"35mm: A Musical Exhibition" by Ryan Scott Oliver

Musicality: University Of Nottingham's Musical Theatre Society.

Djanogly Recital Hall.

I was invited along to the dress rehearsal of this production before its' destination at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023. Knowing absolutely nothing about the show, I didn't even know the title until I reached the venue, so absolutely everything about this musical was completely new to me.

The music and lyrics are by Ryan Scott Oliver and it's based on a series of photographs by Matthew Murphy. This nugget of information explained a lot of the production and made perfect sense afterwards.

The photographs used were a mish mash of wonderful art as well as quite odd photographs, each depicting self expression of the artist and giving a visual depiction of the song that accompanied that particular section. This in turn creates a visual and aural snapshot.

The photos, the music and the actors bring to life various scenarios of life, religion, death, a possibly evil doll, vampires and even a touching love story between a writer and his muse. All the while asking the viewer to just stop, smell the roses and focus on life. Something we should all take time to do.

There are five cast members; none have been given names, instead recognised as voice one through five, with solos, duets, trios and full cast pieces and is sung through. The five cast members are Joseph Straw, Riley Halls Backler, Bella Crowne, Ewan Waddell and Evie Mace.

The music in this show is stunning to say the least. There's a gorgeous acapella piece and a heavenly piece that sounds like it should have come straight from a church; the choral atmosphere produced gave me tingles. You get the full range of vocals to match the wide range needed for this show.

I've seen Ewan in several productions for Musicality, but I've not heard his vocals as powerful and as soaring as this afternoon. That can also be said of Bella, who not only looked like an operatic diva but sang like one.

One particular highlight for me, and one that lightened the mood was a song called "Caralee" sung by Riley; one of those songs that you really have to listen to the lyrics to get the full incite as to what the story was about. It's also one that Riley could really inject some drama into, as well as comedy.

Evie has such a tender voice that at times it was difficult to hear her, I was though sat about half way back in the large Recital Hall at Djanogly. the venue at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is a smaller one altogether, so I don't think the audience there will have any trouble hearing her.

Another performer that I've seen in several productions, so knew his calibre is Joseph Straw. It's strange that when you see any actor in a musical, you seem to focus more on the performance but, in a show like this, which is sung through, you get to focus entirely on the vocals, and that is why I really noticed Joseph's tone and control. And this applies to all five in this show, when you focus on just one thing, like a voice, you really hear the tone, the power and the feel of the vocalist.

Sometimes, in musicals, you can focus on the whole performance and miss out on a lot of vocal capability. This show makes you focus on vocal ability, and you get to really appreciate what good vocalists they all are, because their are no distractions. Joe, Riley, Bella, Ewan and Evie all showcased their vocal strengths, especially in the "Transition" sections and the beautifully arranged "Mama Let Me In". Some of the other tracks that really stood out for me were "The Ballad Of Sara Berry", "Good Lady", "Cut You A Piece" and "Make Me Happy"

Directed by Emily Lord. I can only imagine that this show was not the easiest to direct, it's definitely not one of the most well known; I'd never heard of this until this afternoon. But it was smooth, and having all performers on the stage, sitting when not needed in any scenes I am sure helped with entrances and exits. While being ever present though, they were no distraction to the viewer of the person centre stage. The show flows well, which makes it sound like a concept album from days of yore - ask your parents. You could close your eyes and just let it all flow over you. Lovely fluid direction from Emily.

Produced by Emily Trappen, assisted by Ifi Tsolaki. The production values for this show may visually look minimal but simplicity often gets the better reaction. That's not to say that hard work and many hours work have not gone into this area of the production.

Kat Beck is the Musical Director and AJ Hill provided the musical accompaniment. I believe that AJ stepped in at the last moment, and while the excellence that was seen this afternoon took just four weeks, AJ had short of that timescale to make it sound as if he had known this musical score a lot longer.

The show is thought provoking and different, it's an intelligent production that should sell really well on The Fringe when the cast and crew travel up to Edinburgh later this week. It's a production that I would definitely look forward to seeing again.

 "Jerusalem" by Jez Butterworth.

Part of The Messy Unity Festival.

Nottingham Playhouse Neville Suite.

This is a cracker of a play; I last saw a production of it years ago at the Nottingham Lace Market Theatre, and lends itself so well to smaller, intimate stages.

