“Why Is John Lennon Wearing A Skirt” by Claire Dowie
Nottingham New Theatre. 

Just one of the many reasons why I love the Nottingham New Theatre is their choice of productions and the fact that I’ve remained unaware of these plays prior to seeing them at the New Theatre. This is one of those plays, and as you can tell from the title of this play, it gives no indication of what the play is about.

Dowie’s best known ‘stand-up play’ is a powerful monologue about gender expectations and stereotypes by someone who doesn’t want to be a ‘girl’, doesn’t want to wear skirts and wants to be John Lennon.

What begins as frustration at the impracticality of the compulsory school skirt – only good for showing off legs and no good for playing football – becomes an articulate and passionate argument against obligatory femininity and individualism.

Usually performed as a one woman play, NNT have cast four actors to play John - Michaela Green, Rosie Hudson, Kate Maguire and Lillian Race.

It's refreshing to see what it's like to look at life from a female point of view, and they make it fun to see what women think of men at different stages of their lives.

That said they can turn a comical moment completely on its' head to pathos and really make you think long and hard about some of the issues people, not just women, feel with self identity, gender equality and the respect we all demand, but often fail to receive.

Although written in 1996, the issues covered by Dowie are just as relevant, if not more, today, which is why this play feels so fresh.

Directed by Chloe Richardson and produced by Darcey Graham, they have presented a powerful piece of theatre which fires home a serious and thought provoking message whilst being entertaining, and plenty of sass.

i loved the lighting design (James Fox) which spotlit the individual "Johns" which made you focus on that one character, making sure that your eyes and ears were on what that actor had to say at that time. This made the speech and actor even stronger from an audience point of view. Another clever directorial decision.

The music design (Georgi Paxton) was fun and ranged from John Lennon, as you'd expect, to the Beatles, T Rex and Marc Bolan and the very cool Sampha.

Another vital piece of theatrical education for me tonight thanks to the NNT bunch.

"Why Is John Lennon Wearing A Skirt" is on at the Nottingham New Theatre until Saturday 10 March 2018

“Annie Get Your Gun” by EMS
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

This is one Erewash Musical Society production that has "FUN" written all over it from start to end.

Buffalo Bill's Wild West show is in town and visits Cincinnati, Ohio, Frank Butler, the show's star, challenges anyone in town to a shooting match. Foster Wilson, the local hotel owner, doesn't appreciate the Wild West show taking over his hotel, so Frank gives him a side bet of one hundred dollars on the match. Annie Oakley enters and. when Wilson learns she's a brilliant shot, he enters her in the shooting match against Frank Butler.

Annie meets Frank Butler and is instantly smitten with him, not knowing he will be her opponent, which she then discovers and ends up winning the contest. She is invited to join the travelling show, which she accepts because she has fallen for Frank, and even though Frank proposes to Annie, things have a way of not running too smooth for the love struck sharp shooters!

Based on the true story of Miss Annie Oakley, this is one of those musicals that is packed with show tunes that you’ll know, “The Girl that I Marry”, “There’s No Business Like Show Business”, “Doin’ What Comes Naturally”, “They say It’s Wonderful”, “Anything You Can Do”, “The Sun In The Morning", all instantly recognisable. I can guarantee that you will leave the theatre with one or all of the above rattling around your head for days afterwards

Frank Butler is played by Dan Bates. Now this is the first time that i have seen Dan in an acting role, as far as i can remember. I'd heard Dan sing and knew that he could sing. From tonight i now know that he can act and sing in an American accent. A champeen performance!

Simon Parker (Buffalo Bill) rocked that silver wig (i take it, it was a wig) and looked every inch the boss clad in white.

Alex Tavener, as Dolly Tate, was wonderfully fun to watch and it looks like Alex was having as much fun on stage as we were watching her in the audience.

Zak Charlesworth played Tommy Keeler, the half Indian half Irishman.Good to see Zak carrying on with the less serious roles. he also has one of the best voices in the show.

Playing Tommy's wife is Giselle Tavener, and a lovely chemistry there is between these two characters.

Charlie Davenport is played by Richard Dawson and manages to be that stepping stone between Frank and Annie while still being the business manager for Buffalo Bill's show.

Keith Butcher looked every inch Chief Sitting Bull in that cool, calm , collected way that the man who has all the answers can be.

