"One Man Two Guvnors" by Regis Theatre Company.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

Written by Richard Bean, this is the comedy that rocketed James Corden’s theatre career. Set In Brighton in 1963 it tells the story of an out of work skiffle player, Francis Henshall. He goes from being unemployed to having two jobs and two masters, Roscoe Crabbe and Stanley Stubbers. This is where the confusion and comedy arises as he tries to keep the two masters from meeting and discovering his joint employment.

Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6,000 from the dad of his fiancee. But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who has been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers.

Complicating events still further is local mobster Charlie the Duck, who has arranged his daughter Pauline's engagement to Roscoe despite her preference for over-the-top amateur actor Alan Dangle.

Holed up at The Cricketers Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be reunited with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple.

I've seen this farcical piece of theatre on several occasions and have never seen the exact same show twice. Regis have created another different version of this brilliantly comical theatre piece.

A wonderful slice of slapstick and physical theatre which requires brilliant characterisation and comic timing. The play is like a bottle of wine, fruity, fizzy, very smooth and gets better with age and like a good cheese matures well and gets tastier every time you go back for a piece.

I could go into the history of the play and it's Italian roots and "Commedia Dell'arte" but what really matters here is that it is so very funny when performed with the panache and comedy timing of the cast of Regis Theatre Company.

Francis Henshaw is played by Kheenan Jones. This is a great role for Kheenan as it really pushes him. The speed and quick thinking of Francis is spot on and so is the tongue twisting script. Maybe not as tongue twisting as some productions that I've seen but there's additional comedy in other parts of Henshaw's role. We don't get the rapidity of James Corden, but what we do get is Kheenan Jones with a twinkle in his eye and a chance to show off improvisational skills as well as delivering some of the best language in the British sentences. Wonderfully funny guy on or off stage, and I love the tie style and I am sure that Francis must have another pair of shoes almost exactly the same back at home; one show per Guvnor?

Roscoe/Rachel is played by Emma Kelvey. There really isn't one character in this comedy who doesn't deliver comedically, and with Emma we get double the fun. Emma has really perfected the "man walk" and stature and that attitude with Roscoe, and then we get Rachel with a noticeably softer side. Plus we also get to hear Emma playing the flute!

Charlie "The Duck" Clench is played by Kim Harris. Kim has taken the laugh of "Only Fools And Horses" Boycie and incorporated it into the character of Charlie, which plastered a grin on my face every time that laugh was released.

Pauline Clench is played by Shannon O'Donnell, who portrays this slightly dim character perfectly and it's through that "naivety" that the natural comedy shines through, especially the way that Pauline scuttles off stage at speed.

Alan Dingle is played by Jack Readyhoof. Dangle is wonderfully over the top, and Jack presents the character just as he should be, as the actor who is always in the spotlight, probably even when opening the fridge door. The semi tragic, almost Shakespearean Dangle is one of my favourite comedy characters, and every time I've been to see this play, the actor always delivers it just a little different every time. Some wonderfully pained but funny facial expressions which all adds to the comedy. I must say as well that it's so refreshing to see Jack play a character like this because we don't often see Jack playing overtly comedy roles and this really suits him, but it also shows what a flexible character actor Jack is. I'll also let you into a secret, Jack has played this role before in 2016.

Stanley Stubbers is played by Adam Guest, who a whole decade ago played the role of Francis. This time around Adam is just as hilarious in the role of Stanley Stubbers and injects a bit of a speech impediment for Stubbers along with some saucy hip thrusting. During the scene changes, instead of a skiffle band playing songs to cover the changes, we are treated to various cast members providing a brief musical interlude, and it was with great joy that one of Adam's party classics was revitalised in "The Typewriter" by Leroy Anderson. If you've never seen this done before, get yourself over to the Duchess on Saturday to experience a classic piece of comedy, additional to Adam's portrayal of Stubbers.

Mariko Jones plays Dolly, Charlie "The Duck" Clench's book keeper and flirty floozie who attracts the eye of Francis. Like all the actors in this show they show off their comedy talents perfectly with these characters. Great accent as well from someone who lights up the stage, whatever role she plays.

