"Glorious!" by Peter Quilter.

Derby Theatre.

This is the 20^th Anniversary production of the play and still retains the ability to make me laugh, nine years after I saw it for the first time.

"Glorious" follows Florence Foster Jemkins’ journey as she prepares for her concerts, builds an unlikely friendship with her accompanist, Cosme, and defies her critics to follow her dream of performing at Carnegie Hall on October 25^th 1944. A few months later, Florence passed away. And the story is all true!

Dubbed "the worst opera singer in the world", "Glorious!" is the true story of American socialite Florence Foster Jenkins, who was known for her flamboyant costumes, enigmatic performances, and decidedly off-key voice.

Florence Foster Jenkins is played by Wendi Peters, who you may have caught last year in pantomime at Derby Arena. I've seen Wendi in musicals and in panto so I know that she can sing, so to deliberately sing out of tune is more difficult than you may think - I manage it without that much effort. There were so many whisperings around the theatre about Florence being so much like Hyacinth Bucket from the TV comedy "Keeping Up Appearances", played by the late Patricia Routledge, and the resemblances are there, but Florence was a real character and Hyacinth is a character created for a TV comedy by Roy Clarke. 

I may be biased because I'm a fan of Wendi's and have met and interviewed her, but I liked the way that she now and again flicked, facially and physically, between Cilla Battersby - her character in "Coronation Street", and Hyacinth Bucket, but as Florence came first, maybe Roy Clarke was inspired by Florence, especially the singing ability. Either way I love Florence's belief in that she had something special, and no one was going to tell her otherwise; in a way I think that she knew that she wasn't the diva she thought she was, especially as there's a piece in the script that makes you think that.

Cosme McMoon is played by ex "EastEnders" actor Matthew James Morrison. This is a lovely comic character, who you may not see as a comic character until you get the reactions from an over enthusiastic Florence on their first meeting. The character is also a lovely one because to start with Cosme is there just for the money to pay his bills, but then he sees the real Florence and becomes one of her biggest backers, believing in her belief. Matthew's character is a million miles away from Felix Baker in "Eastenders", and we really get to see his comedy talents through Cosme. It's also nice to note that Matthew is local, hailing from Mansfield.

Florence has an Italian housekeeper/Cook/Maid in the form of Maria, who doesn't speak any English, but cunningly seems to understand what Florence says. Florence of course does not understand any Italian, which is strange due to the many arias written in Italian! Maria is played brilliantly by Caroline Gruber, who also doubles as Mrs Verrinder Gedge, a woman in the audience of Florence's latest musical gathering "The Silver Skylarks" who invades the stage to hand Florence a petition from the local music appreciation society to try and get Florence to stop singing.

Florence's friend, Dorothy, who also introduced Florence to Cosme after Dorothy saw him playing piano in a restaurant and asked that he call on Florence for the engagement of accompanying her on the piano at her evenings and soirees. Dorothey is played by Sioned Jones. 

Directed by Kirk Jameson, this is a rapid-fire piece of theatre with many of the jokes and one liners coming in rapid succession; tied in with the comic values of Florence's vocalisations, Kirk makes sure that there's not any long stretches without a smile appearing on your face. There is, in complete comparison, a lovely human moment in the second act which pulls you back down to earth. Cosme's final speech is also a bit of heartstring puller.

Scenographer and Costume Designer is Ingrid Hu. Florence's apartment is flash but not overtly flashy and has taste befitting a woman of Florence's stature and age. The costumes are wonderfully comedic.

Sound design is by Mark Goggins and Lighting design is by Mike Robertson. Derby Theatre's sound and lighting has always been one of my favourites, and this show holds up that opinion.

There's an accent coach involved with all the characters, and that's Greg Castiglioni.

There's some pieces of light classical music involved in the play: Mozart's "Queen Of the Night" taken from "The Magic Flute" and "The Laughing Song" from "Die Fledermaus" are both used for Florence to "perform".

This is a lovely show for light comedy and performance, maybe not so if you take your musical performances too seriously, but there's a message running through the storyline which should also be acknowledged, plus the play is less than two hours long including an interval. It's worth it just to see Florence's various costumes, and to witness two soap stars who are also local to the East Midlands.

"Glorious!" is at Derby Theatre until Saturday 28 February.

 "Midsomer Murders: The Killings At Badger's Drift" based on the novel by Caroline Graham and the TV series. 

Adapted for the stage and Directed by Guy Unsworth.

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

This is the first time that the iconic TV show "Midsomer Murders" has been developed for a stage play. There's always a sneaking suspicion that, after being such a successful run on TV, that a stage play may just fall a bit flat, but that is not the case here because I loved it. It's like a cover version of a catchy tune; if you're going to do it, do it, but with a difference. We get all the things we expect from the TV show; a murder, clues, red herrings, plus we get a lot of humour, and when I say humour, I mean proper laughs, not just wry smiling as when watching the TV programme.

