"Animal Farm" by George Orwell, adapted by Tatty Hennessey.

Nottingham Playhouse.

Presented by Leeds Playhouse and Stratford East in association with Nottingham Playhouse.

Orwell's classic tale of greed, power, deceit and rebellion performed brilliantly in the Neville Suite of The Nottingham Playhouse. An ensemble of mixed ages really gel to produce a wonderfully exciting and fresh approach to this classic political masterpiece.

The play opens with quite a distressing birthing scene where the young are immediately taken away from the mother, dumped in a bucket and, what I assumed, the runt of the three tossed back to its' mother.

Originally Orwell based the story on the events of Russia’s Bolshevik revolution and the betrayal of the cause by Joseph Stalin. It rang true back in 1945 when first printed, and how apt is the timing for this tour with what is going on in the world! Small pain for big gain? Where has that been heard of late, Mr Trump!

One night, all the animals at Mr. Jones' Manor Farm assemble in a barn to hear old Major, a pig, describe a dream he had about a world where all animals live free from the tyranny of their human masters. old Major dies soon after the meeting, but the animals, inspired by his philosophy of Animalism, plot a rebellion against Jones.

Two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, prove themselves important figures and planners of this dangerous enterprise. When Jones forgets to feed the animals, the revolution occurs, and Jones and his men are chased off the farm. Manor Farm is renamed Animal Farm, and the Seven Commandments of Animalism are painted on the barn wall. All goes well with the rebellion but then greed sets in and everything changes, and not for the better for most.

Napoleon the pig, who emerges as the leader of "Animal Farm" after the Rebellion. Based on Joseph Stalin, Napoleon uses military force (his nine loyal attack dogs) to intimidate the other animals and consolidate his power. In his supreme craftiness, Napoleon proves more treacherous than his counterpart, Snowball. Played by Tachia Newall.

Snowball the pig who challenges Napoleon for control of "Animal Farm" after the Rebellion. Based on Leon Trotsky, Snowball is intelligent, passionate, eloquent, and less subtle and devious than his counterpart, Napoleon. Snowball seems to win the loyalty of the other animals and cement his power. Played by Robin Morrissey.

Old Major, the prize-winning boar whose vision of a socialist utopia serves as the inspiration for the Rebellion. Three days after describing the vision and teaching the animals the song “Beasts of England,” Major dies, leaving Snowball and Napoleon to struggle for control of his legacy. Orwell based Major on both the German political economist Karl Marx and the Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Ilych Lenin. Played by Everal A Walsh.

Minty is a sheep who is portrayed as malleable and easily influenced. Played by Farshid Rokey

Mollie, the vain, flighty mare who pulls Mr. Jones’s carriage. Mollie craves the attention of human beings and loves being groomed and pampered. She has a difficult time with her new life on Animal Farm, as she misses wearing ribbons in her mane and eating sugar cubes. She represents the petit bourgeoisie that fled from Russia a few years after the Russian Revolution. Played by Shakeel Kimotho.

Benjamin, the long-lived donkey who refuses to feel inspired by the Rebellion. Benjamin firmly believes that life will remain unpleasant no matter who is in charge. Of all of the animals on the farm, he alone comprehends the changes that take place, but he seems either unwilling or unable to oppose the pigs. Played by David Nellist.

Clara,  a hen who, like other female characters, explores themes of power, greed, and the betrayal of ideals. Played by Brydie Service.

Squealer, the pig who spreads Napoleon’s propaganda among the other animals. Squealer justifies the pigs’ monopolization of resources and spreads false statistics pointing to the farm’s success. Orwell uses Squealer to explore the ways in which those in power often use rhetoric and language to twist the truth and gain and maintain social and political control. Played by Tom Simper.

Mr Jones is the often-drunk farmer who runs the Manor Farm before the animals stage their Rebellion and establish Animal Farm. Mr. Jones is an unkind master who indulges himself while his animals lack food; he thus represents Tsar Nicholas II, whom the Russian Revolution ousted. Played by Kaya Ulasli.

Blue is the dog that has been raised by Napoleon to become Napoleon's guard dog, used to keep the other animals in their place, and also utilised to dispatch any animal that does not agree with the Commandments laid down by the animals, and the amended Commandments, made to tie in with the changing hierarchy on the farm. Played with great ferocity by  Joshua-Alexander Williams.

