"The Wizard Of Oz" by Bright Lights Theatre School

Loughborough Town Hall.

They say never work with children and animals. Well I am so pleased that producers Nick Sutcliffe and Patrick Croft didn't listen to that age old adage. This is a production of mammoth proportions with a cast of youngsters numbering over seventy on stage. And may I say, one of the best children's mass ensembles I have seen in the theatre.

I'm not going to precis the story of "The Wizard Of Oz" because you know it so I'm going to concentrate on the rest of it. This production alone has cost £23,000 to stage which shows the following this theatre group have because it's the paying audiences who have funded this not for profit drama group. it also shows the work that has gone into this show.

It has an old style MGM musical feel about it and this comes across with the ensemble singing as well as the dance routines, choreographed by Nick Sutcliffe and Zoe Curlett

The excellent cinematography and special effects, the clarity of the music, under the musical direction of Zoe Curlett and James Nelson, the brilliant costumes and make up, the props and scenery all added to the total professionalism for the audience and made the experience of these young actors something very special. A very talented technical team and directed by Alex Turner, which could not have been easy due to the size of the cast.

Let's talk about these young, and extremely talented actors. There are some really young actors who may well have been debuting in "Oz" here and carried themselves so professionally. Every single one of those youngsters delivered everything that they were asked to deliver, some even more, which I'll get on to shortly.

Normally an actor may stand out for the wrong reasons when in ensemble work, but they were all outstanding for all the right reasons. For putting on an amazing show.

I must though mention a few that really made me sit up even more than I was.

Amy Carter, who played Dorothy was so very confident in the main role. her accent remained constantly Kansas throughout, unwavering, and she had wonderful characterization in Dorothy. Being in charge of Toto, her dog, who was played by Lacey, can sometimes lead (if you'll pardon the pun) to unpredictability and Amy crossed these bridges with great control and maturity.

Munchkin Mayor was another character who caught my eye. Played by Zack Page, here is another very confident young man with just the right projection in his voice and a feel for the role. it may have only been a minor role but he made it his own and was wonderful in it.

They were all stars on stage but one actor, and I really didn't want to spotlight anyone in particular, but I'm afraid he has forced my hand through his utter professionalism and, whether he realised it or not, his ability to ad lib just right, was Daniel Johnson in the dual role as Hunk and The Scarecrow. His natural ability, character and comedy, as well as his timing were lovely to see in such a young actor, but there were two things he did tonight that gained my absolute respect.

There was a scene where the Emerald City Guard was due to come down from an upstairs window to let The Scarecrow, Tinman, Cowardly Lion and Dorothy in and he took just a bit longer to appear. Daniel took it upon himself to ad lib while Stefan Bos, as the guard, made his way into the scene.

The second was when one of the characters stumbled slightly on a line and Daniel prompted his fellow actor for the line. What a real pro. i have seen professionals stumble and fluff lines so it can happen to anyone but it is how you, and your fellow actor, recover and cover, and this lot were just totally professional to the letter. Daniel will go far in acting with that sort of professionalism mindset and discipline. All this plus he has a very controlled singing voice and a lovely, distinctiveness about his singing.

Don't you just hate it when you get kids this age who are so incredibly talented? i'm so jealous.

The rest of the main cast, who were just as incredibly disciplined, and talented were Lydia Bird (Aunt Em), Rafael Duarte (Uncle Henry), Madison Ditta (Hickory/Tinman), Zara Platts (Zeke/Lion), Ella Rose Gadd (Miss Gultch/Wicked Witch of The West), Samuel Beckett (Professor Marvel/ Wizard Of Oz) and Beth York (Glinda).

I'd love to mention all seventy-nine of you by name, but that is what a programme/playbill is for, so if you go and see this show, buy a programme, because that all helps as well. You can all feel very proud of yourselves, and that includes all the people involved behind the scenes.

"The Wizard Of Oz" is only on until Sunday 19 June 2016, but would make a brilliant Father's Day present. Truly wicked (you know what I mean).

"Footloose" by The Young Performers
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

It's back to the 1980's for the latest show by the Young Performers and this is a wonderful vehicle for the drama society. It's the story of Ren McCormack, a teenager from Chicago, who has moved to a hick town called Bomont with his mum after his dad walked out a few years ago. The town minister, Shaw Moore, has banned dancing after a car accident years ago where four teenagers of the town died on the way back from a dance.