The shapely sharp-shooter, Annie, is played by Rebecca Charnley, and what a role to play. She is a feisty one and Rebecca gets the character of Miss Oakley on the button. Mix that feistiness with a massive dollop of fun and you have the perfect Annie. As with Dan, learning to sing in an accent is not easy but this show is all about the fun factor and that American singing accent only adds to the fun of the role. And boy does Rebecca throw everything into the role.

Annie's siblings are played (Thursday night) by Dylan Hoodle (Little Jake), Katie Fitzpatrick (Jessie) and Nadia Potter (Nellie) and are a trio of cuteness with endless confidence.

There's also a very talented ensemble working in with these main characters who flesh out the dances and crowd scenes, who we must not forget.

Directed by James Bowden, he keeps the pace going nicely, which you need to when the production is two and a half hours long, but boy do you get your money's worth.

Martin Lewis is the Musical Director for the show with his talented posse of musicians making up an 11 piece orchestra.

A couple of times the music did swamp some of the lines from the actors but that's just one of those things. It certainly didn't detract from the performance.

This show has a lot of numbers which means that there is also a lot of choreography,and I loved the energy levels of these dances and dancers. Victoria Palmer is the choreographer we have to thank for this area of excellence.

Sets can be a problem in smaller theatres but EMUS get round this by use of cinematic sets (Paul Young) and this worked really well. The clarity of these projection designs is wonderful, especially the one for the boat in Act Two. There are also additional bits of scenery to enhance the projections, so it;s not just a flat backdrop picture, which also shows this company's set building talents.

Loved the costumes, and they must be great dun to wear. let's face it who wouldn't want to dress up as a cowboy or indian and prance around on stage?

And last but not least, because where would we be with the sound and light guys (in the dark and silent), the four musketeers of the S&L world, Ben Tennett, Dave Dallard, Dave Martin and Matthew Cook, creating the final aural and visual experience.

Yet another brilliant production from everyone involved, and the packed audiences echo such local talent. Quite rightly so!

“Annie get Your Gun” is up the town at The Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton until Saturday 10 March 2018.

“Made In Dagenham” by LAOS
Loughborough Town Hall.

 The musical is the inspirational account of the women who stitched seat covers for Ford cars in Dagenham and, in 1968, in defiance of their union, struck for equal pay. In particular, it charts how one of the machinists, Rita O’Grady, discovers her own voice in speaking up for her supportive colleagues, but along the way puts her marriage in jeopardy.

Although based in 1968, the echoes of women’s pay equality are still as strong today, but this musical isn’t all about this because it shows the effect the fight for equality has on the women’s home lives.

Directed by Sally Bruton, This is one heck of a pacy play with smooth scene changes, making this a very easy and enjoyable watch. Sally captures the whole feel of the era perfectly, not only with the costumes (Gemma Baxter) but the whole setting (Scenic Projects) and overall feeling.

Musical Director is Kate King who does a brilliant job with the soundtrack. I guarantee that you will have the title song, “Made In Dagenham” as an earworm for a long time after you leave the theatre, but also songs like “The Letter” will evoke a very different emotion.

The choreography by Lianne O Connor. Her dance routines bring back memories of films like "Summer Holiday" with the classic 60's dances. Great fun and full of energy.

Rita is played by Alix Ashurst. What a wonderful ballsy performance, full of passion and energy. Alix really made you root for Rita as her cause gathered momentum, especially when it became apparent that this was more far reaching than first thought.

Rita’s husband, Eddie, is played by James Daw. A lovable blokey character role who has a heart of gold. His loyalty to the cause, his wife as well as his kids is an admirable quality in this role. James also gets to show off a lovely, controlled singing voice. "The Letter" is loaded with passion and this is one of the highlights, among many.

The kids Graham and Sharon are played by Oliver Halford and Poppy Melton. Both young actors show a great confidence in their roles.

Kirstie Bennett (Connie) gives a spirited performance and, not having seen the film or the musical before, her exit came as quite a shock.

Ian Dean (Monty), shows two sides of the character and a very human side in the second act.

Kevin Clarke (Harold Wilson) brings much of the humour playing Wilson as an absolute buffoon with some similarities to Monty Python.

Natalie Littlewood (Barbara Castle) shows a powerful but human representation of Castle, and i loved the accent.

The three aides are played by Ollie Lewin, Liam Patrick and Josh Hill. Think Monty Python crossed with the bowler-hatted characters from "A Clockwork Orange" and you'll get a feel of this fun trio's roles.

Linda Adlam (Lisa Hopkins) and Adrian Greasley (Mr Hopkins) are one pair which show that opposites must have attracted at one time in the past.

