"Magic Goes Wrong" by Mischief Theatre & Penn and Teller.

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

The multi award-winning Mischief Theatre, who previously brought us "The Play That Goes Wrong" and "Peter Pan Goes Wrong", return to the stage with a new show created with magic legends, Penn & Teller.

The show is all about a hapless gang of magicians who are staging an evening of grand illusion to raise cash for charity. But as the magic turns to mayhem, accidents spiral out of control and so does their fundraising target!

There is so much material to take in, including the arch of letters spelling out "Disasters In Magic Charity Fundraiser", which throughout the evening have letters disappearing to spell something completely different!

I've not laughed so much and so heartily at a production than I did tonight. There is a lot of silly comedy, which is genuinely very funny, also extracting comic responses from the audience, all the while previously being drip fed sub-consciously by the actors on stage. And let's not short change this cast, they are actors who have been taught how to pull off the magic tricks while making them look like they have been doing it all their lives, with the smoothness of the professional magician and illusionist.

This is one show where it's impossible to pick one performer over another, due to the speciality of the production.

Daniel Anthony (Mickey) plays the "audience member" who has been picked at random to help The Mind Manager with some of his tricks.

Valerie Cutko (Eugenia) donates £100,000 to the charity that the magicians are raising funds for, but after a slight accident involving a very large circular saw, the totaliser dips into a minus figure, plus Eugenia is revealed to have a connection to one of the magicians in the show, unfortunately though, too late!

Rory Fairbairn (The Mind Mangler) is brilliant with the audience, as you'd expect from a mind reader, and if you've ever been to one of those shows where the magician professes to be able to guess your name, occupation etc. as well as being able to communicate with the deceased, then you will immediately recognise this particular hit and miss strand of mind reading spectacle. Brilliant audience participation and his illusion with the broken bottle was pure class which will have you holding your breath.

Sam Hill (Sophistico) is the main compere for the show, who by the end we start to feel just a little bit sorry for him with his quasi-tragic family history, but pulls off an amazing feat of illusion that I'd seen performed on TV, but when it's done right in front of your eyes, you really appreciate how clever this show is.

Kiefer Moriarty (The Blade) is the rock n roll rebel "dangerous" illusionist. Whether it including mouse traps, guns, knives or being encased in water for longer than a normal person can hold their breath, The Blade is pure edge of the seat comedy magic, the sort you'd give your left arm for, and he really did! This is the act that should come with a "don't try this at home" warning.

Jocelyn Prah (Spitzmaus) and Chloe Tannenbaum (Bar) are the German duo who turn out to be very flexible, in more ways than one as they act as assistants to the other turns, with great hilarity.

The understudies, Ishbel Cumming, Ricky Oakley, CJ Field and Jay Olpin, also take part in various stage operative roles, with equally comic results. For anyone who has seen any of the other Mischief Theatre productions, you'll know how vital these extra bodies to the whole production.

The impressive and showy costume design is by Roberto Surace. Costumes are very important where magic is concerned with plenty of concealed pockets and sleeve space. They also have to look the part with a multitude of feathers, not just from the doves - no doves were harmed in this production, neither was the swan - and gallons of glitter and sequins.

The set is design by Will Bowen, another level of providing some brilliant comedy moments with the lettered archway and sliding scenery which close before the magicians have time to get through the reducing portals.

Duncan McLean's video and projection design is also rather special, especially the shot of Derren Brown in the Old Market Square, who unfortunately comes to a rather sticky end.

There's been a lot of local research done to mention Nottingham landmarks, streets, clubs and hostelries, loads of audience participation and use of the auditorium as well as the stage, making this show seem really personalised. With this attention to detail and talent for ad libbing, every show will be slightly different.

If you want a show that is technically very clever, incredibly entertaining and packed with laughs, not giggles but full-blown belly laughs, then this is the show to see this week. Just make sure you get a ticket before it disappears and takes this incredibly talented cast with it.

I loved it, and I know that you, and your whole family will love it as well.

"Magic Goes Wrong" is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 2 April.

 "Peter Pan" by Spotlight Theatre

Nottingham Arts Theatre

Based on the J.M. Barrie classic story of the boy that never grew up, it's been adapted by Amanda Hall. I've always loved the Peter Pan story, and it provides a special warmth to your inner self when performed by younger actors. This isn't the panto version, nor is it the musical version; it's the play version with a bit of added music.