Harry Dangle is played by Andy Cattanach. Another great character performer as Alan's Dad for Andy. You can never be too sure with this character if the references for his work, especially getting the "MowMow" off charges, are actually true or is this lawyer just stretching his legal abilities a little too far. Dangle's wink after some sentences may tell the audience a different story!

Luke Grainger is Alfie, the octogenarian waiter, one of the hardest roles in this play. The characterisation was wonderful and as Luke has a real flair of comedic roles, this part was just perfect for him. Ten years ago I saw Kheenan play this role, and as I have said with every production, the characters are always presented differently, which is why I love seeing shows, especially comedies like this, over and over again. I love the slow pace that Luke gives to Alfie, often looking like he is delaying the action while he slowly exits the stage, often to the amusement of the other actors on stage waiting to move the show on. Brilliant slapstick scenes with the door, and just how much talcum powder is used on that hair?

Lloyd Boateng is played by Des Francis. I can't recall seeing Des before, I'm probably wrong, but I will remember this role played by Des. I love accents, this show is full of them, and Des's accent for Lloyd is reminiscent of the kind that actors like the brilliant Rudolph Walker delivers with his characters, proper East End Jamaican style.

Harvey Latter plays Gareth, the head waiter at the Cricketer's Arms. The voice is the kind from someone who believes that they is further up the pecking order than they actually are. Wannabe upper class but slips into their natural voice every now and then. Yet another lovely gentle comedy part that does stand out.

Directed by Ollie Turner, assisted by Kayleigh Turner, and you may have noticed my referencing a production from ten years ago, featuring several of the same actors. Ollie was also the Director for that same production, but a decade on he has created something that seems to be very fresh and still as hilarious as the one I remember from 2016. A good Director will change and update sections of a play, and Ollie has done just that. There are bits that have been taken out but with absolutely no detriment to the story or the laughs, plus I suppose a suit of armour may be quite expensive to source and not something you could find in a charity shop nowadays for a few quid.

The decision to remove the musical element almost completely by a skiffle band is also relatively different, but I loved the fact that the scene changes were masked by the various musical talents from the characters in the production. The drama of the music produced by Alan Dangle created a wave of laughter from the audience, and we just about managed to recognise some of the other tunes, pre 1963 and Cockney related. We do get the classic song that ends the show, "Tomorrow Looks Good From Here" performed by the whole cast.

Talking of scene changes, Milly Bould is the Stage Manager, making sure the various changes were completed swiftly and smoothly behind the curtains.

Lots of props, all managed by Katie Bird, who also makes a quick stage appearance.

Lighting Designer and Operator is David Price.

Sound Operator is not credited but there are some additional sound effects involved in the show.

Set Designer is also not credited in the programme, but this also is a different look from other productions that I've seen in the past; different but just as good as any other I've seen. I love the design for the pier front, and whether Charlie Stubbers was aware of the length of the pier when he walked into the end of it, nobody knows if it were for comic effect or merely just an accident. Whatever Adam brought even more laughs from the jubilant audience on Friday night.

Wardrobe is also another area uncredited in the programme, but are all marvellous. From the simple black snug fitting black sweater and trousers for Alan Dangle to that wonderful tie, and especially the way that it was worn by Francis, the clothes were obviously very well thought out to extract even more comedic value from this show.

I could see this comedy over and over again and not see the same performance twice, in fact I could see this production over and over again full stop because the whole cast were wonderful, and they all looked to be loving just being part of the show, probably because they were being entertained while entertaining us, the audience.

There is a serious side of this particular production though and that is the charity that Regis are collecting for; Pancreatic Cancer UK. Andy's wife Lisa sadly passed away during the rehearsals of the play from Pancreatic Cancer, and the show is dedicated to Lisa.

If you want to give your chuckle muscles a good weekend workout, then pop along and see "One Man Two Guvnors" at the Duchess Theatre which ends with two more shows at 2.30 and 7.30 on Saturday 12 September.