Debs Pettitt (Beryl), Paige Brierley (Sandra), Nicole Ray (Clare), Sarah Wilson (Cass), Becky Bakewell (Jo), Rosie Morris (Tracey) and the factory girls played by Gemma Baxter, Laura Woolley, Laura Fletcher and Naomi Giglio are all great fun.

Cameron Sim (Sid), Chris Wilson (Bill), Mark Chinnery (Stan), Joe Harrison(Barry), Richard York (Tooley), Andy Marmoy (Hubble) and John Smithdoubles up as Ron Macer & Mr Buckton. This testosterone filled male work gang balance the scales of the female stitchers.

It’s a large cast so it would not be right to leave out the wonderful ensemble of Allison Cundell, Alison Matthews, Clare Proctor, Debby Newton, Joanna Hayes, Julie Rodwell, Len Dobson, Malcolm Nurcombe, Sean Hickling & Sue Reynolds.

The large choreographed sections are done to perfection.

Can I also take time to mention the schoolkids who vocalised so well, especially Josh Fenn-Griffin who gave everything he had vocal wise.

It's a great story, a great soundtrack and a brilliant cast and no wonder the tickets are flying out of the box office and I'm so pleased that this was my first time seeing this musical with such a talented cast.

“Made In Dagenham”, presented by Loughborough Amateur Operatic Society is at Loughborough Town Hall until Saturday 10 March 2018. It has a PG certificate just because of some of the fruity language, but this reflects the emotions and the lifestyles of the characters portrayed.

“Cinderella” by New Adventures
Nottingham Theatre Royal.

There is something about a ballet that is unlike any other form of theatre production. It's not all about the dance, it's also about the story telling and that, in Cinderella, is perfect, as is the dance.

Choreographed by Sir Matthew Bourne, you just know before even setting foot in the theatre that this is going to be something special. Why? Because in my mind anything that Matthew Bourne has been involved in is going to be special.

It’s set in 1940 in London and blends the Blitz with Hollywood glitz. It was first performed 20 years ago but Bourne’s ballet has been tweaked over the years. It includes conga, swing, jive as well as ballet, so don’t be fooled into thinking this is just any other ballet; not that Bourne and New Adventures would do “just any other ballet”.

The set is designed by Lez Brotherston and is magical. Changing from black and white dismal to glittering

Hollywood style dance hall through to The Café de Paris, with it's rich and lush, red surroundings, the Thames Embankment and the London Underground.

Possibly one of the most inspired and exciting sets I’ve seen for a ballet. Lez is also responsible for the marvellous costume design, which is something that is the norm for a Matthew Bourne ballet.

The musical score is by Prokofiev.so the romanticism of the music washes over you. His waltzes are only second to the Waltz King, Johann Strauss

Michela Meazza as the Stepmother, comes across as a heady mix of Joan Crawford and Cruella de Vil.

Ashley Shaw plays the mousy, bespectacled and vulnerable Cinderella. When the transformation comes, you really have to look twice to make sure it;s the same dancer. As only to be expected, her dress is amazing.

Pilot Harry, our Prince for the Cinderella story line, is played by Andrew Monaghan. His chemistry with Cinderella is as magical as his relationship on the dance floor with Cinderella's stepmother is comical.

Liam Mower, who was the original Billy Elliott in the West End, plays the mysterious Angel, which is the upgrade from The Fairy Godmother.

As well as Cinderella's two step sisters, played by Sophia Hurdley and Anjali Mehra, Bourne has also introduced three step brothers, who were just as nasty to her, played by Jackson Fisch, Dan Wright and Mark Samaras. Brilliant characterisation for all five, especially one of the brothers who seems to exhibit an unhealthy fascination in shoes, bordering on fetishism.Very comical.

Talking of character, every dancer's character on stage have their own personality and wherever you look, each one is engaged in something or other.

Comedy is weaved into the story whenever possible and even small things like one of the characters having to dash off to the toilet, leaving the youngest brother to dance with his partner while he escapes for a wee.

The whole dark underbelly of the war time underworld, complete with prostitutes and rent boys is also shown. in fact the whole feel of this show is what you'd expect of this period in history, complete with the old Pathe news reels.

Matthew Bourne’s “Cinderella” is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 10 March 2018

“The Tempest” by Derby Shakespeare Theatre Company
The Guildhall Theatre, Derby.