Boxer, the cart-horse whose incredible strength, dedication, and loyalty play a key role in the early prosperity of "Animal Farm" and the later completion of the windmill. Quick to help but rather slow-witted, Boxer shows much devotion to Animal Farm’s ideals but little ability to think about them independently. He naïvely trusts the pigs to make all his decisions for him. His two mottoes are “I will work harder” and “Napoleon is always right.” Played by Gabriel Paul.

Clover, a good-hearted female cart-horse and Boxer’s close friend. Clover often suspects the pigs of violating one or another of the Seven Commandments, but she repeatedly blames herself for misremembering the commandments. Played by Tianah Hodding.

Directed by Amy Leach, this has to be the most powerful adaptation of this Orwell play that I have seen, and I have seen this play quite a few times over the years. You actually get a feeling of fear sat in the audience watching this show due to the atmosphere the cast create and through this exciting and fresh direction.

Combined with the lighting design by Jai Morjaria, and the sound design and original music composition by Khalil Madovi, the atmosphere crackles and explodes. I did notice that no one's mobiles went off for the duration of the play; probably for fear of what might happen to them, especially with Blue looking as threatening as he does!!

Set & Costume Design is by Hayley Grindle. There're no costumes to depict which animal the actor is playing, but look closely and you'll see "hen", "sheep", "dog" etc printed into the clothes worn. The clothes are however quite industrial to reflect the way that these animals toil.

The set also reflects Orwell's dystopian feel for the play; split into two levels with the top section being Jones's abode, overlooking the farmyard setting for the animals. Jones' home lit in red to show both the warmth of the home, but also to show danger. This adaptation really does paint Jones in a tyrannical light, often employing the whip to keep the animals in their place, until they could stand it no more.

The cast includes deaf and disabled performers, reflecting the production’s dedication to ensuring disability is a part of the storytelling and creative process. Creative audio description will be available, offering live, sensory-rich narratives for visually impaired audiences and integrated British Sign Language (BSL) performances throughout.

Do not miss out on this incredibly dark, oppressive and quite frightening piece of theatre, superbly performed by a wonderful cast. 

"Animal Farm" is at the Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 12 April.

 "Chicago"

Nottingham Royal Concert Hall.

“Murder, greed, corruption, exploitation, adultery and treachery…all those things we hold near and dear to our hearts“. That's the introduction to the International award winning musical which has returned to the Royal Centre this week.

Roxie Hart (Janette Manrara) is cheating on her wimpy husband Amos (Joshua Lloyd) with hunky Fred Casely (Josh Crowther) and ends up shooting him dead. She is taken to prison where she meets Velma Kelly (Djalenga Scott), the current Queen of the women's prison. Roxie is taken under Matron "Mama" Morton's wing, (Brenda Edwards). Both Velma and Roxie escape the hangman's noose thanks to smooth talking lawyer, Billy Flynn (Dan Morton).

Janette Manrara looked to be having great fun as Roxie. She played with the character and toyed with it as a kitten would toy with a ball of wool. Her dance background is vital to a show like this and her joy of dance is so evident in this show.

Joshua Lloyd succeeded in getting the audience on his side as Amos, especially after his brilliant performance of "Mr Cellophane". Very clever costume wise dressing Amos all in grey. It has the same effect as when Spitting Image gave John Major when their puppet was completely grey, but Joshua is anything but grey, dull and boring and has a wonderful voice, belying his character's given blandness.

Josh Crowther pumped up his pecs and brought the arrogance as Fred Casely. If anyone can remember the animated kids show "Johnny Bravo", this is who this version of Casely reminded me of. Great over the top fun from Josh.

Djalenga Scott as Velma was a force to be reckoned with on stage as the prisoner who was toppled from the top of the pile by Roxie. I last saw Djalenga play Velma back in 2021 and she is a triple threat with her singing, dancing - love those high kicks - and her acting. What a fabulous pair Janette and Djalenga make. They glitter more than the backdrops they dance in front of.

Brenda Edwards has one of those voices that is full of soul, and the gospel/blues tinges that she adds to her songs like "When You're Good To Mama" gives you the tingles. Well, they did me.

Dan Morton I last saw three years ago playing Phil Davis in "White Christmas" alongside Jay McGuinness. Dan has a list of musical theatre successes as long as his arm, having been in stage musicals since 2006, and this vast experience shows in the singing and dancing stakes. The smugness as being the "go to lawyer" is mirrored by the big song and dance numbers like "All I Care About Is Love" and "Razzle Dazzle". Dan brings the smooth to Billy Flynn's character.