When well-loved spinster Emily Simpson is found dead in the picturesque village of Badger’s Drift, her friend Lucy Bellringer refuses to accept it was an accident. DCI Tom Barnaby and Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy are called in to investigate, uncovering a world of hidden passions, long-buried secrets and deadly rivalries.

Daniel Casey, who played the part of Sergeant Troy in the TV series plays Inspector Tom Barnaby and James Bradwell, who you may recognise from his role as Lord Basilio in "Bridgerton", plays Troy. There's a lot of comedy delivered by these two, especially near the end just as they are revealing who did it, or who Troy thought had done it, which in turn provided the solution to Barnaby.

I am not going to go to much into the roles or the storyline because I don't want to give any spoilers about what actually happens and who does what to whom. Just let me say that, even though I did the culprit right, it wasn't until near the end when the clues started to be revealed.

The residents of Midsomer will be played by an ensemble of actors: Nathalie Barclay (Judy Lessiter/Katherine Lacey), Chandrika Chevli (Barbara Lessiter/Dr Bullard/Dickie Whitely), John Dougall (Trevor Lessiter/Iris Rainbird/Henry Trace), Julie Legrand (Lucy Bellringer/Terry Bazeley/Phillis Cadell), Rupert Sadler (Dennis Rainbird/Michael Lacey), Chris Agha and Rhîan Crowley-McLean (Ensemble). there are some pretty quick costume changes that enable the actors to play the various characters, as well as a brilliant double character scene!

Set and Costume design is by David Woodhead. The opening shows one of those old-fashioned signposts pointing the way to various villages and at the back of the stage there's a large round window where we can see the village. This scene also changes regularly to show other scenes and parts of the village. Dropped in flat scenery and remote control props slide smoothly on and off set, which makes the scene changes smooth and very fast, almost giving it that cinematic/tv effect.

Company Stage Manager is Dominic Whiffin, Deputy Stage Manager is Jodie day and Assistant Stage Manager is Amber Waller.

Writer and Director is Guy Unsworth who gives us one of the better TV to Stage productions I've seen. The additional comedy elements really take the show to another level, at times it almost seems like a spoof, but still retaining the special elements that make the TV show the popular hit it was and still is.

Lighting design by Matt Haskins. The scene where the double character is on stage is made so effective due to the lighting, which I don't want to spoil by elaborating on it, but accentuates the comedy in the scene.

Sound design by Ella Wahlström. The sound bites and effect cues are perfectly timed and I love the scene where the "Midsomer" theme is played as if in a dream sequence with Barnaby as things start to fall into place. Music by Max Pappenheim.

If you love the TV series, you will adore this production. If you love murder/mysteries that don't take themselves that seriously, you'll love this show. Basically, if you love a good theatre show, you'll love this production. To be frank, just get a ticket for the show for a wonderful evening's entertainment.

"Midsomer Murders" is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 28 February.

 "Grease" by Musicality - University Of Nottingham.

Nottingham Arts Theatre.

It's been such a busy week this week in theatreland that I couldn't fit this show in until Musicality's final performance, showing just how healthy Nottingham theatres and Nottingham's theatre groups are in 2026.

"Grease" as we should all know by now is an upbeat, feel-good musical that blends rock-and-roll, romance, and teenage rebellion. The story revolves around Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski, two teens who fall in love during a summer romance, only to face the challenges of high school when Sandy unexpectedly transfers to Rydell High. As they navigate peer pressure, identity, and their evolving relationship, they are supported by a group of quirky, fun-loving friends. With a catchy soundtrack full of classic hits like "Summer Nights", "Sandy", "Greased Lightnin'", "Beauty School Drop Out", "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and "You’re the One That I Want".

The stage production, which by the way originated in 1972, six years before the film version, isn't quite the same as the film version, so if all that you've seen is the film, there's a few changes in the running order of the plot and some of the music. Some of the plot line has been omitted, but that is because scenes like the car race is impossible to replicate on stage unless you use videography, but that section looks good on screen, but not essential to the plot of the musical, but I always find it interesting to see what a new Director does with such a well-known musical.

Danny Zuko is played by Adam Hazell, and again another subtle change to Danny Zuko's character, more laddish and not so much of a dumb jock; there was intelligence in the character, and I enjoyed seeing that. A decent set of vocals and with the falsetto parts I felt that Adam did have a bit of trouble, but this wasn't an issue because I know that falsetto notes are never easy to hit unless you're a natural falsetto. A full of fun performance and instantly relatable character from an actor who looked as if he was having a ball with the lads.