Shakespeare’s final play is a pot pourri of emotions. Close to a Mediterranean island, a storm overcomes a ship that carries King Alonso of Naples, his son Ferdinand, and his brother Sebastian. They were on their way home from Tunis to Italy when the storm hit, and their ship is demolished in the process. Shipwrecked with them are the courtier, Gonzalo, and the Duke of Milan, Antonio.

From the island, Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, and his fifteen year-old daughter, Miranda, watch the storm and the shipwreck. Miranda fears for the ship's crew, but Prospero assures her that everything is fine. He decides to open up about his past, telling her how twelve years previously, he had been deposed in a coup by his brother, Antonio.

With the aid of Gonzalo, Prospero had escaped in a boat with the infant Miranda and his books of magic. They travelled to the island and made it their home, while the only native islander, Caliban, was made their slave.

The only other inhabitants of the island are the spirits including Ariel, whom Prospero had rescued from imprisonment in a tree. Since Antonio is on the boat that is now shipwrecked, Prospero hopes finally to rectify his past. As Miranda sleeps, Prospero plots with Ariel about his role in the shipwreck and what to do with the men now that they are on the shore.

I was very privileged to be invited along to the dress rehearsal of this new production and I can promise you that you're in for a treat.

With Shakespeare it’s very open to interpretation from the Director as well as the audience, which is why we see so many different versions of plays like “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” set in various eras and styles. Director Tim Heywood has blended the traditional with a fresh new vision.

The set is minimal but works really well, I'll not say anything else because it's best seen to get the dull impact.

I loved the costumes with their rich colours, glamour and chicness.

The acoustics at The Guildhall are excellent and so you can hear every piece of background music, as well as all of Shakespeare's wonderful words. The lighting and effects only add to this classy production.

There's a lot of comedy, mainly provided by Stephano, the King's drunken butler, and Trinculo, Stephano's friend and the King's jester, who also likes a drink. Stephano, in this production, looks like a Shakespearean Freddie Mercury.

The cast. headed by Joe Heap as Prospero, are as entertaining as they are talented, and so you can be guaranteed a very entertaining production

“The Tempest” is at the Guildhall Theatre in Derby from Tuesday 6 March to Saturday 10 March 2018.

“Swallow” by Stef Smith
New Theatre, Nottingham

Stef Smith's Swallow is a powerful and emotive play about three women dealing with psychological trauma, and striving for a fresh start in life. It was first performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, on 9 August 2015 as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it received a Scotsman Fringe First Award.

The play surrounds three female characters, Anna, Rebecca and Sam and how they become entwined in each other's lives and personal issues.

Anna hasn’t left home for months; she has stopped eating solid foods and is smashing her flat up bit by bit.

Rebecca is so furious that her ex-partner has found a new love that she turns that anger on herself.

Sam is taking her first steps towards becoming the man she feels herself to be; in doing so, she exposes herself not only to abuse but to the chance of genuine warmth and affection.

There are many reasons why I love the New Theatre, and one of them is their choice of plays for their season. Among plays I have seen before there is always the majority of plays that I have not even heard of, never mind seen. This is one such play and I always feel like it's an education whenever I visit.

Lucy Chandler (Anna) creates the image of a woman on the edge who has not ventured out of her front door since she missed a bus. Her eyes are darkly ringed and her speech is slowed, probably through lack of sleep. Anna is the most "damaged" of the three and Lucy's performance is at times wonderfully spaced out. Anna provided one of the most poignant moments though when she did eventually venture out and stood in the snow to call her brother on the phone to ask for food.

Emily Wightman (Rebecca) makes her NNT debut. She was the last to join the cast but her skills in making us believe her rejection from her boyfriend triggered the breakdown were to be applauded. Great change of emotion from pure anger and self harm to empathy and love for Sam, which eventually led to a greater understanding of Sam's emotional position as well as her own and Anna's as all three of their lives merged.

Charlotte Sanders (Sam), for me had the most taxing of roles, second (only just), to Lucy's. Unless you're going through what Sam was going through, you would have no concept of the frustration and anger she felt. Samantha so wanted to be Sam and the hostility, violence and .misunderstanding shown towards her was sickening. A massive amount of research went into getting this role right, and it worked as you feel sympathy for the character. Maybe "sympathy" is not the right word but I for one just wanted to give Sam a hug.

Three superb actors who have all done their research on their particular characters and turned in amazing, believable and emotional performances.

Directed by Edward Marriott, he made sure that the three emotional, yet at times funny monologues were presented in just the right light. Presented to an audience on three sides, this was a brave decision, and every director will have their own ideas of how their piece of theatre is presented. For example, if I had directed it maybe I would have had the three characters stood facing the audience with just stark spotlights to highlight their speeches at the start.

