"Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare.

Your Chance Productions.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

Shakespeare's most well known and best loved of his comedies becomes even more bonkers in this production.

It's the story of a shipwrecked pair of twins, Sebastian and Viola, and their involvement with the townsfolk of Illyria, a land where everyone is just a bit nutty, and the comical confusion caused by their introduction into the town. Various sub plots and storylines make this a Shakespearian version of a soap opera with the inclusion of several musical interludes.

Through the confusion of Viola, the female twin, masquerading as a male, Cesario and the rediscovery of the male twin, Sebastian, being the object of affection of Olivia who mistook Sebastian for Cesario (well they are twins), there was eventually a happy ending all round. Oh if Shakespeare were alive today he'd be writing pantos and soap scripts!

I guarantee that you'll know some of the well-known quotes from the play "If music be the food of love", "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em", but my favourite, " Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage". Shakespeare, a man way ahead of his time. 

The comedy comes thick and fast, not just in Shakespeare's words, but also in the physicality of the production; sections of which bordering on slapstick.

Sebastian is played by Connor Thomas. After being pulled from the ocean by some stranger and mourning the loss of his drowned sister, Sebastian arrives in Illyria after a few months and is surprised to find a bunch of lunatics claiming to know him. Within 24 hours he's been challenged to a duel by some drunken idiot and proposed to by some beautiful maiden. Sounds like a typical Saturday night in Long Eaton!

Viola is played by Izzy Smith. After being shipwrecked, and mourning the loss of her brother, she decides to disguise herself as a man, Cesario, and go to work for Duke Orsino. She immediately gets tangled up in a love triangle with Orsino and Lady Olivia next door. She gets challenged to a duel by some idiotic fop and then some random pirate shows up claiming to know her!

Brooke Rampersaud plays Lady Olivia, who is mourning the loss of her father as well as her brother. She has sworn off men, but wait a minute, who's the dashing young man the Duke has sent to woo her? He may be slightly feminine, but he just seems to get her. No one's ever rejected her before so of course he won't will he? You wouldn't believe that this is Brooke's first Shakespearian role.

 Malvolio, Olivia's Steward, is played by Darren Taylor. Malvolio runs Olivia’s household as her senior servant, He secretly hopes to improve his social position and one day rule the household as Olivia’s husband. Malvolio insults several characters in the play, including Sir Toby, Feste and Maria who get their revenge by playing a trick to make him think Olivia loves him.

Samantha Badman is Maria, Olivia's Maid. Malvolio and Maria will never see eye to eye on anything and have very different ideas about how the house should be ran. Maria gets on well with Sir Toby and plans a clever trick against Malvolio which helps Sir Toby get revenge on Malvolio for insulting him. Samantha, by the way, must be one of the most prolific local actors in the area, and yet again delivers a wonderful performance. 

Antonio, played by Siôn Grace, found Sebastian half drowned on the shore and rescued him. He quickly grows fond of Sebastian and stays with him, even following him to Illyria despite knowing how dangerous this might be for him. Antonio was once in a sea battle against Orsino’s ships and knows he could be arrested for piracy if he is caught. Siôn is a new face to me, but looking at what he has done in the past shows that he has kept himself busy on stages all over the country, including in the home of the Bard himself.

Sir Toby Belch is played by Graham Buchanan. Belch is related to Olivia and lives in her house. He spends a lot of his time drunk and Olivia has little respect for him. Sir Toby has invited his friend Sir Andrew to stay and encourages Sir Andrew to think that Olivia wants to marry him. Sir Toby knows Olivia has no interest in Sir Andrew but the deception allows him to con money from Sir Andrew. Sir Toby resents being reprimanded for his drunken behaviour by Malvolio and, with Maria’s help, plays a cruel trick on Malvolio. Sir Toby, along with Sir Andrew bring the majority of the laughs to this Shakespearian rom-com. What fun Graham must be having in yet another brilliant character driven part for him.

