"Calamity Jane"

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Yeehaaw! y'all. Calamity Jane, that tomboy cowgirl rolls into town and spreads fun and song, and just a little mischief in this "sky highest, smile widest, wild 'n' woosiest western musical of 'em all".

TV viewers got an early taster of what was in store this week at the Theatre Royal last Saturday night on the National Lottery's Night At the Musicals.

Set mainly in the bar room of The Golden Garter in Deadwood, the regulars want a performance from Adelaid Adams, the beauty depicted on the collectable cigarette cards of the time, and the object of everybody’s affections. Jane is going to ‘Chicargi’ to see her and bring her back with her, after the last act to play The Golden Garter, "Frances Fryer" actually turns out to be Francis Fryer, a male act who is definitely no replacement for the lovely Frances they had been expecting!

Jane is too late to catch Adelaid who has left to tour Europe, and due to a case of mistaken identity she asks Adelaid’s maid Katie, to return to Deadwood with her to perform at The Golden Garter. When Katie's cover is blown due to an onset of nerves, Katie wins over the crowd and stays in Deadwood, and in the process wins the heart of Lieutenant Danny Gilmartin away from Jane. Jealousy kicks in with Jane but there is a happy ever after in the end, for more than Jane.

West End regular Carrie Hope-Fletcher, plays tomboy Jane and boy does she look like she is having a rooting tooting time of it all, she even gets to snog Wild Bill Hickok, played by  Vinny Coyle. I last saw Carrie on the Nottingham Theatre Royal stage back in 2016 when she played Truly Scrumptious in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", so it was great to see her back in Nottingham, and on stage. 

Carrie is perfect as the tomboy Jane, and brings a load of infectious fun and energy to the role. Tie that in with some wonderful vocals and you get the ideal "Callam". And what a transformation when she dons her "purdy" dress. When people think of the song "Secret Love" it's automatic recall to think of Doris Day - for me the ultimate version - but Carrie simmers serenely and then bursts into an explosion of emotion and power in that song. All in all, this is a wonderful version of a classic musical theatre character; but then again, let's not forget, this is Carrie Hope Fletcher, and whether we're watching Wednesday, Truly or Calamity, every role is packed with character and fun.

Vinny Coyle, I've not seen before, although I know of his vocal talents as I have a couple of albums that Vinny has been involved in. Hearing his vocals live on stage, as opposed to listening to a CD, is something that you need to hear because the tone, control, and at times fragility, especially in the beautiful "Higher Than A Hawk", just leaves you hypnotised. 

Seren Sandham-Davies plays Katie Brown and a lovely fun character to play. Katie fancies herself as a singer, but in the shadow of the beloved Adelaide, and when Jane comes a calling for Adelaide, who had left the theatre after her performance in the show, Katie saw her opportunity to shine. Unfortunately, her guise was spotted by someone and her real identity revealed. That was not a bad thing though in this story! 

Francis Fryer, who is mistaken for Frances Fryer, is played by Samuel Holmes.  "Everyone Complains About the Weather" and "Hive Full Of Honey" are songs full of personality, and Samuel highlights all of the comedy and personality in these songs.

Luke Wilson plays Lieutenant Danny Gilmartin. I really sat up and took notice of Luke in the second act with his duet with Katie of "Love You Dearly", which is a gorgeous ballad and really shows what a fantastic voice Luke has.

We don't get to see too much of Molly-Grace Cutler as the diva Adelaid Adams but even in a cameo, she makes an impact.

Peter Peverley plays Henry Miller,  the owner of The Golden Garter, and Henry's daughter, Susan, played by Holly Cassar, who gets her own happy ending - Susan that is. The jittering and the nervousness of Henry Miller was done beautifully by Peter; you almost feel uncomfortable around Henry Miller, almost like being around a liability, all of which makes this character such fun. Good job Henry has Susan to keep a firm hand on The Golden Garter tiller!

The supporting character roles are played by Richard Lock (Rattlesnake), Ben Mabberley (Hank and Harry), Fergus Murphy (Joe and The Stage Door Keeper), Tomas Wolstenholme (Buck) and Claire Greenway (Doc), Lara Lewis (Swing), Emma Jane Morton (Swing & Dance Captain), Theo Diedrick (Swing), Jacob Leeson (Swing, Fight Captain and Guitar Captain) and Stephen Scott Stark (Swing), James Wycherley (Drums and Percussion).

The make up for Rattlesnake is brilliant, because you would never have recognised Richard out of his costume and make up. The physicality of Rattlesnake also accentuates the age gap between actor and character. Rattlesnake is the first character on stage, encouraging the audience to sing along with his banjo playing rendition of "The Black Hills Of Dakota".