Ted's choice of how to present this definitely had impact and after all, there's no right or wrong way to present speeches like this as long as the points and impacts are made, and they were. Having seen Ted act in several plays at NNT, I know he has the experience to use from an actor's point of view to bring to his role of Director.

While I was on the subject of lighting, the design of the lighting for this show was excellent, so Ian Webster, take a pat on the back for your design. The sound design for the play, by Adam Frankland, also added to the intensity of the characters and storyline.

The script is hard hitting but I felt that there were at times, nervous laughter from the crowd, I couldn't see the funny side of Anna throwing all of her food out of the window, unseen by anyone. At other times the script was peppered with some wonderful comic observations from a female point of view. This was needed because the stories of the three would have been too deep and dark without the dancing from Sam and the nonchalant revelations from Anna.

It's a brilliant start to the new season, and from past experience over the last few years, I know that the rest of the season is going to be just as strong as their opening gambit, and I am so looking forward to it.

“Iolanthe” by University of Nottingham G&S Society
Djanogly Theatre, Sherwood Rise, Nottingham.

The fairy Iolanthe has been banished from fairyland because, 25 years previously, she married a mortal, which is forbidden by fairy law. The Queen of the fairies had saved Iolanthe from the death penalty by this banishment. Iolanthe’s son, Strephon, is a shepherd who wants to marry Phyllis, a Ward of Chancery. Strephon is part fairy, part human. All the members of the House of Peers also want to marry Phyllis.

When Phyllis sees Strephon hugging a young woman (not knowing that it is his mother – immortal fairies all appear young), she assumes the worst and sets off a climactic confrontation between the peers and the fairies. Strephon explains the situation and that, as his mother is a fairy, she is blessed with youthfulness, and they both ask Iolanthe to ask the Lord Chancellor to permit their marriage. The Lord Chancillor though is Iolanthe’s husband and he believes her to have died childless, and she doesn’t want to deceive him, so how do they resolve this quandary?

Desperate, Iolanthe unveils, ignoring the warnings of the unseen Fairies, revealing that she is his long-lost wife, and Strephon is his son. The Lord Chancellor is amazed to see her alive, but Iolanthe has again broken fairy law, and the Fairy Queen is now left with no choice but to punish Iolanthe with death.

As she prepares to execute Iolanthe, the Queen learns that the rest of the fairies have chosen husbands from among the peers, also incurring death sentences – something the Queen feels very uneasy with carrying out. The Lord Chancellor suggests a solution: change the law by inserting a single word: "every fairy shall die who doesn't marry a mortal." The Fairy Queen cheerfully agrees and, to save her life, the dutiful soldier, Private Willis, agrees to marry her.

As the norm with Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, there's a brilliantly witty script and this brilliant cast delivered the comedy, both verbally and physically, with great professionalism and enjoyment.

What came as a surprise was the power and quality of the singing from the whole cast. They had understood the humour and delivered the vocals with all of the fun that is intended by the writers.

Alex Carr (Iolanthe), Adam Ewers (Strephon), Frea Waninge (Fairy Queen), Niraali Patel (Phyllis), Jamie Goodliffe (Lord Chancellor), Hannah Gorton (Lord Tolloller), Jonathan Salt (Earl of Mountararat), Daniel Crawshaw (Private Willis), Katrina Wilkins (Celia), Ruby Hawley (Leila) and Marha Bowles (Fleta) are the very talented cast.

I really must mention Niraali though as Phyllis. She has the most beautifully natural and powerful voice that I have heard for one so young.

Adam, as well as playing a half mortal half fairy boy next door, also directed this piece. The pace was kept up so that there was never an empty stage, keeping everyone's attention focused on the cast, the characters and the story.

Jamie Goodliffe was so enjoyable to watch and his tongue twister version of the "Nightmare" song aka "When You're Lying Awake" is a joy both aurally and visually, as most of Gilbert & Sullivan's patter songs are.

You know, it is very difficult to highlight any of these lot over the rest just for the sheer professionalism and fun every single performer here showed. As a team they smashed it.

Gilbert & Sullivan music has a special sound to their music and Musical Director Matthew Buxton created that sound that I had come to expect from G&S, adding to the whole feel and sound to this piece of theatre.

This is my first taste of the University of Nottingham's Gilbert & Sullivan Society shows, and I really hope that it won't be my last.

An excellent show and an excellent cast and production team.