One other role which was played excellently was that of Mary Sunshine (Jordan Lee Davis), the news reporter with a heart of gold, who has a bit of a crush on Flynn. Mary's wonderfully operatic voice ripped through the Royal Concert Hall. Jordan plays this part with hidden depth, and with a big range vocally!

The cast is completed by Bethany Adamson, Robin Kent, Victoria Anderson, Josh Crowther, Joe Dale, Jessica Keable,  Annabelle Laing, Jacob McLay Reid,  George Olney, Oliver Ramsdale, Elly Shaw, Jonathan Milton, Lucy-Anne Stacey, Matthew Sweet. Aaron Jenkins and Ria Tanaka.

This musical is sassy, slick, seductive, saucy but most of very, very sexy. This is due to the incredibly lithe male and female dancers who, literally bend over backwards to entertain! It also has a lot to do with Bob Fosse's trademark choreography, which was at the core of this musical.

If the laundry bill is based on the amount of cloth that is washed, then the dancer's bill would not be a great deal, and the material there is, is stretched very tight! You get the picture?

The live band were A-MA-ZING. Led by Neil MacDonald. They were all part of the show and they created a lot of the fun, especially at the start of Act 2 and the finale with their crazy routines and "messing about". Great entertainment and a cracking, swinging sound.

The show is laced with memorable songs such as "Cell Block Tango", which was a sight for this old man's eyes, there were legs everywhere! "All That Jazz", "Razzle Dazzle", "Roxie", the wonderful "Mr Cellophane", the clever vocals of "They Both Reached For The Gun".

If you've only seen the film, starring Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta Jones and Renee Zellweger, the musical has even more musical numbers in. It's sung through most of the time, so there are lots of music to take in and enjoy. Songs like "When Velma Takes The Stand", "Me And My Baby", "My Own Best Friend" and "A Little Bit Of Good" among them.

The original Direction and choreography is kept but in both cases, if you've seen previous productions, you may notice some additions, especially in the choreography side. 

Gary Chryst has recreated the original choreography and I think added even more to the mix. There are some wonderfully glamorous dance routines, many of which would not have looked out of place in any of the Busby Berkeley Hollywood classics, The wonderful feather scene to "All I Care About" is one that springs to mind as is the beefed up, and even sexier "They Both Reached For The Gun".

Anyone who has seen the stage version of the musical will know that the hair, wigs, costumes and make up bring an extra touch of pzazz and sizzle to a show like this.

What you may, or may not notice, is that there is no set, as such, and most of the time the cast sit down the side of where the orchestra are positioned. Props are brought on and off, and the reason why I said that you may not notice the lack of set, is because the action, the dancing and the breakneck pace of this show does not give you time to notice anything apart from the actors and dancers right in front of your eyes. Let's face it, you don't need a set when a musical is as entertaining as this one, plus who'd be looking at the set when there are scantily clad dancers gyrating everywhere?

"Chicago" is based on the real life events of 1920's nightclub singer Roxie Hart. This is one classy and sexy show with some unforgettable musical numbers and energetic choreography as well as some brilliant costumes, then this is the one to see this week.

"Chicago" is on at the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall until Saturday 12 April.

 "NAT Youth Act Two Spectacular"

Nottingham Arts Theatre.

It will be no surprise to anyone who knows me when I say that i love showcases like these. It's brilliant to see young actors perform vignettes from stage and musical theatre, highlighting individuals' talents, but also gives these young performers a taste of theatre that sometimes they may not experience until later on down their theatrical highway. This showcase is bigger and even better than the previous one; something I thought would be incredibly difficult to achieve after seeing their last one.

Thirty seven various scenes performed by fifty six young stars. Another nice thing about these type of shows is that, over the years, I've seen so many of them start off as newbies, and then see them appearing in their final year show. Seeing them develop and grow over the period of time makes me feel almost like a proud stage parent.

I was given a great feeling that this cast were embracing the camper side of musical theatre, and that brought out the more adventurous side of the performers, as well as the cheeky and fun side, with a few of the performances being gender swap, making these sections even more exciting and different to watch.

Anyway, I'll try and mention as many of these performances as I can.