 "Till The Stars Come Down" by Beth Steel

Nottingham Playhouse.

This is the regional premiere of the play. It originally premiered at London's National Theatre in 2024. It subsequently transferred to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London's West End in 2025. The production was nominated for two 2024 Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best New Play.

It’s Sylvia and Marek’s big day and the Stone family have gathered in Mansfield. The bride, her sisters and aunties are getting their glam on and everyone’s on their best behaviour. For now. But once the vows have been made and the drinks start flowing, deep-seated family resentments begin to bubble up. When secrets start spilling out, alliances shift, and by the end of the night, nothing will ever be quite the same again.

Having spent a good part of my working life being a DJ on mobile discos from the 1970's to the mid 2000's, you get to see both the happy celebratory receptions, as well as those that end up more like a boxing tournament as families clash and arguments spill over, mainly in the car park or on the dancefloor, as to minor issues like whether the DJ should play songs like "It Should Have Been Me" - that one is from personal experience, or which family member has, or has not snogged the bridesmaid or Best Man!

Sylvia, the bride, is played by local actor and theatre maker, AK Golding. From the morning of the wedding with worries about how Sylvia's hair looks and the wedding dress issues to the blow up of the family and some of the family not liking the groom because he is Polish, we see the happy, the melancholy and the angry, all within the space of a few hours. 

Marek is played by Ivan Ivashkin. This is a brilliant character and very fiery. Loved the dance scenes and the unexpected karaoke of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", with alternate lyrics. Anyone who knows me, know that I love a good, accurate accent, and I realised why the Polish accent was so good when looking in the programme. 

 Joe Alessi plays Uncle Pete. There's a lovely scene which I can recognise from wedding discos regarding place mats on the top table which involves Pete and Carol. There's an air about Pete when around his brother which we find out about fully later on.

Maggie, who has returned to the family fold especially for the wedding after a year away, is played by Leah Brotherhead. Maggie is quite a hedonistic character and is very quick-witted. There are mysterious teases as to why Maggie moved away from the area, but the real truth is revealed during the melee of the wedding reception, and when that truth comes out, it does not end well for many of the characters.

Ellie Daley is Leanne, the teenage daughter of John and Hazel. This show utilises a lot of local actors and Ellie, who has trained at The Nottingham Television Workshop, is just one of them, making her adult professional stage debut as Leanne. Leanne is a troubled character, and again we discover why, throughout the play. Ellie is a fine example of the sort of quality that Nottingham can deliver from the Nottingham Television Workshop.

Graham Hawley, who you may recognise from playing John Stape in "Coronation Street", plays John, Hazel's partner. We can clearly feel the tension between this pair from the start, but it's not until later on that we find out exactly what the bone of contention really is.

Emma Pallant plays Hazel, the Bride's sister. We've all seen the chaos on the wedding morning, getting everything right, juggling several balls in the air at the same time, all the while trying to give that impression that all is in control. But it's when the wedding reception has ended and the chance to relax and have a drink with the family that brings forth the family history. She has a soft spot still for John, recalling what her first throes of love was like with him, and how they compare with the staleness of their relationship currently. You really do feel for Hazel because she is the archetypal mother of the bride, just wanting everything to go smoothly, but we all know that drink and loose lips are always going to reveal secrets and lies at a family do!

Auntie Carol is played by Sadie Shimmin. I absolutely love this character and I have seen so many Auntie Carols over the years. A person can become very comical when drink starts to flow, and even more so when that flow can't be stemmed. Sadie is obviously a fantastic actor to play a drunken Aunt so well; the off balance staggering and that facial look, plus the ability to start a sentence, repeat it and then forget what they were talking about. I also loved her comparison of old age with cottage cheese, it's something that you need to hear! 

Howard Ward is Tony who returns to The Playhouse after a break of over forty years to play the elder statesman of the Stone family. Many highlights with this character, but none more so in the Tarzan scenes with Auntie Carol. This in turn brings about a darker delve into the past with revelations of why he and his brother Pete fell out.

