the Earthouse

cranborne, Dorset

I was spellbound – I don’t use the word lightly

 THE TIMES

In a field in Dorset there is a hill with a door. This is the Earthouse, a 250-seat fire-lit theatre, where audiences sit on wooden benches, under an earth roof, held up by 21 huge oak tree trunks.

Join us in this fabulous quirky venue for regular live storytelling shows. Expect a magical alternative theatre experience – our fairytales for grown-ups are complete with star gazing, the occasional sheep and a lot of fairylights, creating a glorious outdoor theatre vibe.

what's on

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CRANBORNE EARTHOUSE, DORSET
DOWNRIGHT RUDE!
TUUP, Tim Ralphs, Sarah Liisa Wilkinson, Nell Phoenix
11 JULY 2026, 7.30PM
Four Crick Crack Club storytellers take to the stage for a night of gloriously rude folk and fairytales. This no-holds-barred evening of innuendo and bawdiness will peep beneath the petticoats of flirtation, and raise a suggestive eyebrow at forbidden love.
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Cranborne Earthouse, Dorset
THE GIRL WHO DIDN'T DIE
Emily Hennessy, music by Sheema Mukherjee
10 OCT 2026, 7.30PM
One of the most radical figures of the Indian epic, the Mahabharata, Shikandi’s boundary-shattering story follows the journey of a soul who battled across lifetimes to settle old scores, dancing the karmic tightrope while playing with fire.
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Cranborne Earthouse, Dorset
HOW (NOT) TO DIE LONG AGO IN FINLAND
Sarah Liisa Wilkinson
7 NOV 2026, 7.30PM
Sarah Liisa Wilkinson brings you tales from the twisting roots of Finnish myth and folklore: a woman spinning her own iron hair; a shapeshifting sage; a giant, fat with spells, sleeping deep in the earth; a coat of fire, gloves of pain – dangerous tools and hard lessons on how to live and let go...
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Magical Alternative Theatre in Dorset

The Crick Crack Club is the UK’s busiest and boldest programmer of live performance storytelling. We present shows that are inspired by or which reinterpet the stunning content of international fairytale, folktale, myth and epic for contemporary audiences. If you’re a thinker, a seeker, or a dreamer, and you have an imagination that you like to feed, then this is for you.

Working with some of the UK’s finest performance storytellers, we present an annual performance programme of live storytelling, in this unusual Dorset arts venue. Exuberant, intelligent, wild, weird and wonderful by turn – our live storytelling events bring audiences together, in the magnificent splendour of this historic venue. Shows usually sell out fast, so grab your tickets early.

 Beyond captivating

 OXFORD THEATRE REVIEW

The Crick Crack Club at The Earthouse, The Ancient Technology Centre, Damerham Road, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 5RP  www.earthouse.org.uk

Crick Crack Club