In any musical show, it's always good to get big openings for each of the two acts, and we saw that this afternoon. Opening the show with "Wilkommen" from "Cabaret" was a great choice and great to see Jack Kent taking centre stage with this one.

I have many favourite performances in this spectacular, and the next came with "Little Girls" from "Annie", performed by Arlo Perrons. I've seen and reviewed Arlo on quite a few occasions, but this performance was breath takingly good. He looked absolutely incredible and you could hear a great confidence in his voice as he strutted around the stage, and in those heels as well!

In "Worst Pies In London" from "Sweeney Todd", Connie Tegerdine serenaded and we got to see the first appearance of another one of my favourite young performers, Jamie Adlam, who has naturally funny bones.

The scene from "Guys n Dolls", "Luck Be A Lady" by both boy groups, 4 and 5, featured James Cragg, who I don't think that I had noticed in previous shows, but he has a really strong voice. 

Group 4 and 5 girls retaliated with an extract from "Made In Dagenham" and featured Eliza Szejda, Chloe Crofts, Connie Tegerdine, Joy Clayton and Amelia Scurfield.

The first big surprise, and a really pleasant surprise it was also, was the gender swap version of "Cell Block Tango" from "Chicago" with the seven hardened women on trial were swapped for Lenny Brady, Oliver Sheard, James Cragg, Jack Kent, Arlo Perrons, Liam Brown - who has shot up since I first saw him playing "Oliver" a few years ago - and Julian Magda. None nervous about injecting a bit of camp into this performance, making a fun segment from the musical even more fun.

One of my favourite writers for musical theatre is Jason Robert Brown. One of my favourite of his musicals is "The Last 5 Years", so I was over the moon to see "Summer In Ohio" included from that musical and performed by Kate Russell.

The Group 5 Girls then danced to Michael Buble's "Feeling Good", almost kaleidoscopic in their musicality.

I am skipping over a few of the vignettes because I'd be here all night typing away and you'd be dropping to sleep from reading if I didn't. Anyway, I digress. My next highlight was from a musical that some musical theatre fans have a marmite approach to, but there are some very good songs in the musical "Titanic" and "The Proposal/The Night Was Alive" was performed beautifully by Jamie Adlam and Liam Brown. When Jamie isn't showing his funny bones, he shows another side of his talents as a very good singer of serious songs. Liam has blossomed into leading man material and his voice has also matured wonderfully, and this ballad shows both Jamie and Liam in excellent voice.

"Backstage At The Ritz" shows a more comedic side to some of these young performers. James, Kate, Eliza, Liam, Arlo, Julian and Oliver, especially the latter pair.

Closing the first act was a song from "Pippin" called "Magic To Do" by Group 4 featuring Amelie, Kayla, Sophie, Zach and Giles.

I mentioned earlier that the opening numbers should fizz, and it certainly did when starting with "My Dead Gay Son" from "Heathers". A brilliant number which also featured Jamie and Lenny. You could see the fun this pair were having with this comedy number, and also showed the start of Lenny's dance energy revving up from the idling position... more of Lenny's grooving later!

One of the many highlight songs in "Legally Blonde" has to be the "Bend and Snap" section and we had even more fun with Paulette and Elle with the Group 5 ladies featuring Kate, Eliza, Chloe, Grace and Elizabeth.

Showing the variety that NAT Youth offers, Jonah Williams joined the Songbirds on stage for a very different piece called "Vuelie" from "Frozen".

"Little Shop Of Horrors" will always be in my Top 5 favourite musicals and the inclusion of the title song, featuring Ace, Zach, Morgan, Sophie and Caitlin was only surpassed by one of the best renditions of "Suddenly Seymour" I have heard. Zach and Grace's voices were beautifully in synch with each other, showing each other's power and control over their vocals, giving me tingles.

Act two just continues with the powerful performances with another one of my favourite songs from an incredible musical, "Miss Saigon" with the song "Bui Doi", performed by the Group 5 boys and especially the power and emotive voice of Oliver Sheard. I knew that Oliver had a good voice, but hearing the passion that he put into his solo performance just escalated his vocal talents for me, wonderfully supported by the rest of the group.

Now, I never fail to leave any showcase without being educated to something new, and today it was via a piece called "9 People's Favourite Thing" from "Title Of Show" performed by Liam, James, Eliza and Caitlin.