Ren slowly manages to fit in with the teenagers but makes enemies of the other townfolk. He makes friends with Willard, who isn't the fastest gun in the west, as well as befriending Ariel, the teenage daughter of Shaw and Vi Moore, and girlfriend to the bullying Chuck Cranston. Ren makes it his aim to overturn the dancing ban. With the kids on his side, all he now has to do is convince Shaw Moore..

Liam Morris (Ren) was excellent in the role of the town newcomer, and at 16 years old he showed great confidence as our boot-scooting hero that Ariel had been holding out for. A good choice for the leading man.

Nicola Northcott (Ariel) is the owner of a beautiful voice and her control on the stripped back version of "Holding out For A Hero" was lovely to hear, showing great maturity.

Harvey Latter (Shaw Moore) is another young actor who presented his character with great maturity. Where as the teenage parts, played by teenagers isn't a great stretch, because they are their playing age, Harvey had to convince us that he was a strict man of the cloth. For me after a while I soon forgot he was a teenager and he became the character, and it's great when one so young can convince an audience that they are their intended role. Brilliant job!

Erin Hill (Vi Moore), again a lovely voice showcased beautifully in her solo "Can You Find It In Your Heart".

Emily Owen (Ethyl McCormack) is another character actor in the making, and again playing a part so much older than she is and making us believe her character.

Zak Charlesworth (Chuck Cranston) is still only 18 years old but has done so much in musical theatre, When I get to see someone like Zak perform as I have several times, I sometimes get the feeling that he has a tendency to play it safe. With this role, there was no safe and it was great to see him play a nasty piece of work in Chuck. Not only was his character miles away from his past roles, it was also good to hear Zak belt out a song like "The Girl Gets Around". Much as I love to hear Zak sing musical theatre songs, this showed a new and fresh side of him, which i like just as much as his Jean Valjean types.Thanks Zak, you surprised me again.

Jake Truman (Willard) was an absolute star for me last night. A true country simpleton with a heart of gold, loyal to the last and a great sense of humour. His confession to Ren that he couldn't do "it" was hilarious, even though we knew "it" wasn't what Ren first thought "it" was. The section where Ren taught Willard a few choice dance moves was one of the many highlights for me, and it looked like Willard was hiding his dance talents under a bushel with some nifty moonwalking thrown in there.

A wonderful ensemble full of people who looked like they were loving every minute of stage time, almost as much as we in the audience were loving seeing them on the stage. The sheer enthusiasm was a joy to see from absolutely everyone, but I was drawn to one young man, who seemed to be the smallest one there, who constantly gave his all in every piece of choreography given. One of many stars in the making on stage.

A live band on stage under the direction of Leon Wade produced a wonderful musical back drop to some brilliant 80's classics from the film, "Let's Hear It For The Boy", "Holding Out For A Hero" and of course "Footloose" as well as lesser known numbers like "Learning To be Silent", sung wonderfully by Erin, Emily and Nicola and the fun song "Mama Says" sung by Jake, Ryan Yates, Finley McQuade and a character called Bickle.

Directed by Tricia Freer and Vicky Moran with superb choreography byAlex Tavener and Lauren Riley. A really swift stage crew shifted the props on and off stage and the lighting and sound was by Dave Martin and David Simms.

i must also mention the costumes and hair and especially the make up (Gemma Riley) because that black eye that Ren sported was pretty vicious looking!

All in all this was a very enjoyable romp through the backwoods of Bomont with a great cast who were having as much fun on stage as we were having off stage.

"Footloose" is on at the Duchess Theatre until Saturday 18 June 2016.

"Mamma Mia"

Nottingham Royal Concert Hall.

I loved the film when it came out and guess what? I absolutely LOVE this stage production. What is there not to like about this brilliant fun, happy, feel good show?

The music of Abba is timeless. It's catchy. You'll find yourself singing along quietly with the show. You'll tap your feet, you'll clap your hands and at the end you get the chance to get up out of your seats and dance, sing and clap along and I did all three and I loved it.

The story is of Sophie, daughter of Donna. Sophie is getting married to Sky and, understandably, she wants her dad at the wedding. But the only problem is, she has the choice of three. She only knows the three, Harry, Sam and Bill, because she read her mum's diary. the three dads come over to the Greek isle and that's where the fun begins.

