Poetry Reading in the Museum

To coincide with the Roman Dorchester Festival and the Museum’s Gladiator exhibition, visitors to the museum on Saturday 12 April are invited to listen to the New Hardy Players reading poetry about ancient Rome.

• Come and hear Thomas Hardy’s description of Roman Dorchester.
• Listen to some of the most famous poems written about the Roman period.
• This is a walk through event which means that you can stay for as long as you like, or carry on to explore the museum after a single poem.

The New Hardy Players

Norrie Woodhall who had performed for Thomas Hardy along with her sister Gertrude Bugler, had a special request on her 100th birthday, namely that the Hardy Players, whom Hardy had so much admired, should be reformed. So it was that in 2005 the New Hardy Players was born and began performing works associated with Dorset’s much loved novelist and poet. The performance of Hardy’s poetry, like the major productions of his novels, is our way of honouring his memory and the county he loved.