"Guys n Dolls" by Erewash Musical Society Youth Group.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

One of the greatest Noo Yoik based musicals of all time, and one of my all-time favourite musicals on stage or on film.

"Guys n Dolls" is the story of Nathan Detroit and his doll Adelaide and Sky Masterson and his newly discovered doll Sarah, who is in the process of saving souls. Will Sky's soul be one soul she can't save, or will Sky give up his gambling evil ways and succumb to the word of the Lord?

Based on the stories and characters written by Damon Runyon, the action starts in Runyonland where Nathan is looking for a place to hold his latest "crap game". The only way he can think of raising the funds to pay for a venue is to bet Sky $1000 that he can't take a "doll" of Nathan's choice to Havana for dinner, and Nathan chooses Sarah Brown from the mission.

In the background Adelaide, Nathan's fiancée for the last 12 years, wants to get married and they plan to elope, but all does not go to plan while Nathan is still planning the latest "crap game".

This is Hollywood though so it's all bound to end up happily ever after, and it does, leaving you with a fluffy, warm, squidgy feeling in your tummy.

Sky Masterson, suave, smart, handsome who unexpectantly falls for Sarah Brown, the Missionary leader, is played by Oliver Nolan. I stated in my last review of Oliver as Poseidon in "The Lightning Thief", that he was officially cool, and he takes that "cool" up another level as Masterson. He looks cool, he acts cool, he has a cool accent and he can sing, and I am sure that his voice has gone even deeper.

Sarah Brown, the Sergeant of the local Mission who falls for Sky, is played by Izzy Cole. Oh My God what a voice! Her voice takes me back to those classic musical women, people like Kathryn Grayson (look her up on Google/YouTube); so pure and clear and beautiful to listen to. Love the way that she acted out the rebuffs of Masterson's advances and the slap she gives Sky in the Mission hall looked incredibly real. I also loved the Havana scene as this had been done in a slightly different way, which I'll mention later. Everyone was talking about Izzy's voice in the interval.

Livvi Hickling plays Miss Adelaide, long time love of Nathan Detroit and a lead performer at the Hot Box nightclub. Another wonderful voice and I liked how Adelaide was not presented as some high winy-voiced airhead, as she was in the film. Livvi also has the choreography nailed, especially in the number "Take Back Your Mink" plus "Adelaide's Lament" was given a lovely subdued feel. The duet Adelaide does with Detroit in "Sue Me" is also another highlight for me.

Nathan Detroit is played by Elis Moore. Elis has an ear for accents, and you know how much I love a well presented accent. A very broad Bronx/Noo Yoik accent which at times, when the script required a faster paced speech, the accent never suffered but the clarity of the speech became mashed, which would be truly realistic if listening to any heavy accent when the owner of that accent becomes excited. I've always been a fan of Elis's vocals and his comedic abilities, and both are well utilised as Nathan Detroit.

Nicely Nicely Johnson is played by Noah Hickling. Just like his name suggests, he is the nicest and cheeriest of the gambling crooks. High-spirited and a bit naïve, but sincere and genuine. Nathan’s loyal friend and lackey. This young man has one of those mobile faces and he can make you smile with just a change of expression. I have really been impressed with his vocals in past shows but in this show his vocals are true musical theatre vocals. It's not easy to maintain a constant accent like Nicely's, but to also sing in accent is even more difficult but Noah does both brilliantly. Just listen to "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat", one of my favourite scenes in this production. Plus the rapid wordplay in "The Oldest Established" is performed, not just delivered. This young man is becoming an all rounder with his vocals, acting, dancing and comedy skills; Noah is more than ready for leading man parts.

Blake Hagan plays Lieutenant Brannigan, the hapless B - Movie type cop, chasing his tail trying to catch Sky, Nathan and the rest of the players.

Heather Beardmore plays Harry the Horse who is entertaining Big Julie while he is upstate.

Benny Southstreet is played by Harry O'Boyle. Nathan’s right-hand man and a gambler himself. Smart, slick, always moving and shaking, but with what he thinks are Nathan’s best interest at heart. Another consistently excellent character acting job by young Mr O'Boyle.

Yasmin Aldous plays Rusty Charlie, the gambling sidekick of Nicely Nicely and Benny Southstreet. These three roles are so well cast because they all require actors who are naturally funny and can sing in three part harmony, as showcased in the opening "Fugue For Tin Horns".