Sir Andrew Aguecheek is played by Martin Weston. Andrew is visiting his friend Sir Toby and staying in Olivia’s house. He believes that Sir Toby is helping him in his bid to marry Olivia but Sir Toby is taking money from Sir Andrew and using him for entertainment.  

George Davis plays Duke Orsino, who is known for his persistence and his over dramatic nature. He's hopelessly in love with Lady Olivia but she seems unimpressed by anything he has to offer. Maybe he just needs to send someone new to plead his case? Maybe the dashing young Cesario whose unlike anyone else she's met could do the job? What could possibly go wrong?

Feste "The Fool" is played by Chantelle Ruston. Feste is a jester who used to work for Olivia’s father. He has returned to Olivia’s house after some time away and, although she is at first angry with him for his absence, she soon forgives him and is pleased to see him. Feste makes a living as a musician and from his witty remarks for both of which he receives money from characters of a higher social position. He seems to be based in Olivia’s house but also sings for Orsino.

Madeline Levy doubles up as Valentine and The Priest. Valentine is one of The Duke's attendants, along with Curio, and there's not much that this pair miss within Orsino's household!

Jeff Tullin also doubles roles as the Sea Captain and Curio.

All this cast look and sound like Shakespeare is their mother tongue. There's no awkwardness or stumbling over lines nor anything that might give any hint of this lot not being anything less than completely comfortable in their roles. They are all just so much fun to watch, and they make Shakespeare easy to follow, even for those who are not fans of old Shaky.

Directed by Jessica Morgan-McLean. What I enjoy about Shakespeare is that every Director has their own vision about how their production should look and sound like, and Jess has made a nutty play even more bonkers. It has great pace and there's almost a pantomime feel about it, especially with the over the top characters like Belch and Aguecheek. And, as with many Shakespeare's plays, you get so involved that the time simply flies by; always a good sign of a well performed piece of theatre.

The set is sourced by Phillipa Buchanan and is in three different sections but is a very simple design of a bench area, a chaise longue and Christmas tree - just to remind you that this is a Christmas play - and a table and chairs set up, mainly for Toby and Andrew to have somewhere to perch while drinking.

Sound and lighting is by Tom Bridges. There were mics at the front of the stage but the cast have really good projection, especially Graham, so they weren't really needed. I don't know if Tom was responsible for the playlist that was played before the start of the play and the interval, but the well known songs were performed in a style called "Bardcore", which really set the mood for the show.

There were even musical inserts throughout, mainly sung by Feste, which included classics like "Can't Help Falling In Love", "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)", "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" among the Bard bangers. 

The fight choreography is by Graham Buchanan.

The costumes are also great fun and look wonderful.

A wonderful and fun production which only provides proof that Shakespeare's plays are still popular, as well as great entertainment, for all ages today. And a cast that performs with such ease the words of the Master, will ever keep his plays alive and most definitely kicking.

"Twelfth Night" is at The Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton for just one more night, Tuesday 17 December.

 "The Storm Whale" by Matt Aston.

Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside.

Noi lives with his Dad, a hard working fisherman, and six cats by the sea. One summer, while his Dad was busy at work, Noi rescued a little whale that washed up on the beach and takes it home with him, but there's only so long that you can keep a baby whale in your bath without your Dad finding out. Noi has to return the whale to the sea but a friendship has been forged that changed all of their lives forever.

The following winter his Dad takes one last trip on his fishing boat. Noi is alone once more and longs to see his friend again. He waits and watches, watches and waits…

Will it take another storm to bring them back together?

I will admit that I didn't know anything about the award winning books "The Storm Whale" nor "The Storm Whale In Winter", written by Benji Davies, of which this really lovely piece of children's theatre is based on, and written and directed by Matt Aston, who also gets a verbal nod to one of Davies' other children's production that Matt has previously directed in the script.

The eagle-eyed adults may recognise, from the names of the six cats, where Benji Davies' story was set.