Everyone knows the story of the Darling children who meet Peter Pan one night when their parents are out, when Peter comes looking for his shadow. Peter takes Wendy, John and Michael to Neverland so that Wendy can be their mother, sew pockets on and tell them stories. Captain Hook wants to get rid of Peter and the Lost Boys once and for all, and in this story, lures Wendy away to be a pirate - as she said that she had always wanted to be one - which in turn lures Peter to the rescue. Throw  in some mermaids and a ticking crocodile, and you have a magical piece of theatre, not just for the kids.

I've seen George Young a few times in various stage guises and, although I didn't recognise him straight away as Mr Darling, or Captain Hook, the penny dropped when I saw the programme for the show. As always George shows great confidence and the ability to get into a character, especially with Captain Hook. He reminded me of the Tim Curry version of Captain Hook. I think it was a few years ago now when I saw George playing The Cat In The Hat in "Seussical", and he has gone from strength to strength.

Stephanie Boosh as Cookson and Mrs Darling, showed of a really lovely and mature singing voice when performing "No Place Like Home" and reminded be a little of Dolores O'Riordan, the late lead singer of The Cranberries with her slight lilt on her singing voice.

The three Darling children were played by Lois Stevenson (Wendy), Preston Nash (John) and Bella McGart (Michael) and gelled well together as a trio. Liza/Noodles was played by Megan Holder, looking very grown up as the children's nanny.

Our hero, Peter Pan, was played by another young actor who I've seen before, Zach Silcock. Zach, I last saw performing about fifteen months ago with the virtual Christmas Concert that the Arts Theatre put on. I also remember his performance as the street-wise kangaroo in "Seussical" with George Young. Zach plays Pan as a typical young teenager, quite cocky and slightly arrogant, but great fun and, again with great confidence. Another young man who I can see going on to greater things on local stages. I hope that he chooses to take on more musicals as he has a voice that, when trained and fully developed, I think will wow the audiences in the right musical.

Another pair who I have seen on stage before were Finlay Tomlinson (Smee) and Jason Thompson (Starkey). Finlay I can also remember from being a cheeky monkey, one of The Wickersham Brothers, in the 2019 performance of "Seussical", has developed a little niche for playing comedy roles, and I'd love to see him develop this in the future as I feel he has a talent for straight-faced comedy; I have certainly enjoyed what he did today as Smee and what I've seen him produce before. Jason I can remember from last year's production of "Joseph & the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat", playing one of Joseph's brothers, Gad.

I must also give a mention to Esme McCart for her brilliant part as the Crocodile. I've never seen a cuter crocodile ever!

There was a whole shed load of young actors on stage playing either pirates, mermaids or Lost Boys, all of whom looked like they were having great fun, which made us feel like having the same in the audience.

This fun production was directed by Jess Hardy-Turner, who I imagined had great fun with the story, maybe not as much fun handling the large 40 strong cast. A wonderfully enjoyable result though.

Musical Director was Sam Griffiths, so with Sam involved, you knew that this area would be covered confidently. And what an inspired choice to close the show with the cast singing Imagine Dragons' song "Believer", which really showed off the cast's vocal talents, as well as the drama in the song.

This particular ending also highlighted the choreography by Beth Wear and Sophie Petruccio-Hall, which had been shown throughout the production to be rather good as well!

Great costumes, and when you think of how many were in the cast, that is a lot of work to source or make them, and nice use of props.

The Sound and Lighting Design was by the talented technical twosome, Peter Hodgkinson and Oliver Read.

"Peter Pan" is at the Nottingham Arts Theatre for two more topping performances, today at 7pm and Sunday matinee at 2pm. Oooh Arrr!!

 "Piss And Bile" by 5 Pigeons Pecking a Bin Bag.

The Space Theatre, London.

5 Pigeons Pecking a Bin Bag are a new theatre company set up by former Nottingham University New Theatre pair Daniella Finch and Beth Wilson, and this is their debut as a new theatre company. The performance was performed live at The Space in London, but was also live streamed, which is how I managed to review the production. The show has previously been performed as an online show during the Covid pandemic, but this is their first performance of this one before a live audience.

So, who are 5 Pigeons Pecking At A Bin Bag?

Five Pigeons Pecking a Bin Bag are an emerging theatre company founded by Artistic Directors Beth Wilson and Daniella Finch. They were formed at the end of 2019 and aim to create work that is bold, foul humoured and a little bit weird. Their work is influenced by absurdism and clowning and has a healthy dose of comedy.

They perform and write their own work as well as performing and directing.

