"Stand In The Spotlight - Inters Annual Showcase".

Spotlight Theatre School.

Squire Performing Arts Centre, Nottingham.

Day two and this afternoon we saw what the Inters - the younger members of Spotlight can do.

The choices of pieces performed were mainly focused towards the younger performer, with just a few surprises on the way.

The show opened with "Brand New You" from the musical "13", followed by a rousing "Come Follow The Band" from "Barnum".

Showing that talent and confidence run through the genes of the Young family, Edward Young performs "I Can't Stand Still" from "Footloose". To start with I thought that Edward was miming to a soundtrack but I soon found out that he has the same vocal talents as his siblings.

I think I can honestly say that I have never seen "Saturday Night At the Movies" danced ballet style, but it worked really well, yet another nice and unexpected surprise.

And then comes the first appearance of the Minis/Juniors as they took to the stage for "Reach" by S Club 7; an overload of cuties.

There were segues from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat" into a gorgeous version of "Corner Of The Sky" from "Pippin".

"Cotton Eyed Joe" was done tap dance style and then another one of my favourite musical theatre songs "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" from "Grease" and another tap section to Paulo Nutini's "Pencil Full Of Lead", followed by "Pure Imagination".

Sam Sparro's "Black & Gold" was given a Bob Fosse inspired choreography, which I loved, complete with black evening dress and gold top hats.

There was a very comical monologue regarding Jelly Beans from Freya Shane who really knows how to deliver a piece with excellent expression and diction.

Another cuteness overload from the Minis/Juniors with a brilliantly executed "Penguins Of Madagascar" section, "Shake A Tail Feather" from "The Blues Brothers" and a power packed group choreographed piece to "American Idiot" closed the first half.

The second half opened with a bang to "I'm Still Standing" from "Sing" and a wonderful Cockney rendition by a pair of young ladies of "The Lambeth Walk" from "Me & My Girl".

Another smooth segue from "Where Is Love" into "Food Glorious Food" from "Oliver" and then another visit to the stage by the Minis/Juniors for "Thumbelina".

Ben E King's "Stand By Me" was performed partly in sign language into another beautiful ballet section. Following this was a note perfect version of "Tomorrow" from "Annie".

Rosie Hudson then delivered another excellent monologue all about a cat who warned its' owner that they were being poisoned by the cat for monetary reasons, except the cat's mode of poisoning was by chocolate! I don't know if this is a monologue written for this show, but it was wonderfully delivered.

Later on we were treated to another monologue called "Smile" by Hemani Kader, which led  the way to another ensemble piece, sung by The Inters of "You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile" from "Annie".

Closing the afternoon showcase everyone appeared on stage to "Spread the Love Around" from "Sister Act" and a lovely closer of Meghan Trainor's "Better When I'm Dancing".

The Inters are split into three sections and they are....

Inters 1: Chloe Davey, Holly Fraser, Erin O'Regan, Emily Taylor, Freya Shane, Saveliy Bibicev, Gracie Horner and Hattie Horner.

Inters 2: Sophie Brown, Hattie Buxey, Lottie Buxey, Ruby Foreman, Zara Halse, Eliza Harrison, Kiera Hicken, Rosie Hudson, Willow Hunter, Lalita Kader, Atia Morrell, Rory O'Regan, Jake S, Freya Sankey, Clara Wheldon, Lyla Wilkinson and Dahliya Williams.

Inters 3: Isla Crawford, Tessa Gibbon, Jessica Griffiths, Hallie Gregory, Freya Holmes, Martha Houghton, Karin Hurst, Hemani Kader, Grace Moroziuk, Erin P, Caitlin-Rose Robinson, Phoebe Searson, Etta Stevens, Dillon Taylor, Holly Towey, Honor Wilkie, Martha Wilson, Edward Young and Harry Keiller.

The Minis and Juniors are Savannah, Francesca, Marina, Malaika, Otis, Aska, Verada, Pasha, Frankie, Hettie, Grace, Cora-Mae, Ruby, Bea and Mila. All deliver a massive dose of cuteness!

The tutors are Liam Petruccio-Hall (Drama), Bethany Wear (Dance/Ballet), Sophie Petruccio-Hall (Technique), Maddie Pritchard (Tap) and Tilly Wishart and Laura Ellis (Minis/Juniors/Singing).

Technical manager was Nigel Newton, the Lighting Design is by Tom Mowat and the Sound Design is by Rob Kettridge and SM and Sound 2 by Bronwen Webster. The show was supported by College Street Technical Services CIC.

Creative Director is Amanda Hall, Assistant Creative Director is Liam Petruccio-Hall and Administrator/Costumes by Sophie Petruccio-Hall.