There is a beautiful folky/Celtic soundtrack, written and performed by Julian Butler, with just a little hand from one Georges Frederic Handel, that accompanies the production. Julian is also responsible for the Sound Design, where there are some lovely sound effects.

Designed by Lydia Denno, who like most designers for children's theatre productions, utilises the space well by sectioning off areas that can be multi purposeful, and also creating divisions that, while not being visible, separates the stage. For instance, there's a section where Noi and his Dad eat their food, but without sections it's also the beach where Noi plays, instantly creating a larger space for the story. There is a raised section that acts as the bedrooms and bathroom, which then automatically creates a space for the props and part of the set to be stored underneath.

The bath serves as a boat and there's a lighthouse as well as a couple of other buildings on the sand. In the bedroom, pictures of the cats come to life on the walls; you can really let your imagination run away with you as an audience member in this production.

Lighting designed by Jason Salvin. The storm scenes are dramatic and you get a real feeling of the havoc it causes with the effects from the lighting. Associate lighting designer is Alistair Fox.

Choreographed by Hayley Del Harrison, which gives this show a really light and fun feel about it.

Puppet direction by Sue Dacre and the puppets have been made by Keith Frederick. There's a really cute puppet Noi that appears in the second half, and Sandwich the Cat is also incredible cute. The whale is very realistic, and seems to move by itself at times, which catches you off guard, especially when Noi first finds it on the sand, plus we see a family of whales later on who repay Noi for his kindness by coming to his rescue!

Performed by Charlotte Wood who plays Flo, the narrator of the story, who also lives in the lighthouse, Hannah-Marie Payal, who plays Noi and Richard Lounds, who plays Dad. With this trio, you can see why story telling is still an art, especially when you're relating to a younger audience. 

You can shut your eyes and let their story telling just wash over you, but why would you want to close your eyes when there's so much you'd miss visually in this wonderful piece of theatre. It's also a piece of theatre that gives a very real message, well a few messages actually. Messages about being kind to others and that kindness will be repaid, karma if you like, plus an important message about the difference of being lonely and being alone. It also highlights the fact that Dad works so hard that sometimes he may miss little warning signs given out by Noi. 

People often think children's theatre is just that, a bit of entertainment for the kids which give parents a bit of a breather, especially at this time of year, but GOOD theatre also have messages that we can all learn from, and like pantomime, can work brilliantly on several levels. This is why it's important that there are still companies like Engine House, York Theatre Royal, Little Angel Theatre, The Marlowe and of course Lakeside Arts that provide this sort of theatre.

Lakeside also provide entertainment for the youngsters - and parents/carers/family members - before and after the show. From whale themed decorations, Christmassy treats in the café (I'd definitely recommend the mince pie flavoured cheesecake), to a special Storm Whale inspired installation in the Wallner Gallery – created by students from Djanogly Strelley Academy. 

It's a gorgeously heart-warming piece of theatre that would be a real pre Christmas, or pre New Year, treat for anyone who enjoys the art of storytelling and gentle theatre, and at just seventy-five minutes, including the fifteen minute interval, there'll be no time for anyone to get restless.

"The Storm Whale" is at Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside until Sunday 5 January 2025.

 "The Wizard Of Oz"

Gilly Archer Theatre, Bilborough College.

We all know the story of the young girl, Dorothy Gale who lives on a farm in Kansas with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and little dog, Toto. It tells the story of how a tornado sweeps her, her home and Toto to a magical land called Oz, how she manages to eradicate the Munchkins from the Wicked Witch of The East by flattening her when the house lands on her.

On the way to meeting the Wizard, so she can get back home to Kansas she meets, and helps The Tinman, Scarecrow and The Cowardly Lion while the quartet have a few adventures on their way.

Just lately I have had the absolute pleasure of seeing some brilliant Youth Group/High School editions of musicals, and they always leave me flabbergasted as to the talent these younger groups have. This group are equally as amazing and talented.

With this particular musical, characterisation is everything and every one of these young actors completely nailed the characters they played. And as with any production and any theatre group, it's nice to see regular faces as well as seeing new talent, and that's what you get with this production of "The Wizard Of Oz".

