"Be More Chill" by BJW ProductionsBJW Productions

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

This is one musical that I have not seen before, although I knew of it and have the soundtrack, and it's probably a brave choice for BJW Productions to choose this lesser-known teen musical to perform. But BJW are no stranger to putting on the lesser-known musical, following on from "Twisted" and "The Mad Ones" and making them successes for the company. This was a choice that paid off because the theatre was pretty busy on their opening night.

"Be More Chill" centres on Jeremy, a sweaty, gawky teen who wants to shed his nerdiness and virginity. Jeremy, and best friend Michael, are the outcasts who no one pays attention to, and while Michael accepts this, Jeremy desperately wants to climb the social ladder and find the courage to ask Christine to go out with him. First, he lines up to audition for drama club, in pursuit of acting-obsessed Christine. Then he takes a magic pill called a Squip, (Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor), which comes from Japan.

The Squip is a pretty seductive concept for nerdy teens; it gives you a kind of personalised chill advisor that only you can see, who tells you how to dress, how to act, and all about the deepest insecurities of the popular kids who seem so normal. Jeremy's squip was channelling Keanu Reeves circa The Matrix era. As soon as it rolls on to the scene it’s also clear that it’s deeply evil.

Just when it seems that this evil was about to take over the whole school, a remedy is found, but by whom? How can our hero save the world? And will he be as popular and "chilled" when he is back to his normal nerdy self? Only one way to find out readers!!

Arden Jennison (Scary Stockboy), Harvey Latter (Party Monster), Millen Scrivener (Brooke - who takes a shine to the new Jeremy), Emily Knight (Chloe - who has a brilliant bedroom scene trying to seduce Jeremy at the Halloween Party), Beth Yearsley (Jenna), Robert McAuley (Jake - the object of Christine's affections, but he is an absolute cad where the ladies are concerned), Matt McAuley (Rich Goranski - the bully who introduces Jeremy to the magical Squip), all excellent in their roles as the college kids.

Billy Sweet as Michael Mell - Jeremy's loyal best friend, is the sort of friend that every person should have to stand their corner, whether it is playing video games, or for best friendly advice. Billy is a young actor I can't recall noticing in the past, I may be wrong - I'm getting on a bit now - but what I did notice was his vocals and especially in one of my favourite songs from the soundtrack, "Michael in The Bathroom" which gives Billy to sing with real emotion.

Adam Guest as Mr Heere, Jeremy's Dad, who walked around without trousers - there is a reason, also doubled as Mr Reyes, the drama teacher who reveals that the school play will be "A Midsummer Night's Dream" set in a post-apocalyptic future, re-titled A Midsummer Nightmare (About Zombies). Adam turns in an extremely comic performance as both characters, earning him a large show of appreciation from the enthusiastic audience. I must note as well that I have seen more of Adam in this production than any other that I can remember!

Natalie Webster as Christine Canigula, also turns in a brilliantly comic performance as the likeable and just a little scatty crush of Jeremy's. She oozes friendly warmth and you can see why Jeremy developed the crush on this character, and Natalie brought out and developed the character wonderfully.

Andrew Bould as The Squip shows off his powerful vocals throughout this musical. I have seen Andrew several times over the years but, while noting his vocal capabilities, seemed to find a vehicle for his powerful voice in this one. Exceedingly well cast. I had visions of him playing The Phantom in Phantom Of the Opera because of this menacing, physical performance and his strong vocals. And dressed in that long black Matrix coat and glasses, you would not want to meet this character in a dark alley!

Aiden Carson as our hero, Jeremy, at first was not recognised by me due to the geeky glasses, but as soon as he started to sing, there was no mistaking that clarity. I loved the way that Aiden got under the skin of the character, shoulders stooped, almost beaten down by the bullies and his lot with life. His stature grew physically as his confidence, due to the Squip, also grew. It is a tribute to Aiden's acting that in the past few months I have seen Aiden play several, very different roles and like a chameleon, he fits the skin of the character of every role he takes on. Another excellent character-driven performance.

Directed by Beth Yearsley with Associate Director Andrew Buxton. They have really hit the nail on the head with this show on every level, including the casting.

Conducted by Ben Ward. The soundtrack is full of ear-worm songs that will bug you long after you leave the theatre. High energy dance numbers sit comfortably alongside tender ballads, giving the musical depth and self-awareness.

