"Pippin" by 3rd Year MADD Students.

The Space, Richmond House, Nottingham.

Here's a musical from the 1970's that rarely seems to be performed, although there's a revival of this musical due this year in London. It was originally written as a "student musical" so it's very apt that the students of the Midlands Academy of Dance and Drama have chosen this to showcase their talents this year. It's also another musical that I can tick off of my first time bucket list.

As told by a traveling troupe of actors led by the cunning and charming Leading Player, "Pippin" is the story of a young prince, heir to the throne, who is searching for his own “corner of the sky.” Pippin returns from university certain that he will find a fulfilling purpose in life. As encouraged by the Leading Player, Pippin dabbles in bloody battle, licentious and lusty sexual entanglements, and savvy political maneuvers, only to discover that true happiness is more complicated than he thought. 

The music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz are gorgeous and the score includes the wistful "Corner Of the Sky", but there are more gems included in the soundtrack, such as the opening number "Magic To Do", that don't get the same attention paid to by musical theatre auditionees.

The venue itself is one that I have never visited before and while being stark, is perfectly adequate for the style of show because the story and music carry the show without need for scenery or too many props.

Pippin, Charlemagne’s eldest son is played by Tilly Bull, who I hope will not mind me saying that she looks like Dani Harmer (Tracey Beaker) younger sister. Tilly won my heart straight away as just as she had started to sing "Corner Of the Sky", the second song in, the fire alarms were set off by the theatrical haze which meant that she had to stop, unaware of what was happening or the cause, and then restart when the all clear was given. A lot of young actors would have been completely put off by this occurrence but Tilly just went back to the start of the song and delivered it marvellously - a true trooper. Tilly delivered playful, serious, comical, gleeful along the way with a side dose of acrobatic tumbling, plus a lovely set of vocals throughout the whole performance.

Leading Player is played by Megan Blake. With echoes of Emcee from "Cabaret" Megan played us all with the authority of a ringmaster in charge of her circus. all the while looking like she was letting us into some juicy secrets when breaking the fourth wall. Vocal wise it was not too long before her voice was sending tingles up my back; powerful and crystal clear, showing us that she knew who was boss in this arena.

Charlemagne (King Charles) is played by the only man in the group, Jamal Moyo. There's a brilliant comedy streak flowing through Jamal in both his delivery and the physicality of this role. A really strong voice and can shake a funky tail feather or two as well. There's a brilliantly comical line Charles delivers when his wife, Fastrada tells him about her bank balance asking if all the fornication he is getting worth all the fornication he is receiving; clever and  observant and tells us everything we need to know about Fastrada.

Fastrada, Pippin’s mother and Charlemagne’s conniving and manipulative wife, who is just the same as all the other hard working wives and mothers out there, is played by Leila Williams. Lovely comic lines delivered brilliantly, making sure that we all understand what she is really saying and what she is really like.

Catherine, Pippin’s quirky attractive leading lady and mother to young step son Theo, is played by Jessica Henley-Marshall. Jessica portrays Catherine like an original "Housewife Of wherever", slightly simple but you can take the mick out of without her really understanding that she is the butt of the joke. There's a really funny scene with Catherine and Pippin "under the covers" plus another one where Catherine is trying to get Pippin to say something positive to Theo regarding his pet duck that looked fit for that evening's dinner plate. Jessica obviously has a flair for comic roles and in particular comedy musical characters. 

Berthe, Pippin’s energetic, comedic, and still attractive grandmother, is played by Tegan King. This musical is packed with an array of well written comedy characters and here is another. Berthe seems to absolutely rampant and full of half dubious advice to hand down to Pippin. I think that you can tell that Tegan enjoyed this role, almost as much as the audience enjoyed watching her perform it.

Lewis, Pippin’s younger brother, is played by Tashan Rose Stockdale. This is a brilliant character, all gung ho and a star warrior in King Charles' army and the favourite son of Fastrada. I loved the costume which was like a padded six pack with muscled pecs and handlebar moustache, always ready to take on any one for a wresting match of a battle. As with Tegan, I imagine that Tashan had such fun with this character. 

Theo, Catherine’s young son, step-son to Pippin, is played by Indie Wharton. I am just wondering if Indie has a young brother because the whole image of Theo was wonderfully apt to a young boy. All the mardy tantrums when he couldn't get what he wanted was joyful to watch. Indie has obviously studied someone of that age to get this so spot on.

The ensemble/dancers are made up of Darci Cowling, Jessica Grant, Mazie Wood and Leila Ritchie.

There's no need for me to say how wonderful the vocals were because I have been reviewing productions by MADD students now for a decade, so I know the standard that their tutors expect from them and just how good they all deliver. There's a quality and sheen of professionalism in every show that I have had the pleasure to see, and that has made me a fan of MADD since I first saw them in 2016. Their alumni include Jay McGuinness of The wanted and many West End roles, including his latest musical "Sea Witch" which is due to premiere in London later this year. West End actor Rakesh Boury, and resident director on Phantom of the Opera, also in the West End, Mark Hedges.

