"How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse " by Ben Muir.

Prism Theatre.

The Barge Inn Long Eaton.

This show has a dedicated team of experts who had got together, under the leadership of Dr Dale Seslick, to ensure that the myths and misconceptions surrounding those pesky undead were lifted for good in order that everyone could thrive and survive when the dead start to revive. (As long as they were marginally intelligent and rated as more than average on a scale of attractiveness). This is the seminar of their results telling you what precautions you need to take to survive a Zombie apocalypse.

This was one of the craziest, zaniest and most fun piece of semi-improvised piece of theatre I've seen for a very long time. The play kicked off by a rousing announcement of its' commencement by Chris Bryan in his best thespian voice, directing us up to the seminar.

I'm not normally a fan of audience participation theatre, but this was, most of the time, full audience participation where you vote, via a voting "A" or "B" paper to multi-choice questions. The other audience involvement used members who were known to the cast, to make sure that the willingness was there. there's nothing worse than picking someone who does not want to take part and the flow of the show becomes laboured. There was none of that labouring here, and with the audience members the "seminar" flowed with an entertaining rapidity.

If you got the answer wrong, you were eliminated from this part of the show and invited to screw up your voting paper and throw it at the stage.

When the majority of the audience are well versed with the machinations of theatre, this not only makes it a dream for the cast, but also for other audience members, as it brings great fun and energy to the show.

There's a "Q&A" session where the spontaneity of the cast members are given a gentle workout by audience members. By this time quite a bit of information has been given by the cast, ensuring that the questions, on the whole, were relative to the previous given information.

Just prior to this there was some gentle ribbing of some members of the audience, providing us with an audience member being dubbed "Clive", who then became the butt of some more gentle ribbing. Audience participation that does not embarrass the said audience member can be great fun for everyone, and "Clive" ran with it.

Anyway, I keep mentioning the cast, so it's time I told you about them.....

Dr Dale Seslick is the Seminar leader. Cool, calm, collected, charismatic. Fluent in zombie survival lore, she is never stumped for an answer. She punctuates her training seminars with continual use of hand gestures and buzz words. Played by Victoria Bryan, she led the panel of experts with the authority of a school teacher. Her talent for improvisation, especially with the audience "Q&A" session is extremely commendable, having a feasible answer for every question thrown at her without hesitation or faltering. An extremely smooth performance.

Judy O' Dea is Dr Dale’s second in command. She is scientific to a fault. Smart and to the point. She is the one who attempts to control the other two members of the team, although often gets drawn into the insanity unwillingly, she continues to act and react as if everything was carrying on normally. Played by Emma Lamont in the style of a school maam; all very proper with just a touch of primness, and when you have this combination, you can't help but snigger, a bit like a naughty schoolboy, at Judy's attempt to rein in the silliness.

Donna Straite is the survivalist who has followed every conspiracy theory in the book and has attempted and succeeded many difficult training exercises and has a penchant for cheese sandwiches - none of which were eaten during this production. Very keen to be involved in all aspects of training but can get easily distracted if there is someone in the audience she takes a shine to. Played by Milly Bould I loved the characterisation of this Australian; you get the image of Straite wrestling crocodiles with her bare hands, and winning! Straite is also the catalyst for many of the reasons for shaking up of some of the audience members, including "Clive". A brilliantly fun role.

Tristen Granger is Dr Dale’s nephew. He tries so, so hard but has absolutely no idea what is going on during the seminar. His stupidity is that of a childish wonderment - and he always tries to listen and understand what’s going on … until his mind drifts. Played by Matt McAuley, this is very different to any role that I have seen Matt play, or will probably ever play again. What other piece of theatre will an actor like Matt get to play a bear rug, be attacked by zombies, or be set on fire, and all on his Birthday as well!

All four actors delivered a piece of theatre that I will remember for a very long time, not just for the absurdity of the play and script, but for the immense fun that was had by everyone in the room. And no "Clives" were harmed in any way during the proceedings of the play. Afterwards may have been a different matter!

Directed by Kim-louise Sparks she had great trust in her four cast members, especially with the audience participation sections, after all that is something outside the Director's control, in a way a bit like pantomime, trusting the cast to know when to return to the script. Knowing the cast well is also vital to make sure that none of them would "dry" or "corpse" during the play, and Kim-Louise showed that trust and confidence.

