"The Wizard Of Oz" by Kaleidoscope Players.

Adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

We all know the story of the young girl, Dorothy Gale who lives on a farm in Kansas with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and little dog, Toto. It tells the story of how a tornado sweeps her, her home and Toto to a magical land called Oz, how she manages to eradicate the Munchkins from the Wicked Witch of The East by flattening her when the house lands on her.

On the way to meeting the Wizard, so she can get back home to Kansas she meets, and helps The Tinman, Scarecrow and The Cowardly Lion while the quartet have a few adventures on their way.

The atmosphere of the show starts as soon as you step through the doors of The Duchess Theatre as you're greeted by Ozians, clad in shiny green waistcoats.

Hannah Bradford is Dorothy Gale and is totally Dorothy all the way through. She has the accent and I am so pleased that she did not try and sound like Judy garland when she sang. Hannah has a lovely voice and delivered all the character of Dorothy. Many times I have seen the actor playing this role and trying to get that garland twang, with varying degrees of success, but Hannah's voice was all we needed for Dorothy. There's fun as well as fear in Hannah's performance and the retention of innocence just makes the perfect fit.

Amy Bradford, Hannah's sister, plays The Scarecrow/Hunk. A lovely character filled presentation and Amy knows how to get the maximum comic effect for Scarecrow by using her face, as well as that lovely knockabout physicality needed for the role.

Zoe Shepherd plays Tinman/Hickory. So much to like with this role. I loved the robotic style dancing and the whole physical side of the character. She really makes you believe that she is made of metal. I also loved the costume for Tinman as it's a more modern look, moving towards that steampunk vibe.

Evie Barfield is the Cowardly Lion/Zeke. Full of character, and again a slightly more modern adaptation of Lion which omitted the line that everyone connects to the character, "put 'em up, put 'em up". I didn't notice until the drive home. Evie looked to be having great fun bringing this character to the stage, and I know that the audience were having fun watching her have fun.

Rachel Robinson brought Toto to life on stage; that puppet looks so realistic as well! What I especially liked about this role is that, often I try not to notice the puppeteer, but in Rachel's case, I wanted to notice her, as well as Toto, because what you imagine Toto would be feeling inside is the exact emotion that Rachel displayed visually. The yap was pitched just right as well for a Scottie dog, which I am sure was the breed of this particular little pooch, and the lever that created the wagging tail was in overdrive, so I am sure that Toto was a happy chappie for the majority of the adventure.

Lucy Cadney is Aunt Em/ Glinda. From the busy farmer's wife fretting over a faulty incubator to the gentle, stress free good Witch, Lucy displayed a variety of emotions between the two characters, all the while looking exquisitely lovely in the process.

Martin Church plays Uncle Henry as well as the Guard looking after access to the Wizard. Again, two characters that are as far apart as you can get. The hard working Farmer and the jovial Guard of the Wizard's lair.

Kerry-Ann Roe is Miss Gulch/ Wicked Witch. I don't know why but I love the nasty characters, probably because they are so much fun to play, and everyone loves a baddie, don't they? Kerry-Anne's Wicked Witch costume is another excellent example of bringing the character up to date, once more with a steampunk style costume. Wonderfully wicked in both character forms; she made you want to push Miss Gulch off of her bike she was so nasty.

Rob Simpson is The Professor as well as The Wizard Of Oz. I love the accent that Rob provided for The Professor as well as the vocal effects for The Wizard. I must mention as well how the Wizard appeared to our four heroes. It was a four piece section of abstract art is probably the best way to describe it which moved like a giant puppet face. The timing of the puppetry to Rob's voice shows that a great deal of work with the timing has obviously gone into this part.

The Ensemble consist of Alice Goodall, Tessa Raum, Josephine Walker, Michelle Bradford, Theresa Hartwright, Julie Black, Caitlin Wright, Beth Margett, Freya Mosley and Ron Murfin. They made the stage feel more full with their presence and really boosted the choreographed numbers brilliantly.

Alice, Tessa and Josephine brought a lovely sassy feel to their roles as trees, and I loved the tree costumes.

Michelle and Theresa also turned puppeteers to bring the crows to life with some realistic cackling and cawing.