Sarah, who is the youngest daughter of Hazel and John, is played by Anya Marshall or Amelia Yates, depending on which performance you see in this run. On Thursday night it was Anya's turn. Both Anya and Amelia  are training at the Nottingham Television Workshop, and both make their professional stage debuts. Anya has a real stage presence and has that lovely natural feel about her performance, getting to run through a range of emotions from start to finish.

Directed by Caroline Steinbeis, there are really nice pace changes throughout but then comes that boulder rolling down the hill moment when nothing can be stopped, and that pace really takes you with it. There's some excellent comedy pieces and there are some scenes that hit you like a slap around the face. 

It's a beautifully observed and written theatrical piece which has the ability to make you recall possible flashbacks to your own past or recollections. The language is pure East Midlands with so many local phrases which soon had me smiling in remembrance of some that I had not heard in quite a few years. I had been waiting for this play for ages in anticipation - I adore local writing for theatre, and this is top class theatre, performed by a top class cast.

Oli Townsend's set design starts to come to view after scenes played out in front of the curtains. It's then we get to see the wedding reception set up with the long top table. This then changes to a buffet room where we get to see and hear a lot of the unravelling of the family secrets.

Lighting Designer is Johanna Town and Oliver Vibrans is the Sound Designer and Original Music Composer. The scene with the dancefloor music and the family strutting their stuff is another lovely comedy scene, which also led to a discussion about the DJ and who they had played for locally, and gave a background to some of the local characters, not seen on stage.

Kate Godfrey is the Voice and Dialect Coach, and someone else who brought the reality to sections of this play was Ruth Cooper-Brown of Rc-Annie, Director for the Fight and Intimacy scenes.

This play carries on the local writers season for the Playhouse, showing the talent of local writers as well as local acting talent alongside some great theatre actors. 

The play brings to the stage snapshots of everyone's past, and everyone can relate to a lot of the issues in the play, making for a brilliant night of theatre, so don't think about buying tickets for "Till the Stars Come Down", forget the thought process, just get your tickets now while you still can and the show sells out.

"Till The Stars Come Down" is at the Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 26 September.

  "Come From Away" by LAOS.

Loughborough Town Hall.

This show shares the real-life story of the 7,000 air passengers from all over the world who were grounded in Canada during the wake of 9/11, and the small Newfoundland town of Gander community that invited these "come from aways" into their lives with open hearts.

The comedy is so gentle and in abundance, balancing well with the obvious confusion and terror from the passengers who had no idea what was happening and the reason for their flights' diversions. There's emergency panic from the townsfolk who had no idea as to how many people to expect and where they were going to put them up, or how to feed them.

The feeling of comradery though becomes infectious with even Walmart staff offering them to come home with them for a shower!! Can you imagine that being offered by an Asda employee? (other supermarkets are available of course).

Strangers become friends, and friends become lifelong friends, some even staying in the town, and some become even closer friends. But of course, there's those who lost family and friends because of what happened on September 11 2001, and they are also remembered.

Many of the stories related were not known about until this musical, let's face it the pregnant Bonobo monkey or the cat who was on tablets didn't make front page news, but is equally as interesting to hear about, as well as Bonnie Harris who realised that there would have been animals on the planes and, as she worked in an animal shelter, made it her job to go looking for them, and caring for them.

The stories of the local news reporter, who had just started working for the TV company, the Mayor Claude Elliott, the Police Officer, the female flight staff, as well as the passengers, some of which didn't speak English and had specific dietary needs, the party of children who were travelling over as part of the "Make A Wish" foundation, so many different people of different ages and religions, all scared and unaware of the horrors that were unfolding on that day.

It also depicts how in a situation like this, people can also become very wary of some people and treat them very differently, especially if they are Middle Eastern, the horror and embarrassment of a strip search before they let him on the plane told in such a way that you almost feel ashamed for what he had been put through, just because of his religion.

