THE BEAF (Bournemouth Emerging Arts Fringe) is in full swing this week. Bournemouth’s largest independent arts festival runs until Sunday, and there is still plenty to see.

This week will feature a number of commissioned theatre performances, beginning with Scott Lavene’s one man show, The Truth About Men, on Thursday, May 9, 7.30pm at the Shelley Theatre in Boscombe.

Written and performed by musician and performer Lavene (pictured above) and directed by renowned writer Nell Leyshon* The Truth About Men takes its protagonist and the audience on a musical journey through the canals of England to find out how to become a man.

Secret Voices – The Outsiders Project, by Nell Leyshon, will give voice to a group of outsiders from Boscombe from today, May 9 to May 11 taking place at the TJ Hughes building in the Sovereign Centre in Boscombe.

On May, 12 at 7.30pm, violinist Jack Maguire, musicians from the Budapest Café Orchestra with playwright Sharon Muiruri Coyne and The Company of Fools will take audiences on a journey of Migrating Words and Melodies at the Shelley Theatre, evoking the plight of refugees through history.

The last weekend of the festival also features Art in the Park, a green mini festival for all the family at Boscombe’s Churchill Gardens (Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11), with drawing workshops, a large octopus community sculpture, music, storytelling and plenty of other activities.

n BEAF receives support from Arts Council England, Bournemouth Coastal BID and Arts University Bournemouth.

For the full programme of events visit website issuu.com/beaffestival/docs/issuu or website b-e-a-f.co.uk

*Nell Leyshon was the first woman to write a play for Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and is the winner of an Evening Standard Award for Comfort Me with Apples.

She has worked with the leading theatres in the country, but her real passion lies in creating performances with ‘outsiders’, the untrained and unheard voices of marginalised people with real stories to tell.