Jessie Gatehouse plays Big Julie, who is in town to "shoot crap", not a bad loser, it's just that he always likes to win! With a moustache and beard drawn on to her face, Jessie is completely transformed into this greedy gangster. Another fine stage combat scene is where Sky punches Big Julie during the "Luck be A Lady" section, and the timings on that punch was impeccable by both Oliver and Jessie that it looked incredibly real

Lowri Moore is Angie The Ox, another one of the gamblers.

Myla Statham-Browne is General Matilda Cartwright who has come to town to tell Sarah and the Missionaries that they have to close this missionary post down but not even Matilda B Cartwright fails to not fall under the spell of the beguiling Sky Masterson, and allows them to prove the success of the missionaries.

Arvide Abernathy, Sarah's Uncle and fellow Mission worker, is played by Gabriella Tilley. There's a lovely scene in the second act where Sarah confesses to Arvide that she does love Sky, but she will not see him again. Arvide expresses his faith in Sky's inherent goodness and urges Sarah to follow her heart and sings "More I Cannot Wish You"

Agatha is played by Jessie Jerram, Mollie Jerram is Martha, members of the Mission group.

Xander Thorpe plays Joey Biltmore, the owner of the garage where Nathan wants to hold the secret crap game at.

Emily O'Boyle is the Master of Ceremonies who introduces Miss Adelaide and the Hot Box dancers.

The Hot Box dancers are played by Lowri Moore, Eloise Chamberlain, Yasmin Aldous, Sophie Forman, Lauren Hazledine, Clarissa Armitage, Juliette York and Tayla Dilks. The choreography for these dancers is fantastic and these young actors create a Hollywood nightclub style vibe in both big numbers "A Bushel and A Peck" and "Take Back Your Mink"

Rose Staniford and Eva Woodcock have ensemble roles.

Directed by Anna Fitzpatrick. This is the full version of the musical but with a few trimmed bits I noticed, which I felt enhanced the enjoyment of the show. The section in Havana had been trimmed slightly and I loved the flow and stage combat of that section which was almost balletic. The pace was perfect as was the comedy and the wonderful accents from everyone.

Choreographed by Sophie Robbins and assisted by Katie Chamberlain. So many choreographic highlights in this production for me. The crap game in the sewers was done in silhouette and was almost cinematic. The Havana scene had a big impact with it being trimmed down flowing into the fight scene with Sarah and the Havana dancers. This is one of those wonderful classic musicals where there are lots of choreographed scenes and every scene was just a joy to watch.

Musical Director is Martin Lewis, who knows his way around where musicals are concerned, and his experience, on and off stage, reaps so many dividends when it comes to big scale musicals such as this. The score sounded classy, which is something that martin brings to any MD job.

The soundtrack is full of classic musical theatre songs that have become favourites in the Great American Songbook; songs like "If I Were A Bell", "A Bushel & A Peck", "I've Never been In Love Before", "Luck Be A Lady", "Sit Sown You're Rocking the Boat", "Marry the Man Today" and of course the title song.

Costumes were thanks to EMUS Committee, friends and family and were marvellous. I loved the smart suits for the gamblers and also loved the costumes for the Hot Box dancers.

Set Designers are Mark and Bill Robbins.

Sound design and operation is by Dave Dallard, assisted by Jack Clark, and everyone who was mic'd up in the production was heard perfectly, and no missed mic cues.

Lighting design and operation is by Richard Chamberlain, assisted by Dave Martin. A colourful musical which was complemented by a colourful lighting design.

Having had the pleasure of reviewing EMUS for quite a while now, I get to see the theatre journey that these young people travel down. I see them grow and their talents get better and better. I hear the male actors' voices breaking and their development and growth from ensemble to leading man roles. I also get to see the ladies blossom and their voices get stronger and fill out. This musical is an absolute classic, and not the easiest one for a youth group to take on, but I think that I can honestly say that all the actors have moved up another rung of their dramatic ladder and have given audiences possible one of the best productions from EMUS on Thursday night. If you've already got tickets for the rest of the run, you are in for an absolute treat. Don't gamble on tickets being available because I bet they'll all be gone by Saturday!

"Guys 'n' Dolls" is at the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton until Saturday 7 February.

 "A Wedding Story" by Bryony Lavery

West Bridgford Dramatic Society.

The Studio Theatre, West Bridgford.

This may be one of the most difficult reviews that I have to write. With plays that I have never seen before I do very little research about the storyline, so as to make the impact of the storyline as fresh as possible; that's the same with comedy plays, musicals or, as with this one, incredibly sad.