Gauging the extent of the audience participation sections is another thing outside Directorial duties, but this show could not have gone any smoother. Kim-Louise was assisted by Emma Lamont in these duties.

Beth Yearsley was the show's Production Assistant.

What I also love about productions like this is the amazing support provided by so many local theatre actors who were in the audience, showing that local theatre is like one big family with the support of each other they provide.

This was a one off performance, but I have been advised that it may make a reappearance at some other time in the future!! if you do see that this is being performed anywhere near you, go and see it because you will love it.

This is Prism Theatre's second production and I for one can't wait to see where they go next and what they take on.

 "Volunteers" by Beeston Players

Round Hill School, Beeston.

Here we have a gentle comedy set in a charity shop, staffed by volunteers. Brenda is running the charity shop, with the slightly confused Prue and the sight-impaired Denny. But there are changes in the charity and John Turk is keen on a new image - younger staff. Brenda has to cope with her customers, a community service offender and the new regime, how will she do? One way to find out!

I'll readily admit that I love going around the charity shops, especially in Beeston, so this comedy is right up my street, and I've seen all of these characters - bar one - in the charity shops wherever I go.

Brenda is played by Laura Burke, and the character is spot on. I love the slightly hippyish image, complete with green leg warmers. Laura has got the "official" stance just right, balancing the manager mode with being a friend to her volunteer staff, sticking up for their rights with the new CEO.

Prue is played by Alison Williams, and like all the actors, aptly cast. There is a make over with Prue, and I was expecting something more outrageous, especially when it's been done by Leanne, but what we got was a more classy, smarter image for Prue which suited the character down to the ground. Prue has a wonderfully imaginative mind and I love the malapropisms from Prue.

Denny is played by Gwen Murray. Never forgetting to get her magnifying glass out to check the prices on the labels, I've seen so many Dennys and they always make me smile. The back stories for these ladies have a lovely feel to them, and especially with Denny and her husband.

Leanne is played by Sue Frost. Leanne is on the community service programme and we first see this leather clad punk and automatically, just like the ladies who currently volunteer, think she is trouble. Nothing could be farther from the truth and it's lovely to see the unwrapping of the real character as she gives Prue a make over and looks after the ladies of experience, fitting in with everyone. There's a lovely scene with one of the customers where she blows their little returns scheme wide open.

The Area Manager, Claire, is played by Nicola Adkin who is completely besotted by John and is pushing his scheme to create a younger image for charity shops. We even get a snatch of Take That as she shows a younger image herself, but the course of true love never does run smooth.

John, the CEO of the charity, is played by Paul Langston, and John may not be quite the high flying CEO that he is trying to project, and the reveal will leave winners and losers as his revelation ripples with the workers.

One of the customers is always haggling, trying to get a discount by any means possible, and is played by Maxine Taylor. I love this character because I've stood behind this character in shops many times.

And then there's that woman who buys clothes, wears them once and then returns them and swaps them for something else. She is played by Sarah Nicholson who is wonderful at taking umbrage when confronted as to why she wants to return the goods that she had bought just the week before. Oh yes, we've all seen these type of customer!

The amateur dramatic who is shopping for costumes for their next production is played by Gary Frost. Wonderfully camp in the physical look and attitude and a lovely fun character. Again, I've seen this character in charity shops, not quite dressed in vivid pink, sporting a beret and cravat, but easily recognisable.

The other two customers are played by Ali Parnham and Margaret Jones who flesh out, what is quite a big cast for Beeston Players.

There's also a male character whose appearance is more than a flash in the pan, so to speak. He is played by Ian Greatorex.

You immediately warm to all of these characters, especially when you relate them to the ones you've seen in real life. They make me smile while out shopping, and seeing the same characters on stage automatically make for a fun piece of theatre.

Directed by Tom Jenkins, there were bits in the first act that needed just a little tightening up and, with Stage Manager, Kevin Fairbrother, could shave a few minutes off of the duration; don't worry it's not a long play. It's a minor note that does not affect the flow of the comedy but could up the pace just slightly. Apart from this tiny, tiny observation, I loved every thing about "Volunteers".