There's also the story of the gay couple, Kevin and Kevin, who didn't want to reveal their relationship for fear of a backlash, and the Jewish man who discovered that one of the Gander residents was also Jewish, but had never revealed that fact.

There are so many wonderful human stories that are woven into this wonderful comfort blanket of life happenings, all bought about by such a sad turn of events by such evil forces. The resilience and love though won through.

This show is truly an ensemble piece of theatre that was non stop; there was only a couple of places that the audience could actually manage to interject with applause, but, as I've seen every time that I've had the pleasure of seeing this wonderful piece of theatre, the audience make up for it at the end of the show!

The cast are made up of Andrew Bond (Ali), Laura Kidger (Beulah), Helena Stone (Beverley), Lewis Shaw (Bob), Jenny Pilbeam (Bonnie), Mark Chinnery (Claude), Natalie Littlewood (Diane), Jo Dring (Hannah), Freya Lakin (Janice), Jack Cooling (Kevin J), James Daw (Kevin T), David Burton (Nick), and Sam Tebbatt (Oz). The cast, while playing the aforementioned main roles, also take on other roles throughout the story.

Individually all talented singers, as an Ensemble they have the power.

Clare Proctor, Linda, Matt, Gemma and Ian, the "Swings", were on hand, just in case needed. Tonight they weren't. "Swings", as I've mentioned in other reviews, are cast members who know all of the roles between them and are ready to leap into action should required.

Directed and Choreographed by James Nelson. If you know the soundtrack, or have seen this musical before, you'll know there's an awful lot of Celtic music in it, so the choreography is very stylized, so not only did the music sound good, those Celtic inspired moves also looked great. This is one of the few musicals that is performed all in one go, no interval, so making sure the direction was fluid was also a mighty job, but having known James for quite a few years now, I knew that both of these areas would be full of that Nelson magic and hard work. I was not wrong!

Associate Choreographer is Alison Cundell.

The music and lyrics are by Irene Sankoff and David Hein. I have the soundtrack, but when you see that soundtrack actually performed live, everything takes on a whole new and wonderful meaning. There are musical intricacies of the like of Sondheim's "Into the Woods" and beautiful narration, the sort you'd find in a Jason Robert Brown musical.

 Musical Director is Josh Hill and the arrangements for this score are just gorgeous. I love Irish music and this score is incredibly beautiful as well as foot tapping. Most of the musical numbers are ensemble pieces, but there are a few that are sung by single or groups of actors, breaking up the colossal sound of the voices and adding intimacy and emotion into the soundtrack.

Jo Dring, as Hannah, sings a really beautiful song called "I Am Here", and another highlight for me was Helena's "Me And The Sky". But just listen to "Something's Missing" and the opening number "Welcome To The Rock" for lessons on just how good a group song can sound, and the timing of everything, not just the songs, is immaculate.

The set is supplied by Showtime Solutions, and is different to other productions I've seen in the past, majorly with cases used as chairs in many scenes, making the manipulation of these cases a little easier and quicker to remove from the set when not needed.

The props, which I think would also include the fish - if you don't know the musical, I won't give any spoilers for that part - chairs, tables etc are sourced and provided by Kirstie Bennett.

The costumes, and there are a few changes of costumes which are done quite subtly, are thanks to Gemma Baxter.

Tech Manager is Lynsey Bloomfield.

Stage Managed by Duncan Gadsby, and this is one show that really relies on great stage management, and Duncan is up there. The Stage Crew consist of Ian Dean, Kirstie Bennett, Ed Dring, Matt Leeson and Jo Shaw.

Flys are courtesy of Richard York.

Sound is thanks to Ryan Heath. Loughborough Town Hall has always, in my opinion, had some of the best acoustics and having a good sound designer and operator in charge make a good musical sound like a great musical. This sounded like a great musical to me.

The Lighting Designer, and I imagine Operator, is James Cladinboel, another expert in their field of excellence.