Taking her place in church, little does Sally know that she is about to find love herself with another wedding guest, Grace. Meanwhile, at home her parents, Evelyn and Peter, face the toughest challenge of their marriage, as the ageing process in the form of Alzheimer's takes its toll with devastating effect. The entire family, including Sally's sibling, Robin, is brought face to face with the meaning of true love and commitment.

Evelyn is played by Michelene Harris, who makes her return to the stage in a role that I am sure was not an easy role to play by any stretch of the imagination. Evelyn, who is a medical person, starts to forget the odd name, but it's when she fails to recognise her husband in their own home that you realise that there's something more serious afoot. Michelene plays the gradual onset of Alzheimer's with great sensitivity, and it's the pain and frustration that the character is obviously going through that really hits home and creates an emotional recognition from myself. I have a tendency to forget names and places and it makes you think, on a personal level, could that be me somewhere down the line? 

Any actor wants to know that the work that they have done on stage has affected their audience in the way that they and the Director intended the character to do, and to tell their story. It certainly had me welling up, especially seeing how the frustration was felt by the family and the things that they said and did. There's a scene where Evelyn has wet herself and the following scene just makes you want to scream inside. If Michelene never plays another role, which I really hope will not come true, I'll know that I have seen an actor who blew me away emotionally; an actor who made me feel useless and an actor who made me feel anger at their treatment by their loved ones. I can also only imagine that Michelene feels quite drained after every performance of Evelyn.

Peter is played by Malcolm Todd, an actor that I've had the pleasure of seeing on stage many times. This character is first seen returning from a wedding, slightly worse the wear for drink, and I must admit Malcolm plays tipsy very well. Believably tipsy. You see the love that Peter has for his wife that slips into frustration and then guilt. Another very emotional portrayal of a character who has to relearn how to cope with what is happening to his wife, as well as the effect the situation has on their family.

Sally, their daughter, is played by Emily Girton, who also acts as one of the main narrators. Sally makes a discovery while at the wedding that she had attended with Peter, and her story is also shown throughout the play. Sally's story though does have a happy ending as she revises her casual outlook on love, relationships and marriage.

Grace, the sexy woman who attracts Sally's attention at the wedding, is played by Margarita Papadopoulou. Grace is focused on what she wants going forward from the toilet cubicle fumble with Sally, but Sally is not 100% on board with the headstrong Grace. Margarita portrays a realistic and subtle sexy temptress without going over the top, and she makes you see that this couple could work out, especially with the commitment that Grace puts into chasing the relationship.

Robin, Evelyn and Peter's son, is played by Bertie Black in yet another change of character and acting skills from his last role as a pirate. I like Bertie in a more serious role, and while there's still comedy delivered by Bertie, as well as the other actors, he shows the whole gamut of emotions from the son. There's one scene where Robin starts to get emotional, and I wasn't sure if this was the character or the actor I was watching. 

Directed by Calum Sharp. I was not expecting the effect this play would have on me, and that is due, not just to the wonderfully written story, but to the way the play is directed and the way that Calum has steered the story and the honesty that he has extracted from his cast via the characters' love, anger and frustration. There were times when the story and acting could have strayed over the top, but not once did this happen; if it had, the story would not have had such a profound affect on me, and hopefully everyone else.

Set Designer is Jerome Foley. The design has a subtle wedding feel with the three "walls" of the set dressed in silk with three boxes, used for seats, also dressed in such a way to resemble large wedding presents, wrapped with a bow. A simple design that allowed the actors and story to shine without any distractions from a busy set. The set dressing was done by Charlie Willcox and the props and costumes  were thanks to Eleanor Roberts.

Sound design and operation is by Jeff Tullin, and the sound is possibly more important in this style of play as it sets the scenes with soundbites and music clips, and also moves the story on. There's a section that takes you back to the film soundtrack of "Casablanca" which is particularly poignant, especially to Evelyn.

Lighting design is by Annie Haley and operated by Jem Woolley. As with the music operation and design, this area of production also guided you to where the story wants you to go. The opening scene and the scene directly after Evelyn wets herself in particular highlights what I am getting at.

The projection design is also utilised well and cleverly acted like the chapters of a book, using part of the script from the end of one scene to introduce the story in the following scene, producing fluid continuity. 

"A Wedding Story" is beautifully sad and beautifully written by Bryony Lavery, combining a natural human ability to make humour of a fated future, with heartbreak and an inability to put the brakes on or take control of the inevitable. The script does include several profanities that may shock, but they are not used gratuitously. This play will give you plenty to think about and plenty to talk about.

