THE COMEDY OF ERRORS by PROPELLER
THEATRE ROYAL, NOTTINGHAM until Saturday 22 February 2014

Who would have thought that a piece of literature written some time between 1592 and 1594 by William Shakepspeare would some day feature Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven Is A Place On Earth", Spandau Ballet's "True" and "The Girl From Ipanema" along with a transvestite prostitute, an over protective nun, a police man straight from the Village People, imaginary Star Wars laser beams, gospel music and a nod to rap music complete with chunky gold chains?

Why use one word when six will do, which is the one thing I remember put me off reading Shakespeare at school, but when you dress the words up in
the colourful action presented by Propeller then comedies such as "Errors" and "Midsummer Night's Dream", which they are also performing this week, become an enjoyable farce, which technically is how they were written!

We have  the story of a merchant who is in danger of losing his life, but is spared by the Duke, for as long as he can show that he has found his son, Antipholus, one of twins and his son's servant, Dromio, again one of twins, to the Duke. The merchant though is blissfully unaware that his son and his servant has a twin. And this is where the confusion and errors start, until finally all four servants and sons are united with the merchant, who also finds his lost wife into the bargain. Like the best stories, it all ends up happily ever after.

The setting is 80's style Spain, with the incidental music, played by various members of the cast, bringing a "Benidorm" quality to the proceedings and some of the outrageous characters, Adriana, wife to Antipholus, Luciana, her sister and Aemilia, the Lady Abbess drawing on characters that would not have looked out of place in "The League Of Gentlemen"

If only my Shakespeare introduction at school could have been more like this, then maybe English literature would have held more interest for me back then.

Propeller are a 12 all male theatrical group who perform the works of Shakespeare with a more interesting slant, bringing the rich language of the bard to everyone who enjoy interesting theatre or Shakespeare with a twist.

It's great fun to watch and the cast also provide the interval entertainment as well with their medley of 80's pop tunes in the style that may have even had old Bill Shakespeare tapping a stockinged toe to!

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN
Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 15 February 2014

It's 1929. It's Hollywood. the darlings of the silent movie world, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamarr are at their latest premiere but all is not hunky dory with the two silent movie starlets. The first talking picture is the latest thing, The Jazz Singer, and to keep in with the latest hip high flyers, Lockwood and Lamarr have to turn their latest disaster around by making it all singing, all dancing, all talking. Only one problem, Lina Lamarr can't sing, can't dance....and when she talks.....

Enter stage right our hero, Kathy Sheldon, to save the picture and to win the heart of the dashing leading man, Tom Lockwood.

Matthew Malthouse played the leading man, Lockwood, but the role is shared by James Leece as well, but I say Matthew tonight, and what a superb suave, sophisticated version of the Gene Kelly character he played, and although no one can do the "rain" scene like Kelly, he gave it his best shot.

Kathy Sheldon was played delightfully by Amy Ellen Richardson and has a voice just as sweet as her looks. A nice match for the Debbie Reynolds character in the film.

The comic character, Cosmo Brown, played in the 1952 film by Donald O Connor, was played by Stephane Anelli. And what a performance, doing great justice to the song "Make 'Em Laugh" and his pairing with the others on "Good Morning", if pairing is correct for a trio!

For me though the star of the show, and this is just my personal preference, was Faye Tozer, who we all remember from the band Steps, as Lina Lamarr, with the Bronx accent that sounds just like nails being drawn slowly down a very long blackboard. What a great little character actor she has turned out to be.

Also featuring quite highly is Maxwell Caulfield as the film company boss, R F Simpson.

Some good choreography from Andrew Wright but at times the ensemble needed to get it just a bit tighter and weren't as sharp as the old Hollywood hoofers were, and if you're going to do Hollywood on the stage, you have to get the dancing down on point.

There was gallons of the wet stuff as well for the closing of the first part and again to end the show, with not much fear of getting wet as several of the rows of seats in the stalls were taken out and the stage raised, to great effect. I have it on very good authority that the "rain" starts off warm but cools off quite quickly as well.

What is there not to like in this production? It's fun, it's glitzy, there's glamour, there's comedy, some great dance routines from Hollywood, and some memorable songs like the title track, "You Stepped Out Of A Dream", "All I Do", "Moses Supposes","You Are My Lucky Star", "Good Morning" and "You Were Meant For Me".