The set is designed by Sam Williams is just perfect. The rails of clothes, that can't be moved just in case Denny has an accident, the shelving full of hats, sunglasses, trinkets, shoes, bric a brac, DVDs, CDs, toys, ornaments, practically everything that you'd expect to see in a pre loved shop. Even down to the "no entry to the public" sign and the notice board and artwork. A brilliantly designed and sourced set.

Lighting is by Nina Tunnicliff. Keeping it simple with fade out and fade in with the scene changes achieves just what is required.

Sound, and sound effects is by Sam Williams. No issues here. Everything as it should be, nothing missed or out of place.

A wonderful cast who I know are enjoying performing this play. The writer, Hilary Mackelden, has obviously observed characters like these in shops and has created a play full of inoffensive humour filled characters which has been taken to the hearts of this cast and everyone involved. You can feel the love behind this production, but that is typical of Beeston Players' choice of productions.

As usual, a really accommodating FOH team who also provide the refreshments, raffle and everything else.

If you've never seen anything by Beeston Players before, go and see this and I know that you'll be hooked on their productions and staff.

"Volunteers" is at Round Hill School until Saturday 25 November where there is a matinee performance at 2.30.

 "Gypsy - A Musical Fable" by Blind Eye.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

"Gypsy" is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, and focuses on her mother, Rose, "the ultimate show business mother." It follows the dreams and efforts of Rose to raise two daughters to perform onstage and casts an eye on the hardships of show business life. The character of Louise is based on Lee, and the character of June is based on Lee's sister.

Rose approaches Herbie, a former manager to manage Louise and June. The girls grow up and they are now known as, "Dainty June and Her Farmboys". Tulsa, one of the “Farmboys” confides in Louise in a new act he is working on and while Louise fantasizes in being part of the act with Tulsa, he elopes with June after she leaves a note saying that she is tired of the act. Rose concentrates on making Louise a star, but does everything come up roses for Rose and her family?

This is the first musical staged by Blind Eye, and it was first night, and that combination, I think, resulted in some nerves in some of the adult performances. Some of the timing with some vocals were a little out, but again, I think this was down to nerves. the majority of my wincing came from the technical side; but on to that later, it's time for me to get positive.

Lindsey Hemingway plays Momma Rose and Lindsey injected so much character into this role that you started to do a U Turn on your initial feelings about this pushy stage mother. Wonderfully driven and bossy to start with but as the play continues, and especially in the second act, you start to understand some of her motives for how she treated her children. You could see the fire in Lindsey's eyes with Rose's drive, as well as the determination that she was not going to let those who walked away from her, knock her down. A lovely passionate portrayal of the ultimate stage momma.

Herbie is played by Sam Howard, who I think I last saw in a local production of "All the Fun Of The Fair". Sam has wonderful stage presence, matched by a voice that is perfect for musicals. Lindsey and Sam create a real chemistry which makes you feel for both Rose and Herbie.

Louise is played by Emily Hudson and we see a massive journey for Louise, and two different sides of Emily's acting skills. From always being told by Rose that she has no talent, to being the one that is in demand for her burlesque performances, which were done extremely well. Another solid vocal performance.

Baby Louise is played by Olivia Thomason-Vardy.

Dainty June is played by Emme Gunn, and I love seeing adults playing kids; there's something quite surreal about it but it's that reversal back to acting like a child that makes roles like these fun to watch, especially with the costumes that Dainty June has to wear.

Baby June is played by Caitlin Rodgers.

John McCormack plays Tulsa and I can imagine that, by his facial expressions, playing a child performer fills him with great fun, because he looks like he is enjoying the role. When JJ explains to Louise about his dream, you buy into it and believe in his image, looking in the direction of his vision of his girl who he wants to dance with. A lovely contrast with the brash stage manager ordering the girls, Rose and Herbie around, until Herbie puts him in his place.

Ann Colgan (Tessie Tura/Yonkers), Pippa Ward (Mazeppa) and Ashleigh Wilkinson (Electra) provide one of the highlights as the three strippers with a gimmick in "You Gotta Get A Gimmick" routine. I remember so well the Royal Variety Performance of this routine performed many years ago by Cilla Black, Paul O Grady and Barbara Windsor. Ann, Pippa and Ashleigh were on a par with that performance, and I loved the saucy costumes.

