"A Beginner's Guide To Widowhood"

Nottingham Arts Theatre (Studio).

Originally created by Omar Khan and written by Rae Mainwaring  and performed by Liz Jadav.

This sixty minute play is perfect for the Studio space of the Nottingham Arts Theatre due to its' intimacy between performer and audience.

Suria Smith is on an out-of-season package holiday in Turkey, with her two teenage children, a 20-year-old travel guide book, and an audiobook on grief. But not her husband, Dan. Because he's dead. The play takes us back to Dan and Suria's first meeting and snapshots of their life before his passing as well as the Turkey trip and coming to terms with being a widow.

The play shows what a person sometimes goes through when they lose a partner; the well meant sympathy, the unasked for advice and the well intended sentiments and enquiries about how she is feeling. Anyone who has lost a loved one will know exactly how these, albeit well meant, sympathetic offerings are not always welcomed.

There's that empty chair left at a table and the painful memories of hearing a song that brings back memories of better and happier times. For me, who lost my wife almost five years ago, it was a piece right at the start of the play involving pin numbers and something akin to brain fog. That happened to me, almost as if you're in another world. There's other lines and scenarios as well that mirrored my situation, especially regarding snatches of music, which will be relatable to many, many people. It's also a credit to the well observed writing.

Liz takes us through those stages of loss, the despair, the fright, the emptiness, the feeling of being alone, but also the feeling of hope and those "baby steps" in rebuilding her life. They say that "time heals", but when you have lost the love of your life, you realise what a stupid and inaccurate saying that is. Time just makes the pain more manageable, it never heals. 

Theatre is a wonderful way of escapism, but it's also a perfect stage, if you'll pardon the pun, for getting across areas of emotion such as death without preaching or judging. There are though many lovely splashes of humour in this story, which I am sure will also be relatable to many people.

Directed by Andrew Bakewell. The pace of the monologue is perfect, allowing you to, in stages fall into the memory with Suria, at other times the frustration steams along creating the anger felt inside of her, needing to erupt like a simmering volcano. The humour takes nothing away from the aching of missing that person, and only adds to visualise the humanity in loss.

Movement Director is Kitty Winter. At times the movements are almost balletic, almost dreamlike or when time stands still for that small moment in time.

Wayne Walker-Allen is the Sound Designer. the sound effects and constant weaving of Bronski Beat's "Smalltown Boy", dissected and stripped back to create the music snatches throughout the hour, almost sounding like the song is teasing you into remembering the past.

Ali Bakewell is Technical and Moral Support, and I think we all know that umbrella covers a wide area.

"A Beginner’s Guide to Widowhood" was first performed on 1st October 2021 as part of the China Plate and Warwick Arts Centre ‘First Bite Festival 2021’ prior to a regional tour in 2025, co-produced and directed by Omar Khan. The story was written in partnership with the charity Widowed and Young.  

Before shooting off after the play, I took the chance to say hello to Liz before she started the after show discussion, which everyone is welcome to partake of and share their thoughts on the play and their experiences. You will not find a more welcoming and lovely crew than Liz and her quartet of theatre makers.

There's one more chance to catch this beautifully sad but upliftingly hopeful piece of theatre tonight at 7pm at the Nottingham Arts Theatre Studio.

 "Out Of Order" by Ray Cooney.

Beeston Players.

Round Hill School, Beeston.

When Richard Willey, a Government Junior Minister, plans to spend the evening with Jane Worthington, one of the Opposition’s typists, in the Westminster Hotel, things go disastrously wrong - beginning with the discovery of a body trapped in the hotel’s only unreliable sash window.

Desperately trying to get out of an extremely sticky situation, Richard calls for his secretary, George Pigden who, through Richard’s lies sinks further and further into trouble with everybody and ends up going through an identity crisis.

Things go from bad to worse with the arrival of Jane’s distraught young husband and with the addition of an unscrupulous waiter, a frustrated Hotel Manager, Mrs Willey and Nurse Foster,  things really come to a head!

Farce is a funny old area of comedy which takes me back to my childhood in the 70's. Brian Rix and "whoops there goes my trousers". Farce is always about timing and doors, just think "Fawlty Towers" at the supreme end of the farce scale. Farce also encompasses a lot of physical humour and there's no shortage of that here.

Farce is a comedy style that is exaggerated and aims at entertaining the audience through situations that are over the top, and thus improbable. That too is in abundance here as well. Farce also indicates a certain amount of nudity, and yes, there's that as well!!

Richard Willey is played by Gary Frost. There aren't that many scenes where Gary isn't on stage, and as the leading man has the bulk of the script, and the clever word play, and quite rapid the script and wordplay is, well it is farce, and that's where so much of the verbal comedy lies. There's a really nice feeling of Richard really thinking on his feet with all of the twists and turns and little white lies that are told, all of this brought out by Gary. Keeping up with all of Richard's ongoing fibs takes some serious listening to, and you can almost see those thoughts speeding through Richard's mind in an ongoing attempt to dig himself out of trouble. 

