"Everybody's Talking About Jamie" by Zak Scott Productions.

2025 Summer School.

Squire Performing Arts Centre, Nottingham.

"Everybody's Talking About Jamie" is a coming-of-age stage musical with music by Dan Gillespie Sells and book and lyrics by Tom MacRae. The musical is inspired by the 2011 British television documentary "Jamie: Drag Queen at 16". The musical follows and is based upon the true-life story of 16-year-old schoolboy Jamie Campbell, as he overcomes prejudice and bullying to step out of the darkness into the spotlight and become a drag queen, and also gets to go to the school prom dressed how he wants to dress.

I watched the original TV documentary and loved it. You have to admire a young person who wants to change the way people see certain things and fights for what they believe is right, breaking down prejudices along the way. This production, like some of the other wonderful productions works so well because the actors are around the same age as the original Jamie New, so immediately become relevant and recognisable.

This is another show that I've now clocked up a few times of viewing, but every time seems to get better, and I am sure there are a couple of new things in this; I could be wrong or maybe it's just this time around they've stuck out more for me. Who cares, let me start properly by saying that I could just describe the production in three syllable FAB U LOUS, but why use three syllable when a few thousand would work more?

Playing the titular role is Rio Cundy. I was sat behind a very proud Mrs Cundy tonight and she told me that Rio has only been in one other show that I had seen, "Legally Blonde" from Kristian Thomas Company, and I tried to think of the role that he had played, and then, on the way back home, realised that he had played Nikos, the pool boy. I may not have remembered straight away that role but I will remember for a very long time Rio Cundy as Jamie New. 

Wonderfully executed and a voice that is filled with emotion as well as fire. He has stage pazazz by the bucketload and plenty of swag and attitude. You can always tell if an actor enjoys their role on stage and I think that everyone in the audience had no doubt that Rio was enjoying his time on stage. There's also a lot of behind the scenes work with a role like this as well, not least learning to walk in killer heels with the ease that Rio did. I also love the last scene with Jamie and Dean.

Maddi Woodland is Margaret New, and as a parent, you understand what Margaret is going through and will protect your child to the very end. Maddi gets to sing one of my favourite songs from the soundtrack, the gorgeous "He's My Boy". Maddi wrung every ounce of passion from that song and left it all on stage in an incredibly raw performance. The other massive song for Margaret is "If I Met Myself Again" which is equally as gorgeous.

The scene with Wayne, her ex and father to Jamie, was equally full of passion and the scenes with best friend Ray had that lovely comedy element, balancing out the more emotive scenes. I love it when a young actor gets to show these levels of emotion because it highlights their acting skills so well.

Harriet Campion plays Ray, Margaret's ballsy best friend. Harriet shows off her powerful vocals on "Limited Edition Prom Night Special", as well as some great dance moves of her own. Everybody needs a friend like Ray in their life, as shown by Harriet.

Pritti Pasha, Jamie's best friend, #forever, and confidante, is played by Avaani Babra. Her vocals on the beautiful "It Means Beautiful" are just gorgeous and the stripped back start to the song just highlights perfectly Avaani's voice. Because Avaani made you believe in this character so well, when she dropped the "F Bomb" near the end, it actually came as a shock, even to myself who'd seen the show several times previously.

Bella Syson is Miss Hedge, the careers teacher at Jamie's school who, when finding out that Jamie wants to become a performer tells him to "keep it real" and bans him from turning up to Prom Night wearing a dress. Love the strict school teacher vibes, which by comparison made her rap section completely POP!

Miles Potter plays Hugo Battersby/ Loco Chanelle. Hugo is the owner of a shop that supplies drag attire, and also performs under his alter ego, Loco Chanelle. I have mentioned several times about the quality of Miles' voice and how every time I hear him on stage that voice gets better and better. One thing I noticed in this role was his wonderful vibrato. Miles has possibly one of the best vibratos in a young actor that I have heard in a long time. I loved the understated campness that Hugo emitted and in full drag as Loco, Miles ramped the camp just enough to make the Drag Queen believable.

Jamie's bully, Dean, is played by one of my favourite local actors, and someone who has played a multitude of characters in several different theatre productions; once again, this is a very different role to his others. The man in question is Findlay Parker. Away from the stage Findlay is one of the nicest, most unassuming young people ever, but when he gets into character on stage, he is a completely different persona. As the vile bully, and let's face it some of the disgusting, racist things that Dean spouts to Pritti and the homophobic insults he spits out to Jamie, he gets your blood to boiling point, and even the audience seemed shocked and booed Dean. This shows what a fabulous actor Findlay is to make you believe the character he is playing. 

