"Fences" by August Wilson.

Nottingham Playhouse.

Set in 1957 in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Troy Maxson is a fifty three year old sanitation worker and former Negro League baseball legend whose athletic career was blocked by racial segregation. Bitter and hardened by systemic racism and missed opportunities, Troy projects his disappointment onto his family. He forbids his teenage son, Cory, from pursuing a college football scholarship, fearing white institutions will crush his hopes. His wife, Rose, struggles to hold the family together as long-buried secrets and unfulfilled dreams reach a breaking point.

Troy Maxson, the domineering patriarch, is played by Ray Fearon. Troy has issues with showing real affection towards his children, which causes problems later in the play, especially with Cory. There are several actions that Troy may, or may not, have taken that causes upset within the family unit. Plus there's an admission that he is forced to make to Rose, which causes all sorts of fireworks between the pair.

Rose Maxson, Troy’s devoted wife of eighteen years, is played by Madeline Appiah. What a powerful pair Ray and Madeline make; there's quite a bit of shouting between this man and wife, especially later on in the play, and that quite took me aback, due to the power of the shouting, there's no holding back with this pair, and that is what makes this play such a passionate and powerful piece of drama. There's a scene where Madeline gets to sing, and we discover that she has a beautiful, but sad voice.

Cory Maxson, Troy and Rose’s athletic, college-bound son, is played by Josh Tedeku. For much of his teenage years he has been ruled by his father's iron rod, and there's a really sad scene where Cory asks his father if he likes him, and the reply is not quite what he, or the audience, expected. This is the pivotal section that causes the final division between father and son. The fight choreography between Josh and Ray is done really well and looked very realistic. Fight Director is Kev McCurdy. There's a lovely turnaround for Cory at the end.

Gabriel Maxson is Troy’s brother, a World War II veteran with a head injury whose government pension helped buy the family home, after Troy took control of the money. Gabriel, who is a complicated character with a simple mindset, due to the war injury, is played by Simon Anthony Rhoden. Simon is one of the actors in the play who also plays an instrument on stage, the bugle.

Jim Bono is Troy’s loyal long-time friend and co-worker, and played by Everal A Walsh. We get to see and hear the various chats between this pair, and as you can imagine, the conversation between these two pals cover many a topic, along with several drinks. The chemistry between Troy and Bono represents one of those lovely, lifelong relationships.

Lyons is Troy’s older jazz musician son from a previous relationship. Lyons is played by Michael Ahomka Lindsay. Lyons also falls foul to his father's strict beliefs when he approaches Troy for a loan, and promises to pay him back because his girlfriend Bonnie had just got a job. Troy, who is a rigid believer in hard work and responsibility, belittles his son because he refuses to find a real job, as Troy did, rather than pursuing his dream of becoming a musician. 

The young daughter, Reynell, is played by six young actors, Aita Mushuku, Eliana Musongole, Kaiya Tomlinson, Kezia Alanna-Ama, Daphne Muli and Pelo Thithi. I'm not sure which one of these young ladies performed on Wednesday night, but she is a star in the making and one to look out for in the future. She has quite a few lines and delivers them without any hesitation and full of confidence.

The physical fence that Rose asks Troy and Cory to finish building around their yard serves as a central symbol. As Bono notes, “Some people build fences to keep people out… and other people build fences to keep people in”. For Rose, the fence represents protection and family unity; for Troy, it reflects emotional isolation and control.

Directed by Daniel Bailey this play, even at just under three hours long manages to draw you deep into the storyline of all the characters and the story completely engulfs you, making the time disappear. The passion and power of the acting is wonderful and the pace is paced so perfectly, at times giving you space to digest the scene you have just come out of. 

Set and Costume Design is by Lily Arnold. Let me start with this wonderful set design. There's a house on stage where you get to see parts of the internal structure and design through the curtained windows. There's also the yard with the fence running all the way around. We then see that the stage revolves and we get to see the interior of the house and this is so beautifully decorated for the time period, and we see there's  a piano downstairs and rooms upstairs, one of them becomes an illuminated frame for Lyon's saxophone playing, with a lower illuminated section for Gabe's bugle playing.

The costumes are faithful to the American blue collar worker of the period.

Composer and Sound Designer is Khalil Madovi. The soundtrack is infused with music from the jazz era with the original music working so well with this particular genre. The Sam Cooke song "A Change Is Gonna Come" is a lovely addition to the score, providing a message of hope for the future.

Lighting Designer is Jai Morjaria 

Movement Director is Shelley Maxwell.

Of late there have been several plays I've had the pleasure of seeing that have messages to deliver in their stories, and this is another one. There's always that message of hope for the future meandering throughout the serious storyline, but this is a gorgeous piece of theatre which is well worth seeing.

"Fences" is at the Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 14 November where's a BSL performance on that day.

Photography by Tyler Fayose.