The Manager, the highly suspicious and observant manager of the Westminster Hotel, is played by Meghan Southan. Always chasing her own tail with all the lines fed by Richard, but never quite catching it. Megan's facial expressions really back up the often frustrated lines, trying to work out who is who and their relationships to everyone else.

Rajni Birdi is The Waiter, an opportunistic, unscrupulous, and conniving hotel employee who catches wind of the illicit affair. I've an idea that Rajni is one of the new members of Beeston Players as I've not seen her on stage anywhere as far as I can recall. With the confidence shown as this character, I have an inkling that this can't be her first time on stage. A lovely show of confidence which makes her character a joy to watch, and possibly the only character who actually profits from the farce.

Jane Worthington, the opposition party typist and Richard’s prospective romantic partner for the evening, is played by Ali Parnham. I'm surprised that Jane knows who she is with all the confusion, but this typist isn't the only one. One thing that Jane isn't confused about is that her husband, for some reason, is hanging around the Westminster Hotel lobby, and he doesn't look happy!

Sean Knowles is "The Body". There's a surprise as well with this character, because all is not as first appears when we see new life breathed into a character that seems to have died on stage. It would have been a real shame if that were true because Sean manages to bring even more confusion to the already twisty story as The Body.

George Pigden, Richard’s innocent, loyal, and easily flustered personal private secretary who gets dragged into the cover-up, is played by Paul Langston. Paul does confusion extremely well, especially when Pigden, who has been called in to help clear up the little mess caused by Richard and Jane's hotel discovery, and ends up being embroiled in the confusion of many ongoing storylines and characters.

Christine Cairns is The Maid. She is originally from Italy, or is that Venice, or maybe Spain, so there's that element of bringing in another string of confusion in language form. Christine is another new name to me, and possibly another new signing for Beeston Players. 

Ronnie Worthington, Jane Worthington's suspicious husband, is played by Callum Scott. Ronnie is not a happy bunny, occasionally showing an emotional and revealing side to this character. Callum seems to be comfortably at home with comedy, but I have a feeling that he could do menacing equally as well. You'll also be pleased to know that Beeston Players have used Callum's raw talents to maximum effect in his role as Ronnie.

Pamela Willey, Richard's wife, is played by Sarah Nicholson. When Pamela decides to surprise her husband at the hotel, little does she know that the surprise goes both ways. I love the looks of confusion that Sarah wears almost constantly throughout; with the speed of the action in the second act, there's really not much time for all the action to register with poor Pamela!

Sue Frost plays Gladys Foster, the matronly carer for George Pigden's elderly mother who becomes comically swept up in the chaotic cover-up at the Westminster Hotel. There's also a surprise in store for Nurse Foster from one of the characters. Sue is one of those comedy character actors who never fails to put a smile on my face, both verbally and physically. This is almost only a cameo role but packs so much comedy into her time on stage that you are forced to remember Nurse Foster.

The other character that makes this play is the sash window, which seems to have a life of its' own, and more than that I will keep to myself and let you discover what I mean!

Directed by Tom Jenkins, the secret of a good farce is always timing, and Tom makes sure that his cast, which is a large one when compared to some of the other Beeston Players casts, deliver the gags in a timely fashion, often the gags are like rapid fire comedy one liners, so not only do you have to listen very carefully to the script for who is who, thanks to Richard's active imagination in trying to dig himself out of the hole, that ends up like a crater by the end of the play, but also for the rapidity of the funny lines.

The set design and construction is by Tom as well as Sam Williams and Callum Scott. It's all set in the hotel room of the Westminster. Decorated in a vibrant red colour with the essential three doors and a window needed for farce, and of course one of the doors that seems to open at the most unwarranted of times in the play. The dressing of the set is also quite classy with some nice props, sourced by Tom Jenkins and Ali Parnham.

Costumes are by Barbara Barton, and as usual with the Beeston Players, the costumes are always look excellent.

Production Manager, which is a far reaching job title and essential to all local theatre groups, is Nina Tunnicliffe.

Stage managed by Kevin Fairbrother.

Sound is by Sam Williams who has been involved in this area of production for a while, which explains why he is so good at his job. The timing of the sound effects are spot on, and that includes the synchronicity of the changing of the radio stations near the beginning of the play. I'm sure that I recognised the voice of the newsreader, but I just can't quite place their name!

Lighting is by Robert Jackson, showing that not only is Robert a wonderful character actor, he has talents on the lighting control desk as well.