The academy offers BTEC to degree-level courses and brings in the best choreographers and musical theatre directors from around the country to teach its students.

Musical Director and Director is Harry Hindley and the show is choreographed by Meg Hindley. The choreography is almost like watching a circus at times with many feats of acrobatics blended in beautifully with some very sharp Bob Fosse moves. Fosse was the original choreographer back in 1972 and it's so good to see so many Fosse trademark moves kept intact within this show. The Direction is excellent in every area and the timing from this cast would squeak if it were any tighter.

If I had any niggle at all it would be that at times the backing track volume could have been turned down a smidge to allow the vocals to flow over the top better, but I wouldn't say that it had any negative impact on my enjoyment of this 1970's musical, and you know what, it was lovely to hear that slightly dated sound from a musical; it had a very comfortable feel about the soundtrack. I've the soundtrack at home and it was also nice to connect the soundtrack and the various songs to where they are placed within the musical and get the full story.

This is a one night only production of "Pippin".

You can also join "Friends Of Richmond House Nottingham" on Facebook to find out more about MADD and the various shows that are put on at The Space, Richmond House, Canal Street, Nottingham.

 "Beauty & The Beast The Pantomime" by Bradford & Webster.

Kaleidoscope Players.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

I can't believe that this is only the second production that I have seen by The Kaleidoscope Players; the last time was back in 2023 with "Made In Dagenham".

Most people know the story of Belle and The Beast, but let me recap the storyline of the pantomime version of the story as there are a few differences with the pantomime version. There's no Chip, Luminiere, Cogsworth or Mrs Potts to be found anywhere, but the replacement panto style characters are even better.

Belle lives in the village of Petit Pois with her mean older sisters, Chardonnay and Lambrini. Their mother, Madame Dolores Lilly Chantilly Tres Jolie, or Dolly Jolly for short, is keen to marry them off to rich husbands. The vain and egotistical Jean‐Claude and the spoiled but good‐natured Prince Louis both have their eye on Belle.

Chardonnay and Lambrini want Jean‐Claude for themselves and continually try to outdo each other, to get him to notice them. Meanwhile, the evil Countess Cruella is obsessed with Prince Louis and, in a jealous rage, she turns him into a hideous beast. The girls’ Papa, lost in the cold, snowy mountains with Gigi, is imprisoned by the angry Beast. Gigi though has deserted the old man and has returned to tell the villagers of what has happened. There's a comical bit as he relates the facts, followed by a comment about Skippy, the bush kangaroo (Google it).

Gigi, then leads Belle to the Beast’s castle, where Belle offers to take her father’s place in the Beast’s dungeon. Belle’s kindness calms the Beast’s anger and he falls in love with her. Meanwhile, encouraged by Cruella, Jean‐Claude rallies a mob to storm the castle and kill the Beast.

In the final confrontation, the Beast appears mortally wounded. Jean‐Claude believes he has proved himself worthy and that Belle will love him. Belle, however, realises she loves the Beast, and her kiss magically transforms him back into Prince Louis and they all live happily ever after. No spoilers that you didn't already know, but there's so much more to see and enjoy throughout this version, including a brilliant accents sketch to start the show off with, and you know I love a good accent!

Belle is played by Alice Goodall, and knowing that she played the role of Rita in Kaleidoscope's "Made In Dagenham", I knew that vocal wise, I was in for a cracking night, and I was. I think vocally the highlight for me by Alice was in the duet of "Come What May". Love the way that Belle rejected constantly the brilliantly entertaining Jean Claude, as well as the distanced relationship with her sisters. A lovely light and shade performance with the Beast topped off a very strong stage presence.

Prince Louis is played by Evie Barfield, and yet another strong vocal performance, especially in the duet as above. There's also a lovely scene that involves The Beast and Belle dancing in the castle, and just like that scene in the movie "Ghost" where Molly is dancing with Oda Mae, suddenly the spirit comes through and Molly is dancing with Sam, Prince Louis and Belle get to dance together in a sweet fantasy scene. Louis is a traditional version of the Prince, which nicely counters some of the more updated characters.

The Beast is played by Jason Kramer who really delivers the drama. His voice, as The Beast, is commanding and angry, full of frustration, and then the more emotional side of The Beast is heard and seen. Seeing Jason without the rather wonderful Beast head, you would not have thought that voice came from Jason. Not only was the voice dramatic but the whole physicality was full of drama. Again, the performance was on the more traditional side of the story.

Chardonnay is played by Mikey Panichi and Lambrini is played by Tessa Raum. I loved this pair, and it's they that helped deliver more of the panto feel to the story. Chardonnay and Lambrini are a spoilt pair of young ladies and act in that way until they get what they want. Brilliant comic duo.