 "Accrington Pals" by Peter Whelan.

West Bridgford Dramatic Society.

The Studio, West Bridgford.

Of late, there seems to have been quite a few plays that I have not seen before, which is great for me, and for theatre fans in the area. "Accrington Pals" is another that I can add to the list of classic plays I've now had the pleasure of ticking off of that list, and could not have been timed better.

"Accrington Pals" is the poignant story of the 700-strong battalion from Accrington, Lancashire that marched off to war in the summer of 1914. But this play is as much about the women they left behind as the men themselves.

Spanning the period up to the battle of the Somme in July 1916, national optimism and jingoism begins to wane as the terror and sacrifice of war sets in. Back at home, the women find a sense of solidarity as they keep the town afloat and comfort each other in their loneliness. However, local stallholder, May, remains an outsider who battles with her inability to express her love for her younger cousin, Tom, who is fighting in France with the rest of the town’s men. The women band together to force the authorities to tell them the truth about the harrowing fates of their husbands and sons.

May, a fruit and veg stallholder, is fiercely independent, brusque, and outspoken. She lives with Tom, her younger cousin, who also works a shift on the stall for her. Although she is quick to put him down and disapproves of much of his behaviour, she is extremely fond of her cousin. May is played by Lesley Flounders and puts in an extremely powerful and passionate performance, especially the final scenes.

Joe Moore, who makes his WBDS debut, plays Tom, a lithography apprentice, aged 19. He is a talented artist and often draws sketches of his friends and neighbours. He also covers the early shift at May’s stall. Although there is a large age difference, Tom is extremely fond of May. This is clearly not Joe's stage debut as he oozes great confidence when performing.

Eva is played by Rachel Lindsay, who also makes her WBDS debut. Eva is a local farm worker and Ralph’s sweetheart. She is initially pleased for him to be getting away from the office and heading off to war. However, she misses him terribly when he is gone. Eva becomes May’s lodger and takes over Tom’s early shift on the stall. This is another wonderful debut for WBDS, like Joe, completely confident on stage. there were times that I actually thought that Eva was on the brink of tears, showing a talent for emotional drama.

Josh Plank plays Ralph, a local clerk, and is fed up with working in an office and is pleased to have joined up and to be heading off to war. He is a cheerful, cheeky chap, who flirts with all the women in the town. However, his heart belongs to Eva, despite one section of the play shows Ralph relating his war time transgressions. You can feel the frustration and fear in Ralph, via Josh, in the scenes of war time action.

Annie is a housewife in her late thirties. She is married to Arthur and they have a teenage son, Reggie. She is loud and rough around the edges. The neighbors all hear her coming and she is renowned for bringing her family arguments out onto the streets. Annie is played brilliantly by Linda Hoyland.

Dom Gaskell is Reggie. He plays the bugle in the Boys Brigade and is a typically cheeky teenage boy. He delights in teaching younger boys a rude rhyme and showing where to illegally poach fish. It's nice to see Dom on stage as so often I have mentioned his talents behind the scenes as well as in the lighting department, proving what a flexible member Dom is.

Arthur is Annie’s husband. Both Arthur and Reggie put up with Annie’s bad temper and loud personality. Arthur is a religious man and he leads the neighbours in prayer just moments before the local men head off to war. Arthur brings to life on stage a job that I was last told about at school by my French teacher, who was a wonderful Yorkshireman. He used to tell us about a "tapper's harker" and a "knocker upper", who was someone, like Arthur, who used to go around the houses waking people up in the early morning by tapping on windows and doors with a big stick, way ahead of the alarm clock.  Arthur is played by Rob Dixon in a very different role to others that I've had the pleasure of seeing him perform.

Sarah is played by Dawn Cochrane. Sarah is a married mill worker who enjoys winding Annie up and watching her explode. She feels stuck in a dead-end job with young children to look after, and dreams of starting afresh. Away from the family commitments, and with her friends, Sarah becomes a very different, fun character who loves to let her hair down in their presence. Her husband, Bill, goes to war with the rest of the town’s men.

Bertha is played by Emily Martin. She is an 18-year-old mill worker, young and naive, and believes everything she reads in the papers. She takes pride in her appearance and wants to appear attractive. With the men away at war, Bertha gets a new job as a tram conductor, where she attracts the glances of one particular man who proposes marriage, but Bertha is fiercely independent and knows what she wants in a husband.  

Bertie Black is CSM Rivers, a soldier in his thirties or forties. He is the warrant officer in the recruiting office. Rivers was on the point of retiring from the army before the war started. He is calm and persuasive when May comes to see him about relinquishing Tom from his army role.

Apart from the wonderful acting from all, I must also commend the accents from all. I love accents, especially when they are done with such style and unwavering accuracy throughout the whole play.