The Sound Design was by Harry Greatorex and operated by Martin Curtis with Lighting Design and operation by Jamie Vella. All three creating a perfect setting and ambience to the different scenes of this sci fi musical.

Stage Manager tonight was Sophie Slater-Evans, who I imagine was kept on her toes with this fast-moving show.

I don't know who the choreography was by but they did an excellent job.

"Be More Chill" shines a spotlight on youth culture, but much more than this, it's great fun, not only for sci-fi fans, but anyone who loves a good story with a brilliant soundtrack to remove you from the worries and stress from modern life, just the other side of those theatre doors, if only for a couple of hours.

"Be More Chill" is at the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton until Saturday 28 August.

And by the way, no Eminems were harmed during this performance.

 “The Play That Goes Wrong” by Mischief Theatre Company

Nottingham Theatre Royal

The fictitious Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, fresh from such hits as “The Lion and The Wardrobe”, “Cat”, and “James and the Peach”, is putting on a performance of “The Murder at Haversham Manor” – a 1920s murder mystery play, similar to “The Mousetrap”. This time around though there are enough cast members to fill all of the parts needed!

The script was written by the fictitious Susie H. K. Brideswell. During the performance, a play within a play, a plethora of disasters befall the cast, including doors sticking, props falling from the walls, and floors collapsing.

Cast members are seen misplacing props, forgetting lines, missing cues, breaking character, having to drink white spirit instead of whisky, mispronouncing words, stepping on fingers, being hidden in a grandfather clock, and being manhandled off stage, with one cast member being knocked unconscious and her replacement (and the group technician) refusing to yield when she returns. And this list is just the tip of the iceberg! The climax is a masterclass in technical theatre.

Having seen this play before I knew that I was in for a brilliant night of comedy, and it did not fail to deliver. This is one of the funniest plays going, and one of the most technical and clever plays doing the rounds. This farce, and I know that the definition of a farce is to have five doors (entrances and exits) and this play does fall into that genre, is timed to within an inch of its' life. The slapstick is as good as any of the silent film era of Keaton, Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy. The proof of this is when you hear the audience belly laughing, not just giggling or laughing, but full-on guffaws.

The cast are Tom Bulpett (Chris), Gabriel Paul (Trevor), Tom Babbage (Max), Sean Carey (Jonathan), Edward Howells (Dennis), Leonard Cook (Robert), Laura Kirman (Annie)Aisha Numah (Lottie), Edi De Milo (Gunther), Katie Hitchcock (Cynthia), Damien James (Mike) and April Hughes (Sandra). They work as a team, as you have to with the technicality of this comedy. There is a certain amount of improvisation where audience participation was entered into, again showing the prowess of these actors. Gabriel Paul especially "warming up" the crowd before the play got into the full swing of things.

The design of the set (Nigel Hook) is brilliantly worked out when you see where it starts and how it ends up.

Directed by Sean Turner, this play is probably the tightest, and even more probably, most rehearsed piece of theatre you will see in a very long time, and if you are like me and seen this comedy before, appreciate just what a clever piece of theatre this is.

The technical side of the play is not the only clever part, because the script is also very clever and at the speed that this cast sometimes deliver it. Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields.

This is the sort of theatre production that you can take your five-year-old to as well as your one hundred- and five-year-old to and they will both laugh at the same parts. A real family show, which is a rare thing in theatre today.

Let's face it, there's still not a lot to laugh about at the moment, but this play will make you forget everything outside the theatre doors and for just over two hours they will have your sides and facial muscles aching with laughter. A proper tonic for life and I for one will never tire of seeing this brilliant comedy.

“The Play That Goes Wrong” hits all the right notes for me and can be seen at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 28 August.

 "Broken Instruments" by William Varnam

I was sent a link to a new audio musical that has been based on a book called "Violins of Hope", written by James Grymes and tells the stories of Jewish musicians and their instruments during World War 2. It has been recorded in 2020 during the height of the Covid pandemic and is now due for public release in September 2021.

Inspired by love and his passion for music, Air Vander, a violin restorer goes through life enthralling audiences with his gorgeous and emotive violin playing. The year is 1938 and Ari’s love for Jazz increases. German authorities have restricted Jews from playing their own music, especially Jazz, and after one risky covert concert Ari’s music spirt is dashed.