Dame Dolly Jolly is played by Paul Margett, who of course gets all the best costumes and wigs to wear every time that he breezes on stage to an audience call and response of "Hello Dolly". Paul gets some nice cheesy lines to deliver as well as delivering a fun traditional Dame.

Jean-Claude is played by Emily Mughal. Jean Claude is the equivalent of Gaston, but here is so smarmy and self important; if he was made of ice cream, he'd lick himself to death, he loves himself that much. The make up for this character really transforms Emily into a very convincing male character, and I think what also helps you believe in that transformation is how she moves around the stage. One of so many brilliant character roles.

Countess Cruella is played by Lucy Cadney, and just like Emily above, the make up transformation really changes the look of the actual person playing that role. I'll admit that I find the more evil characters great to watch because of the complete transformation of their character. Looking wonderfully wicked Lucy completely embraced the evilness of the role and soon had the packed Duchess Theatre booing and hissing her whenever she appeared, but I was so pleased that Lucy received a rapturous round of applause when she came on for her final bows.

Gigi, the horse, is played by Jess and Charlotte, who managed to keep in sync all the time they were on stage, not the easiest of roles for a duo to take on without loads of practice in costume.

The Rose Fairy was played by Zoe Shepherd and did a magnifique job of narrating scenes and moving the story on in a wonderfully "Allo Allo" style French accent.

Papa was played by Ron Murfin, and again a nice physicality to the role.

The ever true servant, Jacques, was played beautifully by Shannon Smart.

The other named roles are as follows....

Josephine Walker (Madame Tricot) and Rebekah Street (Madame Botox) appeared in a comical scene with the two sisters in the Beauty Parlour. Beth Margett (Jean Claude's PA), Caitlin Wright (Tarquin), Lily Rawson (Tiffany), Olivia Parker (Chelsea), Samantha Moss (Svetlana), Lauren Victoria Wells (Portrait) and Amy Bradford (Portrait), both appeared in The Beast's castle.

The ensemble are made up of Hannah Bradford, Michelle Bradford, Freya Moseley, Julie Black and Rachel Robinson.

The Junior Cast, who worked so hard in this show are Alex, Elise, Ava, Rosie and Madison.

Directed by Amy Bradford. This is the first time that I have ever seen this done in pantomime style and I am so pleased that Amy has kept the tradition of the story and blended the more modern panto style characters so smoothly into the story. Nicely paced and very funny, and a great choice of cast as well.

Choreographed by Evie Barfield, Amy Bradford and Josephine Walker with Dance Captain being Hannah Bradford. Plenty of dance to take in but I will say that, even though all the dance scenes were done very well, I adored the short ballet section carried out by the Junior Team. I watched their hands and feet and every move was beautifully turned out making the piece look extremely delicate. I am going to be picky here as well but Alex, the young man in the Junior dance quintet led the entrance with the four young ladies following, which looked fine but I thought while watching that when they lined up at the back, maybe Alex should have been in the middle, with two girls on either side to keep that balanced look. Anyway, who am I? Craig Revel Horwood? Choreography wise I loved the energy in this show.

Musical Director is Bethan Davies-Taylor. There's a mix of recorded tracks and live musicians which all joined together well. The trio of live musicians were Bethan, Josh Barber and Tony Gordon. It can sometimes be a bit of a juggling act when the live music is in front of the stage and the actors have to sing over the band and to start with some of the vocals were lost a bit, but I noticed that only after a very short while this was rectified and the vocal to music mix settled in nicely. This of course is something that can only really be done when there's a full theatre, as there was on Thursday night, to give the sound mixer chance to get the levels right, which they did.

The set design and Construction is by Dan Goodall, Barry Smith assisted by David Dilmore, Des Dunn, Ron Murfin and the cast. There were a couple of clumpy set changes, but as they were done in the dark, and this was opening night, they may have been expected, but I would notice that kind of thing wouldn't I?

Stage managed by Martin Church and Sammy Hempsall.

Costumes by Denise Brown and Debbie Weetman. What a brilliant array of costumes and Dolly Jolly's outfits were almost illuminous and with more colours than Joseph had on his Dreamcoat. Fabulous costumes all round.

The Prosthetics for The Beast were wonderful all thanks to Jason Kramer.

Lighting Designer is by Aaron Mace with Aaron and Jack Clarke listed as the technicians, and a cavalcade of colour beheld our eyes. I did spot one follow spot just slightly off an actor, but you can never tell if it's the lighting person or if the actor is maybe a foot out of where they should be. Extremely minor point; I find myself that way when I'm watching a production by such a wonderful theatre group as Kaleidoscope.

Sound Designer and operator is not listed separately but I know that Jack is also a bit of a whizz Sound Operator so it might be Jack.

Produced by Alice Goodall and Samantha Moss.

"Beauty & The Beast" has always been one of my favourite Disney musicals, and even more so on stage, but this pantomime version, with its' modern family friendly and localised script has done nothing to sway me away from that opinion, in fact it's quite refreshing to see the story in a different light with the added comedy elements performed by such a hard working and talented cast.