"A Wedding Story" is at the Studio Theatre in West Bridgford until Saturday 7 February.

 "The Red Shoes" by Matthew Bourne's New Adventures.

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Everybody should know that Matthew Bourne is the king of modern ballet choreography. This is his adaptation is of the Academy award winning Powell & Pressburger’s 1948 film of the same name and Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale. It’s about a girl, Vicky Page, who lives to dance, and the two men who inspire that passion within. It's about passion. It's about dancing. It's about control. It's about obsession. What more could you want from ballet?

Vicky hopes to impress Boris Lermontov, the poker-faced director of an innovative ballet company, and she manages to attract his attention. He’s impressed and invites her, as well as a moody young composer, Julian Craster, to join his company. The pair’s talents flourish under his guidance and then romance rears its head for Craster and Page and that's where the problems start.

The set and costumes are designed by Lez Brotherston. The set is cleverly designed utilising a large stage within a stage where the curtains can revolve allowing you to see both sides of the stage. it also acts as a split section allowing the stage crew to change one side of the scenery while the other half is being used. With a smooth rotation of the curtains we can then move to the other half.

We visit the ballet stage, the beach at Monte Carlo, A sleazy music hall and we even get a steam train in there as well. There are brilliant blasts of cinematic scenes, moving to monochrome sets that create that old time movie feel and introduces even more drama to the story.

The costumes, as only to be expected from Sir Matthew's ballets are eye-catching, exciting and blending the contemporary with the outlandish. Visually a treat for all. There's a lovely red and purple pin stripe suit matched with black shirt and vivid red tie that immediately pops out at you, and would look great in my wardrobe.

Paule Constable has designed the lighting. It changes from stark to Hollywood glamour, from brilliant sunshine on the beach to dark eerie castle gloominess and from cavalcades of colour to stark black and white.

The gorgeous, rich and romantic sound is the responsibility of the New Adventures Orchestra. sweeping strings transport you to a far away place and then bring you back to the darker side of the ballet with just a staccato exchange. 

Paul Groothius designs the soundscape. He makes you feel like you're sitting by the Monte Carlo beach with a gentle sound of the waves washing over you, then later creating the sound imagery of an approaching train.

The music itself is orchestrated by Terry Davies using the magical music of Hollywood composer, Bernard Herrmann, who has worked on scores for Martin Scorsese, Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles among other legends.

Helping you locate the various scenes and places, there was a lovely fun and atmospheric projection design by Duncan McLean.

Matthew Bourne combines several dance styles in his ballets, from Latin American, ballroom, lindy hop via contemporary and also includes a wonderful comedy Wilson and Keppell sand dance routine. And comedy is one thing that Mr Bourne loves to inject into his work and there's loads of humour in this one. Just watch the dancers physicality, as well as their musicality, and even just a shrug or a raised eyebrow can relate comedy here. But this ballet also has a darker underbelly as well.

I'm not going to spout loads of wonderful things individually because the whole cast and ensemble are the best of the best; they wouldn't be in New Adventures if they weren't, but here's who played who....

Andy Monoghan (Boris Lermontov - Ballet Impresario), Cordelia Braithwaite (Victoria Page), Dominic North (Julian Craster), Katrina Lyndon (Irina Boranskaya - Prima Ballerina), Will Bozier (Ivan Boleslawsky - Premier Danseur), Glenn Graham (Grischa Ljubov - Ballet Master, Choreographer and Character Artist), Rosanna Lindsey (Nadia), Shakiera Ward (Svetlana), Daisy West (Beryl), Isabella Chandler (Pamela), Jarrod McWilliams (Mikhail), Matthew Potulski (Anton), Kingston Taylor (Serge), Thomas Ireson (Frederic), Molly Shaw-Downie (Lady Neston, Joyce and Edith), Tom Barnes Standing (Sergei Ratov) and Mark Austin (Dimitri).

I don't know much about ballet but I know when I have been entertained of an evening, and I was royally entertained, as I always am when a Matthew Bourne show is in town. I don't know about anyone else but I just find it so relaxing to watch these dancers glide over the stage and the music to wash over me, transporting you to a completely other world. 

The dancers are masters of their craft, athletes who train harder than most sport stars, and get to perform this magical choreography for our entertainment. If you've never been to a ballet before, let this be your introduction to a most wonderful and disciplines dance form, and if you've been a ballet fan for a while, but not seen this production, go on treat yourself!

Matthew Bourne's New Adventures "The Red Shoes" is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 7 February.

 "Rapunzel" by Mansfield Hospitals Theatre Troupe.