"Jerusalem" has been described as "one of the greatest British plays of the 21st century" and "one of the best plays of all time". I think that I can readily second that opinion.

"Jerusalem" is a raucous, provocative piece of theatre that tells of a modern, mythic English hero: Johnny “Rooster” Byron. During the course of the play, Johnny tells tales, gets drunk, does drugs, dodges the authorities, and both charms and infuriates all that he meets. The play opens on the morning of the local county fair, and we discover that Johnny Byron is both the most and least popular man in town. The local authorities want to evict him, his son wants to spend the day with him, the town thug wants to teach him a lesson, and his group of friends want to party with him. Though he may be harried, harassed, bloodied, and bruised, Johnny is not a man to be beaten down.

The cast are excellent, and not afraid to make some noise and present a threatening atmosphere. The scene where the thugs come knocking at Rooster's caravan door to give him a pasting is very realistic, and although the pasting is done behind caravan doors, the aftermath is quite shocking. They, the cast members do not, quite literally, pull any punches for the sake of realism.

There are various members of the cast dependent on the specific performance, but this afternoon I saw the following......

Stef White (Jonny Byron), Hannah Dunlop (Ginger), Jas Nolan (Professor), Cariad Hargan-Hughes (Lee), Jessie-Mae Alonzo (Davey), Rosario Rodriguez-Fernando (Tanya), Emma Buesnel (Pea), Harrison Eyre (Wesley), Sydney Adams (Phaedra/Marky), Megan Goldstraw (Dawn), Scott McKenzie (Troy), Aminata Kanneh-Mason (Fawcett) and Ophelia Hibbert (Parsons).

This cast caused excitement, shock and fear; I actually found myself recoiling from some of the scenes due to the graphic actions. Now that, believe me is a good thing because it shows that, as a seasoned theatre goer, I can still be shocked emotionally by what I see on stage. Ultimately Stef, as Jonny, is hypnotising throughout with his stories, and especially in the final scenes of the play.

Directed by Nic Harvey, the production pulls no punches in harnessing the language and the physical aspects of this play. it also shows that Nic has complete confidence in his cast to deliver a realistic performance, and that is what I love about this show. I also love the fact that the real darker side is only hinted at, leaving you to make your own mind up about things that may, or may not have happened within this little commune. The comedy side is wonderfully done and comes naturally with this cast.

I did wonder about how they would get a caravan up to the Neville Studios, but the design and build for this main prop was carried out by Ryan Smith and provided all that a caravan needed to look like as well as being a practical prop.

The Lighting for this show, and the technical operation was by Laura Wolczyk and Brad Hunt.

So what is The Messy Unity Festival?

The Messy Unity Festival is the culmination of a year of work and training as part of the Nottingham Playhouse Homegrown programme. Young directors, writers and producers have worked intensively together, and with many industry professionals, to develop their craft, knowledge and industry readiness.

They were a very fluid bunch and the realism they projected was brilliant, it was almost like being a fly on the wall, and I loved just how natural, not only the acting, but the vocal delivery of the script was.

What a shame that this run was such a short one because with this quality of performance, it deserved to be witnessed by a larger audience. I'd definitely pay to see this cast perform "Jerusalem" over again.

"Jerusalem" is only here for a very short run and ends with a 7pm performance tonight.

 "Fierce" by Gatepost Theatre Company.

Little Eaton Village Hall.

Ahead of Gatepost taking this show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, they stage a one night only performance of "Fierce", and as a bonus, we also get to see some of the young performers from "School Of Rock" - their next show - performing on stage.

The six young people showcased their vocal talents with songs that they had chosen as personal favourites. From "A Cock Eyed Optimist" through Michael Jackson's "Man In The Mirror" to a wonderfully arranged, darker version of Taylor Swift's "Love Story", They certainly whetted the audience's appetite for their September "School Of Rock" show.

"Fierce" is written and directed by Christopher Collington about seven women in history who were held back by various things, and did not therefore get their full recognition in history books. Each section tells their story. along with song, proving just how fierce they really are. Chris was also the sound man (Chris is always a sound man), and MC for the evening as well. It's not too late for a career in stand up comedy, Chris!