"Beauty & The Beast The Pantomime" by The Kaleidoscope Players is at The Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton until Saturday 31 January with a BSL interpreted performance on Friday 30th by Seb Probert.

Bonsoir mes petits legumes de Kaleidoscope; until we meet again.....

 "Peter Pan - The Pantomime" by Alex Jackson.

Burton Joyce Players.

Burton Joyce Village Hall.

Peter Pan, Nanna, Wendy, John, and Michael Darling take flight in a magical world full of pirates, fairies, and The Lost Boys; the most terrifying, tyrannous, traitors trampling the turbulent territory. Peter faces off against the sneaky Captain Hook who is batting away the inimitable panto dame Nanny McSmee.

This family-friendly show bursts out with catchy tunes, silly jokes, and plenty of chances for the audience to join in the fun. Whether you’re cheering for the lost boys or booing the pirates, there’s something here for everyone.

This is possibly the largest cast I've seen for Burton Joyce Players, and there are plenty of parts to play so let's take a look at who's who in this magical Neverland story....

Peter Pan, the boy that never grew up, is played by Isla Hilton with a lovely amount of theatricality. From the moment that Peter bursts through the open window of the Darling children's bedroom, to the final bows, Isla gives the role everything she has with perfect pomp and precision.

Tinker Bell, Peter’s best friend, the good fairy is played by Lily Musson, who gets to show off a fine pair of lungs as she duets on a couple of numbers, including "You're My Best Friend", the Queen classic, showing that both Lily and Isla have royally good voices.

Wendy Darling is played by Isabelle Williams, always keeping that mature "big sister" air as she looks after her siblings, the Lost Boys and of course, Peter Pan.

John Darling Wendy’s younger brother, is played by Henry Chaloner. I am so pleased to see that the costume includes the top hat, stick and big glasses, as I have seen several versions of Peter Pan where this isn't the case, and this, for me, defines John's character.

Michael Darling Wendy and John’s younger brother, is played by Charlie Cauldwell. Michael always looks to be having the best time, being the youngest of the Darling family, but I get the feeling that Charlie is having such a good time playing him by the big grin on his face at the final bows.

Nanna Darling Wendy, John and Michael’s pet dog is played marvellously by William Cauldwell. the scene where Nanna tells Peter where the children are is so much like those comedy sketches where the dog relates what has happened to the missing people in a conversational style, that it did not fail to make me smile.

Nanny McSmee The Darlings’ nanny and in this pantomime Smee Jnr’s mother is another wonderful Dame of the pantomime. Played by Greg Nicholas, there's just the right amount of smuttiness for the adults and lots of childish carrying on for the kids, although I got the feeling that some of the kids in also got the slightly naughtier innuendos as well! Great costumes and make up for Nanny.

Smee Jnr. Mrs Smee’s son is one of Captain James Hook's crew and played by Steve Armstrong. Steve carries the comedy along well and drives a lot of the scenes with great pace.

Mr Darling/Captain Hook, the evil captain of the Jolly Roger is played by one of my favourite comedy baddies, Christopher Mercer. Whatever character Chris plays he really gets under that character's skin and morphs into the character and he does that again as Captain Hook. From his first black booted step onto the Burton Joyce Village Hall stage he commanded the stage as well as the audience to give him their best booing, and they did not disappoint. It's a good job that Chris has one of those voices that booms through projection as we could hear every word over the booing sea of audience members, and I noticed that it was a collaborative effort of children as well as adults providing the boos, showing that everyone got in on the act.

Gentleman Starkey Pirate is played by Bertie Black, not that you'd notice him with the heavy beard, eye patch and pirate's hat pulled over his face. Great physicality in the role as he slowly made his way on and off stage, showing the aged pirate years in his gait as well as his loss of hearing, which resulted in some comical moments. One thing there is no mistaking is his voice though and in that sone where the whole audience join in and then are separated to see who sings it the loudest, you can instantly tell that distinctive voice.

Snarky Pirate is played by Molly Fitches, Snarly Pirate is played by Hannah Smith in another lovely double act. The other pirates were played by Anthony Owen, James Whitby and Patrick McDonald.

Brown Owl, the leader of the First Neverland Brownies is played by Avril McCormack, showing a brusque authoritarian side of the leader.

The ensemble of Brownies are played by Olivia Pearce, Dixie Kirk, Inez Wood, Tahmina Hollins, Molly Williams, Florence Pietrantonio and Jasmine Pietrantonio.

The Mermaid, who is in charge of Mermaid Lagoon is played by Sheila Millington, and completely unrecognisable. A lovely fun, tongue in cheek rendition of "It's Raining Men" featured two topless and muscle bound hunks, well sort of!

Tiger Lily, who is captured by Captain Hook and his crew is played by Inez Wood.

Peter Pan’s Shadow is played by Molly Williams in a very clever scene showing the shadow darting about all over the place and when caught by Nanna, they try to attach the shadow to Peter, as in the original story, but the shadow only appears to be attached to Peter with a trick of the light!