Alison Williams is the Prompt, who's voice we heard a few times throughout the play, but this was opening night and the script is such a meandering and complex one that it almost makes you wonder if Ray Cooney was on something when he wrote "Out Of Order".

As usual the Front Of House team, led by Nicola Adkin, are one of the most welcoming around, selling raffle tickets, manning the bar and making free teas and coffees in the interval.

Now that England have played, and beat Croatia 4-2, there's no reason to not make your way to Beeston for even more dramatic action over the next couple of days.

"Out Of Order" is at Round Hill School, Beeston until Saturday 20 June.

 "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory" 

The Attic Theatre School.

Nottingham Arts Theatre.

Based on the 1964 book by Roald Dahl and features an original score composed by Marc Shaiman with lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman and a book by David Greig. The soundtrack also pays homage to the Leslie Bricusse/Anthony Newley score from the 1971 film with songs from the film, which starred Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, including "The Candy Man," "I've Got a Golden Ticket," "Oompa Loompa Song," and "Pure Imagination."

The world-famous Willy Wonka is opening the gates to his mysterious sweet making factory…but only to a lucky few. Young Charlie Bucket and four other golden ticket winners will embark on a life-changing journey through Wonka’s world of pure imagination including chocolate waterfalls, nutty squirrels and the great glass elevator, all to be revealed by Wonka's army of curious Oompa-Loompas.

Performed by the talented students aged 5–12 years, this was a marvellous chance, not only to see how talented they are but to see one of my favourite musicals again, and even though this cast is probably the youngest I've seen perform this Roald Dahl magical spectacle, every single one of them absolutely shone and gave it all 110%.

There were no programmes to say which actors played which parts, so unfortunately, I can't give any names to the roles played.

The young man playing Charlie Bucket on Sunday afternoon - I believe that it was a completely different cast on the Saturday - had so much confidence, and for one so young, a fantastic voice.

Willy Wonka's actor was likewise, and gave us that little bit of eccentricity required for the role.

The young lady who played Charlie's mother also had a beautiful singing voice, and all three actors will be extremely popular with any theatre group, especially musical theatre as they all get older.

I loved every bit of character put into the other Golden Ticket winners, especially the awfully spoiled Veruca Salt; what a lovely character actor she is going to be, I say going to be, but she is from the performance I saw this afternoon.

Another actor I absolutely loved watching was the young lady who played Cherry Sundae, the news anchor who reported on the revelations of the winning ticket holders. That young girl just didn't hold still, or hold back in her performance.

I really must also mention the array of Oompa Loompas, Baby Squirrels etc who flooded the stage with utter cuteness, and in costumes that looked like an advert for The United Colours Of Benetton. Greens, reds, yellows, pinks, purples, and if these colours didn't brighten up the stage enough, their collective smiles most certainly did.

The show ran all the way through and was nicely edited for a younger cast.

I loved every single minute of this production, and while I'd have loved to give all of the cast mentions by name, I understand why this was not possible in this instance. Never the less, everyone involved, and there were an absolute stage full of people for the final bows, presented an amazingly entertaining afternoon.

I will thank Mike and Amanda for arranging for me to experience such a showcase of younger Nottinghamshire talent.

You don't normally get to see stars in the middle of the afternoon, but there were plenty to see this Sunday afternoon.

 "A Million Dreams" by Midlands Academy of Dance and Drama (MADD).

Squire Performing Arts Centre, Nottingham.

I've been reviewing MADD's showcases for about a decade now, and there's one thing that you can always guarantee with them, and that is you are always in for a quality evening's entertainment by some of Nottingham's brightest future theatre stars. Let's face it, they have some of the most respected and talented tutors, which is always a great starting point for anyone who wants to get into the business.

The showcase/graduation is called "A Million Dreams" and that is what the students have, unfortunately the business is a harsh mistress and very few make it big, and that is why it's so important to support local arts as much as possible, because there's always a chance that you may be watching the next West End performer on a local stage. Either way, you do get to see the remarkable talents these young people have, and I have known so many local youngsters get that break, not just from MADD but several other local training grounds like Copper Studios, the Television Workshop and Kristian Thomas Company to name but three excellent groups.

One thing I've always loved about MADD's showcases is the staging and continuity of the shows. In between the introductions of the upcoming pieces, which are always very cleverly written and delivered, the outgoing performance is neatly segued into the incoming performances, making the show seamless. I've seem a few showcases where there are bare stages in between the performances and the audiences are left waiting looking at a blank stage. Not so with MADD, they have cracked that part of the stage management, which also makes for great timekeeping for the production and keeping an enthusiastic audience enthusiastic. 

Twenty seven performances in two one hour segments, so I'll just mentions some of my personal highlights of the evening......