The staging, as with yesterday's showcase, was slick and tight and a very varied showcase which really highlighted the quality of the choreography, and the half a dozen lads were a match for the ladies. I was really impressed with Harry Keiller who you could tell has a flair for dance, and as Justin Timberlake sang, he has the "feeling in his bones, it goes electric wavey".

Another thing that I noticed was the friendship this group have. From the very youngest to the Inters, I spotted several of them helping each other and pointing them in the direction they needed to go on stage. Spotlight have obviously taught this group not only how to perform, sing, act and dance, but life skills along the way.

 "Stand In The Spotlight - Seniors Annual Showcase 2025"

Squire Performing Arts Centre, Nottingham.

Showcases are a very different theatre shows and I'll just let you know how I view them. I see musicals and plays almost in the same way as I listen to concept albums, like "Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds", Pink Floyd's "The Wall" or Lloyd-Webber's "Evita". The album should be listened to as a whole and be judged as a whole concept.

A Showcase, on the other hand is a collection of different pieces, often not related to the piece before or after the one that you're focused on at any given time of enjoying, a bit like  one of those old Ronco or K-Tel collection albums where every track is by a different artist and probably a different genre of music, so you can dip in and out at any given stage of the record; you have your favourite tracks, and maybe some that you don't like as much, but every track is different and can be commented on singularly, maybe not as a whole.

You may like the entire album of a concept album, every track and tell people about the album as a whole without designating any one or two tracks for praise that may make the other tracks on the concept album, seem not so good, even though in your mind the whole album is amazing.

A "Greatest Hits" album you may allow yourself to like some tracks over the others, and by doing so, still be able to tell others that the whole album is brilliant. I hope that you understand the analogy in this explanation and how I go about reviewing these two different forms of theatre, and hopefully the highlights I list below will give you a taste of how good Saturday's Showcase was.

First off, let me say that the staging of this showcase is the tightest and best that I've witnessed for Spotlight. No gaps in between the performances, and there were 38 different performances, often one section segueing into the next creating a smooth and professional hand over to the next piece, and I love that quality of no nonsense, time saving staging.

The Showcase mixed a varied selection of musical theatre pieces, some very well known to the average theatre goer, and some lesser known pieces, monologues, devised pieces, contemporary, tap and ballet dance sections and popular mainstream songs, so here are some of my highlights from Saturday night. I hope that there's no offence caused by my not mentioning anyone's piece in full description or detail.

Act One started with a brave choice of the ballad "There Will Be Sun" from "Groundhog Day", a musical by Tim Minchin and then ramped up to "What The Hell" from "Mrs Doubtfire" into "It's A Fine Fine Line", a ballad from "Avenue Q" sung by Hemi Lewis. The show then took us "Back To the Future" with "The Power Of Love", showcasing the three male performers sharing lead vocals, George Young, Preston Nash and Jason Thompson.

This was followed by three lesser known pieces, including some lovely contemporary and ballet performances which led on to a storming choreography piece to Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits" from "Tina -The Musical".

I loved the arrangement for "If they Could See Me Now" from "Sweet Charity" leading into one of my favourite comic pieces of musical theatre "Agony" from "Into The Woods" performed by Preston Nash and George Young.

There was a slice of "Newsies" with "King Of New York", a monologue from Jasmine Leek and then another lesser known musical piece from a musical called "Dog Fight", again featuring the three lads and Hemi called "Hey Good Looking", which was great fun to watch and included several other members of the Showcase cast.

A heartfelt version of "Maybe Next time" from "Cabaret" and a nice comedy section from Lucy Horton and Esmie Smith-Cockayne.

Then came a real biggie for me personally "Bye Bye Blackbird", the version from the musical "Fosse", danced by many of the girls with George Young. Bob Fosse was such an iconic, stylish Choreographer and Director and all of the stylings that made him the legend that he was were included in this section of the show.

A powerful close to the first act came with "Backstage Romance" from the musical "Moulin Rouge", the second selection from this musical, "Crazy Rolling" having been performed earlier in the act.

Act Two started with another one of my favourite songs, and again from a musical that is rarely performed from the Nineties, "Smokey Joe's Cafe" and the sublime ensemble number "On Broadway".

"Whipped Into Shape" from "Legally Blonde" gave us chance to see a great slice of the 2025 cast singing, dancing as well as skipping in this fun number; I could hardly skip this mention, now could I?