Crocodile is played by Olivia Pearce in a lovely fun way, and a brilliant crocodile costume as well.

Peter Pan's Lost Boys are played by Jessie Murdock, Austin Kirk, Sarika Hare, Charlotte Morris and Robyn Stephen.

As you can see a large cast.

Directed by Kathy Matthews who has put together a lovely and fun cast to work their magic on these roles. They kept the pace up and the comedy and songs rolling on throughout the show.

Musical Director is Christopher Mercer who has chosen some toe tapping and APT tunes for the pantomime, making sure that the ends of both acts were closed with big numbers. There's a nice mix of musical theatre show tunes, pop bangers and singalongs to keep your ears happy.

The costumes by Jill Toogood and Kathy Matthews were excellent, especially Hook's and Nanny McSmee's, but every one of them really stood out.

Lynn Carr was the Set Designer, as well as the Stage Manager, keeping everything rolling along.

The Stage Crew consisted of Molly Fitches, Mark Hilton, David Matthews, Patrick McDonough, Bob Mercer, Trevor Moseley, Greg Nicholas and Steve Wright. And when there are so many cast members, this job is not always as smooth sailing as it was on Wednesday night.

Sound and Lighting Technician is Steve Armstrong with the light operation by David Matthews and sound operation by Deborah Craddock.

There's also a lovely touch with video showing Peter and the Darling children and Nanna flying over some recognisable landmarks at night, created by Dan Byrne.

The Graphic Designer is Dan Miller (89 Design).

Helen Sharp co-ordinated the fight scenes.

Another swashbuckling and fun production by Burton Joyce Players which is always enthusiastically supported by the surrounding areas, in fact there are very few tickets left for the rest of the week, so you'd better hurry up if you want to try and get a ticket for this one.

Oh, and I must not forget to mention the wonderfully comfy new seats that Burton Joyce Players have for their audiences to sit on; another reason to get yourself tickets!

"Peter Pan The Pantomime" is at Burton Joyce Village Hall until Saturday 31 January.

 "Christmas Carol Goes Wrong" by Mischief.

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Charles Dickens would be proud of this production as it was performed word for word in the way that Dickens had written it. And in no way did I see a giant Tiny Tim eat the main character in one swallow!

Mischief, the multi award-winning company behind "The Play That Goes Wrong", "Peter Pan Goes Wrong" and "The Comedy About a Bank Robbery" return to Nottingham with their latest hilarious production about the Charles Dickens classic Christmas story, "A Christmas Carol".

The Cornley crew battle miscommunication, delays to their set, actors missing in action and a growing feud over who will play the lead part, Ebeneezer Scrooge. Will Cornley finally change their ways, or will their misfortunes wreak happy havoc yet again.

The play starts with Chris, the Director, auditioning the usual suspects, along with Annie to find who'll be playing the thirty three roles needed for "A Christmas Carol", and of course which actor will play Ebeneezer Scrooge. Dennis, the one thar everyone feels sorry for and has to have prompts to remember his lines, straight away received a massive show of support when he entered the room and Robert, with the best booming voice since Brian Blessed, tried several times under several guises to snatch the main role, not only at auditions, but throughout the play.

All the character from Cornley had their moments to steal scenes in various ways, making not only Cornley a brilliant ensemble group, but also the actors playing the Cornley crew, playing the Dickensian characters. 

Every move, every line of this production is split second timed to create just the desired comedy effect. From lines Dickens wrote being said wrong to physical humour, it's always an additional level of unnaturalness to an actor to make the "wrong" things said and done, to appear natural to their particular character. Take for instance Les Dawson when he used to play the piano just a few notes out all the way through a tune; it's so much harder to perform things incorrectly than it is to perform them as they are supposed to look and sound like, because it's unnatural to them. Mischief make the unnatural seem natural, as well as extremely funny and entertaining throughout.

There are so many "mishaps" that I couldn't possibly even start to list what goes wrong, which is why it's best to see this show for yourself. I would not be able to even mention highlights as I wouldn't know where to stop. Look out though for the finished set design, Tiny Tim's appearance as part of the play within a play, the Ghost of Christmas "Present" - literally - the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (Future), which gives Eddie from Iron Maiden a run for his money and a mystery performer who recognises that it's Christmas Day!!

Mischief get better with every new show they bring to the stage, and while I have given little hints as to what you can expect, nothing I can say, without giving too much away, will reveal just how talented and fun this group really are.

As I mentioned earlier, Mischief are truly a talented ensemble, so I don't need to tell you wonderful things individually about each one of them, so here's who, playing who, playing who.

Matt Cavendish (Max Bennett who played many....many, many roles including Young Ebeneezer)

Daniel Fraser (Chris Bean - Ebeneezer Scrooge)

Sasha Frost (Sandra Wilkinson who played the part of Ebeneezer's childhood love, Belle, Mrs Cratchit and the Charity Collector). 