Mansfield Palace Theatre.

For anyone my side of Nottingham who may not have heard of Mansfield Hospitals Theatre Troupe, they are a group of people who get together to put on a pantomime each year, something they have been doing since 1980, to raise money for local charities. This was my first time seeing any of their work, and I must thank George Morley for inviting me along to see their latest production.

Princess Rapunzel has been kept locked up in a tower for almost eighteen years by witch Gothel, who she believes to be her mother. But her royal parents, have not given up hope that one day she may return to them. And every year they celebrate her birthday, by releasing one sky-lantern for every year she’s been gone.

Rapunzel’s loneliness is broken by the arrival of three Fairies, who persuade her to let them transport her to the outside world. Gothel discovers Rapunzel has been freed, and enlists the help of two villains to return her to the tower. The scene is now set for a daring rescue.....

With the amount of local theatre groups I am blessed to see, it always astounds me of the quality of each individual production and every individual performance, especially when you roster into the equation that they have regular jobs, family life, children etc., but somehow they all manage to create entertainment that is worthy of being on the stage.

Rapunzel is played by Paige Allen. At the start of the panto, Paige is sat in the tower looking every bit a Disney Princess, and from that moment on all I saw and heard was a Disney Princess. Her voice is exquisite and when she gets to duet with her Prince on a couple of numbers, their voices seem to just melt into each other.

Nurse Hetty Hairspray is played by Martin Killick. I think this winter period there has been a few bars raised with both panto baddies and panto Dames, and here is another fantastic Dame, and what I like about Dame Hetty Hairspray is the common factor; no airs, no graces, just a good down to earth character who talks in the same way as her audience, which straight away endears the character to them. With the Mansfield Hospitals Theatre Troupe, I have seen only one person in this group previously, so I have nothing else to compare any of them to, but Martin has an obvious flair for Damehood, so I have to conclude that this can't be Martin's first rodeo in a frock, he is so comfortable in the role. He has some great lines but I think on Monday night the audience needed to catch up with Martin. I also liked the way that he came to the aid of another cast member when a line was missed, and while bringing the panto back on track, created the gentlest of prompt and worked it into the performance.

Prince George is played by  Sam Mycroft. Not your archetypal Prince figure but the surprise, for me at least, came when he opened his mouth to sing. What a voice this young man has! It's contemporary and really easy to listen to. There's a duet/mash up with Paige of Meghan Trainor's "Dear Future Husband" and Olly Murs' "Dance With You Tonight" which sounded incredible together - great choice of songs for that mash up by the way. Sam would be a boon in musical theatre with the voice he has; again I know nothing of these actors so know not if that is something that he has done in the past, or may want to do in the future, but his confidence on stage is really boosted when he sings.

The three magical fairies, Fairy Good, Fairy Well and Fairy Nuff are played by Alice Apark, Donna Ramsden and Hannah Brown. There's a lovely comedy section with Rapunzel regarding their names and the accidental use of them in conversation. I really liked the way that Fairy Nuff was the rebel fairy of the three; you could see this right from the start with the image, which gave this trio an edge.

George Morley played Willy Widdle, and straight away you just knew that the troupe would be having great fun with the name "Willy", as did the audience. George is the only one that I have seen in the past when he played the role of "Shrek", but this role is very different to that one, and just as fun. Willy is the character who gets a lot of the silly lines, the silly dances, the silly jokes and the slapstick, and is responsible to get the audiences involved, and he does that perfectly. It also helps in panto that you have a cheeky face which is smiling every moment that he is on stage.

The evil Gothel is played by Selina Payne. Now, you know that I love panto baddies, and I said earlier in this piece that the quality of panto baddie has risen, well Selina is another incredible panto baddie. the make up, wig and costume completely transforms Selina into this character who the audience, again took a bit of time to properly "boo", but they got there from the start of the second act. Deliciously devilish character but another gorgeous voice. I think Gothel's version of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" is possibly the best stage version I have heard and another clever mash up of Blondie's "One Way Or Another" and The Undertones' "Teenage Kicks" was genius, all sung with such ease. Maybe Selina is a rock chick in disguise! Another brilliant baddie and another excellent voice.

The comedy duo in this pantomime are a pair of roguish villains called Ball and Socket. Ball is played by Rachel Best and Socket is played by Brett Maynard in a great pairing with Ball being the brains behind the duo and Socket being superbly silly. One scene they are involved in is with a stolen ladder which belongs to a window cleaner, played by James Robinson, who also gets a comedy cameo of his own. Ball and Socket are hired by Gothel to retrieve the missing Rapunzel after the three fairies give her freedom. As you can imagine there's cases of mistaken identity and several comic scenarios that arise.