Playing a nasty person is always more fun, so I believe that Findlay may have enjoyed playing this character, and maybe because it is so different to the others on his very extensive theatrical CV. This also shows what a fine and flexible character actor Findlay is.

Will Mellor plays Sandra Bollock, one of the drag artists at the Legs 11 club, and Wayne, Jamie's Dad. Wayne is disgusted and disappointed as to how Jamie had turned out and made no bones about telling Jamie so. There is one scene where Jamie goes to thank his Dad for what he had done for him, and this is where Jamie finds out what his dad is really like and what his true feelings are for him. The whole auditorium was in silence at this piece. It takes a good actor to make an audience react either positively or negatively and the silence reflected their feelings.

Jamie Higgins plays Tray Sophisticay and Taylen Brodsky plays Laika Virgin, the other two Drag Queens at the Legs 11 Club where Jamie New, or Mimi Mee, makes their debut. 

Drag is an art form of it's own and not many can pull off this particular area of entertainment. I know a few drag artists and they are, out of drag, the loveliest people, but when in drag, the fiercest of entertainers, for whom you do not want to try and get the better of and Tray and Laika sound and look like they could hold their own if it came to a cat fight!

One nice thing about this production is that all three Drag Queens appeared in full drag at the end of the show and they looked spectacular!

Becca is played by Ella Charlesworth and Bex is played by Heidi Parsons. Two school friends who also have Jamie's back, especially at the Prom scene when confronted by Miss Hedge. Both Ella and Heidi play the schoolgirls with a lovely attitude and chemistry.

Levi is played by a very familiar face to me, Finlay Tomlinson. Always a cheeky addition to a cast, especially when he is playing a character in his own age range.

Another very familiar face is Quillen Parker, who plays Sayid. Again another cheeky character actor who brightens up the stage and delivers the humour.

Lexie-May Hart plays Vicki, Fatima is played by Evie Perks and Alex Povey is Cy completing the kids in the class.

The ensemble are made up of Lottie Ellis, Lucy Coulson-Jones, Violet Graney, Neve Johnson, Phoebe Litherland, Roisin Parker, Isobel Pickering, Megan Price, Molly Price, Keeley Rickerby, Niamh Syson, Millie Weston, Isla Baskill-Conroy and Ruby Bonsall.

Directed and produced by Zak Charlesworth, a man who knows just about everything there is to know about the theatre, let's face it he's done just about every job within theatre, on and off stage. This whole Summer School production took just EIGHT days from page to stage, and everything about this show screamed professionalism, and it makes you wonder why some professional touring shows take months to complete rehearsals of their shows and manage to present a professional production when local theatre groups like Zak's can present a musical of this quality in just over a week.

The show had been workshopped with someone who knows everything about this particular show, Layton Williams, so when you're learning from the best, you just can't go wrong!

Choreographed by Alexandra Tavener and Harvey Tavener, two of the most talented choreographers locally. This show is massive on large ensemble choreographed pieces. It's always the job of a choreographer to make the performers look good on stage, whatever the level of talent, and thankfully this cast are no beginners in that area. In turn, the performers make the choreographers look great because of the standard of choreography they perform. I think that It's very clear that both performers and choreographers have succeeded in making both teams look incredible.

Technical Director is Roydon Charlesworth who also looked as if he was involved in Stage manager duties as well, moving props on and off the stage, along with cast memberes. While I am on that subject it was also nice to see the sets being put into place and removing whilst the performance was ongoing, as well as when the incidental music was being played by the band. This made for some very fluid scene changes. 

Musical Director is Ben Ward who played keyboards and conducted his six piece ensemble of AJ Hill (Keys 2/Guitar), Dan Emery (Bass), Dawn Bratby (Saxophone), Gemma Fuller (Trumpet), Magnus Hawker-French (Trombone) and Dave Shipley (Drums). Lovely sound and a nice punchy and bright feel.

The soundtrack is made up of some brilliant songs that could so easily had been chart successes. Songs like "And You Don't Even Know It", "If I Met Myself Again", "Beautiful", the title song, "He's My Boy", "My Man Your Boy", "Wall In MY Head" and the epic "Out Of the Darkness".