They like to explore the unsavoury bits of humanity, ask uncomfortable questions and like to figure out what makes people tick. They strive to make theatre that unites audiences through a collective experience. And what better way than using comedy to make people feel less alone?

The show is about being sad in your 20s. It follows two women navigating the monotony of working in the service industry, Bob's Bistro, and the frustrating customers they encounter. Their co-dependent friendship is pushed to the limit as they struggle to keep a lid on the boiling rage that bubbles under the surface. Woman 1 applies for an office job. She doesn’t get it. Woman 2 secretly applies for it too. She gets it. The tension is high and the competition is on. Can their friendship survive in a world that fosters apathy, complacency and cruelty?

The play is written by Daniella and Beth and there is a lot of humour in this play. There is a lot of silly humour in this play, some involving a large inflatable hammer with which they get beaten with. Part of the humour is regarding "inside" and "outside" thoughts; the inside thoughts being what they would really like to say to their customers. When this happens, the Bistro is bathed in green light.

Another really humorous section, that is revisited a few times, is the podcast presented by James Robert Brown, a fictional character who brings critical topics to the table but critical only in the mind of James Robert Brown.

The relaxation app is also great fun, mainly because the app seems to have a mind of its' own and ends up being far from the deliverer of relaxation.

There is also a scene where one of the women's phone teases her into tweeting things by talking to her, almost like the scene in Little Shop Of Horrors.

And then there are the strange dreams that involve eyebrows! More than that I won't say, but best experienced by watching the show!

And I've not even touched on the sponsorship jingle for the two women's possible podcast. It's all great, but silly fun.

The show ends by coming full circle by revealing spoilers for the endings of classic novels. Confused? Well get a ticket and see the show and see what I mean.

The Associate Director is Beth Bowden.

The trio of performers are Beth Wilson, Daniella Finch and Edward Marriott, who plays every part that was not played by Beth and Daniella.

The production is being performed until Saturday 26 March and you can get tickets and more information by visiting the 5 Pigeons Pecking a Bin Bag webpage or that of The Space Theatre, London.

 "Parade" by The Cast

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

I've been a big fan of the work of Jason Robert Brown, who provided the music and lyrics for this musical, for many years now. I've loved the fun in his lyrics for the musical "13", the wonderful "Songs For A New World" and his delicate and observational breaking up musical "The Last 5 Years". This is the first time that I've seen this particular musical, and after waiting so long, I was eager to drink in the whole emotional cocktail.

"Parade" tells the true story of Leo Frank: a Brooklyn-raised Jewish man living in Atlanta who was wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of his thirteen-year-old employee, Mary Phagan, in 1913. Because Frank’s trial was riddled with faulty testimony and lacked any clear evidence, Georgia’s governor eventually changed his sentence from death to life imprisonment.

Despite this ruling, a lynch mob hanged Frank in Mary Phagan’s hometown of Marietta, Georgia. Frank protested his innocence throughout, but the musical leaves you without any positive answer as to who did commit the crime.

The case drew national attention to Anti-Semitism, and was pivotal to the founding of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as well as the reviving of the Ku Klux Klan in the South.

The musical score won Jason Robert Brown a Tony Award for the Best Original Score in 1999, and hearing it performed live, you can see why he warranted such an accolade.

They say size isn't everything but when it comes to cast size, this is everything in this musical. That said the cast numbers never overpower the stage.

Leo Frank is played by Chris Grantham, and the first thing you notice about Chris is his voice. I could listen to Chris sing forever; he has one of the best voices for musical theatre locally, and he knows just where to inflict emotion. Just listening to him sing "It's Hard To Speak My Heart", which has always been one of my favourite songs from the soundtrack, will have your heart-strings well and truly pulled. He also has some very rapid costume changes to contend with, as is on stage for the majority of the musical.

Sara Evans-Bolger plays Lucille Frank, Leo's wife. The teaming up of Sara and Chris was perfection and their wonderfully emotional duet, "All The Wasted Time" highlights what excellent voices this pair have. This could be one of my favourite duets from local theatre productions ever. Sara is yet another who has one of those voices that you can listen to and never tire.

Playing Judge Roan is Adam Guest, so you can be safe in the knowledge that you are going to get a rock-solid performance, and you do.

Hugh Dorsey, who is the attorney for the prosecution, is played by Graham Buchanan. Hard-nosed and blinkered, Dorsey has made up his mind that Frank is guilty and does everything he can to impress this on the jurors and townsfolk. A perfect character driven role for Graham to get his teeth into.

