Totnes  Information Centre

Creative Totnes 
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Creative Totnes

Numerous artists, writers, musicians, craftspeople and therapists have found a congenial home in Totnes and the surrounding Dart Valley, or sought inspiration for their work in the old town and its gentle, secure countryside. The town is more culturally active than many much larger places.

Writers in particular seem to be drawn here: Whitbread Prize-winner Joan Brady and bestselling novelists Marcia Willett and Gillian White all live productively in or near the town, as did Mary Wesley, along with many other professional authors. Sean O'Casey, one of the 20th century’s great playwrights, spent seventeen years in Totnes, and thriller writer Desmond Bagley lived here in the 1960s. Totnes was also the home town of Vian Smith, the respected Dartmoor writer.
There is equally a wealth of musical talent in the area, with regular performances by local bands, ensembles and choirs at venues of all kinds. Many pubs and restaurants feature live music, ranging from traditional folk to sophisticated modern jazz, while a diverse selection of buskers and street entertainers adds colour to the scene on most days.

Check local notice boards and shop windows for many other musical events, as well as for dances, storytelling, poetry readings, guided walks and much else.
Galleries and workshops in and around the town display a vast selection of art and craft. High quality programmes of films, plays, concerts and exhibitions are also organised throughout the year by the Ariel Centre in Totnes and at neighbouring Dartington Hall by Dartington Arts. Also at Dartington, the annual Ways With Words Literature Festival and the International Summer School of Music make this one of the most prestigious cultural places to be in July and August.

Totnes Information Centre Tel: 01803 863168 Fax: 01803 865771 Email
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