Miss Cratchitt is played by Gill Cook, who always puts a smile on my face, irrespective of what role she plays, and playing the crotchety Cratchitt provides Gill with a few moments of character-driven grumpiness.

Kay Thomason-Vardy (L.A.), Danielle Rodgers (Agnes), Beth Duffy (Marjorie May), Gabrielle Tilley (The Balloon Girl/ Newsboy/ Farmboy/ Toreadorable), Eloise Chamberlain (Clarissa The Clarinet Girl/ Newsboy/ A Farmboy/ Toreadorable), Michelle Beecroft (Renee/ Showgirl), Paul Duffy (Uncle Jocko, Weber, Kringelein/Phil), Kevin Jones (Pop/Cigar), Steve Webb (Mr Goldstone/Bourgeron-Cochon), Lexie Rodgers (Ballerina/ Newsboy) and last but not least Evan Thomason-Vardy (Acrobat/ Newsboy).

Lexie and Evan being two of the youngest children in the cast and uber cute.

Directed by Beth Duffy, assisted by Adam Chapman. This show is nearly three hours long with the interval, but it really didn't seem that long; it wasn't until I came out of the auditorium and saw the clock that I realised how long I'd been in there. That always shows me how engaged I was with the show, not realising how fast the time went. And that engagement in the musical shows the quality of the direction of the musical.

Choreographed by Ann Colgan, who I was reminded that Ann used to be the dance teacher at my lad's school in Nottingham. You can obviously see those dancer qualities in Ann's incredible figure, which is shown to the best effect in the "Gimmick" section, and by her fantastic costume. I was talking about the "Gimmick" section in the interval and that i was looking forward to it, and it did not disappoint for comedy and choreographic reasons.

There are some really good choreographed pieces, and I love the tap sections.

Musical Director is David Hails. The show is to backing tracks and there were a few slips of fingers when starting the tracks and resulted in the piece being stopped and restarted. Unfortunately using a band for backing has become increasingly more expensive, and while I am not a fan of backing tracks, sometimes to put on a musical you have to use what is on offer to keep the costs down. Missing a cue on a backing track means you have to start after the cue. Again, the missed cue will be down to first night nerves.

There are so many classic songs in this musical "Let Me Entertain You", "Small World", "Some People", "All I Need Is The Girl", "Together Wherever We Go", "You Gotta Get A Gimmick", "You'll Never Get Away From Me" and of course "Everything's Coming Up Roses". "Gypsy" also has one of the best overtures for any classic musical ever.

The marvellous costumes were designed and created by John McCormack, and there are so many of them. The glamour of the "Gimmick" section as well as the burlesque costumes for Louise, and Rose's scarlet outfit were gorgeous.

The Set is by Zackary McCormack and Grant Hemingway. The folding section making it easy to move from Rose's home to the stage set and the theatre dressing rooms.

There is also an audio and black and white visual section that is projected on the back of the set which sets the mood for the era and is designed by Paul Duffy.

Sound Operation is by Nick Elliott. I don't know if there is a section on stage that is a blackspot for the mic packs but there were several times when the sound just dipped out and was lost. That seems to be a problem with many of the theatre groups' sound at the Duchess.

Lighting Operation is by Richard Chamberlain. There were a couple of times when the actor speaking was left in the dark while the spotlight was at the other end of the stage.

Hopefully both sound and light operations will be perfected for the rest of the run.

Kirsty Smith stage manages the whole production, making sure that everyone is where they should be on stage.

"Gypsy - A Musical Fable" is at The Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton until Saturday 25 November.

Photos by Gavin Mawditt.

 "Death By Design" by West Bridgford Dramatic Society.

The Studio Theatre, West Bridgford.

What happens when you mix the brilliant wit of Noël Coward with the intricate plotting of Agatha Christie? Set during a weekend in an English country manor in 1932, "Death by Design" is an hilarious, delightful and mysterious mash-up of two of the greatest English writers of all time. Edward Bennett, a playwright or a “platitudinarian” as he likes to describe himself, and his wife, Sorel Bennett, an actress, flee London and head to Cookham after a disastrous opening night. Various guests arrive unexpectedly – a conservative politician, a fiery socialist, a nearsighted ingénue, a zany modern dancer – each with a long-held secret. When one of the guests is murdered, it’s left to Bridgit, the feisty Irish maid with a macabre interest in homicide, to solve the crime.