Dorothy is played by Eleanor Adey, and what I really enjoyed about this performance was that Eleanor didn't try to copy anything from Judy Garland and played the role with Eleanor's personality injected into the character. That also goes for the singing. There's no impersonation of Garland here, just Eleanor singing those classic songs from the film, which she did with real feeling.

Aunt Em/Glinda The Good Witch is played by Isobelle Walker. These roles where the characters are doubled up really show an actor's ability to show the opposite ends to their acting spectrum. Aunt Em is a busy farm wife who is always busy and seems to have no time for Dorothy, and can be a bit impatient. Glinda is patient and is there to help Dorothy, and both of these characters, and their traits, are shown perfectly in Isobelle's acting skills.

Uncle Henry/Emerald City Guard and the Winkie General is played by Thomas Marwick, and like I mentioned about acting spectrums, Thomas gets to portray three very different characters; the busy farmer Uncle Henry, the wonderfully comic Emerald City Guard and then the head of the Winkies, The Wicked Witch's musical henchmen. Now, I don't think that I have seen the Winkies previously in a production of this musical, so these were new to me. I would definitely have remembered the name "The Winkies".

Scarecrow/Hunk is played by Jack Forth. This young man must be at least 80% rubber band because when he plays the Scarecrow, he is just like a piece of elastic, incredibly flexible. I don't think I've seen any actor play this part with such physicality, and that goes for his face as well, he is so expressive; exactly the right casting for Scarecrow.

Tin Man/Hickory is played by Will Collins. Physicality is number one for the three main characters that Dorothy comes across, and with Will, he has got this spot on with the rigidity of the characterisation. I must also mention that Will also gets to wear one of the best costumes in this production with his silver lame suit. I wonder if it's too late to start a list for Mr Claus, because I've just seen what I want for Christmas.

Cowardly Lion/Zeke is played by Kacey Wardle. All three of Dorothy's yellow brick road companions are immense fun, and with the Cowardly Lion there's every opportunity to go over the top, as the great Bert Lahr did in the original film, and there was room to go that bit further in Kacey's version of this role. It was opening night and so by Friday you may get to see an even bolder version of this jungle King. That said, I did enjoy see Kacey really get into the role throughout the two and three quarter hours show, plus she has a cracking voice for character roles such as this; not once did that accent waver. And that mane of gorgeous hair was perfect for this role.

Professor Marvel/The Wizard and The Mayor are played by Tom Star. I'm going to use the quote from my last review of Tom's role in "Rock Of Ages", which I reviewed him last in, because I feel just the same in these roles. "Tom is a Star by name and also as this character". Like Jack, Tom has one of those expressive faces that is a boon to an actor. At times wonderfully over the top, especially when we first meet him as The Professor, and again as the brilliantly eccentric Wizard. If ever there's an opening for Willy Wonka on stage, Tom must go for it, he would smash that role!

Miss Gulch/The Wicked Witch Of The West is played by Jaydene Davis. Ooh, don't we all like a baddie? From the moment that Jaydene cycled onto the stage, you could tell by her face that she meant business, and that voice and her cackle as both Gulch and the Witch were enough to give anyone nightmares. Deliciously devilish.

Toto, who in this production is a puppet created by Mercedis Perry and Sophie Haynes, is operated by Rio Bartliff, and you soon forgot all about Rio, which as a puppeteer is actually a good thing because you were concentrating on Toto and not Rio. Masterfully handled.

Bartek Kacica somersaulted and flipped athletically and played a wonderfully camp tree, plus played Nikko, the leader of the Flying Monkeys.

Abdul-Maliq Adegbite was The Wizard we see, before we actually meet the real Wizard. Pre recorded on screen to make the real Wizard look and sound more terrifying than he really was. Nice piece to camera young man!

There are so many roles to play in this musical with a large ensemble taking several roles. So let's credit them......