The evening starts off with "I Hope I Get It" from "A Chorus Line", which is a brilliant starting point as it provides a realistic starting point of any show with the auditionees hoping that they get to start their careers in the musical. It also gives everyone a chance to see of the students on stage performing together. The other pieces that you get to see all of the students together including the closing of Act One with "A Million Dreams", the opening of Act two with a gorgeous medley of three of my favourite pieces from "Miss Saigon". After the presentation of the certificates near the end of the evening, we also get to see everyone singing "Bring On Tomorrow" from "Fame", another one of my favourite musical theatre songs, plus "Just Be" from "Kinky Boots", which is a fantastic message to send out to everyone as they exit the theatre.

In between these songs are so many of my favourites, "Freak Flag", another musical theatre song with a positive message, "Just Arrived" from "Copacabana", choreographed brilliantly by Luke Haywood, and talking about top notch choreography, "Buenos Aires" from "Evita" was as good as anything you'll see on a professional stage, and choreographed by Frankie Steele.

"Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat" from "Guys 'n' Dolls" is another great song with wonderful choreography, which by the way was segued seamlessly from a link with Toby Farley and Jamal Moyo, and sung by Jamal. 

This was followed on by "Somewhere" from "West Side Story" and what made this section special for me was seeing choreographer Stewart Avon-Arnold performing on stage, something he has not done for two decades. I had the pleasure of having Stewart as my guest on the radio a while ago, and he is such a passionate person when it comes to the subject of dance. He has choreographed for Kate Bush, and everyone knows that Kate is a supreme perfectionist with choreography.

Megan Blake sent shivers down my spine with her performance of "Me and The Sky" from the show that everyone wants to do at the moment "Come From Away".

Love the comedy in "Pop" from "The Wedding Singer" and what I also liked was that instead of doing a straight copy of the lyrics in the song by changing the name of the intended one, Glen, they changed the name to Jamal. as you can see, thought has gone into the staging of these scenes.

There's always one or two songs in any showcase that will be new to me and that's the case with "I Want It All" from "High School Musical 3". This was performed by the BTEC students featuring the other male student, Toby Farley with Jasmine and Eliza. This song is great fun and that includes the choreography from Hannah Fox.

"I'm Here" from "The Color Purple" is an emotional piece, and on stage was danced/performed beautifully by Letizia with selected students from all courses, and choreographed by Stewart Avon-Arnold.

Another piece that highlighted the amazing choreography talents of Frankie Steele was the piece from "Moulin Rouge" the brilliantly sparkly "The Sparkling Diamond". I adored the posh frocks on show, let's face it, who doesn't like a bit of glitter? I think there are a few glitter balls that have gone by the way to create these lavish and glittery costumes, and the ladies looked amazing in them.

"What You want" from "Legally Blonde" is a big number, and performed with great humour by a whole host of talented performers. Jamal looked to be in his element in this piece, even more than in "The American Dream" as part of the "Miss Saigon" medley. Does that man ever stop smiling? Would you want him to? The answer to both questions is a resounding "No".

The mash up of two of the most beautiful songs from "Les Miserables" by Grace Jackson and Jasmine Hutchens in "I Dreamed A Dream/On My Own" was like liquid chocolate being dripped down my throat. Simply gorgeous!

"Defying Gravity" from "Wicked" is always a big crowd pleaser but I absolutely adored every single thing about the following number "New Money" from "The Great Gatsby". Brilliantly sung, brilliantly performed and danced, and brilliantly choreographed by Luke Haywood and Sam Rollo.

Class of 2026 3^rd Year Students are Jamal Moyo, Megan Blake, Tilly Bull, Jess Grant, Jessica Lily-May, Tegan King, Leila Ritchie, Tasmin Rose, Indie Eliza, Leila Williams, Maizie Wood, Darci Gowling and Kacey Nixon.

2^nd Year BTEC Graduates are Daisy Billam, Diasy Spitiri, Eliza Kosminder, Esme Watts, Grace Jackson, Isobel Farr, Lauren Broadhead, Jasmine Hutchens, Lottie Parsons, Millie Rodgers, Taya Garrard and Toby Farley.

1^st Year BTEC Students are Molly Banks, Freya Hallam, Nancy Harvey, Sara Nicholls, Amy Rawdin, Sadie Ridley, Eva Robinson, Lydia Sansum, Lily-Mae Shaw, Morgan Spencer, Matilda Stones, Eliza Szejda and Erica Walters.

HNC Students Musical Theatre/Dance are Katie Ambler, Jaydene Davies, Ellie Jones, Mia Marpole, Jessica Roxas (Musical Theatre) and Millie Richardson (Dance).

2^nd Year Diploma & HND Students are Bree Hubbard, Hannah Wood, Ellie Hobson, Lexie Sawyer, Janusha Thavarasalingam (Musical Theatre), Olivia Ellis, Maisie Hepworth, Letizia Yeboah, Shannon Hickling, Shayenne Townsend and Kyla Zutic (Dance).