The story evolves and Ari learns to love music again after re discovering that love through a friend. The music, and the precious violin lives through the horrors of the Holocaust, and the story continues, as well as the music. We meet the people who he comes across before, during and after World War 2, a story that could have been so different had it not been for his love of the instrument and music. By the end of this story it feels like you have had a virtual hug from the writers, actors and musicians.

The cast are Bill Varnam, Adam Horvath, Jesse Battle, Paul Goldsmith, Mica Loveridge, Kate Spencer, Aaron Belcher, Ivan Stott, Danny Hendrix, Joe Allen, Daniel Ellis, Andrew Buxton and Kelsey Shaw.

The all-original soundtrack is written by Phil Baggaley and Mark Edwards, and anyone who has had the pleasure of hearing their original music before will know that they are in for a treat, as I was as the audio musical cascaded through my headphones.

There are touches of folk and jazzy elements, all wonderfully brought to life by two very talented vocalists, Kelsey Shaw and Mal Pope. Kelsey is a home-grown Nottingham talent and Mal from Wales. Both exquisite to listen to.

The audio is directed by Daniel Ellis who is also responsible for the Sound Design. This in itself brings the story to life by creating pictures in your mind, and I soon found myself whisked away to the several scenes including being on board a ship and the terrible scenes of the Holocaust, all images painted on the inside of my head. Bringing to life the images of Jews being separated and lead off, never to be seen again.

The title track from the musical. 'Broken Instruments' featuring Kelsey Shaw is also available to download if you needed a taster for the soundtrack to this drama. The latest track available from the musical is an achingly beautiful song called "Looking for the Beautiful", sung by Mal Pope & Kelsey Shaw.

I for one would love to see this production on a stage somewhere. I have seen several productions by this group and have left the theatre having my love for a good story, good theatre and amazing original music, completely sated, and I know that if this production did make it to the stage, would be another success. Fingers crossed this will happen again.

This audio drama is available to buy and download as from 6 September via the website www.brokeninstrumentsthemusical.co.uk/audio-drama

 “Grease - The Musical”

Nottingham Theatre Royal

“Grease” was due to tour in 2020 but had to be postponed due to Covid-19. You may find some differences in this musical to the original 1978 film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Here it is set in Mid West America and Danny Zuko is part of The Burger Palace Boys, not the T-Birds. Sandy is American as opposed to Australian, and the whole feel is more urban and gritty than the candy floss feel of the film. There are also a few additional songs added to the production.

That said this musical is still amazingly good fun and everyone knows the complete soundtrack in full. “Summer Nights”, “You’re The One That I Want”, “Sandy”, “Hopelessly Devoted To You”, "Greased Lightning", “Grease”, “Beauty School Drop Out” and my favourite “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”.

Dan Partridge reprises the role of Danny, having played the role on the UK and Ireland tour in 2019. Dan's version of Zuko is less "goofy, grease-ball" and more high school jock, which I think I like as he gives Zuko more character.

Georgia Louise plays Sandy, and again, slightly less fluffy and twee and more like a normal High School girl, I imagine would act. Georgia also has a very powerful voice. just as well so that she could out sing the hen night karaoke team, who thought it was "Grease Singalong", that were in tonight!

Paul French as Kenickie, who was the more "meatball" character in the production, but it did suit Kenicke to be less bright than the Burger Palace Boys leader, Zuko.

Tendai Rinomhota as Rizzo. Now Rizzo for me was always the more aloof female character, but this production depicted her more streetwise bitchy, and I am not sure if that worked for me, especially when we discovered that she may have been pregnant, as if it was something that she wouldn't do as she was better than the others. That aside though, she gave us a powerhouse version of "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" which gave me tingles.

They are joined by Alex Christian as Doody, Josh Barnett as Roger, Inez Budd as Marty, Maeve Byrne as Jan, Marianna Neofitou as Frenchy, Corinna Powlesland as Miss Lynch and Cristian Zaccarini as Sonny.

Peter Andre plays a brilliant Teen Angel and Vince Fontaine. He did not play either role seriously, both characters slightly camped up, but not over the top, pure fun. I loved his Vince Fontaine as he really captured the American speed-talk DJs perfectly, and I have not seen anyone do that, as good as Mr Andre did it. He nailed that form of DJ Presentation. as Teen Angel, again played with added twinkle and his exit from the set was perfectly in character.