Some of the actors are also musicians so we get to see live music played on stage as well. Not only do they have to sing, act and dance but they also have to play their instruments all at the same time, but they sound incredible and look just as good.

Directed by Nikolai Foster, artistic director at Leicester's Curve Theatre. Foster keeps it very traditional; let's face it, the original was so good, there's no need to play around with it, in the way some classic musicals have been on stage. That said there's a lovely fresh feel surrounding this show, and even though I've seen this musical several times, it still made me feel as if this was my first time seeing it.

There are a couple of sections where we see travel by stagecoach, and these scenes are recreated wonderfully, at one stage combining the use of the piano as part of the stagecoach.

Choreographed and co Directed by Nick Winston. The choreography is wonderfully old school, or should I say "classic". The hoe down/country dancing sections are packed with energy, and I can only imagine that combining the choreography with playing instruments on stage is never an easy ask, but Nick has obviously managed to combine the two seamlessly.

Musical Director is Christopher Mundy, who also plays keyboards for the show. The orchestrations are by Catherine Jayes and sound superb.

Some great songs in there like "The Deadwood Stage", "The Black Hills Of Dakota", "I Can Do Without You", "The Windy City", "Higher Than A Hawk", "Careless With The Truth" and of course "Secret Love".

The costume and set design, by Matthew Wright, both take you back to the days of the old Wild West, you can almost smell the sawdust on the floor of the Golden Garter. The transformation into Calamity's shack, where she takes Katie to, is done well with unravelled drop-down drapes which bring colour to the stage, giving it a more feminine feel. Needless to say, the costumes are wonderful and made you feel like raiding those old dressing up boxes from your youth and dress like a cowboy..... just me then?

I touched on the make up, hair and wigs when I mentioned Rattlesnake, and Campbell Young Associates are who we need to thank for such transformations for the actors.

I don't think that there was one person who did not leave the theatre either singing, humming, or having "The Black Hills Of Dakota" or "The Deadwood Stage" running around their head; nor did I see anyone without a smile on their faces, and that is the proof that you need that this show is a smash hit, and also why "Calamity Jane" is dubbed "a classic".

"Calamity Jane" is on at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 29 March.

 "Ding Dong" by Marc Camoletti.

Ashby Dramatic Society.

Venture Theatre, Ashby de la Zouche.

Bernard Marcellin has discovered that his wife, Jacqueline, is having an affair with Robert Regnier. Being a reasonable businessman, Bernard gives Robert two options to compensate for the affair......

Robert chooses one of the options and so they aim to seal the deal with a meal with both couples, much to the frustration of their overworked and underpaid maid, Marie-Louise. Jacqueline does not know that Bernard has found out about her affair and is stunned to learn that their dinner guests are in fact her lover and "his wife".

The action of the play takes place in the Marcellin's duplex apartment in Paris, set in the year 2000.

Bernard is played by David Hare, who I've had the pleasure of seeing in previous plays at Venture, proving what an excellent comedy actor he is. In this production we get to see a brilliantly slimy, physical comedy performance by David, who slips into Franglais with great ease. Now, I haven't seen this play before, nor do I know the script, but I had a feeling that there were a few lines of improvisation with David, as well as a couple of the other cast members, especially Claire. 

David is on stage quite a bit of the time and has swathes of script to deliver, and much of it at speed. That in mind, being able to think on his feet and deliver believable and apt improvised pieces is something that any actor would love to have in their dramatic arsenal.

Jacqueline is played by Jo Coupe. Another actor who I've had the pleasure of witnessing her comedic prowess when she played the role of the younger Queen Elizabeth last year at Venture in "Handbagged". Aside from the previous comic talents shown previously, I also appreciated an actor who could act as a drunk - well I say that, but the gradual onset of tipsiness at the dinner party was wonderfully observed. Does this make Jo a great method actor I wondered! Jo also gets to wear the "costume of the show" at the dinner party, in my humble opinion.

Robert is played by Richard Hitchcock. Richard is an actor that I've not seen before, and this is his Venture Theatre debut, and what a way to make a splash in Ashby. Farce has various pace, and I loved the over the top sections that featured Richard, who also showed a smooth physical comedy side of him. As I say, I've not seen Richard on stage before so have nothing to make any comparisons with, so as a starting block, he impressed me as this squirming love rat.

Juliette, Robert's wife, is played by Mercedes Cook, a recent newbie to Ashby Dramatic Society. Mercedes brings a nice level of class to the play as Robert's upper class wife. It's no secret that I love an accent that actually sounds accurate, and Mercedes' French accent, when pretending to be Nicole Levee, is spot on. 