Directed by Barbara Seymour there's a lovely smooth flow of storyline, and when the comedy moments come in, it immediately breaks the seriousness of this piece of theatre. The fear, anxiety and frustration of war is always there, even behind the comic pieces. The individual characters of the people in the play are well expanded, making it easy to know who they were and their back stories.

Production Manager and Stage Manager is Lynn Burgess. 

Set Designer is Candice Gush and the construction of the set is thanks to Ritchie Sharpe. The artwork for the set pieces are quite beautiful, and would not look amiss hanging on a wall. The scenery stage right reminded me of a still from "Watership Down".

Lighting Design is by Sav Dixon and operated by Jeff Tullin. The whole impression of war was created really well thanks to the lighting design, as well separating the individual scenes with slow fades. 

Sound Designer and Operator is Jem Woolley. As with the lighting design, the sound design created  just the right impression of the bombing raid, and that combination of sound and light put you right in the middle of war.

The costumes and props are thanks to Charlie Willcox Costumes are excellent for every actor and the props looked very era specific. How much sourcing went into the props to make this play look just right, I couldn't ponder, but every prop was appreciated by this prop geek.

"Accrington Pals" is being performed at The Studio in West Bridgford until Saturday 14 November. You may need a small pack of tissues at the end!

 "Critical Care" by Stacey Moon-Tracy.

Lit Theatre Company.
Create Theatre, Mansfield.

A new play to me and possibly one of the most emotive plays I have seen in quite some time.

We've all been through Covid-19 and we have all, more than likely lost love ones through this period, whether as a direct result of Covid, or just in the same period from one thing or another. This play will take you right back to that time. In the period that Covid-19 was active, I lost my mother, my father and my wife to non Covid infections, and the issues raised in this very important piece of theatre just makes you think, as it did me tonight.

It's a very lonely period in time; I remember going into the University Hospital as often as I dared, face mask, scarf etc covering my face and seeing next to no-one in the hospital, making the place seem a very sad and cold, lonely place. Getting two buses there and back, keeping plenty of space between you and the next person in the queue and then trying to find a safe space to sit on the bus, many of the seats cordoned off by the bus companies. Work meant be separated from your work colleagues by desks out of use until things were put into place to be able to work from home, almost being kept prisoner in your own home, shopping, unless you got it online, almost being like a military procedure with shops only allowing so many people into their stores at one time.

Not being able to visit your parents inside their homes, which was even worse if they were actually in a home where nurses cared for them. Unable to be able to hug them, Birthday parties, weddings and any celebratory occasions were cancelled, and we all thought the end of the world was nigh. But most of us are still here to bear witness to what the Covid years were like.

But what was it like for the nurses inside hospitals who had to deal with patient's lives.....and deaths on a personal level. This play gives a real incite into those very special people.

The play developed between 2021 and 2023 in collaboration with NHS nurses across the UK. The script draws on first-hand testimonies gathered through Stacey's doctoral research at Coventry University and challenges the standard "hero or angel" public narrative, showing the human reality of ordinary people navigating trauma, fear, exhaustion, and personal sacrifice.

The play follows four ICU nurses. There is Frankie, who is newly qualified and excited about her future  in the medical world, Morgan, a new mother who cuts short her maternity leave to help her fellow nurses, Sam, a senior nurse caring for her elderly mother, and Alex, an ICU Sister holding the team together, as well as her own life and family under the pressure caused by this disease. All of their lives change overnight as the Covid-19 pandemic hits.

Frankie is played by Georgia Conlan, and you get to see the slow crumbling of her work life, especially after the first death she witnesses to Covid. You can see the pressure build in her and even small things that may seem quite petty to the outsider becomes a major issue to Frankie. Georgia really relays emotion in this character, and you just want to go and give her hug, and then you remember she is just telling a story, and then you want to just go and give her a hug. And in this role, she looks so much like a teenager, and you just know that it's so wrong for someone so young to have so much pressure at the start of her working life, Frankie that is, not Georgia.

Morgan is played by Mercedes Assad, who is a former Redhill Academy student, who I last saw as part of the cast of "Red Ellen" at the Nottingham Playhouse. Morgan has the energy of a horse and really fires the troops up on her entrance, the sort of person that you need working with you in situations like these. There are two areas in ICU, the "Green" area and the "Red" area, pretty self explanatory where medical grades for patients are concerned, and because Morgan should still have been on maternity leave, she was placed in the "green" area. But just how safe is green? As the play progresses we see another side to Mercedes' acting skills.

Sam is played by Hilary Greatorex. Being isolated from her elderly mother really creates strain and worry for Sam because she can't be there for her, her only contact is by phone, and Sam's mam is not as tech savvy where mobile phones are concerned, which causes Sam even more worries. Hilary also plays Frankie's mother, who is quite an opposite character to Sam's mother, and I loved the way that TV shows of the day were referenced as reasons for not being able to spend more time chatting to her daughter, Frankie, outside of the house with safe distancing. Near the end there's also another change of emotion and character with Frankie's mother.