Chris Leask (Trevor Watson who played the part of The Ghost Of Christmas Future, with a Scottish accent but silently) 

Henry Lewis (Robert Grove who played the role of The Ghost Of Christmas Present and The Clerk)

Jonathan Sayer (Dennis Tyde who played Bob Cratchit and the School Teacher)

Dumile Sibanda (Annie Twilloli who played The Ghost Of Christmas Past). This role in some shows is played by Nancy Zamit.

Greg Tannahill (Jonathan Harris who played Jacob Marley and Fezziwig).

Mr Garibaldi played the role of "Tiny" Tim.

The  merry, mischievous understudies will be Alex Bird, Will Bishop, Siobhan Cha Cha, Colm Gleeson, and Ashley Tucker.

The show is written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields. I hope that my words above is enough to demonstrate what a completely off the wall piece of theatre this show is. It's so cleverly written and so laugh out loud funny that it has to be experienced on stage instead of read about in reviews.

Directed by Matt DiCarlo. What fun this man must have had when thinking about directing this show and the cast.

The brilliant Set Designer is Libby Todd. Again the set in all of its' many guises has to be seen to be appreciated.

Costume Designer is Roberto Surace and when you see just how wacky this show is, you'll appreciate the work that went in to the quality of these costumes.

Sound Design is by Alexandra Faye Braithwaite and was a lesson in timed sound cues.

Lighting Designer is David Howe and is quite spectacular to be honest. I didn't think that I'd be paying that much attention to the lighting design but it was something that warranted a special mention.

Something else that really deserves a special mention is the brilliant playbill/programme. Not only is it packed with information about the actual actors, but it has bios of the actors that the actors are playing as well as loads of fun snippets of information about the play, Mischief, Dickens (a bio written by Max Bennett) and even some games for younger audience members to complete, and alternative use for the programme.....

"Christmas Carol Goes Wrong" is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 31 January, so don't be a Scrooge, get your tickets now!

 "The Wizard Of Oz" by Tom Whalley.

Ravenshead Theatre Group

Ravenshead Village Hall.

Who has not seen the iconic 1939 film starring Judy Garland? I never tire of watching this magical story, whether it be on stage or on TV. And here Ravenshead present the pantomime version of the story, written by Tom Whalley, who also wrote last year's "Peter Pan" for the group.

Dorothy Gale lives on a farm in Kansas with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and her little dog, Toto. It tells the story of how a tornado sweeps her, her home and Toto to a magical land called Oz, how she manages to eradicate the Munchkins from the Wicked Witch of The East by flattening her when the house lands on her.

On the way to meeting the Wizard, so she can get back home to Kansas she meets, and helps The Tinman to get a heart, Scarecrow to get a brain and The Cowardly Lion to get some courage and the quartet have a few scary adventures on their way.

I absolutely love a real cheesy production and this show contains more cheese than any deli cheese counter. The jokes may be a selection of mainly older, well worn gags but they still bring a smile to this cheese lover's face. the newer jokes, including the sprinkling of topical and political ones also bring a smile to mine, and by the sounds of the groans from the packed audience, to their faces as well. You could say that the script was brie-lliant, especially some of the slightly risqué jokes for the more mature audience member.

Dorothy is played by Philippa Adamson and I will commend her accent which sounded such a lot like Judy Garland's in the original film. No stranger to pantomime, Philippa embraces the character and the comedy side of Dorothy.

Ann-Marie Butler is Aunt ‘Em/Glinda. In complete contrast to Dorothy's Kansas accent, Glinda was given a broad Derbyshire accent, and I loved that the audience also loved that local touch as much as I because I could hear them giggling and repeating words like "yersen" for "yourself". Wouldn't have thought that the author would have put that in, so the Directors deserve a pat on the back for localising some of the characters.

Uncle Henry/The Wizard of Oz is played by Duncan Dearman. Duncan shows that he has many strings to his theatrical bow because I last saw him playing Utterson in October's production of "Jekyll & Hyde", these roles are pure comedy, especially Uncle Henry in the singalong part of the show, but his Wizard was also very comical, and I loved the costume for the Wizard himself.

Hickory/The Scarecrow is played by Mandy Buckley, who also choreographed the show. Mandy has played one of my all time favourite theatre characters in Madam Acarti in "Blithe Spirit", and playing the Scarecrow plays up to Mandy's comedy stylings, and she gets her fair share of the jokes, especially the slightly ruder ones - I love the Virgin Megastore joke which I think got one of the biggest laughs from Friday night's audience.

Dickory/The Tin Man is played by Rob Hurst, who I know had been suffering with a sore throat, but that didn't stop him delivering his usual brilliant performance; we even got to hear him singing, which is a real rarity.

Doc/The Cowardly Lion is played by John Birch. Another great costume and make up, and he also got the lion's share of the cheesy jokes, especially where big cats were concerned. He definitely left the audience feline good on Friday night.

