Behold... the Rock Charmer

The Rock Charmer is here…half way up the side of a cliff - a figure emerges from behind a sandy coloured rock and starts producing extraordinary sound…

On a cliff face next to him, giant columns of rock come to life.

The music opens like a monastic chant in an ancient abbey cloister - but as the picture dissolves into a view of massive cogs and gears the sounds change to the mechanical noises of saws and stone cutting.

This is the Rock Charmer - a collaboration between music legend Kimmo Pohjonen and the enchanting live cinema experience of the Paper Cinema. Just as a snake charmer makes the snake reveal himself, Kimmo and Paper Cinema are charming the rocks to reveal their stories and their history in sounds and live animation.

The setting feels Mediterranean - but is in fact Winspit, a magical spot on the Dorset coast near Swanage where Purbeck stone quarrying has created a clifftop amphithatre and series of square fronted caves.

The performance is part of Dorset’s Inside Out festival of extraordinary events in extraordinary places - both the location and the performance don’t get much more extraordinary than this - a rock face in front of the audience, a sheer drop behind them, and a mile long walk down a stone path from the Square and Compasses pub.

The performance, on September 16th and 17th at 7pm offers a few extra surprises as well - including a cave lined with sculptures of prehistoric creatures skillfully projected onto the walls like ancient cave paintings.

Audience numbers are strictly limited on safety grounds and there are just a few tickets left - appropriately from Poole Lighthouse on 0844 4068666.

Nic and Imogen from Paper Cinema performing the Rock Charmer

Driftwood dinosaurs from the Inside Out Rock Charmer workshops cast their shadows in one of the caves