"Miss Saigon"

The Crucible, Sheffield.

"Miss Saigon" is an epic, stunning adaptation of Puccini’s opera, "Madame Butterfly", by the writers behind "Les Miserables", Boublil and Schonberg. In the dangerous days before Saigon’s fall in 1975, Chris, an American GI, and Kim, a destitute Vietnamese orphan working her first night as a prostitute, fall in love.

When the city falls, the lovers are forced apart, and each must find their own way, alone. Three years later Chris is able to return to Vietnam and brings with him an American wife. Kim, who has waited for Chris, has raised their son, Tam, who is “bui-doi”- a term for a child conceived during the horrors of war. With so much devastation behind them, Kim, Chris and his new wife must decide how to move forward.

The musical has a sung-through score and tour-de-force roles for actors. It's set in the round on three sides so the view from all seats is quite spectacular. This is the first time that I've visited The Crucible and I can see why theatre goers rave about this venue.

As far as I can remember, I've only seen "Miss Saigon" once before, a long time ago at The Leicester Haymarket - that in itself shows how long ago it was - and the technical side of stage performance has moved on massively, and is obvious in this production. The scene when Chris is being airlifted out of Vietnam by helicopter is a wonderful scene as he disappears into the roof of the theatre.

The other highlight, among so many, was the "American Dream" section. The costume department really go to town with this section and depicts really well how the dream can turn into a nightmare.

The Direction by Robert Hastie and Anthony Lau is just spectacularly reimagined.

The minimal set, which is operated by the cast, is designed by Ben Stones, works perfectly as the settings move from one to the next; the simplicity of the set means that the full concentration is given to the actors, but adding just the right amount of fabric to the story. There's also excellent use of the revolving section of the stage.

The Lighting Design is a star in itself and needs to be seen to be appreciated. Nothing I can say here will describe the magic and beauty of this specific area of excellence. Jessica Hung Han Yun created the magic.

Likewise with the video and animation design by Andrzej Goulding. It was like adding sprinkles to your favourite flavour of ice cream; it topped everything off deliciously.

The choreography, by Jade Hackett, ranged from exciting and rapid to sensual and soft.

Needless to state that the singing was of the highest calibre from all. This is basically an opera so the range from the actors was top notch; they definitely provided tingles, especially in a couple of my favourites from the soundtrack "Last Night Of The World" and "I Would Give My Life For You".

Mike Walker's sound design was as clear as a bell; you could hear every word that was sung, and no missed mic cues.

Chris Poon is the Musical Director for the show. Obviously with the pace of the show and it being sung through from start to finish, this man only got a break in the interval. The score is absolutely lush, as anyone who knows the soundtrack will confirm, but when you hear it sung with such passion and feeling, it takes on a whole new emotional feel.

The costumes, especially in "The American Dream", are wonderful, as are the wigs, hair and make up by Sam Cox.

There's no way that I can pick out any one actor for special mentions in this gorgeous musical because they all give their absolute everything in all areas of acting, dance and vocals.

Joanna Ampil (The Engineer), what a massive role and so wonderfully presented.

Jessica Lee (Kim) - oh my the emotions projected in the scenes with her son Tam, who last night I think was played by seven year old Anaya Awoko-Bennett. There are four young actors playing this role throughout the run; four year old Ikayan-Ray Mulumo, seven year old Deacon Pinder and four year old Hirak Singla. What a way to start your stage career in a musical of this size.

Christian Maynard (Chris) has a powerful, soul voice which worked so well with these songs.

Shane O Riordan (John), Ethan Le Phong (Thuy), Desmonda Cathabel (Mimi), Aynrand Ferrer (Gigi), Shanay Holmes (Ellen), Emily Ooi (Yvonne), Ericka Posadas (Fifi), Adam Colbeck-Dunn, Andrew Davison, Aharon Raynor, Callum Tempest, Danny Whelan and Riley Woodford play G.I.s.

The ensemble are Iverson Yabut, Riley Woodford, Rumi Sutton, Ernest Stroud, Rachel Jayne Picar, Patrick Munday, Lavinia Mai, Abel Law and Oscar Kong. Such a hard working ensemble and richly deserving of a mention in any review.

Absolutely everything about this production is superb, and most possibly one of the best professional productions that I have seen, as well as one of the most enjoyable. You can see why this musical is not produced that often due to the scale of the musical, which is why, if you can get to see this one, go see it before it moves on Saturday 19 August. It is worth every penny, and the programmes are only £4.00 which came as a nice surprise as I was expecting the cost to be higher.

 "Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare

Wellington Circus, Nottingham Playhouse.

He is a one that Bill Shakespeare! He loves to mix things up a bit and cause a rumpus does he not? Well, here's another one of his plays that includes tempests, a shipwreck and mistaken identity. Just when you think you can't love the Bard's work any more, comes along this all female version that takes Shakespeare's comedy and ramps it up to the max. So, if music be the food of love, here is a feast, and I am a great eater of beef and it's done nothing to harm me, or my appreciation of this fine production.