The Junior Ensemble consist of Charlotte, Alex, Jessica, Rosie, Callum and Madison who doubled their parts as Munchkins. I must mention Alex separately as he also played the part of Nikko, the leader of the Flying Monkeys. A wonderfully cheeky and energetic performance which I especially enjoyed.

Directed by Alice Goodall and Tessa Raum and they utilised every part of the auditorium, with characters using the main aisle as entrances and exits, as well as the two side aisles and the auditorium doors. The show was pacy, and even in the scene changes they made sure that in the blackouts on stage, we had musical accompaniment while the scenes were being set up. They succeeded in bringing an updated version of an old classic without taking away any of the pieces that make this musical the classic that it is.

Musical Director is Bethan Davies-Taylor, who, along with the cast, created some gorgeous and harmonious sections throughout. There were sections that reminded me of when I was a kid, sitting on the sofa on a Sunday afternoon and watching the old musicals on television, and these harmonies took me right back there.

Set Design, which is absolutely lovely, is all down to Tessa Raum and Jason Kramer, who is also the Technical Director and responsible for the puppetry. 

Prop creators are Lucy Cadney, Kerry-Ann Roe, and Deb Weetman. 

Amy Bradford is the show's Movement Director,

Choreographed gorgeously by Amy Bradford, Josephine Walker and Evie Barfield.

Costume Designers are Denise Brown, Lucy Cadney, Zoe Shepherd, and Deb Weetman. They could have so easily have stuck with the original patterns for costumes, but no, there's a lovely mix of traditional and steampunk, bringing a fresh, more up to date feel about the show's image. 

The animation sequences on the backdrop are created by Tessa, who has donned many hats in this production, and surely a qualifier for next year's Eagle Awards. Sometimes the moving film backdrop can take away from a production, but not in this case. The video sequences create much of the magic, especially of course the "twister" sequence, and the introduction of the Wicked Witch flying through the air on Miss Gulch's bicycle. Blended in with these images, the ensemble also added to this with various broken parts of the farm and a cow whirling past from one side of the stage to the other.

Sound Designer and Operation was by Dave Dallard. When got right the acoustics in the Duchess is excellent and you can hear every word spoken and sung. Well, here was another of those nights. The clarity and mix between vocals and music was just right, and the volume was spot on, which created an added layer of excitement, especially in the twister sections.

Lighting Designer and Operation was by Aaron Mace. We went from quite a drab wash of colour at the start, which was the perfect way to introduce the overall feel of the musical, but then once we reached Oz, it was like an artist's palette of colour, and continued in that way through to the end.

With having such a busy week, theatre wise, this was the earliest chance I had to see the show, but I am so pleased that I didn't miss out. You can see the hard work that Kaleidoscope Players have put into creating such a fantastic piece of theatre. "The Wizard Of Oz" is performed on a regular basis, and it's so nice to see the thought that is behind creating a slightly different look and feel about a show.

"The Wizard Of Oz" comes to the end of its' yellow brick road this evening when the final performance commences at 7.30.

 "Forever Young" by Erik Gedeon.

Spotlight Theatre Group.

MMC (Mountsorrel Memorial Centre).

If you've seen this play/musical before, then you'll know just how funny this show is. But wait, there are extra characters and more songs have been added to the show to incorporate the more recent residents of the care home.

The play is set in the future and the MMC is now a retirement care home for retired actors and musicians and has been renamed to Routledge Manor. But do retired performers take retirement to a relaxed life of being cared for? Not this lot!

Their days are filled with reliving their past glories, or as they see their past glories which includes sex and drugs and rock n roll, all with an open eye for Sister Sara, the perfect nurse for these young at heart veterans as she treats them to her operatic outbursts, some with alarming lyrics. Her whistling of the death march as she vacates the room doesn't give much faith in her care for the residents.

Sara is played wonderfully bossy by Lisa Mills, who is also the Producer. (I'll let you into a secret... this is not Lisa's first experience of this play as she has also directed the play and been Musical Director a few years ago). The fact that she holds so much power over the residents shows as deep joy in her face. I love the patronising start with the "Clappy Hands" song but we have to wait until the end to hear what a lovely singing voice Lisa has when she sings "I'll Be Seeing You" as she bids them all goodnight. The showbusiness side of Sister Sara comes around with her performance of "Cabaret".