Up next came a monologue, which intrigued me, and I now want to seek out a longer version of it. It was performed by Jason Thompson, who I noticed visually got more relaxed as the evening went by. I'd love to see Jason in a main role because he has a certain charisma when he is on stage by himself but is often concealed in a group, even though this young man is probably the tallest of the group. He certainly was more relaxed delivering this piece and hopefully we'll see more of him upfront in the future.

It's no secret that I can't wait for "Something Rotten" the comedy musical about William Shakespeare to finally tour the UK, and I love the soundtrack, which is why I loved "Will Power" being included in this showcase, featuring Preston Nash on vocals.

This then segued nicely into "Lovely Ladies", another big ensemble piece from the musical "Les Miserables", and in turn this segued into "I Dreamed A Dream".

I must apologise for not remembering which young lady performed with George Young on "This World Will Remember Us" from "Bonnie & Clyde" but this duo created great excitement, especially as it's one of my favourite, and probably most well known song from that musical, as well it being staged wonderfully.

Loved "Run Freedom Run" taken from "Urinetown" and that started a run of equally high quality and highly entertaining race to the finale. "What It Means To Be A Friend" from "Thirteen The Musical", "That's Life" from another little known musical "Smash" and then a choreographed piece to "Defying Gravity" by a band who I love to bits, Third Reprise. This band take musical theatre songs and perform them in a different style. In this case it's performed as a funk/dance track featuring the amazing voice of Amanda Barise. It gives a real groove to the song and allowed the dancers to perform in a different style to a song that everyone knows.

The final bows was done to Pink's hit "Never Gonna Not Dance Again".

I've mentioned some of the performers, but here's the full class of 2025.

Darcey Adams, Evie Andrew, Sophie Benner, Stephanie Booth, Scarlett Coleman-Smith, Hermione Mae, Amy Flatman, Grace Gent, Emily Holder, Megan Holder, Lucy Horton, Freya Ireson, Alannah Kight, Jasmine Leek, Hemi Lewis, Preston Nash, Esmie Smith-Cockayne, Bria Spencer, Jason Thompson and George Young.

The  Spotlight Tutors are Liam Petruccio-Hall (Drama), Bethany Wear (Dance/Ballet), Sophie Petruccio-Hall (Technique) and Maddie Pritchard (Tap).

Technical manager was Nigel Newton, the excellent and stylish Lighting Design is by Tom Mowat and the faultless Sound Design is by Rob Kettridge and SM and Sound 2 by Bronwen Webster. The show was supported by College Street Technical Services.

Creative Director is Amanda Hall, Assistant Creative Director is Liam Petruccio-Hall and Administrator/Costumes by Sophie Petruccio-Hall.

Another wonderful evening of quality entertainment, showcasing what Spotlight can do.

Sunday afternoon showcases the Inters talents, and I'll be there to do some future star spotting, and they have some fine role models to look up to.

 "Six - Teen Edition" by Nottingham Arts Theatre Youth Group.

Nottingham Arts Theatre.

"Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived."

"Six" is THE musical to be performed lately, mainly due to the license for youth groups to perform this show being released, and why not!

Henry VIII’s ex-wives get the spotlight they deserve in this historical reimagining. It's the ultimate royal pop concert as Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr tell you their stories in a series of girlband-esque performances. "Six" takes inspiration for each of the Queens from pop superstars, such as Adele, Ariana Grande, Avril Lavigne, Jessie J, and more.

The musical tells the story of the six wives of Henry VIII like you've never heard before. It brings the queens right into the 21st century with a soundtrack that includes power ballads, techno beats, and absolute anthems for an unforgettable lesson in history and girl power. There are plenty of incredibly catchy songs by writing team Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, including “Get Down,” “All You Wanna Do,” and “Haus of Holbein” — a techno-infused song based on the German painter.

Marlow and Moss wrote "Six the Musical" in their final year at Cambridge University. They then took their show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017, returning the following year. The pair won a Tony Award for their Six music at the 2022 ceremony.

They wrote it to be performed as a concert style format, and on opening night at the Nottingham Arts Theatre this youth group created the perfect girl power style concert atmosphere. The atmosphere was electric and the energy from the packed Arts Theatre audience almost matched the energy from the stage; we were royally entertained in one of the best musical shows that I have been to at this venue.

You walk into the auditorium to be greeted by six King-sized thrones, fit for Queens, raised up on a second stage, bathed in a lilac light, and straight away you know just by this staging that this is going to be a show with attitude and sass. The four piece band were housed behind these thrones.

To make sure that as many young actors get the chance to perform this show, there are two teams, Herstory and Herstoric - see what happened there? Team Herstory perform in the Saturday evening and Sunday matinee shows and Team Herstoric perform in the Friday evening and Saturday matinee shows.

Team Herstory are....