Sound is by Olivia Michaud. The last few productions at The Space have fallen to sound to issues, mainly with mic pacs that crackle and pop, and that continued here, also with some mics not working at all or sound cues for the actors being late or missed. There were also a few times that I, personally, would have liked to have had the volume on some of the mics increased, but this was first night and running the sound check without bodies in the auditorium will alter the volume needed for the show.

 

I know I bang on about this area of production, but I also know that it's one of the hardest areas to get perfect, especially when mic pacs are out of the sound operators control, and there's such a big group of mic'd up actors on stage. Needless to say the odd mic pac issue did not mar anything to do with production for me; just thought I'd mention it

Lighting is by Abby Catto who provided a wonderfully colourful design. there were only a few times that the actors were slightly in the shadows, mainly when there were two or more people on stage and the main character was spotlit. Maybe the other actor was just a foot or so in the wrong spot on stage, who knows. Even so, it didn't cast any shadow over the quality of the lighting and production.

Let's not forget that this is based on a true story and this sort of prejudice is here all the time. Whether it be racism, homophobia, or just a dislike of anyone who happens to be just a little different we need to embrace the difference in people and just be kind to everyone.

There will always be a place for the Underdog wherever you look, and we always love to back that Underdog, so when a musical like this comes along, we always get behind the underdog character, which the audience did tonight

At times emotional, at times immense fun, what this musical is not, is run of the mill and bland, plus it has a very important message to deliver and I imagine will lead to a great deal of conversation when you leave the theatre, which is exactly what it should do. Hopefully everyone will be talking about this brilliant show and the brilliant cast for a while.

"Everybody's Talking About Jamie" is at Nottingham's Squire Performing Arts Centre, near the Girls High School, until Saturday 23 August, where there's a special BOGOF offer for the matinee performance. 

Photography by Bara Erhayiem.

 "Deathtrap" by Ira Levin.

Colin McIntyre's Classic Thriller Season 2025.

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

This is the second instalment of this year's Classic Thriller Season, but as I was away last week, this is my first of this year's selection. Oh, how I did miss my favourite cast of thrillsters, but this week's production was well worth waiting for.

It's the story of a thriller writer, Sidney Bruhl, who is suffering from writer's block when a student, Clifford Anderson, who he met at a convention the previous year, asks his advice on a new thriller that he is writing called "Deathtrap". Bruhl decides that this is the sort of story to catapult him back into the spotlight and solve all of his money worries. Bruhl's wife Myra has reservations about the turn of mood shown by Sidney and tries to convince him that maybe a collaboration may the way forward for Bruhl and young Anderson.

Bruhl invites Anderson over to chat about the collaboration, but Bruhl is greedy and doesn't want to share and things take rather a violent turn for Anderson. But this isn't the only turn, as there are many turns and twists to come in this very entertaining comedy thriller.

We see three murders, and that's just in the first act, but is there a fourth but who is the last one standing? That's for you to come along and work out.

Sidney Bruhl is played by Andrew Ryan, who has the talent of looking sinister, with or without just a single spotlight on him. There's plenty of dark comedy with Bruhl, and you just don't know whether to believe what he says, well his wife certainly is in two minds! Andrew is one of the best character actors on stage; this character is right up there with his role of Mark Styler in "Mind Games" for unhinged crime writers.

Clifford Anderson is played by Pavan Maru. It seems longer than two years since Pavan joined the Classic Thriller Season, back in 2023, but this Leicester lad has come far, especially in this role. It's great to see him play a more meatier role and to have so much more stage time with this character. I've mentioned before about Pavan's ear for an accent, and we get to hear another American accent with Anderson. It's also quite notable to see Pavan's ability to play such a convincing younger character, Anderson must be late teens and Pavan presents this look perfectly.

Myra Bruhl is played by Sarah Wynne Kordas. I've also often said in my reviews that Sarah has a chameleonic ability about her; she morphs into a character and becomes unrecognisable. I never look at the playbills until maybe the interval, and I really did not recognise Sarah from this role due to the make up, wig and voice transformation. If I hadn't had checked the cast list, I'd have never known that Sarah was on stage. A marvellously nervous, almost skittish Myra was presented showing what great physicality Sarah injects into her character acting.

Wacky psychic Helga Ten Dorp is played by Susan Earnshaw. I was saying before the show that all Sue has to do is walk on stage and she makes me smile, and here is another one of those character roles that had the corners of my mouth curling up as Sue walked on stage. Amazing accent and such comedic quality.