Elliot Paulson is Mr Paulson, a retired magician who now just wants to enjoy his twilight years with the new love of his life, Ms Bladon. We get a section where Mr Paulson gets to show off his "magic skills", and the "trick" with Ms Bladon as his lovely assistant is obvious but such fun. Mr Paulson and the male residents do a brilliantly comical version of Tom Jones' "Sex Bomb".

Georgie Bladon is Ms Bladon, former actress, who now suffers from dementia. Her favourite play is Chekhov's "The Seagull", which she "performs" an extract of to entertain her fellow residents. Mr Paulson and Ms Bladon make a lovely couple, especially when we got to the poignant section where Miss Bladon sang Nilsson's "Without You". I won't tell you what brought this song on because, while it has its' funny side, it was quite a sad moment in the play, which caused the perfect reaction from the audience.

Paul Mills is Mr Mills, an ageing rockstar who once performed at Glastonbury and now croons the Queen song "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" while passing the dooby round. Mr Mills is the rocking hippy in this production and is also part of a brilliant comedy double act which closes Act One with Mr Holtom in a shocking manner! I remember seeing Paul play this very same role nine years ago at the Guildhall Theatre in Derby. 

Martin Holtom is Mr Holtom, a former Shakespearian actor who once performed at The Globe and Swan Theatres. He is still dreaming of the final performance, but is he too late? There's a section in this show which features several performed Shakespearian quotes performed by all of the cast. One of my favourite scenes include Mr Holtom and Mr Mills leading up to the close of the first act.

Jennifer Richardson is Miss Richardson, aka Miss R, a former music teacher who once met Mick "Romeo Rubber Lips" Jagger. Miss R likes the 80's, rap music and knitting strange looking things!

Mr Wrightovski, is a Russian concert pianist who has no grasp of the English language. Played by  Jason Wrightham, another wonderful character driven performance with the physicality in this role never faltering. Even though his former occupation was playing the piano, he begrudgingly plays the keyboard for Sister Sara to vocalise to.

Jemma Bennett is Mrs Bennett who used to be an artist, who specialised in painting nudes. She likes a boogie, but only because it gives her a chance to get up close and personal with the male residents.

Mina Holtom is Miss Pegg, a former activist and professional actress whose nickname was "The Dreaded Diva". My favourite character in this musical comedy play is this foul-mouthed character. A wonderfully politically incorrect potty mouthed character, who has a wonderful story to tell from her activist days, complete with local references. Miss Pegg starts the musical ball rolling as soon as Sister sara leaves the room with a raunchy, rocking version of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll". Her version of Aqua's "Barbie Girl" is the result of another inspired piece of comedy.

Some of the comedy may not be politically correct but who cares as it’s very funny with some clever arrangements of popular songs. “Barbie Girl” has never sounded so good. This comedy also takes in “I Got You Babe”, “I Will Survive”, “ Uptown Funk”, "Hey baby" and of course the poignant title of the play “Forever Young” among this new and refreshed score.

The make up is excellent as are the costumes and wigs. 

Sound for the show is by Ryan Heath. The MMC's acoustics are excellent so you got to hear every word spoken and sung; the backing tracks are lovely and clear and sound lovely in this performance space. Sound effects are well used and timed perfectly.

Lighting is by members of the MMC venue.

Choreography for these musical numbers have been created brilliantly for these aging characters, especially the dance sections for two of the big funky numbers, "Sex Bomb" and "Uptown Funk".

The original script is by Erik Gedeon and this adaptation, which takes what I had seen before to another level, is by Giles Croft and Stefan Bednarczyk.

The Video montage at the end is brilliantly conceived, showing the cast members as children alongside the way they look at the moment in that clever way that you see on Facebook/Youtube videos where both young and current actors embrace the other. Clever stuff. There are also a collection of other pictures of the cast over the years creating a lovely time line of them all, all proving that with the right mindset, we can all stay forever young.

"Forever Young" has another performance on Saturday 25 July, so make sure that you don't miss this hilarious and heartfelt piece of theatre. A wonderful lesson in how to grow old disgracefully.

Photography by Ben Sherwin.

 "Grease - The School Edition"

Gatepost Youth Theatre.