The choreographers are Mark Hedges, who also staged the show, Frankie Steele, Stewart Avon-Arnold, Hannah Fox, Luke Haywood and Sam Rollo.

Created and devised by Kelvin Towse, who is also the Musical Director.

Directed by Mark Hedges.

Musical Director for the BTEC Performing Arts Course is Hannah Oseman.

Lighting Design by Squire Performing Arts Centre.

The costumes are by The Company.

Vocal captains are Tegan King and Bree Hubbard.

Dance Captains are Megan Blake, Jessica Lily-May, Darci Gowling, Maisie Howarth, Esme Watts and Daisy Billam.

My personal thanks also go to Principal Edward Nudd and Jeanie O Shea for asking me along to such another wonderfully entertaining evening.

There's another chance to see "A Million Dreams" on Sunday 14 June at 3.30pm at the Squire Performing Arts Centre.

 "Dear Evan Hansen" by Musicality.

Bluecoat Academy, Wollaton.

Musicality must be one of the first local drama groups in the country to present this very important musical, and it's every bit as hard hitting, powerful and sensitive as the professional touring production.

Evan Hansen, a bullied 17-year-old with social anxiety, depression, and a recently broken arm, is assigned to write letters to himself, starting with "Dear Evan Hansen......", detailing what will be good about each day. Evan's overworked mother, Heidi, suggests that Evan ask people to sign the cast on his arm to make friends, although that doesn't always work with some of the people at his school.

One of Evan's letters, which he had left on a printer at school was picked up by another boy in school, Connor, who is also depressed and a drug user. Days later Evan is told that Connor had committed suicide and, having found Evan's letter to himself in Connor's pocket, Connor's parents jump to the conclusion that Connor and Evan are close friends. This results in them inviting Evan over for dinner and telling them what he thinks that they want to hear in order to make them think that Connor was more popular than he really was. 

As the untruths grow, Evan and some of his school friends set up "The Connor Project" and raise funds to restore an apple orchard, which ties in with one of the fibs that Evan has told, but soon the truth is out, thanks to the power of social media, and Evan's image of friendship is not quite as rosy, or believable, as first believed.

Joseph McGarel plays Evan Hansen. There's a great responsibility in playing a role like this, not only from the acting side of it, but because of the message that Evan sends out about mental health awareness, especially in young men. Both sets of responsibilities are in very capable hands as far as I can see. Musicality has a past record for having a host of excellent singers in their ranks, and Joseph's name can most definitely go down on that list. There are some brilliantly emotive songs that Evan has to sing, most notably "Waving through A Window" and of course "You Will Be Found", the latter with the ensemble behind him has that choristic sound, and gives you the tingles due to the emotional delivery.

Heidi Hansen, Evan's mother, is played by Ruby Hall. Heidi is a hard working mother who never seems to find quite enough time for her son, feeling guilty about this, especially as she is all that Evan has at home. There's a particular emotional scene when she finally discovers the extent of the emotions Evan has been experiencing while she has been hard at work keeping the family home running and earning a wage. 

Any parent will always worry over their kids and want to protect them from hurt, and we often don't see the red flags that kids show, or don't show in some cases, and Ruby's performance of that realisation of Evan's hurt is something that all of us parents ought to think twice about when we look at our kids; no matter what age they are. Just listen to the words of "So Big So Small" performed with such passion by Ruby as Heidi.

Charlie Higginson plays Jared Kleinman, Evan's sarcastic and droll friend. He helps Evan and Alana found The Connor Project. This is where we get the lighter side of this musical with this character. Jared is blunt, as well as course in his language, but you will love Jared, and you will love Charlie's portrayal of him as well as the infectious laugh that Charlie provides.

Emily Hornsey plays Alana Beck, one of Evan's classmates and one third of the triangle that makes up The Connor Project. Alana is also the one who spots the irregularities in Evan's stories and eventually brings down the web of lies, turning Evan the hero into a zero commodity. This results in the emotive "Words Fail", sung by Evan.

Thomas Telford plays the part of Connor Murphy. Even though Connor is a depressive druggie with no mates, there are some great scenes, especially with Evan and Jared that are really light hearted and immense fun, especially in the song "Sincerely Me", which also has a fun piece of choreography to go along with the song as well. I've seen Thomas in a few of Musicality's productions, every role different to the previous which shows his thespian flexibility.

Zoe Murphy, Connor's sister who Evan is infatuated with, is played by  Izzy Seager. There are two beautiful duets that Izzy performs with Joseph in "If I Could Tell Her" and "Only Us" that send tingles everywhere a tingle can travel to, thanks to the melting of their two voices on these songs.