Mary Wollstonecraft, a writer, was best known for her book, "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" published in 1792, in which she argues that women are not naturally inferior to men but appear to be only because they lack education. Mary is played by Lottie Lodge in this novel history lesson. Lottie also edited "Fierce".

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was well known for fighting against gender discrimination. Sarah Knight fights her case with true professionalism.

Mary Anning, portrayed by Jude Cliffman, was a palaeontologist who was the first to discover a complete skeleton of the dinosaurs plesiosaurus and ichthyosaurus. Jude, along with all of these wonderfully fierce women, show they are no dinosaurs with their dance moves!

Frida Kahlo, a Mexican artist, famed for her self-portraits and her use of vibrant colours is played by Rachelle Bragg, who is herself, as pretty as a picture. She is celebrated in Mexico for her attention to Mexican and indigenous culture and by feminists for her depiction of the female experience and form. Compliments on that Mexican accent also!

Grainne O’Malley, or Grace as she became known, was a female pirate from Ireland. When her husband was murdered by a rival clan, she took back Donal's castle after defeating the people who killed him. To this day, Grace O'Malley is seen as a symbol of Ireland and an inspiration for many modern songs, theatre productions and books. Through these, her legend lives on. This wonderful portrayal, complete with accent, was brought back to life by Laura Stone.

Billie Jean King, the gay tennis player, is portrayed by Kiah Smith. Outraged at the difference between men's and women's prizes at major tournaments, King spearheaded the drive for equal prize money and equal treatment of women. She is regarded by many as one of the greatest tennis players ever. Love all of this show that at times left the males watching feeling like calling for new balls please!!

Claire Rybicki plays Ada Lovelace. Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation. She's also famous for being the only legitimate child of Lord and Lady Byron; their other children were born out of wedlock. Everything all added up perfectly for this local lady: well both local ladies, Claire and Ada.

Every fierce woman also got to perform a song recorded and written by strong women to go with the character, which meant we had choreography. These pieces were choreographed by Lottie Lodge, Laura Stone, Jude Cliffman and Paige Upton. The stage is not the biggest but the routines just managed to fill every space on the stage. I'm going out on a limb here but I must especially mention the armography, which I thought was superb. Madonna's "Vogue" choreographer needs to take note.

The Lighting tonight was by Dominic Murray, who will be taking the road trip with the performers to replicate the design oop North to the foreign country that is Scotland. Don't blame me, blame Mr C; I just thought it was gigglesome.

The show is being transported up to The Edinburgh Fringe Festival to wow them up there - and from what I've been told, it's already selling out for many of Gatepost's shows up over the border! I think that I can proclaim, without walking 500 miles, that the Scots are going to love it, especially Grace's view of what held her back! The Sassenach's are coming!

 "Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story"

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

This show starts off in January 1956 and takes you through to 3 February 1959, the date of his final concert at The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. It's also the date of the fateful plane crash that took the lives of three of music's biggest names of the time. Dubbed as "The day the music died" by Don McLean in his tribute song "American Pie". It follows Holly from his early start with The Crickets all the way through his short three year professional career, leaving out all of the messy legal wrangles and relationship issues. It's main objective is to show the talent and music of Buddy Holly and his Crickets, along with Richie Valens and The Big Bopper.

A.J. Jenks plays Holly perfectly, even down to the way that he uses the guitar as choreography. He may not sound exactly like Holly when singing, but who cares because the force and the energy behind the live performances is all that matters. Jenks, like many other actors on that stage play their instruments and this brings realism to the show and gives you a sense that you are watching Holly perform live. His performance of "Raining In My Heart" is just one of the highlights in this show. A superb performance from a wonderful actor, musician and singer.

Joe Butcher plays J B Mauldin, The Crickets' bass player. He uses his double bass as a partner on stage, dancing with it, throwing it in the air, cavorting with it, all the while slapping out that unmistakable rhythm. What a showman Mauldin must have been, and what a showman Joe Butcher is.

Jerry Allison, the Crickets' drummer, is played by Josh Haberfield, the man who provided Holly with the title of one of his biggest hits, "Peggy Sue". He also provided the clever rhythm section for the hit "Everyday" by slapping his knees; this I knew already but seeing Josh produce that on stage was such a joy to watch.