This story gets better and better, as do the several productions that I have seen over the last few years. There are lows that make you feel uncomfortable with, but there are also many highs, laughter and a few tears; I can think of two scenes that are guaranteed to make an eye moist, but it's the strength of humanity and kindness that shines all the way through this musical.

If you've not seen this show yet, you need to get yourself a ticket. Fans of great theatre and story telling, you also need to get yourself a ticket because this is great theatre and a masterclass of story telling. There's no interval and the show runs at about 100 minutes, but you will be so engrossed in this story that you won't want it to end; and besides there would be no where to insert an interval anyway, who would want to stem the flow of this story with a break? 

"Come From Away" is at Loughborough Town Hall until Saturday 12 September.

 "Heathers The Musical"

Book, music and lyrics by Kevin Murphy and Laurence O'Keefe.
Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Like the film, the musical follows teenage misfit Veronica Sawyer as she struggles to find her place in the stiff hierarchy at Ohio's Westerberg High - Home of the Rottweilers. The school is ruled with an iron fist by a trio of popular girls, known as the Heathers. Veronica infiltrates the Heathers' inner sanctum and becomes their "friend" to make her own life easier. Things take a dark turn though when she meets a boy named JD, who reignites her hatred for the croquet mallet-carrying clique, but he takes plans for revenge to murderous levels.

This show has almost hit cult status via the 1989 film, written by Daniel Waters, and that shows by the amount of people who came out to see this show on Tuesday night, as well as the queues for the show's merchandise. As with "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" there were also a number of women, and men, who came dressed as a Heather, complete with red, blue, green or yellow blazers and skirts to match; and that did include at least one male! there's obviously something about dark comedy in theatre that is incredibly attractive to an audience.

Veronica Sawyers is played by Gerardine Sacdalan. First off, let me say what a voice Geraldine has. She is a real soul singer, and she isn't the only one in this cast. Brilliant energy and delivery of some lovely comic lines. Neither of these talents are new to me with Geraldine as I can remember just how wonderful she was when she last came to Nottingham playing Juliet in "& Juliet". I commented then on her powerful voice and her comic ability.

Jason "J.D." Dean is played by Louis Searson. Bringing to Westerburg a wonderful mysterious and mystical presence, his demonic character grows throughout the show. I half expected his eyes to glow red and levitate above the stage. Louis brings intrigue, cool and sex to the stage, as well as a great voice for modern musical theatre.

The trio of Heathers, Chandler, Duke and Macnamara, are played by Liberty Stotter, who completely owns the stage and obviously relishes her bitchy status, Jessica Ibadin and Lou Henry respectively. Heather Duke and Heather Macnamara both in utter admiration of Heather Chandler's Queen Bitch role model. Both also wanting to take over the position, but wallowing in the shadow of Chandler. The trio of Heathers received applause even before they said or sung a word, showing the status these three characters have established from day one.

Sophie Manners plays Martha "Dumptruck" Dunstock, the "invisible" girl, until she lets rip with her powerful vocals on "Kindergarten Boyfriend", a song with darker undertones than first expected.

Marcus Sodergren as Kurt Kelly and Beau Jackson as Ram Sweeney, the two typical High School jocks. They create loads of comedy moments, not least when comparing their underwear at quite a crucial part of the musical. From this point, there are no costume changes for this pair, much to the delight of many audience members!

I'm not going to give anything away for anyone who has not seen this musical, and are coming to see it this week, but what happens at the end of the first act, creates an excellent opening to the second act, featuring Kurt and Ram's Dads, again extracting an amazing response from the opening night audience. Love their ties as well, costumes definitely to be worn with Pride!

Ms Fleming, as well as Veronica's mother, is played by Veronica Carabai, oh and what a character, and oh what a voice! As the Westerberg High School counsellor, she has her own little musical section, also utilising an audience member - I'll say no more about that. But the "Shine A Light" section was hilarious, and I loved the jackets worn by the students in this bit.