Alex is played by Susan Earl. There are four different ways with these four medical heroes that show how Covid-19 affects them, and with Alex being the "mother hen" of the department, she carries her team's responsibilities and the responsibility to look after them and keep them all safe. But then there's her life outside of work, her family, her husband, so her worries are many fold, and you can see those stresses building up within her as well.

There's also quite a bit of comedy in this story as well, especially getting used to all of the PDI scrubs, masks, headwear etc, and that comic side of the job probably kept every nurse who worked through the pandemic relatively sane. You'll also find that people who work in the funeral trade or perform autopsies all have that dark sense of humour; it gets them through.

All four actresses have extensive theatrical CVs which also include TV and radio work, as well on stage.

Written and researched by Stacey Moon-Tracy, this is such a special piece of theatre. I have always said that theatre should really be educational as well as entertaining. This play certainly taught me a lot about the medical side of life, as well as gave me plenty to think about and to recall from my own experiences with life. I wouldn't say it's a play that I enjoyed watching, because I don't think it was a play that was written to be "enjoyed", it was written to show another side of the people who most of the time we take for granted and just assume that "it's their job"; it takes you behind the emotional side of the medical world.

The best thing is that Stacey has used the facts and stories from real people, and while these characters in the play are all fictional, the stories are not.

Directed by Orla O'Connor. The stories are all there to be told, but it's how you tell those stories that add the final ingredient to any production, and Orla has given us a play that touches every emotion possible. Hatred of the disease, sadness for the loss of life, empathy for these four life savers who must feel so disappointed when they fail to do that despite every effort, but love for the characters. 

Derek Nisbet is the Composer and Sound Designer for the play. What I was not expecting was for these four brilliant actresses to start and close the play with songs. the lyrics are incredibly moving and the incidental music throughout also adds another layer of melancholy to the story.

Janet Vaughan is the Set and Costume Designer. The costumes are not glamorous, but you wouldn't expect scrubs to be, would you? The set though looks fairly simple, apart from the hospital bed, but what you notice as the play commences is that the set has been designed to house many of the props etc, as well as to give that clinically clean image of a hospital.

Alice Williams is the Producer.

Stage Manager is Ali Bakewell.

The show has just started touring various venues in the East Midlands with the next stop being Derby Theatre on November 13, and then the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry on November 25, where there is also a post show Q&A session. Catch this if you can.

The production will also be supported by Matthew Dunster, Director, Actor & Playwright known for "2:22 A Ghost Story".

 "Flippers" by Kyle Eaton and Daryll Sidney.

Nottingham Arts Theatre (Studio).

"Flippers" is a new play which marks the return to the stage for comedy duo Kyle Eaton and Daryll Sidney, performing live together for the first time in over ten years. The sixty minute play made its' debut at Brighton Fringe 2025 and is now a part of the Nottingham Comedy Festival 2027

Lodgers Karl and Gary have just landed a once-in-a-lifetime deal from their elderly landlady, Evelyn, to renovate her crumbling London home, flip it for profit and split the cash.

Gary, played by Daryll Sidney, is a micro-managing control freak and very down to earth. He has recently split from his wife and kids, and more emotional is the fact that his ex has sole custody of their dogs. For three years he has been renting the place across the way, within binocular sight of his old home.

Kyle Eaton, who is Karl, has already spent their non-existent budget on scatter cushions, posh egg holders and exotic pets. Energetic and a cheeky character, in fact a lusty gay man who is missing his old flame, and when I say old, I mean mature in years! He is the complete opposite of Gary, but don't they say that opposites attract?

The banter between these two opposites land really well with me ,which makes the hour quite a rapid one, making you wish for an extension to the stage time. I could see this is a saucy gay sit com, and as I was sat watching the fun, I imagined the incidental music as the show's theme tune, and this as the pilot show.

Now, was it just me having a well tuned sense of humour, as I got all the subtle, and the not-so-subtle camp gags (sorry, I couldn't resist), and even knew where "rings I'm on" was heading for, which nicely brought the jokes full circle for me, but often I could hear just my chuckles, or possibly some of the audience didn't understand the naughtiness of the jokes; that may be just the top and bottom of it, who knows? But I loved the campness of the show and could see this as a late night sit-com, or podcast.

With a script so strong and full of double entendres and wordplay, you didn't need a big set or loads of props, although there were quite a few props to take note of, especially the wine bottle which had been near a radiator, which will teach Karl a lesson with his alcohol intake. The script actually set this joke up perfectly.

The frame for the scenery and set was used really well to move you around the house and garden, and even at one stage of scene changing there was a slight error, Kyle got out of the miniscule delay with an impromptu joke, showing how a touch of improvisational comedy can bridge that very small gap of rearrangement. Likewise, with Daryll and his comedy asides when, again the props didn't want to play ball; a sign of excellent comedy actors who can think on their feet.