Sandy Dumbrowski is played by Katie Wright, who has a very strong vocal ability, although I was not a fan of the arrangement for "Hopelessly Devoted To You", Katie did a nice job of the slightly slower version of the song. Katie showed Sandy to have a feisty side to her, especially towards other girls in the Pink Ladies, but also quite handy with the palm of her hand with Danny. Some productions that I have seen have portrayed Sandy as the airhead blonde girly image, but I am so pleased that Katie, and of course the Director, didn't go down that route, preferring to create a more realistic image of Sandy.

Betty Rizzo is played by Ella Chapman. I don't know why this character is my favourite, and my favourite song from this musical being "There Are Worse Things I Could Do". Ella nailed the spiky Rizzo and she absolutely nailed that song blending power with emotion.

Kenickie is played by Rory Long. Kenickie gets another of my favourite songs from this musical to sing in "Greased Lightning". the film version shows Danny singing the song, but I have always thought that it should be Kenickie's song, after all it's Kenickie's car. A brilliant arrangement of this song fronted with fun by Rory.

Doody is played by Asher Greatorex. Now here is an actor who knows how to have fun on stage, and what a role to have fun with. You hear him start with "These Magic Moments" and he gives nothing away of his true vocal talents. Asher's voice is very commercial and I love the falsetto side of his vocal range. This man can boogie as well, plus he looks cool in shades and a suit.

Frenchy is played by Imogen Freeland. The programme states that Imogen is stepping out of her comfort zone as Frenchy, but I thought she looked completely at home in this role. It's a fun role and I love the voice characterisation as well.

Joe McGarel plays Roger, or "Rump" as he is nicknamed. Why does he have this nickname? Because he is the best "mooner" in school. There's another little bit in this musical and with this character that I can't remember seeing in other productions where, in the second act Rump is debagged and on the back of his shorts are two pictures of faces - I couldn't see from where I was to whom the faces belonged to - pinned to the shorts. Again another nice touch that brought a smile to my face, showing the difference a good Director can make. Joe has a lovely voice and seems to have a flair for comedy, speech wise and physically.

Sonny, the slick Italian is played by Fabian Golding-Williams.

Jan, the compulsive eater, is played by Melanie Yates. there are little things that have been added to this musical, maybe with seeing so many versions on stage I got to notice the little additions. As far as I can remember I couldn't remember the bit where Jan goes to retrieve the sandwich bag that Danny dropped after Sandy and Danny reunite at school. I may be wrong but that small move stood out for me. Another fun character acted with a nice comedy sheen.

Immie Hoskins is Marty, the "beauty" of "The Pink Ladies", looking more mature than the rest of the ladies, that is until she opens her mouth. 

Hugh Cowles plays the nerdy Eugene. A wonderful character that requires an actor with a feel for comedy, physical and facial comedy, both of which Hugh has in bucketloads. 

Patty Simcox, the athletic and attractive cheerleader who also, and quite naturally, has an eye for all of the jocks, including Danny, even though she knows that Danny has eyes for Sandy. Patty is played by Emily Hughes in her debut for Musicality.

Angel Fagbola is Miss Lynch, the teacher, and also makes her debut for Musicality. With all of the fun characters and talented actors she is surrounded by, I was impressed with the focus that Angel had portraying the serious, and quite stuffy teacher. How she didn't crack a smile I don't know. well, I do, it's because they are all incredibly professional in their roles.

Vince Fontaine is played by Charlie Higginson.  It is very difficult to smoothly replicate the 1950's speed talk dee-jays as they made a career out of talking that fast. I have always been an admirer of U.S. DJs of this era. The Weird Beard, Johnny Holliday, Joey Niagra and Hunter Hancock; radio presenters who talked as fast as the rock n roll music they played, and that took skill to never be lost for words and rhyme what they were announcing. This is Charlie's first show for Musicality and to take on this speed talker is no easy feat, as mentioned, but I was impressed with this quick tongued young man and the way that he encapsulated that style of music presentation.

Cha Cha, Kenickie's blind date for the prom, is played by Rosanna Beacock. I am not sure if this was intentional by the Director and Production crew but Cha Cha in the film and every production I can remember seeing has Cha Cha played by a tall, leggy actor. Rosanna is a smaller actor, and there's even a wisecrack in the show from Kenickie about the stature. Quite tongue in cheek but another example of a Director making additions to the show which only added to the fun. You had to listen carefully to pick up the quip, but my mother always used to say that "good things always come in small packages" and Rosanna is great fun to watch.

Teen Angel is played by Izzy Seager, and this is the first time that I have seen a female Teen Angel, but that actually makes more sense because Teen Angel is the Guardian Angel of Frenchy who is studying beauty and cosmetics, so she should have a female angel. Top marks for that decision. I was not a fan of the arrangement for "Beauty School Dropout" unfortunately.

Johnny Casino has also had a gender reversal and is played by Emilie Copping.