Viola thinks her brother is dead after a shipwreck lands them in a strange land. He thinks that she is dead. The first twin, Viola, falls in love with Orsino, who dotes on OIivia, who falls for Viola but is idolised by Malvolio. Enter Sebastian, who is the spitting image of his twin sister... Everyone thinks that she is her brother. Everyone thinks that her brother is her.

Set in the open area of Wellington Circus, and open to the elements, exactly the way that Shakespeare penned his plays to be performed.

Lisa Ambalavanar plays Olivia, Maria and Valentine. Zoe May Dales plays Sebastian, Malvolio, Captain and the Priest. Charlotte East plays Viola, Ceasario and Toby Belch and A K Golding plays Orsino, Andrew, Aguecheek and the Servant. There is no way that I could rate these four as anything more than equals in every area of this production. They all are as adept with accents as they are with performance, understanding, comedy and improvisation, especially when car alarms go off unexpectantly!

Anyone who knows me, know that I love a good (or really bad) accent and these four create an absolute accent-fest, which I loved. There's even a call for the audience to provide which accent for Lisa to do as a bearded Priest. This probably changes with every performance so that the audience get to see a slightly different version at every performance. Voice Coach, Marianne Samuels has done a great job in this area.

A K Golding brings a crazy "mad for it" Manchester vibe accent, and even adds a Manchester swagger to the character; and let's face it the Manchester accent is enough to put a smile on anyone's face!

Add to the mix coconuts, that brought images of a Morecambe and Wise sketch to mind, crossed with certain Spamalot sections.

There are sparkles of panto with asking the audience to chant and cheer for the duelling pair, as well as getting the audience involved in other ways, which I won't spoil by telling you in this review; but it's marvellous fun. And who'd have thought that Lennon and McCartney's words would sound at home alongside Shakespeare?

Performing outside also brought the comedy of the line, "If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction" to life, and appreciated by the knowledgeable audience.

Directed by Martin Berry, assisted by Liv Watson, they have packed this production with so much fun. They have created a show that is so different while encapsulating the comedy that Shakespeare has put in place. See how many "borrows" from other areas you can spot! A wonderful vehicle for any newcomer to the world of Shakespeare.

The visual comedy is truly excellent, and it takes a confident cast who are comfortable with this style of comedy performance, and have the understanding of the works of William Shakespeare to deliver a masterpiece such as this.

Joshua Goodman provides the sound design and composes the music. The timing of both are spot on with crystal clarity, to say that this is an outdoor performance. And I can't get "Olivia" and "The Lady Song" out of my head.

Ella Barraclough is the Designer for this external piece of theatre, and there's plenty to see, set design wise, along with some props, by Alex Hatton, you wouldn't probably expect for a Shakespeare play, i.e. plastic spades from the seaside.

The costumes are by Alexander Maharry, and I absolutely loved these costumes. They were bright and colourful and I'd not seen these designs before, they really made an impact on the play, as well as the audience. Just take a look at the pictures. True imagination is proven in this area.

I've spouted in previous Shakespeare plays just how much I enjoy his works; I'm no expert by a long shot, but productions like this one just helps to break down the idea that Shakespeare is not for everyone, because it really is. You don't have to be able to understand the way that Shakespeare writes, the beauty of his Iambic pentameter will get easier the more Shakespeare you witness. In the meantime, just go along and enjoy the comedy from this excellent group of actors and crew. Oh, and don't worry about seating, the chairs are provided and you can sit wherever you wish.

Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon 'em. I'll leave it with you to decide which of these options match this cast and crew. Whichever you may think, this production is packed with greatness to the rim.

"Twelfth Night" is on until Saturday 29 July. Go on, have a feast!

 "Made In Dagenham" by Kaleidoscope Players

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

The musical is based on the 2010 film "Made in Dagenham", which in turn centred around the true-life events of the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968.

Rita O'Grady acts as the spokesperson for a group of female workers at Ford's Dagenham plant, who go on strike to fight the inequality that becomes apparent when women workers were to be paid less as they were classed as unskilled. In contrast, their male colleagues were classed as skilled and ultimately received more pay. But these actions, while causing problems at work, also put the O'Grady family unit under great stress.

When the American bosses fly in and lay off 5,000 men as a result, including Rita’s husband Eddie, cracks begin to show in the women’s solidarity. Risking her marriage and friendships, Rita continues her efforts for equality and gives a rousing speech at a televised Trade Union Conference, leading to the passing of equal pay within the union back in 1970.

Alice Goodall plays Rita, both being little powerhouses. There's a great energy needed to play Rita and Alice has this, as well as emotion when she reads the letter left by Eddie in the second half. Alice produces some really good vocals as well.