Apart from being a very funny piece of theatre, it shines a spotlight on loneliness, chosen family and the chaos that comes when two very different people team up on a joint project, and have different viewpoints of the end project.

Directed by Adam Colborne this is one of my favourite styles of comedy theatre, and with it being new, I did not know what was coming, or what to expect, so the jokes and the "Carry On" style of slapstick - and talking of slaps and claps, I loved the running joke with the lighting. But, do this pair get to the bottom of what is causing that strange smell, and where it emanates from?

A wonderfully refreshing piece of comedy theatre that has legs aplenty, which I am sure would spread, the more people saw it.

"Flippers" was at the Nottingham Arts Theatre Studio space for just the one night stand.

 "Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert"

Masque Productions.

Mansfield Palace Theatre.

Welcome to camp Priscilla as the big pink bus rolls into Mansfield, and you don't get any camper than this!

This is one of my favourite feel good and fun musicals and it’s back in town. Packed with a ton of toe tapping hits from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. This is probably my tenth time that I have seen this musical and one that I always look forward to seeing again, and it never disappoints.

Based on the 1994 film, it takes us on the epic journey of three friends - two drag queens and a transgender woman - across the Australian outback. Boarding their battered tour bus 'Priscilla', they set out to put on the show of a lifetime, a mission full of fun and laughter, but one with a very serious reason behind it.

Heading for Alice Springs, Tick will finally get to meet his six-year-old son, Benji, the pals find themselves fighting, sometimes literally, against the homophobic locals, and have to repaint their bus, pink, to cover up the anti-gay graffiti daubed on it. The reunion of the father and son is wonderfully played out with a lovely stripped back arrangement of “Always On My Mind”.

Matt Charlton plays Tick/Mitzi Mitosis. Tick has a wife and six year old son, Benji, who he has not yet met. Tick/Mitzi is a two part character and he is nervous about the two being exposed to his son, as he wants to make a good impression. True fact: Tick shares driving Priscilla with Bernadette and Matt is also a bus driver in real life!

JJ McCormack plays Adam/Felicia Jollygoodfellow and the loose cannon of the three characters, but it's the change from the spunky outspoken Felicia to the beaten and emotional Adam that shows the human side of the character. Adam is like a besotted puppy a lot of the time but has a great line in "catty" remarks for his fellow passengers.

Nia Alston-Holmes is the gorgeous Bernadette Bassenger who has a heart of gold, but a tongue of acid when called upon. 

These three Queens have a multitude of years of experience performing in drag, so they know what they are doing when it comes to performing in heels and a frock! Vocally they all know how to deliver a song as well as deliver the fun with cutting insults.

There's also a scene near the end of the show where the trio are performing at The Casino in Alice Springs which shows segments of the various songs sung in their "concert", along with some nifty costume changes, and I must commend the timing in this section of the show, also thanks to a little bit of theatrical magic.

Young Bernadette is played in flashback by Brooke Spedding as Bob reminisces of the era of "Les Girls" and what starts the fine romance between Bernadette and Bob.

This musical provides many great social messages and the reaction of Benji, the role shared by Oliver Brennan (Saturday Evening and Sunday matinee) and Chester Froggatt (Friday night and Saturday matinee), just shows that kids will accept anyone and anything for who and what they are, and prejudice is not inbred. On Thursday night I saw a very confident Oliver, who also seems to have quite an ear for accents, especially the Australian accent. Love the duet of "Always On My Mind/ I Say A Little Prayer" mash up that Oliver and Matt performed.

Marion is Benji's mother, and ex husband of Tick, and decides that it's time that Tick met Benji, so pulls in a favour, asking him to perform at the Casino, the club that she runs. Played by Hannah Breedon.

Bob, the mechanic who saves the day by getting Priscilla back on the road, and finds love on the way is played by Simon Brickell. We all love a happy ending, and Bob and Bernadette certainly seem to get their happy ending.

Cynthia is Bob's wife who has an eye-popping performance that turns out to be a hard act to follow. Great fun but so politically incorrect and played by Jade Hallam. Not so much "ding dong" as "ping pong". The scene which really features Jade is quite a technical one to create the full comical effect.

Linda Turner plays Shirley, one of the local hostelries characters. Shirley's version of "I Love The Nightlife" is always a joy to hear in this slowed down version, and combined with some raunchy choreography, Shirley is a big hit with the locals.

Andis Senkans Coupe plays Farrah, one of the tallest drag queens I have seen! Farrah is Mitzi's straight talking fellow drag artist who he confides in before his decision to go to Alice Springs.

Miss Understanding is sauce on legs, and what legs! She jokes with the audience at the start and releases her over the top Tina Turner moves with her number "What's Love Got To Do With It" and played by Garry Richardson. I don't think that I can remember Garry playing a role like this previously, and is quite an eye opener!