Neil Ledders plays Luther Rosser, the defence attorney. Rosser failed while questioning to ask any vital questions, all of which could have resulted in a different outcome for Leo.

Jarrod Makin is Governor John Slaton, and first off let me say that it's good to see Jarrod back on stage. One of my favourite tracks from the soundtrack has always been "Pretty Music", which is a jolly little ragtime tune which has some nice choreography to go along with it. Jarrod brings out the light-hearted feel in the song wonderfully.

Sally Slaton, the Governor's wife is played by Kathryn McAuley. Sally is a strong woman with high morals and it was due to her insistence that John Slaton re-evaluate the evidence and paperwork for the Frank trial. Kathryn is a well-respected theatre reviewer around the area and I am sure that she will be happy with the performance that she put in as Sally, and also as Mary Phagan's mother. Kathryn combines her obvious acting talent with a memorable vocal in the emotive "My Child Will Forgive Me"

Emma Lowe plays Mary Phagan, the 13-year-old who worked at the factory. It must be , let's say "not easy" to play a 13 year old but Emma made me believe in the character.

Melfia Ballin (Minnie McKnight - Frank's housemaid), is a newcomer as far as my memory goes, and it's lovely to see newbies, especially ones who are as confident on stage as Melfia.

Desrick Francis (Jim Conley - a fellow worker whose testimony did Frank no favours), again a newbie to me. This man has a voice to die for; a blend of spiritual, blues and gospel, and the power and control he has made the hairs on my arm stand up. A nice character performance as well from Desrick.

Cat Prescott (Newt Lee, the nightwatchman who discovered Mary's body at the pencil factory), and while this part is not a major one, but Cat makes her mark. And yet another member of The Cast with a distinctive vocal style.

Arden-Caspar Jennison (The Guard, Mr Peavy), is the first actor we see. Arden-Caspar is a young actor, so to kick the whole musical off on his own shows great confidence. A relaxed performance also as Leo's prison guard.

Phil Deakin (Detective Starnes) is also an actor like Adam Guest that you can rely on to nail a performance. He has a great voice with just the right amount of vibrato. Phil doubles as Tom Watson.

Jake Gelernter (Officer Ivey) is an actor I've seen through University productions and just knew that he would have no issues getting roles away from University. Ivey's one of the lynch mob but starts to have second thoughts about Frank's guilt and is the man that Frank gives his wedding ring to, to return to Lucille.

Rob Chilton (Britt Craig - the reporter who broke the story of the trial) is another actor I was pleased to see back on stage. Rob gets to wear one of the most stylish costumes on stage and also gets to deliver a couple of great songs in "Big News" and "Real Big News" with class.

Matt McAuley (Frankie Epps - Mary's close friend) is an actor, and I've said it before, makes you feel confident in his performance even before he steps on stage, because of his vast experience of stage work. His voice gets better every time and delivers emotional songs like "It Don't Make Sense" as well as fun songs like "The Picture Show".

The Townsfolk were played by Philippa Buchanan, Becky Morley and Charlotte Howarth.

The rest of this large cast are Rob Corner (Old Soldier) who also produced the musical, Emily Corner (Iola Stover), Anna McAuley (Monteen), Sian Scattergood (Essie), Emma Weir (MacDaniel), Sascha Cornelius (Angela).

Choreographed by Emily Owen, with such a large cast, not an easy job, but I loved what Emily and the cast produced.

Directed by Beth Yearsley and Co-Directed by Kim-louise Sparks, this was a job done incredibly well with many changes of pace. Not sure if it was the Director's decision to close the play without final bows, to add that finality and sudden closure, but it was very affective. I wanted to give a standing ovation to show my appreciation of the wonderful production and appreciation of what I'd seen but couldn't.

Musical Direction is by Martin Lewis, fresh from being eaten by a large man-eating plant just a couple of weeks ago. I'd already fallen in love with the soundtrack many moons ago, but to hear this gorgeous soundtrack played so well, and sung so incredibly, it really brings home the emotion of the music and lyrics.

With such a vast cast, stage manager Lisa Smith and her assistants will have been kept on their toes all evening.

The sound was well mixed by Dave Dallard and the lighting was operated by Dave Martin. There were a few missed lighting cues, but it is opening night, so I'll forgive that. Just thought I'd mention it.

If you like a musical which has a great story with heart, presented by a very talented cast who can really cut the mustard, then this is the one for you. It's not performed that often, so don't miss your chance to see it this week.

"Parade" is at the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton until Saturday 26 March.

Photos courtesy of Andy Chick.