It's a brilliant cast with local connections, because playing Donna is Nottingham born Sara Poyzer. I've seen Sara in several productions and have had the pleasure of chatting to her on several occasions. Sara has a beautiful voice for musical theatre and when she sand "The Winner Takes It All" she put every ounce of emotion into that song, which was greatly appreciated by the audience.

Playing one of the possible fathers, Sam, is Sara's husband Richard Standing, who you'll recognise from several TV roles including Coronation Street. And guess what he has a better singing voice than Pearce Brosnan, who played the part in the film.

Playing the other prospective fathers were Tim Walton (Harry) and Christopher Hollis (Bill).

Donna's best friends, Rosie and Tanya are played brilliantly by Jacqueline Braun and Emma Clifford respectively. Jacqueline reminds me a bit of Dawn French with her great sense of fun she pours into Rosie's character and I loved the aloofness of Tanya, as well as the wonderful scene where she is putting down her young admirer, Pepper (Louis Stockil), who got to show off some pretty impressive dance moves.

Lucy May Barker (Sophie) had a lovely excitable air of innocence as she approached her big day with Sky, played by Phillip Ryan, her hunky groom to be, and a lovely sweet voice Lucy has. Her two bridesmaids were played by Micha Richardson (Ali) and Blaise Colangelo (Lisa). Sky's friends were played by Louis Stockil (Pepper) and Sam Robinson (Eddie).

A big ensemble cast who danced their socks off, and a real treat for the ladies as there was quite a bit of male flesh on show.

A fairly simple set which was rapidly added to with props by the ensemble who just as smoothly removed them and changed the set round. Well managed by the stage management crew.

Brilliant, vibrant lighting and, despite a slight technical hiccup with the sound, a very clear sound mix and design.

Wonderful 70's glam costumes,as only to be expected, and some wonderfully enthusiastic choreography, which left me breathless just watching them.A large production team who pulled everything together to bring a brilliantly fun, feel good show to chase away the rainy evening.

Everyone knows the songs and there are many in here spanning the many eras of Abba but I must admit my favourites were "The Winner Takes It All" because of the passion Sara sung with and "Slipping Through My Fingers". A lovely poignant version again sung by Sara as she was getting Sophie ready for the wedding and remembering how her daughter has grown from being her child to a grown woman. Something every parent can relate to as their child grows up, often far faster than we'd like.

"Mamma Mia" is at the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall until Saturday 25 June 2016, so there's no excuse to not see this heart-warming musical.

"I KEEP A WOMAN IN MY FLAT CHAINED TO A RADIATOR"

by Theatre Apparantly.

A new theatre company to me, they were formed in 2015 and set out to present serious issues in such a way as not to preach but to get the message across in a light hearted way. they did this at the Nottingham New Theatre this afternoon with the play strangely entitled "I Keep A Woman In My Flat Chained To A Radiator".

Why she is there we never find out and the two-hander play never addresses this matter, as if it were common place that a young woman is shackled to a piece of plumbing inside a single man's flat.

The play and it's two actors Alex Wells-King, as Stephen the young twenty-something professional and Monica Forero as the chained woman, as well as writer/director Adam Willis stopped off in Nottingham New Theatre on the way to the Edinburgh Fringe, and I'm so glad that i had the chance to catch it.

The play is very well observed and written and that makes for a very funny short play about insecurities, expectations and social opinions and issues. With clever sections which border on farce, it's really nice to see something new written by young writers, performed by young actors with the subject matter addressing young people. When you reach the age that this reviewer has attained you can have great fun reminiscing the subjects like getting ready for a first date, what to wear, what to say as well as being able to laugh at sexual personal doubts, should you get over all the previous hurdles aforementioned and still make a positive impression on your first date.

It's fast paced, funny and very well acted which makes the unbelievable idea of having a woman chained to your radiator who, seemingly willingly, cooks, cleans and launders for you, quite believable. A brilliant script which has the scope to be extended past the 45 minutes or so length. I would have loved to have seen the "date" in action and the aftermath plus there could be a prequel to show how the woman was kidnapped and how/why she became so amenable to her captor.

I love it as a short piece of theatre and at the same time I want more, and there is room for more. the play should go down a storm at The Edinburgh Fringe because of it's off the wall humour and young cast, plus it's a little bit sexy as well, or is that just me?