Bruhl's legal man Porter Milgram is played by Jeremy Lloyd Thomas. Wonderfully stiff upper lipped role, which is a lovely contrast to the soft American accents of the Bruhls and Anderson. There's a hint of Milgram's money love in the first couple of minutes of his appearance, but that also goes hand in hand with the job title. And don't they say that there's a novel in every one? 

Directed by Karen Henson. The direction is so sharp, so precise and that sharpness is what makes this play such a joyously jumpy piece of theatre. The initial scene, assisted by some split second lighting effects, almost seems to make Sidney appear on stage by magic, and from there on in, the split second direction puts the class into Classic Thriller. Everything is superbly timed, from the delivery of the lines to the sound and lighting effects, just to make you feel as uneasy as possible.

Design by Conal Walsh. The scenes are all set in the study of Sidney Bruhl with blood red walls with just one signature green one. the props and set for Tabs' productions really are some of the best you'll see and the attention to detail for these sets are incredible. The pictures below will give you an idea of the work that goes into them.

Sound is by David Gilbrook. It's ditto from the above comments because I have never had cause to mention anything remotely negative about the sound, or light, for Tabs Productions. The cued sound effects are always right there when needed, providing some of the jump scare moments, especially with the thunderclaps and the sound stabs. It's almost like watching an ultra 3D, surround sound movie, especially with the clarity and timing.

Lighting is by Michael Donoghue. Tabs have many strengths - in fact I can't think of any weaknesses they have - and along with the sound, the lighting design is absolutely perfect. The timings of the thunder crashes and the lights dipping really do escort you to that uneasy place that Karen and the cast want you to not only see, but feel throughout their productions.

The costumes, especially Myra's and Helga's are excellent, as they always are in Tabs shows.

If you like a play that keeps you on the edge of your seat and makes you jump now and again, and is packed with plenty of twists and turns, then this is the one for you. If you're a regular Classic Thriller Season fan, you'll understand why I rave so much about their shows. If you've never been to one of their Thrillers - call yourself a Thriller fan? - then get yourself down this week for "Deathtrap" and next week for "The Business Of Murder" to see why I am such a fan of Tabs Productions and their amazing cast and creative team.

"Deathtrap" is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 23 August.

 "Fiddler On The Roof"

Nottingham Royal Concert Hall.

The musical is set in Tsarist Russia in 1905 and is based on the story of Tevye the Milkman by Sholem Aleichem and the book by Joseph Stein.

The story follows father of five Tevye as he tries to uphold tradition in an ever changing political and social landscape. During a period of change for Russian Jews, the family learn to cope with the decline of Tsarist Russia and the tough laws enforced on the family and the village of Anatevka.

This much loved and often performed musical includes many musical theatre classics such as “Matchmaker Matchmaker”, “If I Were A Rich Man”, “Sunrise Sunset”, “Tradition”, the tentative “Do You Love Me” and the melancholy "Far From The Home I Love".

I've seen this musical several times, both local and touring productions, but this is a different staging and that re-ignited my love for this show.

One thing that also hit me very early on is that none of the actors have had the pressure taken away of getting the Jewish or Russian accents correct and the spoken word is delivered, as far as I could tell, in the actor's own accents. This in itself is refreshing.

Tevye is the narrator and the father of five daughters. He is the milkman, a leader in his Jewish community, and husband to the headstrong Golde. He is faced with struggles to uphold the traditions of his people, especially through the marriages of his daughters and is played by Matthew Woodyatt. Matthew's voice is made for musical theatre and he delivered the lyrics with power and emotion.

Golde is Tevye’s wife of twenty-five years and mother of his five daughters. Golde is an efficient helpmate and traditionalist, faced with changes of a “new world.” She has a sharp tongue and wit. Played by Jodie Jacobs she is a fabulous foil for Tevye. Jodie's voice is gorgeous and listening to Jodie's duet with Matthew in the beautiful "Do You Love Me?" is like chocolate syrup slipping down your throat.

Yente, the village’s matchmaker and busybody, is played by Beverley Klein. A very different image, thanks to a marvellous costume and glasses, seems to depict a trendier Yente. Brilliant sense of humour which adds to much of the comedy in this show.