Helen Brailsford is Ms Karen Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West. Both characters are wonderfully wicked but it's the ecstatically evil Witch who really got the audience going, extracting "boos" from them the moment that she stepped on stage. One lovely thing about the script for this pantomime is how equally the funny lines have been allocated to the characters and the Wicked Witch of the West gets some lovely laughs also.

Adam Hague plays Winkie the Monkey, the Wicked Witch's sidekick. Adam also gets a brilliant costume to wear, and some comic lines that brought reactions from the younger members of the audience. A lovely playful performance from an actor who has a great straight acting playing face, even when delivering a rib tickler of a joke.

The ensemble consist of members of the Ravenshead Youth Theatre Group who are John Beadsmoore, Destiny Dangerfield, Martha Dangerfield, Evie Dearman, Emily Evans, Daisy King, Ethan Lee, Abbey Morgan, Polly Napthine, Caitlin O'Connell, Freya O'Connell, Scarlet Sarkar, Mia Thompson and Emilia Thorley, all of which did a brilliant job.

Directed by Eddie Gray and Daniel Andrews, who also pops up on stage in some other form, as well as both designing the set, are also credited for the costumes with Lin Baggarley credited as Costume Projects, all of which looked absolutely amazing. The casting and pace of the show is perfection with the end of act one and the finale coming round so quickly I had to check my watch. A sign that shows just how invested, and how much I was enjoying this show. The Set Projects are created by Ken Cumberpatch.

Smoothly stage managed by Sue Bishton and her stage crew, Helen Berry and Hazel O'Connell.

The man who had the easiest job of the evening was James Disney in his role as the prompt. Now, I say this but being the prompt he has to keep a strict eye on the script just in case he is needed, so easy may not be the correct choice of adjective. His role as prompt was not needed tonight.

Lighting is by Iain Walton. A simple but effective design delivered perfectly.

Sound is by Andy Cook who did a cracking job with the music as well as all of the sound cues needed in the show.

I have mentioned the make up for the characters being really good, and this was all done by the cast themselves.

Now, I always keep my promises, and I did say that the Front Of House team would get a special mention. The Ravenshead Theatre Group members, family and friends were really friendly and so helpful with selling programmes, distributing and selling tickets and making sure everyone got to their allotted seats. 

A really funny pantomime take on a classic story delivered by a cast of brilliant actors who pack so much into the two hours, including interval. Ideal for all the family.

"The Wizard Of Oz" is at Ravenshead Village Hall until Sunday 25^th for their matinee performance. There's also a matinee at 2pm on the Saturday.

 "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" by Christchurch Theatre Company.

Loughborough Town Hall.

The story of inventor Caractacus Potts, his two children, Jeremy and Jemima and his father, Mr Potts senior. Caractacus saves an old racing car from being sold to the scrap man and works his magic and creates a car that can float and fly. Meanwhile news has spread to the Baron and Baroness of Vulgaria and they send their two hapless spies to retrieve the car for the Baron.

The spies Goran and Boris mistake Potts senior for the inventor and sky lift him over to the Baron, followed by Caractacus, the children and Truly Scrumptious, to Vulgaria, a place where children are banned and caught by the evil child catcher. With the help of the Toy Maker a happy ending for all is promised with just a little team work, which obviously makes this dream work.

Caractacus Potts is played by Ben Burgess. Ben brings out the warmth of the character, and the loving and protective father, the devoted son as well as the down to earth inventor; all the things that Truly found endearing to her, in the exact way that the film did when portrayed by Dick Van Dyke. At the start, I did think that Ben may have been just a bit too young to portray Caractacus, after all he doesn't look too much older than the Potts kids, but his mature acting and musical theatre voice ensured that he Caract the role with energy and enthusiasm, and without Van Dyke's cockney brogue.

Truly Scrumptious is played by Anja Zeman. Apart from Anja being truly scrumptious to look, her voice is as clear as crystal and her acting skills bring both a softness as well as a natural mirror to the pairing of Caractacus and Truly. I have always loved the scene in the palace where Truly and Caractacus are disguised as the Baron's birthday dolls and this scene was beautifully choreographed and played out on stage. Love the POSH accent, which of course went well with Truly's background and heritage.

Mr Potts Senior is played by Duncan Gadsby who completely captured the eccentricity of the character. It's so nice to see Duncan back on stage itself with this brilliantly comical role instead of being part of the set and the scenery.

The young Potts, Jeremy and Jemima (Henry, Lily, Amelie and George), played on Thursday night by Team Truly's pair, George Consterdine and Lily Cain. This pair, as I am sure Amelie Vickers and Henry Langley are, not stage shy and showed brilliant character acting, chemistry and confidence, alongside some pretty impressive vocals.

Lord Scrumptious, who we only saw in a couple of scenes, is played by Ashley Bright, but the scene where Caractacus is promoting his Toot Sweets to Truly's father is vital and worthy of mentioning.