If this play stops off on the way back from it's success at Edinburgh for a return performance, please go and see it, because I know I will.

"American Idiot"

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Having seen this rock opera using the music of Green Day once before, I knew what to expect, so I knew I was in for a great night, and I was not disappointed.

The story centres on three young men, Johnny, Will, and Tunny. Johnny and Tunny escape a boring suburban lifestyle and parental restrictions, while Will stays home to work out his relationship with his pregnant girlfriend, Heather. Johnny and Tunny look for meaning in life and try out the freedom and excitement of the city. Tunny quickly gives up on life in the city, joins the military, and is shipped off to war. Johnny turns to drugs and finds a part of himself that he grows to dislike, has a relationship and experiences lost love before turning his life around and returning back to suburbia.

It all starts with TV news coverage of the twin towers attack on a massive TV screen, setting the scenes for that period of explosiveness.

Newton Faulkner plays Johnny and with his musical experience through his songs and performing, he was a natural for a role like this, and I was impressed by his stage presence and charisma.

X Factor contestant, Amelia Lily as "Whatsername" was a big surprise as I couldn't picture her in a role like this, but she also really impressed me. She has a magnetic stage presence and a clear vocal style, providing passion to the show and the songs.

Tunny, played on Tuesday night by Cellen Chugg Jones and Will was played by ex Son Of Dork singer/bass player, Steve Rushton.

St Jimmy, Johnny's drug-dealing alter ego, was played by Lucas Rush. Playing him with a more comical, possibly evil clown like side and looking a bit like Keith from the Prodigy but with a big rock voice.

A brilliant live band provided a powerful backing to the singers, and while being able to feel that bass thumping at your chest, when they turned to the more orchestral works of Green Day, they also produced a lovely tender, almost classical side of the band's music.

As you'd expect, with two hit making singers to the fore, the vocals, not just from Newton and Amelia, were spot on, sometimes they were a little hard to hear over the powerhouse of the band, but you're not there to listen to the lyrics, Most people already knew the lyrics from the Green Day album anyway. Saying that, when the ballads were performed, you heard every word, and the odd pin dropping.

A multi levelled set made sure that you could see all three of the main characters situations all at the same time, in different settings. Many highlights for me including the hospital scene, "Extraordinary Girl", which was a master of a dream-like sequence.

Prior to this scene there is a scene where Will is on the couch with his pregnant girlfriend, Tunny has been shot and wounded in battle and Johnny is in bed with "Whatsername". The music which fits all three scenarios is "Give Me Novacaine". References to swellings also show the tongue in cheek lyrics for all three as being apt.

Other highlights were the songs "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams", "Wake Me up When September Ends", the mighty and anthemic "21 Guns", the opening "American idiot" and the closing "Time Of Your Life".

The language, as you may expect is a little fruity, but realistic for the post 9/11 bohemians and there's plenty of flesh on show with Newton and co often parading around laddishly in their pants and nothing else, but the girls also look rather tasty in their costumes.

Brilliant production team headed up by director and choreographer, Racky Plews, and the choreography was stunning.

This is a brilliant rock opera and you don't even need to be a fan of Green Day to enjoy this show. The music is amazing anyway, the story is good and the acting and singing is powerful and emotive, plus it has a message to give. One slightly flustered fan in the interval also excitedly remarked "Newton Faulkner in just his pants, what's not to like?"

"American Idiot" is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 18 June 2016, and you'd be an idiot to miss it!

"And The There Were None" by Agatha Christie.

Nottingham New Theatre.

Christie's classic murder mystery thriller is performed extremely well by this group of actors, and I must admit, being a Christie fan, I was impressed to start with that director, James Fox is also a fan of the thriller writer and genre, and chose this particular play.

What is also impressive is that this is James's directorial debut.

A group of people are lured into coming to a deserted island under different pretexts. All have been accused of the deaths of other human beings, but either escaped justice or committed an act that was not subject to legal sanction.The guests and two servants who are present are "charged" with their respective "crimes" by a gramophone recording after dinner the first night, and informed that they have been brought to the island to pay for their actions.

All ten are killed in turn, each in a manner that seems to parallel the deaths in the nursery rhyme. But if there were ten guests and ten deaths, then who is the killer if there's no one on the island but them?