The Three Divas, Lily Hewitt, Connie Fletcher and Kelly Marsh, as the Lead Diva, have incredible soul voices and look amazing as well. They really get the party started with an explosive "It's Raining Men" and what an exciting entrance they make. Great costumes, great voices and great fun!

Jimmy is the character who is showing a party of tourists the Outback when they meet the broken-down bus travellers of Tick, Adam and Bernadette. Played by Oliver Ward, this is a brilliant cameo comedy role.

James Hallam played Frank, the man in the bar who took quite a shine to Felicia, until he discovered that he might have got more than he bargained for! This scene also delivers one of my favourite lines from the show from Bernadette as she rescues Felicia from Frank; a line that I can't repeat, but always makes me smile. James also takes lead vocals on the opening number for the second act, "Thank God I'm A Country Boy", bringing the party once again.

Another wonderfully comical scene is when they are about to bury Bernadette's toyboy lover "Trumpet" - it will put you off dunking your ginger nuts for ever when you discover why he is called "Trumpet". Anyway, I digress, the scene is to the Harold Melvin song "Don't Leave Me This Way", a great song for a funeral. The service is performed by the Pastor, played by Gavin Harper, who also plays the role of Errol.

The ensemble, Joe Butler, Sophie Coates, Ann-Marie Connolly, Ann Colgan, Jan Hodgetts, Jane McBride, Ruth Morris, Paula McCrory, Amy Gunter, Karen Richards, Andrea Caulfield-Smith, Chrissie Smyth, Brooke Spedding, Hannah Winterton, Vicki Walton, Justine Wells, Kay Thomason-Vardy, Brian Brooks, Gavin Harper, James Hallam, Oliver Ward, Steven Ratcliffe, Andis Senkans Coupe, Joe Gallagher, Garry Richardson and Adrian Toon work their butts off with some high-kicking and energetic choreographed pieces by Lynn Roberts.

The Principal Dancers are Caitlin Brennan, Kya Cairns, Alexandra Ferto, Adelphie Fleet, Lauren Herbert and Ella Salter.

The Ensemble Dancers are Connie Armstrong, Liz Brennan, Rachel Fletcher, Sarah Herbert, Louise Stupple and Ella Wragg.

Produced and Directed by Andrew Wolden, this is such a massive show which has a massive cast which rolls along smoother than Priscilla does. The fun is ramped up to the max, and although there are a few things that need tightening up, this is another big hit of a show for Masque. Andrew also designed the programme, which is well worth buying for all the information enclosed.

Musical Director is Roger Holland, and I didn't even realise that there was a live band in the pit, the music was so good. The score is like being at your all-time favourite retro parties; “It’s Raining Men”, “Finally”, “I Will Survive”, “Hot Stuff”, “Colour My World”, “I Love The Nightlife”, "MacArthur Park", "Pop Musik", "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" the list goes on.

Elizabeth Wolden is the show's Performance Track Technician.

Choreographed by Lynn Roberts, there's so much work that has gone into the choreography side of the show. With so many people to choreograph and so many different pieces to choreograph as well, Lynn must have poured everything into the show, and that work invested was really appreciated by Thursday night's audience.

The fabulous costumes are co-ordinated by Kay Thomason-Vardy  and designed by Carry On Costumes Ltd. I love all of the big and beautiful costumes in this show, with so many various styles. My favourite must be the ones for The Three Divas and the ensemble dancers with the "MacArthur Park" sequence, a tasty scene that made my diabetes levels spike.

Make up and Dressers are thanks to Cora Machin, Natalie Midge, Naomi Shaw and Yvonne Wright. A very important quartet as this show has many quick changes for the cast, especially our trio of Matt, Nia and JJ. The show would not be as slick as it is without help from these four.

Set Design is thanks to UK Productions, and Priscilla is quite a magical mode of transport.

Sound Designer is not credited in the programme, and although the clarity was mainly excellent, I personally would have preferred a reduction in the music volume while the characters were performing their lines as the incidental music slightly made the lines a bit difficult to hear; and there are a load of very comical lines in this script.

Lighting Designer is also not credited but this area was excellent, creating a wonderful artiste's palette of colour on stage, which definitely coloured our world. 

Stage managed smoothly and slickly, and this is a big role in this musical, by Eddie Ratcliffe.

It's a heart-warming tale of courage, self-acceptance, and new beginnings, all delivered with a ton of attitude. But let me come back to the music for a second. You can hear a song delivered and enjoy it. You can then hear it sung with a different arrangement, in a different situation and sung by the opposite sex of what you're used to, and the message comes across very different. That is what I love about this musical. It makes you think about the lyrics, how it is delivered and by whom and can turn those feelings and meanings on their head.