IRA LEVIN'S DEATHTRAP
The Lace Market theatre until Saturday 8 February 2014

This is the first time that I've seen "Deathtrap" by Ira Levin, described as the Stephen King of the 60's and 70's and I can see the comparison in this excellent thriller performed at the Lace Market all this week.

It's the story of a thriller writer, Sidney Bruhl, who is suffering from writer's block when a student, Clifford Anderson, who he met at a convention asks his advice on a new thriller that he is writing. He decides that this is the sort of story to catapult him into the spotlight and solve all of his money worries. Bruhl's wife Myra has reservations about the turn of mood shown by Sidney and tries to convince him that maybe a collaboration may the way forward for Bruhl and young Anderson.

Bruhl invites Anderson over to chat about the collaboration, but Bruhl is greedy and doesn't want to share and things take rather a violent turn for Anderson. But this isn't the only turn, as there are many turns and twists to come in this very entertaining comedy thriller.

Robert Suttie is excellent as the scheming scriptwriter Bruhl, Judie Matthews makes her debut as Myra and also making his debut is Edward P Crook who is brilliant as the young writer, Clifford Anderson. Carol Parkinson plays the wonderful wacky psychic Helga Van Dorp. who also is not quite as she seems by the end of the play, and finally Steve Mitchell plays Bruhl's legal man Porter Milgram.

We see three murders but is there a fourth and who is the last one standing, well that's for you to come along and work out.

This may be the best thing that I've seen at The Lace Market and highlights the work of the Director, Bob Wildgust, who has been around the theatre for a good few years, and with this as a shining example of his work, I'm hoping he'll be around for a long time to come.

The sound and lighting effects create the eerie atmosphere, so pats on the back for Simon carter and Rose Dudley respectively and what a marvellous set as well, designed by Keith Parkinson.

If you like a play that keeps you on the edge of your seat and makes you jump now and again, then this is the one for you. Excellent show!

THE SNOWMAN
Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 1 February 2014

We all know the song "Walking In The Air" taken from the film of the same name directed by Dianne Jackson and based on the book by Raymond Briggs, but seeing this production just brings everything to life.

"The Snowman" is pure magic, and although we may be just outside the Christmas period, the mood created by snowy opening set the precedent for the rest of the show, all the way to the snowy end of the performance.

The story is one of The Boy who builds a snowman who then comes to life and they have several adventures which include flying, meeting Santa Claus and overpowering the evil Jack Frost, but was it really all a dream?

There are some additions to the film version with the introduction of Jack Frost, but it's not detracted from the book or the film one iota. At times it reminded me of Beatrix Potter with the balletic prancing of the reindeer, penguins and woodland animals which also showcased the talents of choreographer Robert North, and told the tale beautifully through dance, especially as there was no script, but no script is needed.

Archie Durrant plays "The Boy", and I think he's in for a big and successful career in the theatre. Not only is he as cute as a button, he's likeable too! Archie is very confident and a natural performer and his varied dance training is brought to the fore throughout the whole time he was on stage, which was for the majority of the play.

This production by the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company is essentially a ballet for all ages to enjoy, but do not let the word ballet put you off because the dancing and musicality is jaw droppingly enchanting and you'll find yourself being drawn further into the story with every step and pirouette.

It's a play you can take your five year old to and get as much enjoyment and wonderment as taking your ninety five year old to. It'll melt your heart as fast as the Snowman melted at the end and I guarantee that you'll leave the theatre with a warm fuzzy feeling.

THRILLER LIVE
Nottingham Theatre Royal until Sunday 19th January

This show is very similar to the Cirque de Soleil Michael Jackson Experience but with live singers performing the hits of Michael Jackson, The Jacksons and the Jackson 5 with separate dancers replicating the dance moves and routines to his hits.

There are some excellent digital backdrops, one of which has an enormous glitter ball for the Jacksons disco era. The lighting also enhances the sharpness of the dance routines and punctuate the rhythm of Jackson's amazingly foot tapping hits.

The show opens with a medley of Jackson 5 hits  and works it's way through the 70s disco of The Jacksons epic hits, paying tribute to all of Jackson's great solo albums, "Off The Wall", "Thriller", "Bad" and "Dangerous", blending in the big ballads like "Man In The Mirror", "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "She's Out Of My Life" and "I'll Be There" with some of the best dance music from the last five decades and all time party hits like "Blame It On The Boogie", "Can You Feel It", "Rock With You", "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough", "Bille Jean" and of course "Thriller".