Marlpool URC, Heanor, Derbyshire.

This is one of my favourite musicals, just because of the feel-good factor every song evokes. I am sure that I don't need to tell you the story of Danny and Sandy either so we can just cut to the praise!

This is the first proper outing for Gatepost Youth Theatre, apart from a Christmas Concert last year, so I imagine nerves were quite high for all involved before the show.

You may be asking yourself, what is the difference between the fully fledged musical and the School Edition? There are several scenes that have been left out due to their "adult" content, and of course, you can't really stage a road race on the Turnpike, live on stage. 

Some of the song's lyrics have also been changed to "clean up" the content. I'm sure that everyone knows the soundtrack anyway so will know which lyrics have been cleansed.

The soundtrack is iconic with songs like "Summer Nights", "You're The One That I Want", "Greased Lightning", "Sandy", "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and "We Go Together". Some youth performances don't include the song "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" with the licence but it was included in this particular one, and I was so pleased because it is one of my favourite songs from the musical, and was sung with great feeling by Bella Radford. The licensing also doesn't include the title track, which is also strange, but that is all down to the writers of that particular song.

Danny Zuko is played by Isla Farrell. I don't think that I have ever seen a female playing Danny Zuko as Danny Zuko, but I like the way that Isla played the role as a more macho Danny, as opposed to how John Travolta played him as a bit of a thicko.

Sandra (Sandy) Dubrowski is played by Erika Needham. Sandy is no pushover, even at the beginning of the story, and is definitely not by the end. I loved the really tender version of "Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee" Sandy sings just before the big transformation, and Erika looked fantastic after her makeover, showing Danny and the others just who was boss! the slap she delivers near the end was brilliantly timed and delivered.

Kenickie is played by Paige Bone. Kenickie can also be a bit of a lanky goofball, which is probably why Zuko and Kenickie got on so well in the film. Paige didn't do goofball Kenickie, she played him as a wiseguy player, but one thing that both Paige and Kenickie do have in common is that they are both tall and slim.

Rizzo is played by Bella Radford. What feeling Bella put into Rizzo's song, and I loved the attitude she wore as armour for Rizzo's softer side.

Doody is played by Clara Hyland-Thomas; small in stature but BIG on personality, and so full of energy!

Frenchy is played by Evelyn Bridgwood. Another one of my favourite characters from the film.

Roger (Rump), the "mooner" of the show, is played by Jake Bavin and also plays Teen Angel, who sings another one of my favourite songs in the show, "Beauty School Dropout". Jake is a lovely character actor, and has the ability to act with his face as well as the rest of him. Loved his characterisation of "rump" and his version of "Mooning", as well as "Beauty School Dropout" showed off his vocal skills.

Sonny is played by Joseph Ross, who I think showed a few nerves at the start, but they seemed to disappear and the cheekiness of Sonny's character started to show via Joseph. You could tell just how much Joseph was enjoying this part as near the end, just before the new Sandy and Danny meet up, there's a line he delivers that really makes him smile and giggle.

The geeky Eugene is played wonderfully by Arthur Hyland-Thomas. Even if I hadn't got the show programme, as soon as he came on stage, I knew that he was going to be Eugene by the costume, glasses and haircut. The scene at the dance when he is chatting to Cha Cha is hilarious and he really gets into that geeky character brilliantly. 

Gracie Smith (Jan), Bella Nicholson (Marty) and Esmie Smith-Cockayne (Patty) played the rest of The Pink Ladies. Gracie is hilarious in the scenes with Roger, Bella is a fantastic dancer and Esmie really brings the enthusiasm as cheerleader Patty.

Miss Lynch is played by Ellie Hall. It can be quite difficult for a young person to take on a character who is so much older than themselves, but I really enjoyed Ellie's stiffness and sensibility that Miss Lynch has, which Ellie manages to convey so well.

The slimy rock n roll radio presenter with the tongue-twisty lines, Vince Fontaine, is played by Dan Bramley.

Cha Cha, who creates quite a stir at the hop is played by Amelia Tupenny. Brilliant scenes with Eugene made me grin.

The rest of the Rydell High students and Ensemble are played by Willow Kemp, Winter Rose Beeson and Ava Jones. 