Listen to Cyndi Lauper's "True Colours" in the different context in this musical and it will have you welling up. The same with "Always On My Mind" and "I Say A Little Prayer".

Despite all the laughs though, there is the very real message surrounding homophobia and bigotry, which is eventually overcome by tolerance and compassion. But it still reminds us that the LGBTQ community still have a battle on their hands with small minded people. Being different is something that should be celebrated and not hidden or beaten down.

You will leave this show on a high, thanks to the story and the soundtrack, but also thanks to the high energy feel from the whole cast, especially in the finale medley, so if you can, get yourself a ticket and be prepared to party.

"Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert" is here and ready to shake your groove thing and paaartaaay at Mansfield Palace Theatre until Sunday 8 November.

 "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" by Ian Fleming.

Good Companions Musical Theatre - Derby.

Derby Theatre.

One of the first films I can remember seeing as a child was "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and remember the film being completely magical. Decades later, all those feelings of magic flooded back with this latest stage production by Good Companions.

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

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

Depending on which performance you attend will depend on the cast that you see as there are two teams; Team Scrumptious and Team Potts. I saw Team Scrumptious, and knowing the quality of the actors in Team Potts, I just know that whichever performance you go to, you'll see a brilliant show.

Martin Counter plays Caractacus Potts. This is a role that has a lot of energy attached to it and Martin brings that energy to Caractacus. There's a really nice chemistry between Potts and Jeremy and Jemima, and the chemistry between all three of the Potts family and Truly. The scene with "Me Ol' Bamboo" highlights Martin's dance skills; this piece of choreography is crammed with fun and the whole ensemble with Martin make this one of the highlights of the show for me. But there are many highlights in this brilliantly fun musical.

Steve Dunning plays Grandpa Potts. There's a lovely feel of eccentricity with Grandpa and all the while that Steve was on stage I could not get the voice of Professor Stanley Unwin out of my head, because that is who Steve reminded me of.

Jeremy and Jemima Potts, Caractacus' children, are played by Ava H and Evan G (Team Scrumptious) and  Ebony C and Flynn G (Team Potts). There are so many incredibly talented child actors and here's another pair, Ava and Evan (I'm certain that Ebony and Flynn are of equal talent). The confidence, the choreography, the songs they sing, they have it all, and their duets show a well blended set of vocals.

Tom Banks plays Coggins, the man who runs the scrap yard where Chitty is first discovered to be in a bit of a state, just waiting for Caractacus and the children to rescue it for the princely sum of thirty bob.

The Junkman, who visits the junkyard to purchase scrap from Mr Coggins, and makes an offer for Chitty, is played by Morgan Hemstock.

Lindsey Greasley plays the very aptly named Truly Scrumptious. A beautiful voice and that scene as the doll on the music box took me straight back to the same scene in the iconic film.

Lord Scrumptious, Truly's father who owns the sweet making factory, is played by Jake Perry.

Miss Philips, the woman in charge of making appointments for Lord Scrumptious at the candy factory, is played by Ru Kniveton. 

Brian Counter is the Turkey Farmer, with a recognisable name, well, to people of a certain age, who provided the money for Caractacus to buy Chitty by buying the haircutting machine from him at the fair, so that he could use it to pluck turkeys. Another lovely bit of comedy wordplay in this scene.

Benjamin Winsome and Louise Simcox team up as the Baron and Baroness Bomburst, rulers of Vulgaria. This pairing of actors is also a brilliant directorial decision because they bounce off of each other so well. The accents are excellent, the costumes for this pair are wonderful, and I love the line that Ian Fleming may just have left out back in 1964 when the book was written, regarding introducing toys into their marriage!!

Rob Chilton is The Captain and Gary Rowley is The Soldier at the court of the Bombursts. There's a comic scene which includes the Baron accidentally injuring one of his soldiers, which I couldn't remember seeing in other productions. Now, that may not be the case, and I may have seen the scene previously, but in this production the comedy was much more prominent in the scene.

Heidi Hand is The Chef. 

Boris and Goran, the super spies of Vulgaria, are played by Ali Watkins and Jack Bayes. Brilliant comedy and wonderfully over exaggerated accents, especially in the song "Act English". At the risk of repeating myself, here again is just the perfect pairing for me. If I hadn't known that Jack was Goran, I certainly would not have recognised him due to the black wig and a comic moustache, which matches Boris's tache. This pair, who keep popping up all over the place are hilarious with some of the jokes pitched at a slightly higher level than kids' humour, creating a panto style couple.

Phil Stanley plays the Toy Maker. I have seen Phil in so many shows over the last few years, and finally got the chance to chat to him at this year's Eagle Awards, where he was presented with one. This role is another very different role to much of what he has played before, showing what a versatile actor Phil is. Great accent and I am so pleased that he didn't try and play the role like Benny Hill did in the film, making this role unique to Phil.

