South Hams (28th Feb)

⛵️ 3 nights away for 2 people in Sidmouth and Salcombe with breakfasts and 1 dinner plus £1,000 spending money (28th Feb)

🐴 Free admission and a table for 10 worth £1,650 at Exeter Racecourse’s Construction Raceday on Friday 7th March (2nd Mar)

🎫 1 of 4 family tickets to Diggerland (4th Mar)

NEW!  🍸️ 2 bottles of vodka from Tors Distillery (5th Mar)

♨️ A private 55-minute sauna session for 1 in Totnes worth £99 (5th Mar)

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 A family ticket to drive diggers and dump trucks at Diggerland (23rd Mar)

🥧 £150 of your choice of Devon-made pies, pasties and sausage rolls delivered to your door (30th Mar)

😜 2 weekend family tickets to the Gone Wild Festival, Exeter worth £1,200 (29th May)

NEW!  🐑 A midweek or weekend break for 4 people at Lower Campscott Farm in North Devon including farm activities (no closing date given)

New member? Catch up here

🏁 Return of the Gladiators

🏍️ Behold, the classics of the road

🥳 For those who like to book early 2025 (2)

🌷 The Valley of a Million Bulbs

That’s all for this week.

Thanks for being a member.

With Devon love,

Andy, Esme, Lara and the Go Devon! team