One other thing that set this production aside from others that I had seen was the way that the scene changes were done. We were treated to dancers front of stage to entertain us and to take our minds, and eyes off of the set changes going off in the background. Sometimes there is nothing worse that having either a blacked out stage with no incidental music or just the stage crew setting up the next scene, and the dancers shielded that issue.

The Featured Dancers were Piper McElwee, Leah Hosten-Silva, Imogen Stobart and Evelina Agroti.

The Ensemble were made up of Eliana Dickinson, Lucy Maynard, Thomas Telford, Juliet Paxton-Doggett, Celesete Salvucci de Oliviera, Ruby Hall, Grace Pither and Kirstin Hyland.

Directed by Drew Oliver Boswell, who I last saw in "9 To 5 The Musical" last year. Throughout the review I have said how much I like it when a Director changes things about by either adding things or editing bits out in order to make the show fresh, and to give oldies like myself who has seen the show several times over the year a jolt when we see something that maybe we have not seen in other productions. This show is a brilliant, fun piece of theatre and that is one thing that drew as Director has not changed. Top job Mr Boswell.

Choreographed by Olivia Clark. Keeping the fun element in a musical like this can be not as easy as many think. A lot of the fun in this musical comes from the choreographed parts, like the Hop scene, or "Greased Lightning" scene plus that amazing opening to the second act with "Shakin' At the Hop". these choreographed pieces are full of energy and you can see the work that has gone into all of the dance sections.

Musical Director is Ben Canning, assisted by Ben Bromley. There are some lovely arrangements of many of these songs performed on stage, but there was just one other fly in the arrangement ointment for me and that was "Beauty School Dropout" The song was written as a simple, but comedic song, but I am afraid that I am not a fan of vocal acrobatics with a song of such simplicity. The arrangement, for me personally, didn't work. Apart from that one song I loved the rest of the songs, especially my favourite "There Are Worse Things I Could Do". Having seen "Grease" so many times I appreciated a lot of the new arrangements, especially the rhythm arrangements for the uptempo songs.

The band Ben Bromley (Keys), Sunny Joshi and Sara Zaker (Guitars), Georgia McKenzie and Alex Jones (Reeds), Abi Wilson (Drums) and Ella Townsend (Bass) provided a powerful backing, and I don't know if it's an uprising of drummers of late but I have noticed the drummers more over this last week being more to the fore and sounding big and beaty. 

Hair and Make up by Muneeba Saqib. This 1950's based musical is very stylised to the period and Muneeba wonderfully created that era with the ideal look.

Sound and Lighting was excellent throughout. 

Co-produced by Sarah Prayle and Ioan Liley.

The show was smoothly stage managed by Georgia Bennet, Jamie Clay (DSM), Kamala Padilha (ASM) and Stage Hands Tilly Smith and Emily Sparks-Welch.

This was the final performance of "Grease".

 "Crazy For You Youth Edition" by Long Eaton Operatic Society Youth Group.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

I have been incredibly spoilt this weekend. Last night (Friday) a night of classic Cole Porter, and this afternoon a host of Gershwin classics, and I feel as if I am turning into a human version of Chat GPT where everything is amazing and every show I see is a 5 Star performance with plenty of the same superlatives repeated over and over. Fear not though dear reader, it is still the same old me.

Also known as the New Gershwin Musical Comedy because of the songs being from the collective pens of Ira and George Gershwin. It's the story of Bobby Child, the rich son from a banking family, who is told by his mother to go and close down a theatre in Deadrock, Nevada because the mortgage was not up to date. Bobby is a singer/dancer who is chasing his big break in the theatre, and closing down the theatre is the last thing on his mind, especially after he meets Polly, the daughter of the Gaiety Theatre owner, Everett.

Polly rejects Bobby's advances, so to show her that he is not the bad guy she thinks he is, he decides to put on a show to save the theatre, the town and his infatuation for Polly. Bobby has been trying to impress theatre impresario Bela Zangler and so decides that to impress Polly he would trick her into thinking they were friends and sets about a cunning plan to do this by pretending to be Zangler. The only problem is, Polly then falls for Zangler who is really Bobby, and when the real Zangler turns up, all mayhem ensues. There are also several other intertwined love interests in the background as well which are fun to watch develop Plus a score that is bursting with well known, and loved songs. Songs like "Embraceable You", "I Got Rhythm", "They Can't Take That Away from Me" and "Nice Work If You Can Get It".

The Youth Edition is considerably shorter than the full blown one, which I'd have been immensely happy if this group did the whole musical, especially as I had paid for over three hours for the car park. The cast and crew were so good that I can't think of the right or apt superlatives to praise this group's performance. They left me wanting more!