Reuben Browne as Kurt’s Dad/Veronica's Dad/Principal Rowan, John Gurdian as Ram’s Dad/Big Bud Dean/Coach Ripper, Thomas Oxley as Beleaguered Geek, Charlotte O'Rourke as Midwestern Surfer Punk, Ellouise Delooze as New Wave Party Girl, Tola Sokoya as Young Republicanette, Alexander Howarth as Hipster Dork/Officer, Caitlin Garcia as Drama Club Drama Queen, Carys Taylor as Stoner Chick and Christian De Gallerie as Preppy Stud/Officer.

Directed by Andy Fickman. It was great fun, it was dark, it had childish humour and it was sexy as well.

Choreographed by Gary Lloyd. This is one energetic show, and it's the choreography that provides much of that energy. It's also performed with amazingly sharp timing as well. Gary is also Co-Director.

David Shields' Set design is just perfect; the walls of the High School overshadow any prop changes that create the other settings, and with just subtle changes of lighting, get you to focus on the scene in hand, the scenes being enveloped by the walls of the set, rapidly moved and removed by the cast members.

Musical Supervisor is Will Joy, and he has quite the apt name, as the music was pure joy. The songs for "Heathers" include many catchy earworms, especially "Dead Girl Walking", "Candy Store", "Seventeen" and "I Say No", not forgetting the creepy duet "Our Love Is God" by Louis and Geraldine. Tender, but with that dark undertone never far from the surface, as if sung by a cult leader to his disciple, all the while enticing his victim into his own personal dark web.

Sound Design was by Dan Samson and the Lighting Design is by Ben Cracknell. What I loved about the lighting was that all three Heathers have a specific colour code for their clothing, and these were matched by the lighting spots for the trio, bathing them in their own soft spotlight, highlighting them and creating their own personal glow. The whole show is awash with colour, defying the darkness that the theme delivers. Take a look at the photographs below which show the fan "frickin" tastic lighting designs.

The sound was loud - but I love loud when it needs to be, and this show needed a big sound, and we certainly got that. At the start I thought that the volume may have been just a touch too loud, but then my ears started to acclimatise to the mix and from then on, the sound mix became as dramatic as the story.

"Heathers" has a feel of "Grease" but with menace. It had an operatic air in parts but with rap and an obvious musical theatre feel about many of the songs. What I am trying to say is that there is something musically for just about everyone in this show. There are uncomfortable comedy elements, as you'd find in "Book Of Mormon", and there are many childish comedy elements that teenagers will understand, as well as those teenagers who have grown up but still appreciate childish humour.

If you've seen the show before, see it again. If you've not seen the show, then you really need to treat yourself and come down to see this show. I guarantee that you'll enjoy it immensely, especially if you enjoy a darker edge to your theatrical experience! 

"Heathers" is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 12 September.

Photography by Pamela Raith.

 "Bette and Joan" by Anton Burge.

Nottingham Lace Market Theatre.

"Bette & Joan" depicts the two stars, Bette Davies and Joan Crawford, in adjacent dressing rooms, between takes on the set of "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane" over a period of one day in 1962. While Joan manages her anxiety by lacing her Pepsi with vodka and signing photographs for her beloved fans, Bette chain smokes and muses on her love life, and her ability to pick a decent script, never a decent man.

Behind the bitching and the practical jokes we see each woman's insecurities and regrets, and their rivalry is revealed to be underpinned by grudging respect as they attempt to identify their new roles in life as well as in their careers. The two chain-smoking Hollywood legends don’t hold back with their verbal attacks, finding faults to cause the most hurt to the other. 

Bette Davies is played by Dawn Gutteridge. Dawn really looked to have had the most fun in this play as Bette comes across as the most spiteful, malicious character, but loves every moment of winding her dressing room neighbour up. In contrast, there are some quite mellow and morose moments with Bette as she recalls her regrets, especially within her marriages. there are some excellent lines in the script for both actresses, including one for Bette when she compares husbands and men with dogs, stating that she has never met a dog she didn't like. The bitterness just spills from Bette's lips, but it's delicious bitterness from an audience point of view.