Cynthia Murphy, Connor's mother, is played by Freya Martin. You really feel the belief and relief in this mother that her son, who she thought did not have a friend in the world, actually had such a close friend in Evan, only for those emotions to be dashed in the second act. An emotional piece of character acting from Freya, and an absolute beauty of a voice that sounds good solo or with her on stage husband, Larry.

Larry Murphy, Connor's father, is played by Rory Long. Larry shows that he feels that Connor has wasted everything that has been given to his late son, and there's a sadness that you find when he almost becomes a replacement father for Evan. This is no more evident than the beautifully touching scene when the pair are together talking about baseball and the way to break a baseball glove in. Another smooth sounding blend of voices with Rory and Joseph in the duet "To Break In A Glove". I must also mention the make up that realistically ages Rory with the grey wash in his hair - it may just be talcum powder, who knows but is certainly was effective. Vocally Rory is absolutely spot on, which is nothing less than I had expected when I saw his name in the programme, as I have seen Rory in a few other productions by Musicality.

The ensemble are made up of Agatha Meehan, Elle Green, Georgia McKenzie, Drew Boswell, Imogen Stobart and Poppy Priest. This group of people really provide, not only a beefed up sound vocally, but also create some eerie sections as visual voices in Evan's head. This ensemble really complement the main cast perfectly.

Co-Directed by Ella Chapman and Riley Halls Backler. I've never seen a Director travel so much around a theatre as Riley on opening night, and I hope that he gets a beer or two and a good rest after Friday's opening night. There was an issue with the sound system in the first half of the show, which Riley was on to, with the sound operator in the interval. There was a definite improvement in the second act. I just thought it may have been the acoustics of the performance area at Bluecoat Academy, but Riley and Dominic soon had that opening issue sorted. Ella and Riley really have managed to get the very best out of this cast.

The production is Co-Produced by Kamala Padilha and Theo Northcote.

Musical Director is Sam Ashcroft (Keys/Conductor), heading up an absolute gem of a band consisting of Sunny Joshi and AJ Hill (Guitars), Toby Heather (Bass), Simon Clark (Drums/Percussion), Franklin Baron (Violin), Natasha Roberts (Viola) and Ophelia Henstridge (Cello). A lot of this soundtrack is packed with emotional lyrics and the string section of this band just sounded so beautiful and delicate behind the vocals.

Stage managed by Louise Patterson, assisted by Sophie Baggaley and Gracie Richardson.

The set is almost bare, but that doesn't matter because you then have nothing to detract from these gorgeous performances, but there's a table and chairs to show the Murphy's dining area, a bed to depict Evan's room, a change over of the quilt serves to be Connor's room, and that's all is needed.

The sound design and lighting design and operation isn't mentioned in the programme, but I recognised Dominic Mills at the helm of a mixing desk.

There's a section near the end where Evan has a beautiful monologue about being enough, and that is a beautiful message to put over. You don't have to try and present yourself as someone else to get people to like you. I have a hoodie and a T Shirt that simply says on the front "you are enough" and I love wearing it, to get that message across. Whoever you are, you will always be enough for the people who love you, an excellent message that is projected via this show.

"Dear Evan Hansen" by Musicality is playing at Bluecoat Academy in Wollaton until Saturday 13 June. Tickets are going fast for the Saturday performance, so get them while you can.

 "Ladies Day" by Amanda Whittington.

East Bridgford and Bingham Drama Group.

East Bridgford Village Hall.

I thought that I'd seen this play before, but now I don't think I have. Even after looking through my documented reviews I could only find "Ladies Down Under" and "Ladies Unleashed", so maybe this viewing completes the trilogy of Amanda Whittington's brilliant "Ladies" series.

Life is one long, hard slog for the fish-filleting foursome Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda. But their fortunes are set to change when, to fulfill one of Pearl's wishes to celebrate her "retiring" from work, the quartet head to Ladies Day at the York races. Factory hairnets make way for fascinators as the four friends hit the races for what turns out to be an unforgettable day out.

Secrets are spilled with the champagne and friendships are tested to the limit. Yet as the day unfolds and tempers fray, their accumulator bet keeps quietly winning. If their luck, and their nerve holds, the ladies could hit the jackpot – and then some!

Amanda Whittington has always been a favourite playwright of mine, and I have had the pleasure of reviewing many of her plays over the years, and there's not been one that I haven't loved. That may be because of her infinite talent for writing multi-layered characters who you feel that you know after being in their company for a couple of hours. Amanda takes everyday women with everyday problems and shines a spotlight on them, and female friendship, making her characters so relatable.

Jan is a devoted single mother whose life revolves entirely around her teenage daughter, Clare. She is self-sacrificing and naturally cautious with money, Jan is terrified of empty-nest syndrome as Clare prepares to leave for university. Her emotional arc centers on learning to let go, recognizing her own self-worth independent of motherhood, and finally addressing her unexpressed romantic feelings for factory supervisor, Joe. 