I have not really mentioned the drama pieces that were performed this afternoon, I loved the section from Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" as well as the other pieces, but there was one that really stuck out for me, and this again was another new one to me. "The Dead Eye Boy Monologue", performed by Oli was something that I would like to see more of, if there is a longer version of this monologue. Wonderfully delivered by Oli.

Showing off their dancing, as well as singing skills were James and Kayla in a section from "La La Land" in the number "A Lovely Night".

Earlier I mentioned the gender swap for "Cell Block Tango", well this time around it was time for the girls in Group 5, featuring Chloe, to take on "Gee Officer Krupke" from "West Side Story", and they looked to have real fun with this one.

Another real highlight for me was the incredibly intricate "Your Fault/Last Midnight" from Sondheim's "Into the Woods". The timing for the vocalists in this is exquisitely timed and featured some amazing vocals from Zach, Lenny, Joy, Amelie and Amelia. Absolutely stunning sound and speed from this group.

A brilliant comedy duet by Oliver and Connie H with "Therapy" from "Tick Tick Boom", with plenty of visual humour.

"It's All About The Green" from "The Wedding Singer" is just another highlight among highlights for me. Group 4 brought incredible energy to this number, and when you think of the previous sections that were also full on, this group ramped up the revs, and this is where I will also mention the energy that Lenny brought. That young man just grooved all the way through this number. Just looking at his face while he was dancing in this scene showed that this must have been one of his favourite pieces because he looked to be in his own little groove room. This piece was brilliantly choreographed by Keira Dormer-Hazell.

Slowing things down was a piece from "Come From Away", which also contained touches of comedy, which again was performed with a lovely subtleness in the face of the adversity within the theme of this modern musical. Group 5 smashed this piece.

And so we come to the final number which was from the musical that everyone is talking about of late - no not "Jamie" but Evan, "Dear Evan Hansen". Everyone, including the tutors joined together on stage for the emotive "You Will Be Found", and what a gorgeous noise this group of young performers made, closing the show in true style.

I've mentioned many of the young people, but this is the full cast....

Group 4.

Ace Merkelt, Amelia Scurfield, Amelie Adams, Caitlin Young, Cleo Sims, Connie Tegerdine, Jamie Adlam, Joy Clayton, Katie Lister, Kayla Burgess, Lenny Brady, Libby Thompson, Morgan Spencer, Sophie Murphy, Roxy Smith and Zach Silcock.

Group 5.

Arlo perrons, Chloe Crofts, Connie Hatchett, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Eliza Szejda, Grace Eccles-Jones, Jack Kent, James Cragg, Julian Magda, Kate Russell, Liam Brown, Oliver Sherad and Olivia Bott.

Songbirds.

Amelie Booth, Atia Morrell, Darcey Orwin, Elizabeth Kenny, Emily Ashton, Elizabeth Rhodes, Fergus Hillery, La-mai McKenzie, Lauren Varley, Leo Capaldi, Louis Dickson, Mia Woodward, Orla Donohoe, Polly Sibley, Sophia Smith and Zane Page.

Songsters.

Connie Hatchett, Connie Tegerdine, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Emeilia Pound, Evelyn Byfield, Flossie Bailey, Florence Everitt, Jack Kent, James Cragg, Maisie Fletcher and Roxy Smith.

Someone who I know will be especially proud of the way these young people performed today was the Youth Co-ordinator, Jessica Royce, and so she should be as well. There are many stars that made this show very special, but these stars are part of a wonderfully bright constellation, whose light is made all the more brighter by the amount of stars that make up that constellation.

The Tutors.

Jessica Royce (Dance and Musical Theatre Lead).

Keira Dormer-Hazell (Drama Lead and Musical Theatre Tutor).

Jonah Williams (Music Lead).

Eleanor Carty (Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre Tutor).

Charlotte Clay (Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre Tutor).

Stephanie Gook (Stage Manager).

Jessica Royce (Deputy Stage Manager).

There were some brilliant costumes on show provided by the Nottingham Arts Theatre Youth Group and Company.

Lighting and Sound by Evie Webster and George Wilson. A  few crackly mic packs but with all that energetic choreography and dramaturg, you can forgive that.

What was also lovely to see was an almost full auditorium supporting with great enthusiasm. This kind of show is perfect for Directors and talent spotters and believe me, there is a hell of a lot of talent on this stage.