Marie-Louise, the maid, is played by Claire Kavanagh. I noted that I have seen all of Claire's characters while at Venture, all of them being very strong character roles. Comedy is possibly the hardest style of acting to pull off but Claire is wonderfully natural in this put upon role. I got echoes of Victoria Wood in this character, and the scenes with David and Jo were comedy gold. No two performances are ever the same and I think the audience on Friday night got a performance from this trio that, possibly, was quite unique!

Barbara, a call girl, is played by Tracey Hasler. Every character in this play is a stand alone character and has plenty to offer. What I enjoyed about Tracey's version of a "good time gal" is the accent. Proper down to earth and common, but even though she knew why she had been hired, she presented the "tart with a heart" persona wonderfully. I will not reveal though whether she had to work for the payment she received!

Marc Camoletti's play has been adapted from his original French play "Sexe et Jalousie" by Tudor Gates. Marc is also responsible for another well known, and oft performed piece of theatre, "Boeing Boeing".

Directed by Mel Mitchell, who makes her Directorial debut with this farce. Farce is all about pace and Mel gets this ingredient perfect. The cast have been collated really well, especially choosing actors who have the ability to perform comedy to this level.

Anna Golden is the Associate Director.

Set design shows an upper class room with stylish furniture and decor with the four doorways and a double set of glass doors leading to the external area to qualify the play to be labelled a "farce". It is an unwritten rule in theatre that if a play has six doors or more, then it is a farce. Signalling that Parisian location, we see the Eiffel Tower in the background through the open glass doors that lead onto the veranda area.

Andrea Beirne's props collection is worthy of noting as well.

Sound design is by  Martin Pritchard and operated by Gemma Pritchard. Thank goodness someone invented the doorbell sound effect, as this show would not be the same without that particular sound effect. With every ring of the doorbell, the stakes, and the hilarity rise, and of course gives the play its' title.

Lighting design is by Aleyn Lester and operated by Martin Pritchard. Simple but effective design that was effectively operated.

Costumes are thanks to Karen Heath. The male costumes are smart casual, but it's the costumes for the women that really grab the attention, like Jacqueline's dinner party ensemble, Barbara's terrifically tacky costume and the really apt Maid's costume. All the costumes give you an instant incite into the character of the various roles.

Smoothly stage managed by Patrick Seaman.

There's much more that I could say regarding the storyline of this play, but would I give away too much and spoil your enjoyment of this magnifique comedy? Mais Non! Sacre bleu!

"Ding Dong" is at The Venture Theatre, Ashby de la Zouche until Saturday 29 March.

 "Look After Your Knees" by Natalie Bellingham.

Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside, Nottingham.

The title of the play is inspired by a song from the 90’s called "Sunscreen" by Baz Lurhman where one line of the lyrics say “Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone”. I know the song well and being at that stage in my life where I've more years behind me than in front of me, the themes to this production piqued my interest.

In a blend of comedy, storytelling, music and movement, Natalie Bellingham, freelance theatre maker, performer and creative facilitator, takes you on a personal journey through the pain and beauty of growing older and facing change when you didn’t see it coming. Whilst being a personal journey, Natalie lost her Mum in 2020, there are many parts of this one hour performance which resonate with many of the audience members, I would imagine, as we all experience loss at some stage of our lives.

The show has several scenarios that you soon realise all become linked by the end via clever symbolism. You wonder why Natalie is telling an electric fan to breathe to the strains of Bread's song "Everything I Own", but slowly this scene as well as a scene about trying to get an imaginary whale, stranded on the beach, back into the water to save its' life all become linked and you realise exactly what Natalie is saying.

This playful comedy play first started to take form back in 2022, it explores loneliness, tenderness and connection and touches on Natalie’s personal experience of grief, loss and relationships. It’s about a person trying to unwrap the new version of themselves in a world they don’t recognise. Blend this in with personal letters from her journey up to the current period of her life, and this makes for a wonderfully hypnotic and emotive piece of theatre.

There are two sections within the piece where she asks a couple of audience members what they get from two sections of intense one to one interactions for  a few seconds. What I got out of this performance piece of theatre was an overwhelming feeling of relaxation, strangely enough, but why I think this was , was because of Natalie's voice; she has a really soothing voice when she talks and relates the stories. The more comedic sections are very original and very comical, the reason for this is that the comedy is simple as well as wonderfully observed.

A brilliantly simple example is when she talks about her mum and eating crisps; her mum tells her off for eating them too loud, so she licks the crispiness from the crisps and then starts to eat them so that they don't make as much noise, something that she has carried through her adult life. This may not sound that funny, but when told the way that Natalie delivers this story, complete with facial comedy, it turns out to be a very funny part of the show.