Lauren Adams is the evil Child Catcher, a role that gave me shivers when I first saw this film, it still makes me feel uneasy today! From Lauren' first appearance in this musical, which by the way is not actually on the stage, the Child Catcher made my flesh creep, which by the way is a compliment because again, I was transported back to being a kid and seeing this eerie, spindly, dark, almost spider-like character on the big screen. Lauren really brings this character to life on stage especially with the look and the physicality of the character. As expected, Lauren received a torrent of booing when she came on for her final bows, showing that she had done a good job with the role.

Owen Williams is Sid, the man who was practically bullied by wis wife into having his Samson like locks removed by Potts' haircutting invention. Violet, Sid's wife, is played by Lucy Slaney. 

And there's no way I could forget to mention Hugo Parkin who plays Edison the four legged member of the cast, who just looked so happy to be on stage with everyone, in fact I could swear that at one bit Edison was practically moonwalking! I think just about everyone fell in love with Edison.

The ensemble were made up of Amy Frost, Angela Plant, Brian Counter, Callie Egan, Cat Howourth, Charlie Torry, Charlotte Bennett, Charlotte Hanser, Claire Jarman, Debs McPherson, Dom Primrose, Ella Mallinson, Eva Moss, Freya Primrose, Gary Rowley, Harriet Basile, Heidi Hand, Helen Perry, Jake Perry, Liv Thompson, Lucy Slaney, Morgan Hemstock, Ollie Hand, Owen Williams, Phil Stanley, Rachel Wallace, Rob Chilton, Roxhanna Tucker, Ru Kniveton, Sydney Hemstock and Tom Banks.

Team Potts consist of Caleb W, Callie B, Edith D, Edith N, Elise F, Eliza Jean P, Harrison B, Khaleesi B, Lilly O, Liv B, Maisie N, Orla T, Orla F, Sophie T, Sophie G and Phenix D.   

Team Scrumptious consist of Bella H, Billie-Rose G, Chloe E, Ella W, Finley J, Florence W, Imogen I, Jess S, Lexi W, Libby B, Lily W, Lola G, Lottie W, Millie S, Owain J, Verity W and Willow M.

You can catch Team Scrumptious on Wednesday 7pm, Friday 2pm, Saturday 1pm and Sunday 6pm.

Directed by Phil Simcox, assisted by Scarlett Winsome. The pace of the show is so smooth that I really couldn't believe the time elapsed when the curtain came down for the first act. It's one of those shows that you would go back and see again. 

Musical Director is Dave Adey. "Chitty" has one of those classic overtures that really get you in the mood for the show, and it's lovely to feel that excitement rise in the pit of your stomach, preparing you for the magic that will unfold onstage. 

The soundtrack is packed with great songs. Apart from the wonderfully tongue twistingly title track, there's the gorgeous "Doll On A Music Box", the whimsical "Truly Scrumptious", the energetic "Me Ol' Bamboo", the sleepy "Hushabye Mountain" and the cheeky "Chu Chi Face".

Choreographed by Lisa Scott-Savage. Scenes like "Me Ol' Bamboo" and "The Bombie Samba" were packed with energy while "Doll On A Music Box" was simplicity personified. Don't take this as "simple" because I imagine that lots of time and effort is put into making something look simplistic.

Heath Parkin is the Technical Manager.

Head of Wardrobe is Carole Pratley and when you look at just how big the cast numbers are, there are a lot of costumes to manage. Everyone looks brilliant and I really enjoyed the various costumes for Goran and Boris. Ali Watkins, Scarlet Winson and Charlotte Hanser are the Costume Co-Ordinators.

Wigs are by Wigs Up North

The prosthetics for the Child Catcher are done by Cat Howourth and looked suitably creepy.

Set Design and Props hire are by Chitty Hire, Scenic Projects and David Tunks. The car looks as magnificent as ever.

Head of Props is Kate Evans. 

Sound is by Harry Greatorex, and as I've said on so many occasions, the acoustics at Derby Theatre are some of the best and Harry creates that overall excellence in sound.

Lighting is by Jamie Vella who delivers another exciting design.

Deputy Stage Manager is Dan Miller and the Stage Crew consist of Josh Allsopp, Chris England, Neil Jones, Robin Knott, Simon Knott, Dave Macalister, John Miles, Scott Mill, Ken Owen, Heath Parkin, Richard Poole, Henry Pratt, Ross Trail, Abbie Tricklebank and Ian Tricklebank.

There are a lot of people who make this show the entertaining and fun show that it is and I hope that I have not left anyone out because every single person deserves to be credited in such a classic piece of musical theatre.

There are also BSL shows on Saturdays and Sundays, signed by Sebastian Probert.

"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" will fly out of Derby Theatre on Sunday 8 November with just a few tickets left for the Sunday matinee and Friday's matinee performances, so you better hurry for the other performances to avoid disappointment.