Jan is played by Karen Peckover, who is a wonderfully gifted comedy actress. Jan has a few too many glasses of champagne, and Karen's "drunk" acting is so realistic, and so very funny. I wonder how much is method acting? The facial and physical aspects of her acting arsenal are well stocked and are on full show in this role and I loved every minute of her performance.

Shelley is the brash, loud, and outgoing wannabe who drinks heavily and dresses to get noticed. Desperate for fame and fortune, jumping at any chance to ambush TV cameras at the races. However, her flashy, "good time girl" persona serves as a confidence mask for deep insecurities and crippling credit card debt. Her journey is about stripping back the superficial layers and realizing her true value lies in her genuine friendships.

Played by Rebecca Cresswell, who reminded me so much of Catherine Tate, another of my favourite comedy actors. Every character in this play is perfectly written, and every actor in this play is perfectly cast. I love the pushy, sexy portrayal of Shelley by Rebecca, and I also loved how the character knew when to pull back from a certain situation, and also revealed her softer side with the other girls.

Pearl is the eldest and most composed of the group, acting as the "mother hen" and confidante. On the surface, Pearl appears to have a stable, traditional home life and is planning a well-earned early retirement. However, as the champagne flows, she reveals she is hiding a long hidden secret! Pearl represents the quiet sacrifices women make and the longing for romance or validation outside of domestic routines.

Pearl is played by one of the two new members to the group, Jane Murray. Obviously new to the group but I imagine not new to am dram and the stage because of the presence she projected on stage, as well as her "cool as a cucumber" acting ability. There's a lovely scene near the end which revolves around the secret that she has been hiding, that makes your heart go just a bit. It also leaves you undecided on what the scene means.

Linda is the youngest, quietest, and most innocent of the four. Shy, conservative, and easily exploited and often taken advantage of by others, including a demanding mother. She attends the races with a pure, obsessive passion for Tony Christie, using song titles to guide their betting accumulator. Linda’s arc is a coming-of-age story; through her interactions with the women and a local Irish jockey, she finds her voice, gains independence, and learns to prioritize her own needs.

Lauren Parnell is the other new member, but again I have a feeling that this stage role is not Lauren's first rodeo. I love the excited, almost innocent image we get of Linda from the start, and how that shyness soon evaporates when in the right company.  Her love of Tony Christie, and his music, also paves the way to the ladies' success on the racecourse. Jane and Lauren are fantastic am dram finds, and I hope that we see both on stage again very soon.

The male characters act as catalysts for the women’s realizations, offering romance, perspective, and a mirror to their insecurities, ultimately driving the emotional and comic climax of the race. In many productions all the male characters are played by one male actor, but in this production there are two.

Barry is played by Chris Henley, who turns up right at the end of the show. We discover about half way through what the connection is, but leaves us to make our own mind up, by one line from one of the girls, if what we are looking at is the real thing, or is the particular situation just a mirage!! 

Joe, Fred, Patrick, Jim and Kevin are all played by Rob Hurst, who is the only actor in this play that I have seen on stage before. We get to see so many different sides to The Postman's acting skills, including a seedy announcer, a drunken gambler, the boss who is over the four filleters and an Irish jockey. Patrick, the jockey is hilarious, and played for laughs by Rob. The irony of the character and the script for this jockey does not go unnoticed and raised howls of laughter from the packed Village Hall.

A more completely, perfectly cast, cast for a play is here on stage in East Bridgford.

Directed by Sally Baldock, this play is everything I could have wished for, and especially for an Amanda Whittington play which is so strong and beautifully written for women characters, as all of her plays are. The cast and Sally have done Amanda proud, as I am sure that Amanda's Dad, who was sat behind me would attest to. Sally has been assisted by Jane Cooper in the Director chair, and Jane is also responsible for the lead props in the show.

Choreographed by Karen Peckover, and I was not expecting choreography, but the four ladies treated us to some dance steps to the music of Tony Christie

Costumes are courtesy of Jackie Valentine.

Set design is by Julz Dawson. This is a clever set which uses a fold away fish factory piece, which unfolds into the backdrop for the York Ladies Day backdrop very simply, resulting in no awkward manoeuvres when the scene change arrives. Simplicity mixed with sensational is the key words for this area of production.

Lighting and Sound is by Jon Shepherd, Ian Weir and Julz Dawson. Ian being a new recruit to the Production team.

Stage Managed by Miha Lingu.

Caroline Aldrich is the show's Producer.

This is my first visit to East Bridgford and the first play that I've seen by East Bridgford and Bingham Drama Group; I hope that it won't be my last because there's a lot of talented people in this area.