The Toy Maker, played in the original film by Benny Hill, is played by Al Jordan, who delivers playfulness as well as an air of mystery in this role.

The two foreign spies, Boris and Goran are played excellently by Jarrod Makin and Isaac Banda. As with the Baron and Baroness, this is another wonderful pair of comic characters from the pen of Ian Fleming, and Jarrod and Isaac bring forth every ounce of comic fun, and I love their accents, the fun costumes and I noticed that some of their lines were quite topical as well. I enjoyed how Nick Sutcliffe, the Director, had them popping up from all over the place. keeping the audience on their toes.

Baron Bomburst is played by Jonathan Penton with Baroness Bomburst  played by Gemma Farnell. As in the film the characters are comedy gold, as are all the pairings in this musical and Jonathan and Gemma add that extra shine to the gold on stage. There are also some topical lines from the Baron regarding invading lands for no reason - mmm I wonder who that could be having a gentle dig at? And also a mention of Bernard Matthews, the only time you'll hear me mention turkey in the same sentence as Jonathan and Gemma!

The evil Child Catcher is played by Hannah Osgood and like any panto style baddie, her appearance completely changed the whole atmosphere from the audience. I remember seeing the film as a young boy and this character sent shivers down my spine. The visual image is enough to have you cowering behind a cushion, and Hannah brings back all of those feelings deliciously, although I now don't hide my face behind a pillow... well not in the theatre anyway. The physicality she brings to the character is almost spider-like, as if she is poised like a tightly coiled spring, just ready to pounce on a rogue child.

The large ensemble consisted of Ashley Bright, Daisy Bright, Alison Darlow-Carter, Maddie Dunstan, Guy French, Nicky Hignett, Al Jordan, Paul Marriott, Amy McMurray, Laura Moore, Hannah Osgood, Jonah Robinson, Julie Robinson, Jayne Sanderson, Naomi Sandford, Millie Stapleford and Laura Tindle. Where would we be without an ensemble in any theatre production, and this ensemble show they are worth their weight in gold.

Team Truly consist of Rio Hatcher (Toby), Caleb Johnston (Steven), Lyla McMurray (Marta), Arla-Rae Neale (Greta), Darcy Peaty (Susan) and Edie Peaty (Girl).

Team Scrumptious is made up of Ezra Hinsley-Sarkar (Toby), Riley Bailey (Steven), Evie Robinson (Marta), Esmae-Rose Goodwin (Greta), Isabelle Clarke (Susan) and Ell-J Thurman (Girl).

The children's ensemble consist of two teams; Team Truly and Team Scrumptious......

Team Truly, the team on stage on Thursday night, consisted of Izzy Jewitt, Izzy Murray, Amelia Rees and Abigail Rundle-Brown.

Team Scrumptious consisted of Rosy Allen, Ruby Davenport, Lilian McFerran and Brooke Wingfield.

A fresh and punchy direction by Nick Sutcliffe, matches the wonderful choreography by Frankie Johnson. One of my favourite choreographed sections from the film is the iconic fairground scene and the song "Me Ol' Bamboo" which is possibly the most energetic and technically difficult piece to perform live on stage, but Ben and the ensemble just made it look like it is something they do every day.

You'll instantly remember most of the songs from the production, "Toot Sweets", "Truly Scrumptious","Hushabye Mountain", "Me Ol Bamboo", "Chu Chi Face", "Doll On A Music Box" and of course the title song. Musical Director is Vicky Hing, and as soon as I saw her name in the programme a tingle went through me because I know the standard of MD'ing you get with Vicky, and I was not wrong. Powerful, whimsical, lush, pacy, all adjectives I'd pin to the musical side of this show with Vicky in charge of the baton. The acoustics at Loughborough Town Hall have always been brilliant and the twelve piece orchestra sounded as good as anything I have heard in any theatre.

The set design and car hire were provided by Chitty Hire; again if you hire and work with the best, you get the best. Both set and car are pure magic and that's what you get in this show; magic.

Background Cloths by Scenic Projects.

Costumes for this show must go into the hundreds, or so they seem. The cast and ensemble number greatly so with just one costume there's plenty to wardrobe manage, but they all looked absolutely spiffing. Costumes by Charades - Theatrical Costume Hire of St Helens.

Sound Designer is David Phillips. No mic issues at all and a lovely balanced all round sound that made the show a really pleasant experience.

Lighting Designer is by James Cladingboel and Ben Bradshaw and Laura Hambleton worked magic with the follow spots.

Anyone who has seen, been involved or spoken at length about this musical will know that it's a big production. I know that everyone, from the Director to the cast and the backstage team could not have done any more than they have done on stage this week. It's always been one of my favourite childhood stories - I even had a metal Chitty car with retractable wings when I was a kid, and it very quickly became one of my favourite musicals, and CTC have just reinforced why I love this bang banger of a musical as much as I do.

"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is at Loughborough Town Hall until Saturday 24 January.