Directed by Luke Grainger. This show is pacy and rolls along quite nicely, and all of the young actors looked as if they were having an absolute hop. Sorry that should be "ball". I can't remember if Luke has directed before but he has done a lovely job with this cast, as well as being part of the stage management team.

Choreographed by Jordan Neary, who also wore the Producer's cap and Set Designer's as well. Sometimes a set can really add to a production, and sometimes just the basic does just as well. The latter was the case here and I think everyone in the audience knows the film "Grease" so we didn't need to be told that we were on the playing field, at the hop, in a bedroom, because we all know where everything is on the timeline of this musical. Making the set minimalist was absolutely the right decision, plus it's another thing that the cast do not need to worry about.

Choreography wise, you just need to take a look at just how much energy and enthusiasm these young people put into the dancing to see just how well received the choreography was. It's fun to watch and I imagine fun to teach these youngsters, whose parents probably weren't even a twinkle in their parents' eyes when this film came out in 1978, never mind when the original musical came out in 1971.

The props said everything that were needed to know about the musical, and I love the car with the number plate of GR3A5E. Props were sourced or made by Jude Cliffman.

Musical Director is Christopher Collington, who also took on roles of Sound and Light Designer, along with his very talented Lighting Technician, Freddy Collington.

Costumes are by Jordan Neary and Lottie Lodge, and they all looked groovy, but they must have been so warm in the leather jackets in that Church Hall as there was no air conditioning. 

This fun musical is the one that you want to see on one of these warm and balmy summer nights. Let's face it there are worse things you could do than be entertained by this talented group, so hurry up as I heard that tickets are going like greased lightning. Take a friend and then you can go together, especially if your partner is hopelessly devoted to you, because then in the interval you can moon at each other.....ok I'll stop there.

"Grease The School Edition" is at Marlpool URC until Saturday 25 July. 

 "Apple Of Discord" by Chronic Insanity.

The People's Hall, Heathcote Street, Nottingham.

Ever been invited to a wedding where arguments and a fight breaks out, especially after the wine has been flowing a bit? Of course you have. Well this is a wedding of great historical importance, and you have been invited.

Even before entering the building, all of us "mortals" are asked to read the T's and C's, scan a QR Code to sign a special waiver, and are given a speech about what we were to expect once we walk through those doors of The People's Hall.

Eris, the goddess of strife, has been omitted from the guest list from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis She of course retaliates by chucking a golden apple into the celebration, inscribed with “to the fairest.” That kicks off a massive dispute between Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena, each wanting to claim the crown of "the fairest", which ends up with Paris of Troy making a fateful decision that ultimately spark the Trojan War. And the rest is history as they say!

This is a very special piece of theatre because the action takes place simultaneously over three floors of the People's Hall, so you'll never see everything, unless of course you have been on three different days. That said, you still won't see the same thing as anyone else.

On the ground floor you'll be able to see the wedding venue and all of the action that goes on in any type of wedding reception as well as all of the cabaret entertainment thereafter. I must say, some of those tunes performed are definitely older than I first thought! There's also that legendary scene from William Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" with The Mechanicals to take in as part of the cabaret entertainment.

You have the choice to stay on this level throughout, and enjoy the entertainment, or visit the other two floors, or simply tour the three floors as and when you feel, where there's entertainment going on at the same time.

On the first floor, The Realm Of The Gods, there are three rooms, Athena, Hera and Aphrodite's rooms, all with different entertainment where you can stay as long or as little as you wish, taking in the various scenes. I'm not going to spoil it by telling you what happens within these three rooms, but then again I have a feeling that the entertainment will not be exactly the same every performance, so every performance will be completely unique to every audience member. You will feel as if you've been invited to an actual wedding reception where something is happening in every room you move to.

Aphrodite's room has a music and dance with some very clever lyrics performed almost in an Eminem style, Athena's room has a more interactive element built in and Hera's room has a traditional theatrical vibe.

The second floor up, which is the Top Floor is another space where every audience member who wishes to visit this part of the experience will receive something very unique entertainment wise. These spaces are where you can have a one to one interaction with members of the cast. I've probably made this sound quite seedy but it's not at all like that, but as you can imagine, with something so very different, it's not that easy to explain without giving out quite big spoilers, and that would take away a lot of the fun and excitement for the individual. My "quest" was a simple one to deliver a letter.