Born in South Africa, raised in Manchester, now living in Wakefield, Natalie brings a lovely clowning performance with an exacted physicality to the Lakeside stage with this show. 

Natalie also holds the title of being a "Giggle Doctor", visiting hospitals and spending time cheering up the kids in hospitals with music, comedy and dance on a one to one basis. That lovely style of comedy can also be seen in this production as it's almost as if she is talking to every audience member on a one to one basis.

"Look After Your Knees" is a one night only show at Lakeside, and at the end you realise the significance of the title of the show, and it's not necessarily all about your knees.

If you get the chance to catch this show at any time, make sure that you get a ticket because it's incredibly entertaining and very different to anything that you may have seen outside the Edinburgh Fringe. 

 "Kim's Convenience" by Ins Choi

Derby Theatre.

You may recognise this from the Netflix comedy series, but I haven't seen it, so this is my first experience of "Kim's Convenience". The play has had hugely successful runs both in London and internationally, and now it's at Derby Theatre. It all started back in 2011 when the original stage drama premiered at the Toronto Fringe. 

The play is about a family-run Korean store and is written by Ins Choi, who calls the play his "love letter to his parents and to all first-generation immigrants who now call Canada their home." Appa was a teacher back in Korea but when they moved to Toronto, his English was not good enough to continue teaching so they bought a convenience store and built up the business, but now the area is due to get a new Walmart - that's Asda to you and me - and Appa is offered a good price to sell the store, but he wants Janet to take over the running of the store, something that she doesn't want.

Appa’s kids Janet and Jung are now adults. Born in Canada they both worked at the store while growing up. Janet is a photographer with different values to her father, while Jung is conspicuous by his absence, estranged from his family, the explanation is given in the play.

James Yi is Appa, aka Mr Kim, who gives out both advice as well as insults, as well as training his daughter in how to spot "steals" which involves a lot of racist stereotyping. He just doesn't understand why Janet doesn't want to take over the business that he has worked so hard to build up.

Caroline Donica plays Janet, who has her own dreams and ambitions, and tries to convey these to her Father, but Janet is a modern woman and doesn't want to run the store. She wants to fall in love, and that becomes a reality when someone who she had a crush on when she was young comes back into her life.

Daniel Phung plays Jung, the son. He has been meeting up with his mother at church and has built himself a new life with a partner and they have a son, but he is not happy with his dead end used car salesman job. Towards the end of the play, he returns to the shop and makes amends with his father, one of the highlights of the play.

Andrew Gichigi is Alex, Rich, Mr Lee and Mike; various characters who enter the shop for various reasons. It's the part of Alex, the police officer who is there to answer a call regarding the illegal parking of Mr Lee, who makes the offer to buy Appa out, that is Andrew's main role. Janet had the crush on him when he was younger, plus he is Jung's best friend at school, and neither Appa nor Janet knew that he was back in the area. It's quite sweet, the reconciliation. 

Candace Leung plays Umma, wife to Appa and mother to Janet and Jung. The main comedy with Umma is a physical comedy, but the scene at church with Jung is a lovely softer scene.

Directed by Esther Jun. The balance between the comedy scenes and the more serious messages regarding immigration are well observed and balanced. The racist stereotyping scene does feel a little uncomfortable, nor did I find it comical either. there were a few scenes where Korean was spoken, so unless the audience knew the language, I did feel that these scenes were of no use. As I didn't understand the language, I had no idea if what they were saying was of importance to the play.

Mona Camille’s set looks as if it has been lifted from a real convenience store and on to the Derby Theatre stage. I love a play that has plenty of props so the set design was a joy to run my eyes over. Part of the shop transformed into the church scene which was good use of the set section.

Adrienne Quartly’s sound design is good with the electronic door chime sounding every time anyone entered or exited the shop, off stage.

The lighting design is by Jonathan Chan, but the operator was just a bit eager with the blackout as one scene left the actors in the dark still speaking. The blackout scene should have been just before the church scene to give cover for the scene change.

It's not a long play - lasting just seventy five minutes, and I love that they decided to not include an interval, keeping the flow of the play intact. I don't know if I would have enjoyed the play more had I head seen the Netflix series prior to the stage play. There were sections that I found comical, but I don't think this is one that I'd rush back to see again, I'm afraid to report.

If you're a fan of the Netflix show, you'll probably "get" the humour and enjoy the stage play.

"Kim's Convenience" is at Derby Theatre until Saturday 22 March.