Natasha Jules Bernard plays Tzeitel, Tevye and Golde’s eldest daughter, and in love with Motel, whom she eventually marries instead of Lazar Wolf. All the actors involved have wonderful voices, and especially when they merge with the duets, trios etc. When the three elder sisters sing "Matchmaker" you can hear, with great clarity and separation thanks to the crystal clear sound design and operation, just how beautiful these women's voices are. As with all the "couples" in this musical, the chemistry looks and feels very natural.

Georgia Bruce is Hodel, Tevye and Golde’s second daughter. Hodel falls in love with Perchik and they defy tradition by not seeking her father’s permission to marry, only his blessing. Another wonderful example of getting the chemistry between the characters spot on with Hodel and Perchik.

Hannah Bristow plays Chava, Tevye and Golde’s third daughter who falls in love with Fyedka, a Russian, and is ordered to “never see him again.” You really feel for this coupling because they have found themselves to be a great match but "tradition" stands in their way, in the eyes of Tevye. Tevye's balancing act of pros and cons for this pair really gives you scope for thought. Fyedka is played by Gregor Milne.

Shprintze, Tevye and Golde’s fourth daughter, is played by Ashleigh Schuman and Bielke, Tevye and Golde’s youngest daughter, is played by Georgia Dixon.

Sion Lloyd plays the Innkeeper, Mordcha, who is most prominent with the meeting of Lazar Wolf and Tevye.

Motel is played by Dan Wolff. Motel is a poor tailor and secretly pledged to Tzeitel. Motel gathers the courage to ask Tevye for her hand in marriage as he feels “even a poor tailor is entitled to some happiness.” They marry and start a family, which also includes another “new arrival”. Chemistry really is the keyword for this production and Dan has great chemistry with Natasha.

This production must feel very special for Dan as he is playing to his home town professionally for the first time. I can remember Dan from Bilborough College and first met him when I reviewed "Into the Woods" that he directed at Bilborough College back in 2016, so it's marvellous to see Dan living the dream in a production like "Fiddler". Congratulations on your journey so far and making Nottingham proud of you.

Greg Bernstein is Perchik, a radical student from Kiev who becomes Hodel’s husband. Perchik is a brilliant character and Greg's eyes just seem to light up whenever he appears on stage, none more than when he proposes to Hodel. The joy that he shows as Perchik just gives you a very warm and satisfying feeling. Perchik can only be described, in my mind, as love drunk.

Michael S Siegel plays Lazar Wolf, the rich butcher and widower of Fruma-Sarah. Lazar is the man Yente, the matchmaker, sets as a match for Tzeitel. Wonderfully comical, especially in argumentative role at the wedding feast.

Mark Faith is The Rabbi, Anatevka’s Jewish spiritual leader.

Mendel, the Rabbi's son, is played by Toby Turpin. 

Gareth Davies is Avram, a bookseller, who shows an interest in Chava.

Ed Bruggemeyer plays Nachum, a beggar. 

Shandel, Motel's Mother, is played by Sue Appleby. 

Susannah Van Der Berg plays Rifka.

Mirila is played by Caris McQueen.

The Fiddler is played by Raphael Papo. Raphael really sets the tone for the show right from the very start, and throughout, with his evocative playing.

Karl Wilson is Constable, the man who delivers all the bad news to the community. Torn between being Tevye's friend and doing his duty of being the bearer of bad news, all the while stressing that he is only doing his job.

Sasha is played by Simon Anthony.

The two Russians are played by Jack Osmond and Alex Pinder. 

Directed by Jordan Fein. A play or a musical can seem different, and fresh, through the eyes of different Directors, and this show, in my opinion was like a breath of fresh air. I had expected to see a show that I had always loved in a format that I had seen before, but not this time. The staging was fresh, quite sparse but there were parts that seemed as if this was the first time that I had seen the show, and that kept me hooked throughout. A special blend of the original with some new splashes meant that I fell in love with the story and music all over again. Tevye's dream sequence has always been a hit with me, and this has been staged in a very novel way which Jordan has managed to maintain the comedy element with some very dark and gothic like images with the extended arms and claw like hands.

The Design is by Tom Scutt. Again, a fresh outlook with the set design from the very off. Surrounded by wheat field, which even seemed to have roots growing, the props were moved on and off stage smoothly, giving way for the various scenes to roll in and out, and a very clever section that elevated to provide another level for The Fiddler to perform.

Choreographed by Julia Cheng. This area too seemed to have a fresh coating, creating another layer of excitement. I am still dumbfounded as to how the bottles in "The Bottle Dance" managed to stay on the actor's hats while they performed their dance. 