Tim Farrow plays Edward. There are some great characters in this play and Edward Bennett is just one of them. He is extremely confident in his talents, which is completely at odds with his actress wife's opinions of his skills. Edward is jealous of Sorel's invite to another man to their home that he thinks of revenge, but on who and how? Edward is played with that air of success by Tim, and the formation of his next play by the end is wonderfully envisaged with that light bulb moment.

Sorel is played by Kristina Russell.  As a bit of background, Sorel's reviews in The Daily mail are not as complimentary as she would like them to be, so blames her playwright husband for his standard of character writing i.e. every character seems to be the same person with a different name. She is a real diva and Kristina delivers this script wonderfully over the top. Sorel can also see herself being the murderess, but is she really responsible for this particular person's passing?

Emily Martin plays Victoria Van Roth, a colourful, pretentious Bohemian artist with just the one shaved armpit - don't ask! Wonderfully scatty character who may, or may not be the murderess. Victoria doesn't drink alcohol - normally - but after one or two double Martini's, well, the motive and means may be spilled! Emily plays being "tipsy" really well, and I love that "artistic" Bohemian actions.

Calum Sharp is Eric, an emphatic, fiery left wing activist. Eric's politics are completely at odds with Pearce's but is that enough grounds for murder?

Jack, the womanising chauffeur, is played by Adrian Bacon. Great Southern accent by the way. Jack always looks like he knows something and is keeping it a secret from everyone else. Well, he is but maybe not what you think. The secret comes back to bite him on the backside. Is that secret something to do with murder? There's a hint of the dislike he has for Pearce, but it's not fully revealed until near the end. Is the possible motive strong enough for this chauffeur to drive the victim to their grave though?

Amanda Harris plays Bridget, the wonderfully crabby maid who's magazine of choice is "Tittle Tattle", a true crime publication which drives her ambition to be a detective when Pearce is discovered dead at the Bennett's home. Every character is a suspect, but there is one vital thing that Bridget knows about this matter that know one else does! 

Walter Pearce is the politician and is played by Craig Russell. He annoys everyone that he comes into contact with, so there is no shortage of suspects with reasons to get revenge on the way that Pearce treated them. Craig plays this extremely crotchety politician to perfection, building the ire level with each confrontation.

Kate Minns plays Alice who drops in on the gathering in the middle of the night, complete with a gun, aiming to kill. There is a gun shot in the dark and a lifeless body, but surely it's not as cut and dried as first thought? 

This is a new play to me but what a brilliant script. There is a running joke in the script to watch out for as well, which is far from vague, Craig, and all adds to the absolute joy of this murder mystery with a brilliant twist at the end, friend.

Directed by Craig Russell and assisted by Alex Cotterill. It's nice and pacy with the comical lines coming thick and fast. It's very over the top, which is how it was written, reminding me slightly of the style that Victoria Wood wrote "Acorn Antiques". There are many laughs. both physical as well as literal, all of which delivered beautifully by this cast, who obviously have a feel for comedy.

The Lighting Design is by Jerome Foley and operated by Dom Gaskell. There's a vital part of the play that requires a level of darkness, but not dark enough as to not be able to provide visual clues to the murder mystery.

Sound Design is by Arran Mackay and operated by Jem Wooley. All the sound cues were hit and as the cast weren't using mic packs - one because the theatre isn't so big as to need the cast to wear them, and two, the cast have good projection skills. All the sound effects were apt and on time.

The costumes are by Carol O' Connor and Adrian Bacon. You would be able to identify the characters' roles and even their personality by the costumes, which shows a lot of thought has gone into the costumes for all the characters.

I love this set, which was my first thought when I walked into the theatre. It set the time period perfectly with the wind up record player and 78 rpms, the art work, furniture and a glorious drinks cabinet and fancy glasses. No spoiler but glasses, in more than one way, play a very big part in the resolution of this extremely comical mystery play.

Production Manager is Rob Dixon.

"Death By Design" will be played out at the Studio Theatre in West Bridgford until Saturday 25 November. A must for anyone who likes the wit of Wilde or Coward, and the murder mystery mechanics of Agatha.