Bobby Child is played by Findlay Parker. I am very quickly running out of words to describe just how talented this young man is in my reviews. Findlay comes from a ridiculously talented family with his siblings sharing the talent genes with their parents. A real all-round performer - can't wait until he starts to direct, or choreograph, or whatever he wants to do because he will be a success at it. Findlay has great charisma, he has a mobile face which is brilliant for comedy, he sings like he has been singing all his life - well, he probably has. His vibrato is just right, and I have only heard a few other actors of his age who has that natural vibrato in their voice. He can dance, and he obviously listens and responds well to his choreographer - just look at the way that his hands are turned out and his leg is straight in tap routines when it's needed to be straight. And to top everything else off, he is an absolutely lovely guy.

Polly Baker is spunky and feisty as well as being incredibly loyal to the Nevada theatre, currently a Post Office, and is not going to allow Bobby to repossess the theatre. Polly is played by Emily Jones, and what a fabulous voice Emily has; she can really hold those long notes unwaveringly in songs like "I Got Rhythm". The casting for Bobby and Polly is perfect because of the chemistry and the vocal pitchings for both. One of my favourite songs is "Someone To Watch Over Me" and as soon as Emily started to sing this, the tingles started up my arms to my neck. 

Bela Zangler is played by Nathan Crookdale. Not so much involvement in the Youth Edition for Bela, but if you're not in it for many scenes, you make yourself memorable, and Nathan did that with a great Hungarian accent. The physical comedy was great, especially in the "mirror" scene with Bobby and Bela.

Lank Hawkins, who is totally against the theatre being kept open because he wants it for his own devices, to extend his hotel business. He also is against Bobby from day one as Polly is also the apple of Lank's eye. Lank is played by Stevie Kirkham, who played Javert opposite Findlay's Jean Valjean early last year. This time around Stevie gets to showcase the comedy side of his acting. Some young actors can't carry off comedy naturally, but Stevie can, and does it with a very naturalistic flair.

Irene Roth, who has been engaged to Bobby for five years and is desperate for him to give up his dreams and work in the bank, is played by Jess Chatten. Love this bossy character who ends up finding love and marriage in one of the residents in the town that Bobby has been drafted to, to foreclose on the mortgaged theatre.

Lottie Child, Bobby's overbearing Mother is played by Fran Squire. For some reason Bobby's mother and his fiancée do not get on, which is strange as they are both bossy  characters.  

Eugene Fodor is an eccentric English travel writer, full of English idioms and forms a  lovely comedy couple with his sister Patricia Fodor. The couple arrive at the end of Act One and stay at Lank's hotel, causing him headaches with their very British demands, and are later featured in the song "Stiff Upper Lip". Eugene is played by Tom Lightbown and Patricia Fodor is played by Alice Whitaker. Mow, you know I am crazy for a good accent and this pair give brilliantly comical and, especially Tom, over the top English accents, adding even more comedy to the musical.

The Follies Dancers consist of Bethany Stockdale (Tess), Roisin Parker (Patsy), Niamh Syson (Mitzi), Neve Johnson (Margie), Bella Syson (Susie), Phoebe Litherland (Betsy), Maddi Woodland (Vera), Kiera Bordacs (Rosie) and Emily Dexter (Daisy). Their costumes are wonderful, especially the final costumes which brings that Hollywood glamour to Long Eaton.

The Cowboys are Owain Jones (Sam), Ivan Hager (Moose), Sam Perrin (Mingo), Quillen Parker (Billy), Taylen Brodsky (Wyatt), Eddie Clarkson (Pete), Harrison Ramplin (Fred) and Finn Cliff (Joe). A brilliant ensemble group who all have their own little moments. Wonderfully choreographed set of dancers and, if you just take time to watch each of them throughout the show, they all manage to show their characters personality.

The Deadrock Citizens are played by Elsie Sparkes, Sophie Atkinson, Libby Stockdale, Beth Dooley-Roberts, Izzy Pickering, Kate Whitaker, Nefeli Fryganioti and Lucy Gordon.

Directed by Siobhan Parker. I now quite often state in my reviews that you can see how good the Director is at their job by watching the cast, and this cast were amazing. But of course it's up to a brilliant Director to amass an amazing cast. Who could ask for anything more? Need I say more?

Choreographed by Aoife Clarke, and a little birdie told me in the interval that this is Aoife's first time choreographing a full production, so all I can say is that I can't wait to see Aoife's next choreographed show because everything that I recognise as classy Hollywood style choreography was seen on the Duchess Theatre stage with this group. I love the way that the cast delivered those little things that are taught in choreography which just depict the class of the era; hands turned out and not looking like spades, pointed toes and straight legs or bounce when required. A classy job, Aoife.

Musical Director is Shannon O'Donnell with Becky Kirkham as Assistant Musical Director. Just listening to the standard of the vocals throughout the group, individually and collectively says everything about the work that has been put in on both sides. An impeccable result.