The Lighting Designer is Aideen Malone. There's a lot of hard work and know how gone into this creative area as we see the wheat fields ablaze, sombre lighting as well as bright and bouncy lighting, all of which create the given atmosphere for each scene.

Sound Designer is Nick Lidster. The Royal Concert Hall can be hit and miss with musicals, but tonight the sound was a sure fire HIT! The sound was so clear you'd have no issues at all hearing every word that this cast sing, and with such wonderful singing from all, this is an absolute treat.

Dan Turek is the Musical Director and Musical Supervision and additional orchestrations are by Mark Aspinall. I've stated that the individual vocal pieces, duets, trios etc are gorgeous, but what I have not stated is just how beautiful the ensemble vocal pieces are. "Sabbath Prayer" is an incredible ensemble piece which sends the hairs on your neck standing to attention.

Wigs, hair and make up design are all by Nina Van Houten.

The production seems to have covered every detail where the background is concerned and even has a Jewish History, Religion and Culture Consultant with Rabbi Rose Prevezer to make sure that the story is as factual as possible, something that has, as far as I can remember concerning credits for this musical has been noted in the shows' playbill.

The musical is rightly cited as being a "classic" and the soundtrack is iconic; it's also one of those rare musicals that does not have a happy ending, but has a great deal of comedy throughout the show. It's also one of those musicals that, even though it's now over sixty years old, it manages to highlight the situations we have in the world today, and that things haven't moved on that much, especially when we think of the current situation between Russia and the Ukraine.

"Fiddler On The Roof" is at the Nottingham Royal Concert hall until Saturday 23 August. Whether it's your first time seeing this show or, like me you've seen this show several times, you will love this new staging because it takes nothing away from other productions, but adds something very special to Fiddler's classic recipe.

Photography by Marc Brenner.

 "Richard O' Brien's Rocky Horror Show"

Nottingham Royal Concert Hall.

Now in its' 52nd year The Rocky Horror Show is sexier and as funny as ever with costumes which are more revealing than a Coldplay kiss cam!

For anyone who is either not old enough or has been living under a stone for the last 52 years, the story is thus. Two squeaky clean college kids – Brad and his fiancée Janet's car breaks down outside a creepy mansion whilst on their way to visit their former college professor, they meet the charismatic Dr Frank’n’Furter, who invites them to stay, where they meet many interesting characters throughout the night. A night filled with fun, frolics, frocks, and frivolity.

The show starts with Natasha Hoeberigs as The Usherette, immediately setting the tone and feel of a 1950's cheesy schlock horror, with a side order of sauce. Natasha also plays the role of Magenta, the maid over at the Frankenstein place (as the song goes).

Brad and Janet are played by Connor Carson and Lauren Chia and are suitably naive and cartoonish with plenty of wide-eyed disbelief at the situation that they had found themselves in.... well, that was until they discovered the attraction of Mr N Furter, who gave a new meaning to the phrase "tongue lashing"! Both Connor and Lauren have very strong voices, and both spot on for the characters that they play.

Job Greuter has possibly the hardest shoes to fill playing Riff Raff as I am so used to seeing Kristian Lavercombe play this iconic part, but Job did an  excellent... err, job of recreating this slightly manic character, described in song as Frank N Furter's "faithful handyman", while retaining everything that Richard O' Brien initiated. Riff Raff, if you didn't know, is the character who leads "The Timewarp", and quite literally gets the party started. Riff Raff is a dark one, along with his sister, as you soon discover towards the end of the show.

Playing Riff Raff's sister, Columbia, is Jayme-Lee Zanoncelli. We have to wait until the second act, which comes around incredibly quickly, to hear Jayme-Lee's voice, and it's worth the wait!

Eddie, the role made famous in the film, and the early stage version by Meatloaf, is played here by Edward Bullingham who explodes onto the stage with the power packed rock track "Hot Patootie". No wonder that after all that storming around the stage and being chased by Frank N Furter he had to sit down. Which was ideal because Edward also played the wheelchair bound Dr Scott, with the dodgiest wig I've ever seen on stage.

Rocky, the muscle-bound creature created by Frank N Furter to "relieve his master's pressures", is played on opening night by the understudy Arthur Janes. It's obvious that Arthur looks after himself, but maybe the shops were a bit short of muscles when Frank went shopping for his creation. That said Arthur gave a strong performance and did his best flexing and posing, which did not go unnoticed by the women in the audience.