As you can imagine, the behind the scenes work is very different to any other theatrical event, but it is remarkably well stage managed by Olly Francis and Matthew Cordon, who obviously have so much trust in this group of actors who have a script to work from but also have the talent and ability to improvise while keeping to the theme of the story.

Directed by Joe Strickland, and as with stage management, projects the vision to their cast, but also places great faith in each and every actor to create something special for their audience, and again giving everyone a unique experience that they probably will not have access to for a long time. Assistant Director is Chris Sims.

Lauren Brady, Doug Deans, Esther Warren, Joe Strickland, Lauren Brady, Laurie Owen, Nat Henderson, Nicki Morley, Sam Marshall and Ben MacPherson are the writing team and have created a piece of theatre that is pure entertainment.

One thing that I guarantee will take your breath away are the costumes. Haydn Rhys Cawley, who also plays the role of Dionysus, and Sarah Todino have very clearly researched the style and materials required to bring this era to life. Every costume you see is a work of art.

Esther Warren is also the Lighting Director for this show. You can see the fabulous job done in the photographs below.

The Props Designers and Constructors are Katie Mitchell and Sarah Todino.

Phebe Chan is the Sound Op, Stage Manager and Cabaret Compere.

Back in these ancient times there was no order of service for this wedding and evening's entertainment, but here are a list of the cast members.

Ali Lit (Cassandra), Amanda Mitchell (Eris), Ben Macpherson (Zeus), Clare Louise Moss (Thetis), Dan Webber (Cabaret Compere and Aesop), Emma Carlton (Nick Bottom), Emma Webber (Athena - Mon - Thurs), Esther Warren (Tiresias), Ken Ogborn (Peter Quince and Poseidon), Tim Ralphs (Phemius and Cabaret Compere), Francesca Short (Persephone as well as Athena on Friday), Jake Turner Evans (Ares), Jack Dillon (Hephaestes and Robin Starveling), Tom Pluse (Hades - voice only), Laurie Owen (Atlas Tues - Fri), Katie Mitchell (Demeter), Lucy Hallam (Orpheus and Amethyste), Ria Ashcroft (Hestia), Haydn Rhys Cawley (Dionysus), Prof. Helen Lovatt (Homer), James Kaye (Snug The Joiner), Joe Strickland (Charon), Kat Engall (Hermes), Katie Mitchell (Demeter), Lachlan Charles (Francis Flute), Lauren Brady (Thallo), Marilyn Bird (Hera), Matthew Cordon (Argus), Michelle-Louise Wright (Mechanicals Director and Tom Snout), Olly Francis (Carpo), Phebe Chan (Auxo), Reece George Soar (Peleus), Sam Marshall (Apollo), Sarah Todino (Arachne), Nicki Morley (Artemis) and Eden Silk (Aphrodite).

Where else are you going to get the chance to, and I keep using the word "experience" something like this? This is an experience, not just another piece of theatre, it's immersive theatre at its' finest, and your entertainment is, quite literally, in the hands of the Gods, especially when it comes to discovering who is "the fairest of them all".

"Apple Of Discord" is at The People's Hall, Heathcote Street in Nottingham until Friday 24 July.

 "Operation Mincemeat"

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Possibly the most anticipated show for a long time, especially after listening to the soundtrack for many months now. I can reveal that everything that you may have heard about this show, are all correct.

It's one of the zaniest, cleverest, fastest moving, beautifully timed shows on stage, and these five actors really earn their money. They race about, change characters on stage and have rapid fire costume changes to work into the show. God, It's Brilliant!

The music reminds me of a mix between "Hamilton" and "Six" with plenty of hip hop tunes with very clever lyrics. The book, music and lyrics by David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoe Roberts.

This show started off at the Edinburgh Fringe back in 2019 and by 2024 they had received the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, as well as three Tony nominations for Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical in 2025.

The plot is based on a World War Two British deception operation named "Operation Mincemeat". Now, I'm not going to go into the detail of the storyline or the characters because, as in all the best spy stories, secrets shouldn't be revealed, a bit like the conclusion of "The Mouse Trap". Believe me though, this show is a proper belter and must be seen to get the full and utter enjoyment from this show.