Rita's husband, Eddie, is played by Michael Panichi. There are several scenes involving Michael that I really enjoyed; the one when he has forgotten their tenth wedding anniversary and Rita and Eddie perform “I'm Sorry I Love You”, both Alice and Michael play to their strengths in this scene. the other, again involving both Alice and Michael, is "The Letter".

This is one of my favourite tracks from the soundtrack and it was delivered by Michael with passion. It was a shame that the sound at this time was not that great which made it sound like Michael was shouting, which he wasn't.

The girls in the factory are Sandra (Samantha Hempsall), Clare (Charli Twyford), Cass (Rebekah Street) and Beryl (Kerry-Ann Roe). These are a feisty lot and quite obviously starved of male attention, the characters by the way, not the actors! Samantha, who I saw not long ago in "Confusions", I imagine had great fun playing Sandra, the outrageously confident one. Likewise, Kerry-Ann with her foul-mouthed character Beryl; always fun to hear someone swearing to great comedy effect.

The other factory girls were played by Michelle Bradford, Hannah Bradford, Deb Weetman and Fran Nolan.

Harold Wilson is played by Ray Elliott, and for me another highlight. This is a lovely comical, as well as satirical role and Ray delivered brilliantly.

Playing Wilson's aides are Heather Slonimski, Michelle Bradford and Dan Goodall and get to perform "Always A Problem” complete with choreography.

Playing Barbara Castle is Josephine Walker. Anyone who can remember Barbara "fiery like her hair" Castle will know that she didn't mince her words, jut the men that got in her way, and Josephine's portrayal was superbly acerbic. Barbara's big song is “Ideal World” which has some brilliant lyrics.

Mr Hopkins, the managing director of the Ford factory in Dagenham, is played by Dan Goodall. This is such a wonderful character and also gets to feature in another of my favourite scenes in the musical where he has come home for tea and there is a discussion with his wife about their son being caned by the headmaster. The writing for this part of the musical is acutely funny, and both Dan and Amy's timings were spot on for this scene.

Mrs Lisa Hopkins, a repressed but not for too long, women's lib supporter is played by Amy Bradford. Loved the RP accent from Amy as well as the attitude provided for the character.

Union representative Monty is played by Ron Murfin. There's a nice mix of comedy and pathos involved with Monty as the true depth of one of his past relationships is revealed.

Fellow union colleague Connie is played by Alison Barrett. A good strong performance tinged with sadness for Connie in the second act.

E. Montgomery Ashford plays Mr Tooley, the American Executive for Ford Motors who comes over to sort the strike out. Here is another great character role, played beautifully, and just listen to the lyrics of his big song "This Is America", they have comedy packed into every line.

E. Montgomery also plays Mr Buckton, the school headmaster. This role also includes tongue-twisting script sections. Now, I'm not 100% sure of this but I think he also was in the scene where Eddie was singing to Rita outside the pub where he had forgotten the anniversary, but if he was, there was a really long note in there which was held for an eternity, showing a controlled and powerful vocal.

James Bennett played Barry, the young worker at the factory who is a bit of eye candy for the women in the factory. James also got to show off his vocals as Cortina Man; the grin never left his face and at the end I was expecting one of those flashes of light from the grin that you see in corny toothpaste ads. By the way, I love that jacket and shoes for Cortina Man. James also played Mr Tooley's sidekick, Adams, with sharp suit, reminiscent of something from the film "Men In Black".

During the incredibly corny song, “Cortina”, sung by Cortina Man, there's an equally corny dance number which stars the Cortina Girls, Amy Bradford, Hannah Bradford, Caitlin Wright and Katie Walford.

Chubby Chuff, a comedian in the factory worker's local, is played by Barry Smith. I'd actually believe that this man was a comedian as he has the delivery for a comedian, as well as the drollness.

Martin Weston plays Bill and Mr Hubble. His little outbursts of non-PC ness while at the table during a meeting between union leaders and plant management, were funny, as is most comedy that is non-PC in my opinion. Mr Macer, also present at the meeting is played by Paul Margett, trying to keep everything on the level.

The O Grady children are played by Rosie (Sharon) and Henry (Graham); both I feel destined for a future in musical theatre if their confidence on stage is anything to go by.

Directed by Deb Weetman, this musical is a perfect choice due to the ratio of women to men roles.

Musical Director is Charlotte Daniel, who led her five musicians, and herself. I thought that there were more musicians there due to the roundness of the sound.

The Lighting Design is by Aaron Mace. Simplicity is often all you need for lighting a show. Now, don't get me wrong, to me the lighting design looked a simple affair; it probably takes a lot to look as simple as it did, but it did the job and that's all you need.