A lively group of backing dancers complement the different faces of Michael Jackson through the years and the routines that accompanied the hits making this one of the best "tribute" musical shows around today. Combine these ingredients with an excellent live band and this will be the closest you'll get to experiencing the real thing that was the Michael Jackson phenomena.

An absolute must for all fans of Jackson and great dance, soul, r 'n' b, or music in general which had me on my feet moving to the music, well I blame it on the boogie myself!

A CHURCHILL EVENING
by Caryl Churchill
Lace Market Theatre until Saturday 18 January 2014.

For those expecting large cigars and speeches about fighting on the beaches, you'll be disappointed. Instead you can see two plays, "The Blue Kettle" and "This Is A Chair".

The Lace Market Theatre are relatively well known for producing new and different plays and these fall into both of these categories and may not be for everyone but is definitely thought provoking and will divide audiences, as it did tonight.

The storyline for "The Blue Kettle" is a man, Derek, who is meeting his mother for the first time after being given up for adoption when he was a baby, but when the second scene evolves, and he is meeting up with another mother, the confusion starts to creep in but we soon learn that Derek is pulling a scam, making believe to five mothers that they are all his mother. This is almost unravelled when Enid, Derek's girlfriend gets a little tipsy and blurts out his plan to one of the mothers, Is Derek's deceitful dalliances done and dusted? Well.........

So where does the Blue Kettle come into play? Well the odd word is replaced by either "Blue" or "kettle" until near the end there seems to be more "blues" and "kettles" and shortened versions of both peppering the script, which grew to be, not only confusing, but detracting from an interesting storyline. Maybe I was missing the point somewhere down the line but looking round at some of the other audience members I could see that they also seemed to be having the same problem of understanding why!

"This Is A Chair" was a short set of scenes which look at different aspects of current day to day occurrences that happen behind some suburban closed doors and explore them slightly differently. Again a very interesting concept which really got the old mind working quickly, mainly due to the quick succession of the scenes and the subject matter.

Both are thought provoking and that's what theatre should be all about. Whether the theatre is good or bad (in the eye of the viewer) as long as it can cause a reaction of some sort, then I feel that it's done it's job.

All of the actors, some better than others, I thought deserved a pat on the back for performing in the very close proximity of the upstairs studio. Brave indeed but also highlighted some slight timing issues that may have gone unnoticed if it had been performed on the stage downstairs.

Interesting and quirky but may be a little too off the wall for some.

MEN OF THE WORLD by John Godber

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.
Performed by Magpie Drama until Saturday 11th January 2014

What better way to warm up your cold January evenings than with an evening of warmth and humour, with just a touch of melancholy, from one of our best loved playwrights, John Godber.

The one liners, observational humour and characters are typical Godber and the three actors from Magpie Drama Rachel Bates, Gary Lever and Howard Mackintosh bring to life about 18 characters between them. Meet The Beverley Sisters, The Marx Brothers, Mack and Mabel among the many elderly regular bus travellers, all with their many colourful tales to tell, and Dolly, the nightclub entertainer who performs the same act for the sixth year running...ah but is that a new joke tonight? The camp guest house owners and the 46 year old who still goes away on holiday with his mum, oh and then there's the one that dies en route.

Rachel plays Frank (don't ask -it'll only shock you) the only female bus driver of the three; Larry, played by Gary, the elder driver and Mario Lanza fanatic and Stick, played by Howard the one that moans about all of his passengers and thinks that they should all be shot and wants to do the Spanish run with all of the totty.

With just three actors on stage, bare bones scenery and about 18 suitcases to manoeuvre around the stage, this play really relies on the wonderfully funny script and the talents of the actors to paint pictures in your mind, and they succeed in doing just that. It's quite amazing how when the flat caps and the spectacles go on, or the headscarves, Rachel, Mark and Howard not only become different people, they look and sound so different as well.

The characterizations are excellent, and how the actors can remember all of those words, and which character they are and who says what is a tribute to all three. A mention to the sound and lighting technician, Simon Birchall for his part in creating the sectioned areas of the play, giving each scene a different feel, and also for the well executed sound effects is also due.

This is only the second play for the newly formed Magpie Drama, formed by Rachel and her husband Dan, who's also a fine actor himself, and with this standard, and inspired choice of plays, I predict many more full houses to come and a successful future for Magpie.

And what makes it all more of a great night out is that tickets are from 5 -7 quid. Absolute bargain if you ask me!