Kate Russell (Catherine Parr), Eliza Szedja (Katherine Howard), Elizabeth Fitzgerald (Anne of Cleves), Grace Jones-Eccles (Jane Seymour), Connie Hatchett (Anne Boleyn) and Chloe Crofts (Catherine of Aragon). 

Team Herstoric are....

Sophie Murphy (Catherine Parr), Kayla Burgess (Katherine Howard), Arlo Perrons (Anna of Cleves), Amelie Adams (Jane Seymour), Connie Tegerdine (Anne Boleyn) and Caitlin Young (Catherine of Aragon). 

This collection of Royal jewels have set the bar very high, individually and collectively for Team Herstory to catch, but I know that both teams are amazing in what they do, so whichever team you see, you'll have the time of your life with either. They are fun, cheeky, sassy, bitchy and I absolutely loved it. I am not going to pick any one of these young actors out over the other because that's impossible to do here because they are all on the same very high level of performance, which also shows that an incredible amount of work has gone into this show from actors and production and technical teams alike.

There's also a dance troupe to back the Six Queens on both sets of teams, giving it even more of a concert feel. They are Katie Lister, Olivia Bott, Camille Jules, Roxy Smith, Evie Jones, and Libby Thompson. Choreographed by Jessica Royce, who also Co Produced the show with Keira Dormer-Hazell.

The choreography for the backing dance troupe and the Six Queens drives so much of the energy in this musical, and there are some iconic stances you see, as well as some nice inspirational power moves that Jessica has blended in, making the choreography as exciting as the songs and the messages within the show.

Directed by Eleanor Carty. Just listening to the audience reactions before, during and after the show tells you all that you need to know about this show and the way that it's been presented and directed. This show does not just "open", it EXPLODES on stage and that initial impact lasts to the very last chord of the "MegaSix". That in itself is all you need to know about how this show has been produced and directed.

Jonah Williams is the Musical Director. If I had not had seen this quartet take their places on stage I'd have swore that the backing was a backing track, it was so good, and all from just four musicians; Jonah (Keyboards), AJ Hill (Bass Guitar), Abi Wilson (Drums) and Austin Owen (Guitar). The sound they made, with just a little help from a click track, was immense, or is the word "fierce"?

There are some very catchy tunes in this seventy minute musical, many of which could have been recorded by any of today's female icons and have been mainstream chart hits. "Heart Of Stone" and "I Don't Need Your Love" brilliant power ballads and "Haus Of Holbein" could have been included in Eurovision for it's Euro catchiness. "Don't Lose Ur Head" is the most streamed song of the soundtrack, but every one of the ten songs performed are as catchy as hell.

Many of the young people involved in the Youth Group are also taking on technical roles, as they did in last week's "Shrek Jr".

Lenny Brady is on the sound desk, with a little help by the College Street Technical Services CIC. Apart from the odd crackly mic pac, the sound was brilliant. I would have liked the volume on the mics to have turned up just a notch, but that is just a personal preference.

Zach Silcock is in charge of lighting, under the leadership of the College Street techies and supported by Evie Webster. Combined with the sound, the lighting design really created the excitement of a pop concert, and again, is one of the best design and operation I have seen at the Arts Theatre. This also gives an indication of the talents of this Youth Group away from their stage, expanding their knowledge of the technical side of theatre.

Oli Sheard is Deputy Stage Manager under the expert eye of Nigel Newton; who better to be trained by. Charlotte Clay is Stage Manager and between them and the backstage support crew of Jack Kent, Ace Merkelt, Cleo Sims and Liam Brown, they made sure that this show ran as smooth as silk, and as slick as the Queens' performances.

Costumes are by Jessica Royce and Eleanor Carty and look fantastic and eye catching.

It's been a while since I saw the amount of people filling the Arts Theatre as tonight (Friday) was, and I love seeing a full theatre, and what they brought with them was an energy that fed the actors on stage. I have also never heard a roar as loud as this audience produced at the end of the show, almost on a level of a football crowd. I have also not seen audience members getting out of their seats to dance in the aisle at the end in the way that I did tonight, so you can gauge just how fantastic this show, and the performers were on opening night.

This level of performance also reflects the hard work, blood, sweat and tears that has gone into the months of rehearsals and work from Jess, Keira, Eleanor and Jonah.

The show is an absolute joy and celebration of girl power - there's even a nod to the Spice Girls - so if you like a show with a brilliant story, great music, comedy and fine acting, then this is the one that you need to see this weekend. I guarantee that you will NOT be disappointed!

"Six - Teen Edition" is at the Nottingham Arts Theatre until Sunday 6 July.