The sound side of the show plagued throughout with mic packs cutting out, and when the actors were singing, and this happened, we didn't get to hear the vocals at all as the music was slightly louder than it needed to be. It looked to have been resolved as we went into the second act but the packs went again and we lost some of the humour in some of the songs because we didn't hear the lyrics. There was also leakage from actor's mics left up backstage unfortunately. I am sure that the sound guys will have this remedied for the remaining shows.

Choreographed by Josephine Walker, Amy Bradford and Alison Barrett, there's plenty of energy in some of these dance sections, especially in the big number that closes the first act "Everybody Out".

Samantha Moss is the Producer for this musical.

The costumes for this show were brilliant, as were the wigs. There was one wig that was the spitting image of a young Lulu's hair, and forgive me but I can't remember who wore this wig, but it really made her look like Lulu as she was in the Sixties as well. Love the look of all the costumes, wigs and make up.

It's a great, fun musical with heart and soul. It just needs a bit of tweaking in parts and the sound sorting, but that aside I really enjoyed everything I saw. This was my first time seeing a production by The Kaleidoscope Players, and I hope that it won't be my last.

"Made In Dagenham" is at The Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton until Saturday 15 July, when everybody'll be out!

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 "Miles/Eurydice" by West Bridgford Dramatic Society.

The Studio, West Bridgford.

This is the last production of the 2022/2023 Season for the award winning WBDS - West Bridgford Dramatic Society, and you get two for the price of one again.

The programme runs straight through, so there's no interval.

The first part is a short monologue called "Miles" by Ella Hickson and has several comparisons with "Eurydice" which is why it was chosen to be performed prior to the main event.

Directed by Amanda Pearce in her Directorial debut; Calum Sharp gets the stage and the spotlight to himself for this monologue. Miles is an American man, a stock broker in his mid-twenties and a survivor of the 7/7 London bombings in 2005. This incident allows him to live another life. Calum's story telling is wonderful and draws you in, but I was slightly confused by the accent.

"Eurydice" which has been adapted by Sarah Ruhl tells the story of "Orpheus In the Underworld" from the perspective of Eurydice, Orpheus' wife. Dying too young on her wedding day, Eurydice must journey to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love. For anyone who knows the story of Orpheus, there is a twist that has been inserted by Ruhl at the end, and I think that I can guarantee a slightly different script ending at every sitting.

I really enjoyed this play, and like "Miles", the story telling is hypnotic and all enveloping. There is puppetry, an inventive creation for a room, and a wonderful soundscape that adds drama to the story.

Emily Martin plays Eurydice who, on her wedding day, meets a very strange man who has a letter for Eurydice from her late Father.

Playing Orpheus is Dom Gaskell. There's a really nice, almost innocent connection between the two characters; I was going to say lovers but, playful as they are, the innocence overtakes any hint of past intimacy. Without seeing the act that Orpheus carries out at the end, we know what he did in order to recouple with his late wife!

Asta Knight plays Little Stone, and makes her debut with WBDS. Big Stone is played by Katie Minns and Jacky Tivers, who we normally see in the Box Office at The Studio Theatre, plays Loud Stone. These stones are real fun figures and do the bidding of the Lord Of the Underworld. And when you know the roles, the costumes also make sense.

Nik Hedges is a name that will be well known by patrons of the Nottingham Lace Market Theatre, and in this play, he makes his WBDS debut as both a rather creepy Man who has nothing but desire, nay lust, for the new bride, well he is The Lord Of The Underworld in disguise, and Child, although is very unchild like! This is where the puppetry comes into play but the unsettling voice from the child is all Nik's. Both parts equally unnerving!

Robert Dixon plays Father, who welcomes Eurydice into the Underworld and starts to teach her the ways of the land. He allows her wish to return to Orpheus but this is when the twist appears. Is this twist too much for Father to take?

Directed by Malcolm Todd, assisted by Dom Gaskell, they ensure that the characters deliver and the story trundles along at a really good pace. It's always a good sign when the ending comes a lot quicker that you thought it would, due to the cerebral investment the audience member has with the story and cast. And of course, the sheer enjoyment of the story and production.

The Set Design is also by Malcolm Todd. Full marks for the clever construction of Eurydice's room by Father.

The Sound Design for this play, by Arran Mackay, is very interesting, and is as rich and almost as physical as it is interesting to aurally experience. From Ludovico Einaudi, Mozart and Mendelssohn through to the Electric Light Orchestra, Glenn Miller and The Carpenters.

Jerome Foley's Lighting Design, which he also operates, is excellent and is, at times very dramatic, all adding to the overall effect.

All of the costumes and props have been sourced by Jan Dizon.

This production deserves a bigger audience than the one on opening night. It may be based on Greek tragedy, but tragedy it certainly isn't. Entertaining and very different, as it's quite rare for a play like this to be performed locally, and so well. Don't miss out!

"Miles"/"Eurydice" will be at The Studio theatre until Saturday 15 July.