"Ladies Day" is a sure bet for fun and enjoyment and can be seen at East Bridgford Village Hall until Saturday 13 June.

 "The Park Bench" by Ashley Burgoyne.

The Watson Players.

Shakespeare House, Derby.

I know a couple of people who will only go and see plays that they know. That being the case, if they, like myself, had never heard of this play previously, decided to not see "The Park Bench", they would be missing out on a real gem of a production.

Charles always shared the same bench in the park with his wife. Now Charles is alone, with only his memories of Rose sitting on the other end of the bench, until various people start to share the bench with him. These people may, or may not, be the cause of Charles misplacing something. Was it misplaced, or was it stolen? And who are the two mysterious people constantly checking their mobile phones and looking furtive?

First off let me say that the writing for this play is absolutely beautiful. The characters are all beautifully created and the storyline is gentle but immensely captivating. Who'd have thought that a play set around a bench in a park could be as imaginative and fascinating as this one.

Karen Jones plays Tina, and Colin, Tina's Geocoaching partner, is played by James Ash. For those who do not know, and I had never heard of this until this play, Geocoaching uses a GPS-enabled device or smartphone, you then navigate to specific sets of coordinates to find hidden containers, known as "caches." Karen has a history of playing half of very entertaining double acts, and between Karen and James, they create another memorable comedy duo. Tina and Colin become a vital piece of the jigsaw to resolving the mystery of the missing money.

Ian is an Office Manager and played by Ryan Barber. Ian often takes a walk in the park to eat his lunch away from the office, and one day decides to sit next to Charles on the park bench. The two quickly become quite friendly and share details of their lives, which is where the story starts and the mystery begins. the introduction, by phone by Ian of his wife to Charles is a lovely comic piece, and the explanation of Ian and Linda's current marital issues via a debate in the office is a very clever, and funny example of wordplay within the script.

Linda is Ian's wife and is played by a new member of The Watson Players, Bekki Armstrong. Linda starts off not trusting of Ian after an incident at an office Christmas party, but throughout the play, and with a little help from Charles, Linda and Ian get their relationship back on track. With that issue sorted, Linda and Ian turn their attention to help Charles with his mystery. Bekki is not new to the stage, only new to The Watson Players, and a welcome and lovely addition to the group.

Stacey, the single mother who gets baby Jim to sleep by doing laps around the park in his pram, is played by Ciara Beighton. When we first see Stacey and Ian in the park there's another example of clever writing when two separate telephone conversations are combined to produce a lovely example of two one sided conversations creating a comedy scene all of its' own. Stacey starts off a very different person to the finale of the play, but this is because of a stereotypical image of some single mothers, but the more we get to know her, and with a little help from Linda, we discover a different side to her character.

Another new member of The Watson Players is Michael Smith who plays Charles, the widow who often visits the park bench to talk to his late wife, Rose. The most gentlest of characters and Michael brings that gentleness and human edge of the story to the stage. There's an edge of que sera sera to the events that surround Charles; he is always ready to help others with a kind word or piece of advice, and that is what attracts the audience to this lovely warm-hearted man. He expects nothing in return, but when he shares with Ian about certain events that happened at the scene of the park bench, good karma comes around.

Michael is a wonderful find because his acting is so natural. It's almost as if he wasn't acting or performing a script, it was like he was just chatting off the cuff. This is one very laid back gentleman of a performer.

The brilliantly entertaining Park Bench Ensemble consisted of Georgia Barkes, Lisa Griffin, Mel Pugh, Bayleigh Watson and Adam Thornewill, who gets to show off the best legs on a man I've seen for a long while.

Directed by Nigel Taylor this is a wonderful production of a play. The gentle pace of the play and the development of these characters from start to end is so lovely. The pace really helps to connect all of the jigsaw piece characters to come together to make the full picture of the mystery whole. The scene changes have a life of their own, and when you see that the only thing to centre the story around is a park bench, you may think that the scene changes themselves would be quick and simple. Not so, because Nigel has given us wonderfully entertaining vignettes of action, which is where the Ensemble come into their own. The music that accompanies the scene changes work so well, adding to the entertainment value.

Stage Manged by John Woolley and Brian Hartshorn, who kept the pace flowing perfectly.

The main prop, the park bench, is not the only prop, and surprisingly the prop count was more than I'd thought there may be. Sourced by Angela Barradell and Regina Repton.

Costumes by Patricia Church and The Watson Players.

Sound design and operation is by John Woolley and lighting design and operation is by Lee Hartshorn. Perfection in both areas.

This is one of those plays that I could watch over and over, mainly for the wonderful way it's been written, as well as the excellent casting and naturalistic performances by the cast. A real treat on every level.

"The Park Bench" is being performed at Shakespeare House, Kedleston Road, Derby until Saturday 13 June.

Photography by Ali Langton.