There are no negatives in this review because there was nothing negative to spot onstage, and keeping the flow of the show going is Katie Bird as Stage Manager with Becky Kirkham listed as Stage Crew.

Costumes, which by the way were as amazing as the cast and crew, were managed by Carol McTernan, Judy Watson and Janet Whyatt.

Set Designer for the show is not listed but I know that Roydon Charlesworth probably had more than a hand in it. We also got a video backdrop of the desert which made the stage set and scene look even bigger than it is; a nice touch. The set was constructed by Roydon, Katie Bird and Becky Kirkham.

Sound is by Dave Dallard and Jack Clark. As I mentioned earlier, no negatives from me, and I often trying not to be negative where sound is concerned, missed cues etc, but this production was practically perfect from start to finish and a lovely sound quality all the way through.

Lighting is by Stephen Greatorex and Kiah Smith. As above, absolutely nothing negative to report; no spotlights not in the right position or anything, just a wonderfully lit production.

And I never really seem to credit this next bunch, but without them, Youth Group productions would be in danger of not being seen, and that's the Chaperones and Backstage Team. Sarah Charlesworth, Claire Collishaw, Grace Collishaw, Jo Heathcote, Lauren Jones, Alistair Langton, Katherine Lightbown, Fiona McDowell, Siobhan parker, Sinead Parkin, Mo Syson, Adam Taylor, Emma Whitaker and Ondre Young.

When you think that this group of young actors probably have never even heard of Ira and George Gershwin, never mind sung their work before, this week they have performed a classic piece of musical theatre as if it was the norm for them. A few I know will be too old for the Youth Group and this will be their last show under that umbrella, but I personally can not wait to see what the future holds for them, based on the talent and professionalism exhibited on stage in this show. Congratulations to everyone involved in "Crazy For You"; no wonder the theatre was packed out.

"Crazy For You" ended it's run on Saturday evening, 21 February.

 "Kiss Me Kate" by West Bridgford Operatic Society.

Squire Performing Arts Centre, Nottingham.

The plot, if you've never seen this musical before, is a clever one: divorced Broadway stars Fred Graham (Petruchio) and Lilli Vanessi (Katherine) are opening their production of "The Taming of the Shrew" in 1950s Baltimore. Backstage tensions overspill into on-stage action with romantic misunderstandings between Fred, the soon-to-be-remarried Lilli and their young co-star Lois Lane, playing Catherine's younger sister, Bianca. Added to this Lois' boyfriend Bill, also in the show playing Lucentio, has signed an IOU for his gambling debts to Mr Hogan, the local mafia don, causing his collectors to pay the theatre a visit - eventually ending up as part of the show.

Cole Porter is one of my favourite songwriters and injects so much humour into his songs and this musical is a perfect vehicle for his work. Many of these songs are standards and have been recorded by many international stars. Hearing them in the context of this musical gives a lot of them new meaning. They are jazzy, bluesy and have a few naughty connotations - just listen to "Tom, Dick Or Harry". His lyrics are very clever - how long must it have taken him to write "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" where he deliberately bends the words to fit what he wants it to say. He plays with words, often giving the singer a tongue twister just for fun - "I've Come To Wive It Wealthily In Padua" or "Where Is The Life That Late I Led".  And then there are the standards like "Always True To You" and "So In Love", "Too Darn Hot", Oh, and then there is "I Hate Men", pure brilliance.

There is just one thing that this productions needs; that is a National tour or a West End Stage, befitting of the quality of this show and performance. I haven't seen a production of "Kiss Me Kate" this brilliant in a very long time.

The opening set is a bare stage with a ghost light central; if you don't know what a "ghost light" is, it's a single bulb on a stand that is left glowing when the theatre is closed. . Used for both safety and superstition, it prevents staff from tripping into orchestra pits or over props in the dark, while tradition suggests it keeps resident ghosts happy and allows them to perform. I love theatre superstition.

Drew Dennis is Fred Graham (Petruccio), the ex of Lilli Vanessi. I've seen so many of this cast in other productions, so as a reviewer, you know the quality of the cast and what to expect. Drew is a quality performer with incredible vocal ability; a vocal strength that materialises with such ease, making you feel that you're listening to an operatic piece. The perfect choice of a leading man because he is playful with the character, at times seemingly letting the audience into a boyish prank of joke, especially with the scenes with Lilli.

Louise Grantham-Lang is Lilli Vanessi (Katharine) and the perfect foil for Fred. A wonderful comedy performance and what a voice. Cole Porter wrote some incredible pieces for Lilli with some big notes, and Louise hit the notes with the same ease as Drew did with his. There are a few scenes where Lilli has to slap Fred and from where I was sitting you could hear those slaps very clearly as they connected. 