I must admit that I had not heard of Nathan Caton, who played The Narrator, but Nathan is an award winning stand up comedian, which definitely comes in handy for responding to the audience participation bits with "ad-libs", which seemed to all be around the myths of what black men have in their pants.

And so we come to the sweet transvestite himself, all the way from transexual Transylvania, Frank N Furter, played deliciously and lasciviously by Jason Donovan. Over the years I have seen many Franks, including the legendary David Bedella. Each one is played slightly differently, and again with Jason we get another, slightly different Frank. He plays this version of Frank like a dirty old uncle at a party; thankfully the party that Frank's guests were at were not as naive as they first appeared, and that is where the naughty fun comes from. That said, Jason controls the stage as soon as he materialises from the smoke-filled doors, and doesn't stop being enigmatic throughout. And if you're wondering, his voice is as good as it ever was.

The Phantoms are played by Ryan Carter-Wilson, Hollie Nelson and Erica Wild with Alex Hetherington and Stacey Monahan.

Directed by Christopher Luscombe, this is fast, frantic, frothy, fleshy and filthy and I loved it.

Choreographed brilliantly and with such energy by Nathan M Wright.

The set, which was brilliantly sci-fi influenced, was designed by Hugh Durrant with a lovely gothic feel creating just the right amount of cartoon creepiness.

Of course, the costumes really make this show as iconic as it is. The audiences take great pride in peppering the auditorium with medical coats, stockings, suspenders, basques, glittery jackets and usherette outfits. Some of the women dress up as well! On stage is no different and Costume Designer Sue Blane has provided everything that you love and expect from the Rocky Horror cast outfits, although the original shiny gold pants for Rocky are now a leopard skin design.

A brilliant lighting design, which at times created a rock show atmosphere, was by Nick Richings.

The Sound designer is Gareth Owen. The Royal Concert Hall is often hit and miss where sound is concerned and there were times where the music slightly drowned out some of the vocals, mainly on Brad's mic, because Janet's was lovely and balanced. When the balance was done right, it was a brilliant sound with just the perfect volume balance.

Musical Director is Josh Sood, and it was great to see the live band on stage above the action. Let's face it, the soundtrack is packed with songs that the whole audience knows, as ably as they know the audience participation call and responses.

When you've seen as many productions of this show, you start making comparisons and, on a personal level, this is not the best version I've seen, but it's still brilliantly funny and as saucy as ever, and it's great to see Jason Donovan and his tongue perform this role. And I don't know if it's just me but this show seemed slightly shorter than past productions, or maybe I was just enjoying myself too much and the time flew without my noticing.

"The Rocky Horror Show" is at the Nottingham Royal Centre until Saturday 9 August.

 "Bring On The Musicals - A Soiree Of Summer Songs"

4^th Wall Theatrics.

Bonington Theatre.

This production really made the perfect start to my weekend for a few reasons, and I'll tell you why.

First was that when I got to Bonington Theatre there were a few people of whom I have not seen for a while, and I love catching up with people before a show.

Secondly, I get to see quite a few showcase shows for younger theatre groups, which I love because I love "star spotting" among these young performers, but this evening was a showcase of people of varied ages. from those of who may have just left their teenage years, right up to the older performer, even older than I am! And there are not many of these kind of shows knocking about.

Thirdly, I knew every single piece that was performed tonight. It's not that often that there are pieces that I don't know in showcases, and when there are it's a lovely surprise to me and I treat it as an education for myself.

4^th Wall Theatrics are a new theatre group consisting of many well known faces from local stages and this showcase gave them the chance to, not only entertain, but to show off the new group and what they can do and what we can expect from them. If tonight is anything to go by, there's a lot of fun and talent to see and hear; but I knew that would be the case anyway because of their individual theatre history.

The agenda tonight consisted of songs from musicals, mainly concentrating on the more well-established musicals, another thing that isn't always recognised in compiling the show playlist, that said you can see that a great deal of thought has gone into the songs, the musicals and the running order of those songs and performances.

When I compiled the first playlist for my Wednesday evening radio show on Nottingham Hospitals Radio (8pm till 9) about the musicals and musical theatre, my first choice was "Be Our Guest" from Disney's "Beauty & The Beast" because it's the perfect introduction song. The same song was performed to open, and introduce the cast of 4^th Wall Theatrics, and straight away they had us.