On the hunt for Rapunzel as well is the army, which Willy signs up for, and is led by Sergeant Hawkeye, played by Sharna Allsop. Another minor comic role but what adds to the comedy is the large handlebar moustache Sharna has to keep control of.

While locked away in the tower, Rapunzel befriends a group of mice, led by Chief mouse, played by Liane Worth, who comes to the rescue of Rapunzel near the end. More than that I shall not say, as I don't want to give too much away.

Playing Rapunzel's real parents are Simon Roebuck as The King and Emily Gent as The Queen. Here's another fun pairing, both script wise but also height wise, proving some of the best deliveries come in small packages. Loved the chemistry between the King and The Queen.

There's  just two more cameo parts to mention, the first is from Bernadett Birzulis who comes on as The Ghost in the section where some of the characters are chased away by a ghost. there's a different look to this ghost, something I didn't ex-spectre see, and again no spoilers from me.

The other cameo part was right at the end and played by Caroline Hogg. Now if you were looking for Caroline's face to spot her, you wouldn't have been able to, but again, no spoilers from me!

The chorus consist of Rebecca Evans, O'Cean Tucker, Bernadette Birzulis, Laura Cassell and Jake Chapman.

The Senior dancers were Poppy Payne, Khaleesi Boreham, Lacey-Grace Hallam, Lucy Saucedo, Kacie-May Blyton and Holly Ann, all adding even more glamour to the show.

The young dancers are from Happy Feet Dance School and are Sophia Humphrey, Frances Lindley, Lucy Carter, Alice Gullett, Charlotte Ekins and the cutest curly-headed, blond young man Alfie Robinson, who all did their dance school extremely proud. So jealous of their moves as well.

Directed by Sarah Tideswell, who along with Deborah Wilson are the Finance Directors; Deborah also being the Chairperson for the Troupe. They also agreed to have a chat with me last Sunday on my radio show about the production, as if everything else wasn't stressful enough for them! Seriously though the pace of this show was incredibly well done and the scenes flowed beautifully with everyone knowing where they needed to be at all times, with maybe a little help from the Backstage Crew Neil Burzulis, Matt Henson, Glyn Dring (what a great name), and Stevie Cassell.

Musical Director is Nathan Fox. I have mentioned just how strong the vocals all are in this troupe and I reckon that Nathan may have had a hand, or a baton with this area. The live band sounded brilliant and consisted of Ryan Wilson (Guitar), James Wells (Keys and Guitar), Pete Smythe (Keys), Nathan (Drums), Hannah Bowler (Woodwind), Chrissie - who doesn't have a surname (Bass guitar) and Rachel Bowler (Woodwind). This seven piece band sounded gorgeous, showing that a live band will always sound better than recorded click tracks.

The choice of songs in this show really do cover the full age range from the 1940's to modern dance bangers, and I loved hearing a song that had been written and performed by one of my favourite guilty pleasure and fairly local band, the Lancashire Hotpots. I won't spoil it by telling you the title, in the same way that this very same track was teased in the telephone interview I had with Deborah and Sarah, but as soon as the music started I knew it was the one. Just don't go to this show without having your dinner/tea first as salivation may be brought on!

Choreographed by not one, not two but three choreographers, Kelly McCubbin, Evie Robinson and Sarah McCubbin. It's a big cast, along with the ensemble and dancers, but you can see just how much work has been put into this show choreographically. And I bet it was not the easiest of jobs getting everyone in the same place at the same time for dance rehearsals as well, but I loved how everything dance wise looked on the night.

The costumes are brilliant for every one on stage, right down to the young cast members and have been provided by Alice Apark, Donna Ramsden and Molly Limpet's Costumes. Lottie Peake and Deborah Wilson were also on hand to help Nurse Hetty in and out of her costumes, all of which looked marvellous.

Make up Artists for the pantomime are Lottie Peake and Elisse Hardy.

Sound and Lighting at Mansfield Palace Theatre are always very good, and they gave me nothing to grinch about in this show.

All profits from this production go to support local charities, so every ticket you buy helps make a difference in the community, which is why it is so important to support local theatre like this.

"Rapunzel" will be at Mansfield Palace Theatre until Saturday 7 February with both matinee and evening performances; go on let your hair down and get over there, see this show and have a really good chortle.

 "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.

Photographs by Jason Savage.

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