Lovers of books and writing will enjoy our third annual literature festival, taking place throughout our beautiful theatre. Hear about the topics that have inspired local writers to put pen to paper and try your hand with a creative writing or writing family history workshop. Choose to book a single ticket or get one free […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival with Speaker: Dr Todd Gray Only by examining the past can we hope to grasp the nature of modern society and anticipate the future. In this far-reaching lecture Dr Gray calls upon more than forty years of unparalleled archival work which has resulted in some fifty versatile […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival 2024 (formerly the English Riviera Literature Festival). This participatory workshop will include the chance to look at elements of your own family history and think about the most interesting parts to follow up. The workshop with Alison Huntingford will look at census records, certificates of births, marriages […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival with Speaker: Rachel Trethewey Virginia Woolf, Agatha Christie and Sylvia Plath are three of our most famous authors, this talk explores the story of the remarkable mothers who shaped them. Born and educated in Torquay, Rachel Trethewey read History at Oxford University, where she won the Philip […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival with Speaker: Phil Badcott Local historian Phil Badcott provides an entertaining and informative talk using digitised magic lantern slides from the Torquay Museum pictorial archive for a virtual circular tour of Torquay including the Museum, the Strand, Seafront, Cockington, Chelston, Watcombe and Meadfoot with lots of fascinating […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival 2024 programme (formerly English Riviera Literature Festival) Everybody of a certain age has read an Enid Blyton book. She was loved by children but vilified by the BBC, teachers, critics and librarians. She sold more than 600 million books, despite being banned by the BBC, libraries and […]

Friday 26 April 2024 10am-11.30am: Creative Writing Taster Session with Chris Woodhouse (The Prop Store) This free ‘taster’ workshop with Chris Woodhouse is for adults who would like to explore their interest in creative writing. It is suitable for beginners who would like to try out and build on their skills as well as those […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival 2024 (formerly the English Riviera Literature Festival). This free ‘taster’ workshop with Chris Woodhouse is for adults who would like to explore their interest in creative writing. It is suitable for beginners who would like to try out and build on their skills as well as those […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival with Speaker: Daughters of Devon with Rosemary Griggs With a unique blend of theatre, history and re-enactment which draws on extensive research into 16th century Devon Rosemary will introduce her Daughters of Devon series of historical novels and her new book The Dartington Bride. Historian, author and […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival 2024 (formerly the English Riviera Literature Festival). The resident Creative Writing group at the Palace Theatre led by tutor, Chris Woodhouse present a series of short readings. The group meet regularly on a Wednesday morning as part of the ongoing Write Time Write Place creative writing series, […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival with Speaker: Mary Georgina De Grey Writers are in the unique position of being able to reflect on society and investigate its evolution. The romantic novel, revealing the changing dynamics of relationships, reaches a wide public. Mary Georgina will use published novels to show its importance. Genre: Romance. […]

Bijou Theatre Productions bring a classic Victorian thriller to our stage, a dark tale of a marriage based on deceit and trickery, and a husband committed to driving his wife insane in order to steal from her. The suave and confident Jack Manningham appears to live a comfortable life with his wife Bella. But a […]

Saturday 27 April 2024 10am-11am: Storytelling and Crafts Workshop for Children with Clare Helen Welsh (The Prop Store) Suitable for children aged between 3yrs and 8yrs. Clare is a former teacher, now award-winning children’s author, from Torbay. She has published over 40 books and has more publishing in the next few years. When Clare isn’t […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival with Speaker: Abigail Yardimci How mindful stories help us grow. Author of contemporary, uplifting fiction, Abigail Yardimci, will speak about the themes of mindfulness in her stories and how they are central to the growth and development of the characters. The talk will include a mini mindfulness […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival 2024 (formerly the English Riviera Literature Festival). Suitable for children aged between 3yrs and 8yrs. Clare is a former teacher, now award-winning children’s author, from Torbay. She has published over 40 books and has more publishing in the next few years. When Clare isn’t writing stories, she […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival with Speaker: Adam L.G Nevill Adam L.G Nevill was born in Birmingham, England, in 1969 and grew up in England and New Zealand. He is an author of horror fiction. Of his novels, The Ritual, Last Days, No One Gets Out Alive and The Reddening were all […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival with Speakers: Matt Newbury and Sophie Pierce Join Matt Newbury and Sophie Pierce, the authors of the best-selling Wild Swimming Walks series, as they take you on an aquatic journey through the South West’s most beautiful places. They’ll be talking about their many adventures – from the sublime to the ridiculous – […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival 2024 (formerly the English Riviera Literature Festival) - PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED An interactive workshop for writers looking to turn their hobby into a business or for anyone who’s already up and running but could profit from an assessment of their business practices and […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival with Speaker: Susan Wilkins - please note that this event has been cancelled, for further details please contact the box office. Susan Wilkins is a television writer turned novelist, writing crime thrillers that dig deep into human psychology.  After a degree in Law and a stint as […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival with Speaker: DCR Bond Self-publishing my first book: what I learned from that experience. DCR Bond (Debbie) was born in London, but grew up Jamaica, then Zambia, anddimensions of this international upbringing feature in her writing. In this fascinating talk she will cover many topics including learning the […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival with Speaker: Sophie Pierce How do we survive the death of those we love and find joy after bereavement? In 2017, Sophie Pierce’s son Felix, who was 20, died suddenly and unexpectedly. Sophie’s memoir, The Green Hill: Letters to a Son, explores the huge impact of this loss, […]

As part of the Play on Words Festival with Speaker: Don Evitts Author Don Evitts returns to the Palace to present another one of his time machine talks.  This time he goes back to the 1950s. It’s a light hearted whistle-stop talk of music, humour and memories of those times and based around book 1 […]

Bijou Theatre Productions bring a classic Victorian thriller to our stage, a dark tale of a marriage based on deceit and trickery, and a husband committed to driving his wife insane in order to steal from her. The suave and confident Jack Manningham appears to live a comfortable life with his wife Bella. But a […]

Annual showcase from Totnes School of Dance