Directed by Nikolai Foster, he has taken it back to the original early 70's original version, which is why Kenickie sings "Greased Lightning" as opposed to the film version where Danny Zuko belts it out. There is that air of pent-up sexual tension, from both sides, not just the boys, mainly from the boys but also with the ladies as well, again giving this version more reality to High School teenage life of the late 50's.

Choreographed by Arlene Phillips, Ms Phillips encapsulates the whole feel of the 1950's, all the signature moves are there. It's fast and furious and precise.

My only niggle in this production that sometimes the volume for the mics could have been a little higher and some of the diction was not as sharp as it could have been. The accents were great but sometimes the accent overtook the diction and some words and phrases were lost.

Apart from that I loved this production. A production that takes you back to how "Grease" was back in its' original form and the addition songs also work well with the storyline and feel of the story. I loved the pace of the show. I loved the style. I loved the set design with the DJ booth overlooking everything on stage and central. I loved the new arrangements of the songs. I loved the colourful lighting design. In fact I loved it all.

It's one of those musicals that will be loved by everyone who goes to see it, even with the reduction of candy floss fluffiness.

“Grease” is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 21 August

 “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”

By Musicality: University of Nottingham

An eclectic group of sixth-graders vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the "ding" of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves triumphant in valour.

A riotous ride, complete with audience participation, volunteered by four willing audience members who really threw themselves into their speller roles and the fun with the choreography.

Sweet and shy Olive Ostrovaky (Megan Smith) brings only her best friend (the dictionary) with her to the bee; bold and hyperallergic speller William Barfee (Ewan Waddell) uses his “magic foot” to propel him to greatness; former champion Chip Tolentino (Joseph Straw) is struggling with his burgeoning puberty; easily distracted Leaf Coneybear (Lucy Boardman) is unconvinced that she’s smart enough to be a challenger; overachiever Marcy Park (Sophie Mitchell) is disappointed by her consistent success; and politically aware Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Emily Trappen) only wants to impress her gay dads (Ewan Waddell and Joseph Straw Straw).

Overseeing the "kids" taking part is Vice Principle Panch ( Adriana Dvorakova), former Spelling Bee champ Rona Lisa Peretti (Arfaa Butt) and Mitch Mahoney (Amy Fisher) - and I must congratulate the make up team for transforming the lovely Amy into macho Mitch!

In hilarious, touching, and catchy songs, each speller reveals his/her hopes, struggles, and passions as they make their way through the competition. An engaging, tuneful score by William Finn and a sweet, funny book by Rachel Sheinkin, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee causes an audience to fall in love, both with the show itself and its “perspicacious,” “jocular,” and “effervescent” spellers.

Produced by the man who has more strings to his talent bow than a harp player ( I know harp players don't have bows, but you get the similie with the multitude of strings), Matt Talbot. This is his debut as a Producer as well and was well assisted by Louis Yates.

And talking of many strings, Adriana also choreographed the production and directed it also!

As with "Songs For A New World" (which I loved just as much for the seriousness and emotion as I love this musical for its comedy and fun), the music was stripped back to cello ( Amber Frost - who also was Musical Director) and keyboards (Rex Perkins), but created such a rounded sound for just the two instruments.

Also, as with "Songs" I could not choose any of the characters over the other to highlight as they were all different and all equally funny and lovable in their own way. All equally brought to life by a team of excellent character actors. I've seen "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" before and this production reminded just how brilliantly funny the musical is.

Just like Nottingham City Transport, you wait for ages and ages and two life savers come at once. In this case two very different productions, both of which I adored for different reasons. Both productions highlighting the immense dramatic talents of the students of the University. I know from talking to Matt what a lot of hard work, sweat and maybe even a few tears, hopefully no blood, has gone into these productions and I expect everyone involved will be looking forward to a bit of shuteye after this coming Sunday. In my humble opinion, they deserve it.

Who says student life is all party party party? I imagine a lie in is what they are looking for, as well as maybe just a little bit of party for celebratory purposes.

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”, as well as "Songs For A New World" is being held at the Trent Building at the Nottingham University only until Sunday 15 August. Go and support these very talented young men and women and maybe take in the beautiful surroundings with a picnic and glass of bolly by the lake this weekend before their final shows