Steph Jones plays Lois Lane (Bianca), the quintessential airhead who often relies on her womanly wiles to get what she wants, from practically all of the male characters. So many highlights, as with everyone in the show, but the powerhouse version of "Always True To You In My Fashion" just sends tingles just about everywhere.

Richard Ives is Bill Calhoun (Lucentio), a ne’er-do-well actor who has a bit of a gambling problem, which is the reason why Fred has the two debt collectors on his back throughout the show. Bill also has the eye for Lois. If only he's behave himself!

Chris Heeley is Paul, Fred's personal dresser. The opening of Act two is the song "Too Darn Hot", which Chris performs with a big ensemble and another one of my highlights; you can't beat a big, flashy opening and that's what we got for the start of the second act. Loved the arrangement of this song, and another vocalist who took all the big notes easily in his stride.

Sam Parfitt is Hattie, Lilli Vanessi’s personal dresser and confidante. 

Tom Parry is The First Man, half of the debt collecting duo. Alasdair Maughan is The Second Man, he’s the First Man’s shadow - especially when it comes to IOU’s that ain’t been paid! I love this duo and I love their song "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" with Porter's perpetually perfect wordplay. There are shadows of music hall in "Kiss Me Kate" and this song reflects this era, especially with the gradual increase of upmarket ness culminating in top hat and canes.

Martin Thomas is Senator Harrison Howell, the secret fiancé of Lilli's who turns up in act two to rescue her from beatings from Fred, well that's what Lilli claims anyway.

Julie Fowler is Harri (Baptista), Malcolm Cocking (Ralph, the Stage manager), Tim Biller (Stage Doorman/Priest/Ensemble), Katie Walker-Bogod (Dance Captain/Haberdasher/Stagehand), Jarrod Makin (Grumio/Ensemble), Christopher Collins (Hortensio/Ensemble). Keith Harrington (Nathaniel/Stagehand), Anne McCarroll (Gregory/Stagehand/Ensemble). Becky Birch (Phillipa/Stagehand/Ensemble), Alice Rainford (Nurse/Stagehand/Ensemble). Clive Marner (Doctor/Stagehand/Ensemble), Jill Hemington (Wardrobe Mistress/Ensemble) and Helen Heeley (Cab Driver/Ensemble).

Then we come to the Dancers who consist of Ali Biller, Penny Gale, Asta Knight, Orla McMahon and Katie Waller-Bogod. With the energy in these routines, you can guarantee that this team have no need of gym sessions, and they do all this with the biggest smiles on their faces!

As you can imagine, with a musical that has a show within a show for the main show, there are plenty of ensemble roles, all of which deserve a mention. After all, where would we be without the talented ensemble? 

Apart from those listed above as "Ensemble", here are the rest of the Ensemble.....Judy Atkin, Adrian Baldwick, Bill Cooper, David Gyles, Diana Ives, Carl Rushworth and Wendy Silver.

Directed by Linda Croston. This is a role that takes up so much time, even before the cast are picked the Director is working their way through the book, and that work doesn't really stop until after opening night, so this is a massive job; after all a show and its' cast is only as good as the Director, so I can just sum up Linda's work by saying that this cast and the show was incredible in all areas.

Choreographed by Shannon O'Donnell. This is a proper old school musical, a classic, and that is also reflected in the choreography. The big numbers were just that; BIG! The smaller dance routines were magic. The choreography showed just why this show is deemed a classic, and why this production is a massive success.

Musical Director is Jonah Williams, who at times was involved as a minor cast member. I must say, and I told Linda after the show, that this band were incredible. This band could swing and sounded as if they had been playing together professionally for ever. The sound was just gorgeous, but I must give a special mention to Richard Dry as the percussionist. It's a wonder there's any skin left on those drums, and if I didn't have a good view of this section of the band, I would have sworn that Animal from the Muppets had been let loose on them. Possibly one of the tightest bands I've heard in a while. 

I imagine that Jonah may also had leant a hand, and maybe even an ear, with the vocals throughout the cast. I have already mentioned that these vocals in the show are out of this world. I know that the word "operatic" is in the name of the group, but to hear these classic songs sung just the way I imagine Cole Porter had meant them to sound was an absolute joy, especially the songs with that music hall slant such as "Shakespeare" and a song that Petruchio sings "Where Is the Life I Late Had Led" - another example of Porter's brilliant wordplay twisters.

Costumes by Amy Thomas and the Lace Market Theatre Wardrobe department.

Set Hire is from Roydon Charlesworth with the set painting by Guy Evans.

Lighting by the team from Squire Performing Arts Centre. I have come to expect this area to be excellent, and I can confirm that my expectations were yet again met.

Sound by Rob Kettridge. I could hear every word that was spoken or sung, partly because Rob knows exactly what he is doing around a sound mix desk. Plus Squire Performing Arts Centre have acoustics that every theatre would die for. The sound was big and bouncy. but also with the ballads such as "So In Love" the volume was perfectly blended with the actors' vocals creating a lovely sensitive mix.