There's also that very different image that both Bette and Joan cultivated for themselves. Bette's goth like white plaster make up and bright red lipstick, possibly an inspiration for Robert Smith of The Cure, as well as iconic costume for Jane Hudson, the aging child star in the film, and the blonde, ringletted wig. Davies' snarling lip and fiery eyes completed the image with perfection. Dawn herself may not have Bette Davies eyes, but that's what we got on Monday night's opening.

Joan Crawford is played by Sarah Taylor. Joan acted the star, whereas Bette was the working actress straight down the line. There are several lovely lines for Crawford in this play; one being that when she goes out in public, she wants her audience and fans to see Joan Crawford, as in her films, and a brilliant one that will stay with me forever is when she described all of her ex husbands by saying that she kept friendly with them but made sure that when they had left she "changed the locks and the toilet seats".

As with Dawn, Sarah completely morphed into the character, especially with the wig, and again with her eyes. The clothes were classy throughout and there were several things that were highlighted that I didn't know before. Joan apparently was a clean freak, wiping the phone receiver every time she answered it or made a call, even though she was the only one who used it. Bette had obviously clocked this when she disposed of one of her half smoked cigarettes in a place that horrified Joan.

Another thing, which made this pair not only rivals but a good match, was their attempt at winding the other up with pranks and jokes. Bette changing scenes and schedules with the Director, and Joan getting her own back with one scene where Jane Hudson had to lift her wheelchair bound sister, Blanche, out of the wheelchair. I won't give any spoilers!

Two quite opposite women who were brilliant jokers and rivals on and off screen. And you could see that Sarah and Dawn were enjoying performing as these legends with the look that they gave each other at the final bows.

There are a couple of voices heard off stage belonging to Charles Haley and Debra Haley.

Directed by Gill Scott, this really must have been a labour of love to bring these two screen icons to the studio stage at the Lace Market Theatre. the balance between educational and entertaining was very well balanced.

• Lighting and Sound Design is by Matt Alcock. Both areas were spot on, especially with the telephone sound effects, cutting off the split second that either of the two actors picked up the phone. That may sound a simple thing to get right, but you have to have concentration to get the timing right. The lighting dimmed for whenever either Bette or Joan left their side of the stage, focusing attention on the other stage dressing room, both sound and light guiding the audience as to where they needed to concentrate on. Again, these actions may sound very simplistic, and if it were that easy, we'd all be sound and light technicians, wouldn't we?

  

  
  
• Stage Managed by Chloe Murcott, assisted by Vivien Brierley.
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• Costumes for the show are courtesy of Melanie Hamilton, Maddie Gould, Linda Croston and the company. All very stylish with just the right amount of retro look and feel.

Set Designer isn't mentioned but I will mention Hugh Philip who is named for the carpentry. Both sides of the dressing room have an area for the two stars to do their make up with the famous lightbulb lit mirrors. We immediately got that impression without there being any mirrors there, but when you see the design, you'll know what I mean, it's a clever one. The carpentry is the glam looking make up area. Black for Bette and white for Joan, again highlighting the differences in them both and also showing the darker side of the relationship points towards Bette again.

Every show will have a prompt somewhere hidden away. Julie Hughes was in one corner and had minimal work to do with these two class acts, but again, think of the amount of concentration and following the script for both is needed by Julie throughout.

Having never seen the play before tonight I couldn't wait to watch it, especially as I love the film "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane" and the legendary spitefulness that the press had fed reported. Were Joan and Bette just living up to their media image or did they really enjoy the spats to keep them both in the media spotlight. There may have been a clue about this near the start of the play, but it's one of those topics that I am sure will divide conversations after the play has ended, at the bar.

One advisory though, there's quite a bit of bad language in the play, and especially one particular word right at the end, which left my jaw dropped, but given which character delivered the word, came as no surprise really.

It is however an extremely lovable play with a lot of fun and laughter attached, and just a soupcon of melancholy, delivered by another two excellent actresses who are legendary ladies of the stage.

"Bette & Joan" opens this new season at the Lace Market Theatre and is on until Saturday 12 September.