Just five actors play over fifty roles, which straight away promises a rapid paced and chaotic, but brilliantly funny show; and it did not disappoint.

Charlotte Fleming is Jean Leslie, the glamorous MI5 typist. Jean wants so much more than what women are given in the 1940s. She wants to make a difference.

Jordan Pearson plays Hester Leggatt, the formidable secretary to Charles Cholmondeley. Hester is an older woman who has been working for a long time, and understands how females are perceived in the workplace. Jordan is one of the understudies but obviously knows this role back to front and inside out.

Ahmed Hamad is the socially awkward scientist and Air Force Officer, Charles Cholmondeley.

Chloe Hart plays flamboyant spy Johnny Bevan. He is the first to explain the premise of the operation; the British government requires a strategy to convince the Nazis to leave Sicily. He is the big boss of the gang.

Katy Ellis, one of the other understudies, plays Ewen Montague, a brilliant Naval Intelligence Officer.

Apart from these main characters, the stage is a revolving door for the above to play various other characters....

Ian Fleming: A naval intelligence officer who narrates parts of the show and serves as the mastermind behind the alter-ego James Bond.

Admiral Godfrey: The strict, demanding chief of Naval Intelligence.

Bill / Glyndwr Michael: The homeless man whose body was used by MI5 to carry the fake documents.

The Typing Pool: Including characters named Meryl, Beryl, and Cheryl who help manage the clerical work and gossip in the office.

German Officials & Spies: Including Nazi figures and the German spy Haselden, who operates in Spain.

Various others: Submarine crews, cabaret singers, and seaside locals.

The scene with the submarine crew is hilarious as the scene switches from the submarine to a dance scene in a club, using a quick change of costume and lighting design each time. The rapidity of this scene in particular has the ability to leave you feeling out of breath.

Directed by Robert Hastie. This man must have one of the best jobs in theatre to bring such a theatrical musical masterpiece to an audience.

Choreographed by Jenny Arnold, these moves are insane. There are echoes of Beyonce and Rihanna videos - don't worry you'll easily spot which ones, as well some extremely energetic groove moves. Some scenes have such fast character changes which bring along slightly different choreography for the various characters, it's like being caught up in a whirlwind of dance.

The Set and Costume Designer is Ben Stones. Let's start with the set. If you've ever seen "Curious Incident" the set is a little bit like that with sections of the back wall revealing doors, windows, electronic lighting designs etc. Props are brought on and off, often revealing character entrances and exits from behind large props like roller boards. Desks convert into other items, and the final glitzy finale is breath takingly Hollywood with a BIG illuminated staircase and...... no, I've said too much, I can't reveal anymore about this amazing set.

The costumes are wonderfully wacky, especially the glitz involved in one particular character where instead of blood there are hundreds of red, shiny sequins on several jackets in this wardrobe. Take a look at the photos and you'll get an idea of the full breadth of the costumes.

Lighting Designer is Mark Henderson. This area is yet another big hit with me - to be honest every area in this show is a big hit with me - It's like experiencing a big American Busby Berkeley Hollywood style musical with every colourful light used. 

Sound Designer is Mike Walker. I love musicals that don't hold back on volume and with several of these musical numbers, the volume of the boogie beats bombard you, and I love the power you get from these blasts. Nicely blended with the vocals, and with a lot of the songs including rap sections, it's important that the words are heard, to get the full comedy effect from them, and I heard every word and extracted every ounce of comedy and satirical lyrics from them. I already have the soundtrack, but seeing them performed on stage just adds an additional comedy skin.

Musical Director is Ben Cox with Musical Supervisor being Joe Bunker.

The orchestration and vocal arrangements are by Steve Sidwell. You may have gathered how much I love this soundtrack, and the vocal arrangements, especially for the rap tracks and the faster songs were delivered by the cast with speed and accuracy. It's this ability that reminded me a bit of the "Hamilton" soundtrack with songs like "My Shot", but with even more pace. One song in this show, "Dear Bill", though is a beautiful love letter, sung by Jordan Pearson.

Do you get the idea that I love this manic musical? Does a newt have a tail?

"Operation Mincemeat" is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 1 August.