Stage Manager is Matt Allcock with Deputy Stage manager being Nigel Newton. Two legends of stage management, locally.

It's been a busy week for me this last week, which is why I could only get to see this practically perfect performance on Friday night, but I would not have missed the chance to see West Bridgford Operatic Society's latest show with their all round excellent cast. What a way to go into the weekend!

"Kiss Me Kate" is simply wunderbar, so don't miss out, it's two shows for the price of one and all at the same time! It's at the Squire Performing Arts Centre in Nottingham until Saturday 21 February.

 "The Glad Game" by Phoebe Frances Brown.

Nottingham Lace Market Theatre.

"The Glad Game" is Phoebe’s play about living with an incurable brain tumour. She performed the play at Hampstead Theatre, London and Nottingham, Playhouse and this is the first time that it has been performed in Nottingham since Phoebe herself performed it in 2021.

Phoebe was born in 1992, and grew up in Nottingham, found a place to develop her skills as a performer at the Television Workshop. She went onto study theatre at the University of Birmingham and performed on the National Theatre stage in "Small Island".

 In November 2018, aged 26, Phoebe was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour in the area of her brain that controls speech, language and memory. Being an actor, losing these functions was devastating to say the least, but still she battled on with her "do what you gotta do" attitude. Phoebe lost her battle to cancer in April 2022 aged just 29.

"The Glad Game" is Phoebe’s story. Her story of finding herself in the darkest, bleakest of times, of finding gladness in the saddest of moments and of how who and what you love can pull you through.

This has to be the quickest 80 minutes in theatre, due to the way that we are involved in this story; it's almost like finding someone's diary and reading it and discovering so much about a person that you thought that you knew.

We are taken to the edge of emotion and sadness and just as you're about to tip over, you're brought back from the brink with an unexpected funny line and off we go again on another story. You don't get much time to feel sorry for Phoebe before you find yourself smiling, grinning and laughing. I never met Phoebe but this play shows her as someone who didn't let this evil curse keep her down for too long. Someone who packed so much into the short life that she lived and because of her gifted skills and life, makes you miss that kind of person and want to be in her circle.

It would take a very special and gifted actor to take this story on and hold an audience alone on stage but Jen White is that person chosen to drive this one woman play. When I first went to "radio school" - yes, there is such a thing, my group tutor was Bruno Brookes - the first thing we had to do was to talk about ourselves for one minute, which some in my group found difficult to do for a whole minute. It may not come as any surprise that I cruised through the one minute with ease talking about me. Just think how hard it is to hold an audience in the palm of your hand and entertain them for 80 minutes, remembering a whole play's script with no one physical to bounce off. And also to not trip over or forget any word in the script, standing, sometimes sitting or lying down in the spotlight with everyone's eyes on you. Jen White has possibly performed her most intoxicating piece of theatre to date, earning the standing ovation she received at the closing of the show. And that is something that you don't see at the end of every show at the Lace Market Theatre.

Directed by Kathryn Edwards in her directorial debut, this is a big production to tackle for a debut, but boy she made this show hard-hitting as well as a joyful lesson in how to get through the crap that life throws your way. 

Lighting Design is by David Billen and you may think that a one woman show telling a story won't really require a fancy lightshow. Think again! Throughout the light moments of Phoebe's life it was reflected in the lighting design. In the darker moments Phoebe is illuminated by one spotlight on stage, making sure that you focus on Phoebe and her words, also creating an atmosphere of isolation and being penned in.

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• Sound Design is by Jonathan Blacknell. We get soundbites of music where Phoebe dances around the stage. We get sound effects. We also get the other characters' speech sections to flesh out the story. With so many sound cues within the story, a sound man has to be always on top of their game to make sure that every cue is perfectly timed. The timing could not have been better.
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• Stage Manager is Jae Marriott who taught Phoebe and introduced Kathryn to the play.

"The Glad Game" is a truly thought provoking piece of theatre with great warmth, humour - we are given permission to laugh by Phoebe at the start of the play, sadness and strength of character. And just when you think the show is over, we get to see a little bit of Phoebe on film, which is quite an emotional watch.

I was so pleased to see the Lace Market Theatre almost full; there were only a handful of seats left, so I really do hope that the shows from Friday onwards are completely sold out for a few reasons. To experience an incredible performance from a wonderful actress, to remember a brave and extremely funny local lady and appreciate her immense talent and humour, and thirdly to appreciate how good the Lace Market shows are - most of us already know this anyway. Also to see the blossoming of a wonderful Director.

It's a joy to acknowledge the talent we have on our doorstep.

"The Glad Game" is at the Nottingham Lace Market Theatre until Saturday 21 February in the main auditorium.