A very strong cast consisting of James Roscow (Tom Rogers), Izzy Miles (Ethel Rogers), NNT newcomer Roberto Loza (Narracott), Niamh Caines (Vera Claythorne), Harry Pavlou (Lombard), Jeremy Dunn (Marston), Omid Faramar (Blore), Max Miller (MacKenzie), Charlotte Sanders (Emily Brent) and Gary Berezin (Dr Armstrong) present a tension packed programme, greatly appreciated by the very busy audience on Thursday night.

A brilliant set design by Ollie Short and some excellent light and sound design. The lighting also designed by James Fox. The technical crew, including producer Joe Strickland, were as important in creating the atmosphere with a wonderful creeping sound scape and evocative lighting.

The attention to detail is also one to watch and it's the little things in this production that just added that little extra for me. When the doctor and Lombard came in from the rain, their clothes were wet and the time checks given were actually accurate. it was if the play was being carried out in real time, even though it spanned two days, well you know what I mean by that.

Great costumes, hair and make up by Laura Jayne Bateman and Lydia Smith respectively, and I don't know if the cast had a voice coach but the accents were very good indeed.

Another cracking presentation at the Nottingham New Theatre by yet another intelligent and articulate cast, and I for one can't wait for the next one.

"And Then There Were None" is being performed until Saturday 11 June in the evening. so still time to find out whodunnit!!

Oh and if you want to know who did do it, it was..........................

"Saucy Jack & The Space Vixens"

By Musicality

Staged in the Portland Building @Studio Live at the Nottingham University, this is the story of saucy Jack, a cabaret club owner who's artists seem to have the nasty habit of being bumped off with a sparkly red slingback. Strangely enough, moments after leaving the employment of..... Saucy Jack!

Jack (Thomas Outhwaite) has collected and saved several characters and gave them jobs at his cabaret spot. These include Mitch Maypole (Joe McGeehan), the barman who reveals a fetish for plastic. A fetish also shared by psychoanalyst Dr Willy Van Whackoff (Jake Gelernter) making the pair the perfect pairing. Booby Shevalle (Bobby Hughes) is the cocktail waitress and "female" vocalist at the nightspot, well after the last one was mysteriously murdered. Then there is the club saxophonist, Sammy Sax (Rhodri Denton) who has a fixation for Space Vixens.

The Space Vixens are the equivalent of the CSI and are dispatched to solve the murder mystery. Jubilee Climax (Gemma Burton), Bunny Lingus (Maria Bennett) and Anna Labia (Emily Dervey).

There's also nightspot visitor and intergalactic smuggler, Chesty Prospects/Shirley Tristar (Charlotte Howarth) and the compere/Vulva Savannah (Nikki Fish).

One of the Space Vixens though has a secret which is revealed in Act two and has a bearing on the revealing of who was the slingback murderer.

This was great fun to watch and on the lines of "The Rocky Horror Show" with the colourful, slightly over the top characters and audience participation. There are also nods to sci-fi favourites like Barbarella"" as well as the sauciness of the "Carry On" films with lashings of double entendres.

A catchy disco soundtrack which is as camp as a row of tents swathed in gallons of glitter and borrows lines from some fave camp classics like "I Will Survive" and "I Am What I Am" among others.Along the way it delivers heavy-hitting 80’s rock, good old vaudeville, a couple of power ballad show tunes and even a thumping reggae number to open the second act.

Directed by Jonathan Walker, assisted by Joe McGeehan and produced by Charlotte Mann and Katie Monk. musical direction by Rachel Loggenberg and Tom Williams.

Using the middle section of the performance area and seating the audience along the sides, Musicality made the most of the space, but it also meant that the actors could draw in the audience as dancers, especially in the song "Cheers Up Bunny".

Some brilliantly catchy songs like "All I Need Is Disco", the anthemic "Glitter Boots Saved My Life", "Park My Bike", "Let's Make Magic" and the line dancing inspired "Space Trucking".

Brilliant fun, made all the better by the cast mingling and chatting with the audience before the show started and in the interval, having selfies taken with the audience and ending in a mass dance with the audience to close the show.

Like panto, this talented bunch used their ad libbing skills to keep the show fresh, and not once did any one of them look tired of performing. They looked like they enjoyed performing as much as the audience loved seeing this show.

Once again though, a shame that this space age musical was only on for three days because i have a feeling that this could have gone on for a few days more than it did. well there is always that adage... "leave them wanting more"... and they did. What a party!