Katie Peel, Gabriel Chamberlain, Grace Maddy, Chloe Pickering, Evie Swetnam-Prince, Caitlin Hatton, Tia Grummitt, Grace Tomlinson, Isabella Streets, Abigail Lewis, Hermione Davies-Bright, Alexandra Jones, Olivia Bell (who also operated the bubble machine), Alexa Tomlinson, Izzy Burrow, Megan Price and Heidi Pitt.

Directed by Louis Chadburn and Olivia Owen, both making their directorial debuts with this show. You both obviously know your college drama mates very well to have wonderfully picked just the right cast members to play these iconic roles. That is half the journey, matching talent and personality to the musical counterparts. Another big part is making a production seem fresh, and there were several parts of this show that made me think "hello, I can't remember that bit". Also making the most of what is available is a big part. Yet again, even without the luxury of big sets, the way that this BIG production was presented, made you forget that there were limited sets.

I really enjoyed the "twister" sections, and the costumes, like giant silver and gold satiny angel wings really gave the effect of wind, and Miss Gulch's cycle ride over the top of this illusion was done to great effect; another one of those sections that I can't remember seeing in other productions. Obviously Louis and Olivia have really thought about how they can make their production just a little different to others, and have succeeded.

Choreographed by Kyra Fowler. From the iconic "follow the yellow brick road" choreography all the way through to the tap routine of "The Jitterbug" and the athletic flips, cartwheels and tumbling, this choreography has energy written all over it.

I mentioned that the luxury of a proper set is not something that colleges can stretch to, but you could see the initiative that had gone into what you see on stage, including the video backdrop, plus the amount of props that have been used in this production. All credit goes to Jess Henshaw, Avia Cooney-Hossack, Eve Costin Locke, Caitlin Creswick, Kaly Salh, Katie Anderson, Olivia Potts and Emily Crompton-Brown.

Stage managed by Rose Steeples, and when you realise the number of young actors, all 18 years old and under by the way, the props and scenery that need to be positioned and removed, this is no easy job, but the smoothness and the flow of the stage shows what a good job Rose did.

Anyone who knows this musical will also know how important the hair and make up person is, especially at the start and the end when the characters change to and from their main roles. Speed and accuracy is required for the application and removal of make up and Scarlett Beddoe and Suet Yu deserve praise for the brilliant make up and hair we see on stage.

That brings me on to costumes, and this is another area which absolutely stands out for me. You think, at the start only, that there seems to be no costumes, or very few at least, but then comes the twister and out come all of these wonderful costumes, I've already mentioned the Tin Man's silver suit, but that is just the tip of the musical iceberg. There are so many costume changes, especially for the ensemble, as every character has a different change. From the three trees, the Crow puppeteers, the Flying Monkeys, the Winkies, the Munchkins, the list goes on, and a brilliant Wizard Of Oz costume that made me think the Wizard was from the Emerald Isle, never mind the Emerald City. Praise be to Emma Johnson and Harry Field for this particular field of excellence.

Sound and Lighting is by Louis Chadburn, Asia Turnbull, Camille Capon, Hermione Bhambra, Isabel Bathe and Reuben Pinnock. The sound was the only thing that I had been a little worried about. I say that because in the past Bilborough College had always had a live band to back the actors, and at times the mix between live band and stage vocals had been a bit hit and miss. Now, I love to hear a live band, but the decision to use backing tracks was absolutely justified here, and the mix was so much better between the music and the vocals. The lighting was also very good, but I did think that the video screen was at times in the shade and we didn't get to see as clearly as possible what was on the big screen, and there was some very clever editing involved with the video work.

I've seen some brilliant productions at Bilborough College, "Les Miserables", "Urinetown", "Cabaret", "We Will Rock You", "Rock Of Ages", "Rent", "Into the Woods", "Our House" among them over the last ten years, and every time they just get better and better. No change this year as the bar has been raised another notch with this production.

"The Wizard Of Oz" is at Bilborough College until Friday 13 December.