I love a good harmony group and Dawn McGlashan, Pippa Ward and Emma Nicol took us back to the age of Glen Miller with "Chatanooga Choo Choo".

Then came the full on singalongs starting with the whole cast taking us on a "Summer Holiday" followed by Roy Smith and Barry Hobbs bringing us sunshine, Morecambe and Wise style. The sunshine didn't stop there though because Dawn joined forces with Christine Boothe with "The Sun Has Got It's Hat On".

One of my favourite niche musicals is one by a brilliant writer Jason Robert Brown, and called "The Last 5 Years", and there's a great, fun song in the soundtrack called "A Summer In Ohio" which Emily Hudson performed perfectly.

Some people may not know that the Katrina & The Waves song "Walking On Sunshine" was used as part of a jukebox musical, also called "Walking On Sunshine", so this choice ticked both boxes of being from a musical and being summery; this version fronted by Emme Gunn.

Next up came a medley of Disney songs from "Moana", "Aladdin" and "The Little Mermaid" sung by Emily, Isobel, Emme and Amy Rogers-Gee. I've not seen Amy sing solo on stage for a very long while as she has been so busy over the years working behind the scenes, so it was nice to be reminded what a lovely voice she has.

Act One ended with another medley, this time from the film "Mary Poppins", which featured the vocal talents of Emma, Sam Howard, Pippa and Paul Mappleforth. Paul is a new name to me but he makes a great first impression, and not only with his voice. Paul knows how to move and he always looks as if he is out for a night of fun on the dancefloor. That man can not keep still and all the way through looks to be having the time of his life on stage. You know how there's always one person at any party that is first on the dancefloor and last to leave, that is what I imagine Paul is like. He is an infectious fun bundle of energy and I can't wait to see him in future productions.

Act two opened with Paul, Roy and Barry crooning about the sad tale of Lola from "Copacabana", another chance to see Paul "snakehips" Mappleforth grooving to the disco beat.

The singalongs were well under way as Barry came back to belt out "New York, New York"; I imagine that there were quite a few legs that had to be restrained in the audience to stop them from high-kicking the seats in front during this one!

Sam took centre stage after this with a stomping version of Murray Head's "One Night In Bangkok" from the musical "Chess". Lloyd-Webber songs are never the easiest to sing but Sam made this quasi-rap musical theatre song simply slip off the tongue easily.

Dawn, Emily, Emme and Emma then took us back in time with a Motown and soul medley from the movie "Sister Act" from "My Guy" to "I Will Follow Him" in the film's "Lounge Medley", their voices blending Supremely!

Pippa then slowed the pace down and raised the temperatures with "Too Darn Hot" from "Kiss Me Kate", but "Some Like It Hot", especially the way Emma made this Monroe tune sizzle.

Emme and Pippa backed Sam with The Trammps 1976 hit "Disco Inferno", carrying the heat link on, and I finally after all these years heard the lyrics properly, thanks to the excellent quality of the sound system at Bonington Theatre as well as the clarity of Sam, Emme and Pippa's voices. "Disco Inferno" if you don't remember comes from the film "Saturday Night Fever".

Another massive blockbuster film from the seventies was of course "Grease", and linking into the heat and summer theme, 4^th Wall gave us "Summer Nights" and "We Go together".

All too soon the evening drew to a close with a move from "Grease" to Greece, the location of course for the musical "Mamma Mia" and the whole cast performed a medley of Abba songs, closing with Pippa, Amy and Emily taking leads on "Thank You For The Music".

It was like the best musical theatre disco ever; I just need the massive megamix which include all of these songs.

One person that I have not mentioned is the Master Of Ceremonies for the evening, Nik Hudson, who seamlessly blended comedy, wit and style to link the performers and the performances. And his jokes were fresh as well.

The cast for the show were Amy Rogers-Gee, who was also the Producer for the event, Barry Hobbs, Christine Boothe - so good to see you back on stage Christine, Dawn McGlashan, Emily Hudson, Emma Nicol, Emme Gunn, Isobel Munden, Paul Mapplethorpe, Pippa Ward, Roy Smith, Sam Howard, and of course Nik Hudson (thanks for the mention, Sir).

The Sound Design, which was very clean and crisp was by Bob Betts.

Lighting Design was by G Boichi-Giovarni.

A show that was all bangers and no fillers. Look out for future productions by 4^th Wall Theatrics, I know that I will.