Miguel Angel plays Richie Valens in Act Two, and Tyrone Jones, the host of The Apollo, in the first part, and also choreographs the show. Just watching Miguel perform "La Bamba" as the seventeen year old Valens was a treat. It's one of those records that always gets people up on the dancefloor at a party and experiencing this live, with all that drive and energy gave me tingles. And when you think that if the toss of that coin had turned out different, he may still have been with us now, instead of being the reason why his seventeen years was so cruelly ended.

J.P. Richardson aka The Big Bopper is played by Christopher Chandler. Boy, did he get the crowd going as he bounced around the stage, larger than life and just as entertaining while singing "Chantilly Lace"

Stephanie Cremona plays Vi Petty, Norman Petty's wife. Now, not only is Stephanie a great piano player but she can blow a mean saxophone as well, as shown in the second act.

Samuelle Durojaiye plays Marlena Madison and Laura-Dene Perryman plays Chantel Williams, two of the regular singers at the black venue in Harlem when Buddy Holly and The Crickets make their debut there. Both ladies have incredible voices and an enormous amount of swag, taunting Holly and co before they go on, but then joining them onstage when they realised that they were going down a storm with the black crowd.

Ewan Ling plays Jack Daw, an Apollo entertainer as well as one of the back up singers at the Clear Lake Concert. I love acapella when it's done correctly, and the doo wop version of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" hit the spot perfectly for me. Jack Daw's Snowbirds were played by Laura-Dene Perryman, Stephanie Cremona, Samuelle Durojaiye and Daniella Agredo Piper.

Thomas Mitchells plays DJ Hipockets Duncan, the Decca records producer, Norman Petty, the DJ at the Apollo, Murray Deutch and the MC at Clearlake. With just a change of a jacket, cap or alternate hair style, Mitchells created each new character as well as different voices. From what I saw tonight, he is a very flexible and resilient actor.

Daniella Agredo Piper plays Maria Elena, Holly's wife, who fell for Holly straight away when working on the reception desk of the record company.

Directed by Matt Salisbury, this show is full of pace and only really slowed down when the announcement of Holly, Richardson and Valens' death came over the radio and Holly's solitary guitar was held in the spotlight. Straight after that sombre moment though it was back to the party finale with even more rockin' and a rollin' songs that gave the audience a chance to get up out of their seats.

Adrian Rees Set Design switched to various rooms and locations without you even noticing they were done so smoothly. The "live" performance sections made you feel that you were back in the 1950's with ruffled silk backdrops that seemed to come to light when the light played around on them. The whole stage seemed to come alive.

Musical Director is Dean Elliott, assisted by Ewan Ling. There were so many infectious songs written and performed by Holly in such a short period of time, practically about eighteen months, and that special Holly trademark sound has been replicated just right.

Darren Coopland's Lighting Design, as I've previously said, made the set jump about and come alive before your eyes like a colourful kaleidoscope. An integral part of creating that party atmosphere of a live rock n roll show. And if any part of the lighting had failed, they could always use Buddy's smile which lit up the whole theatre.

The Sound Design by Pete Cox is excellent throughout.

The soundtrack to the show is just bursting with classics like "Rave On", "Peggy Sue", "It Doesn't Matter Anymore", "Peggy Sue Got Married". "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", "True Love Ways", "Not Fade Away", "Everyday", "Oh Boy" as well as "La Bamba", "Chantilly Lace", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On".

They also performed the song "Shout", which slightly puzzled me as it was performed in the show in Harlem in 1956, but the Isley Brothers didn't write the song until 1959!

That nerdy fact though didn't spoil the show one iota for me as I love the music of this period and, as this was my first time seeing this show, I just revelled in the artistry of the music and the joy in the songs, as well as seeing them performed live before my very eyes.

If you like shows with party atmospheres then this one is for you, because the vibe is party all the way. It's upbeat and infectious, you'll know all the words of the songs and you will not be able to keep your feet still. It also gets you wondering, if things had been different, and they hadn't flown on that snowy blizzard of a night, what musical gems we would have had from Charles Hardin Holley and co.

"Buddy - The Buddy Holly Musical" will be raving on until Saturday 29 July.

 "Salad Days" by Julian Slade and Dorothy Reynolds.

Nottingham Lace Market Theatre.

This is the final production for the Nottingham Lace Market Theatre's current season, and it's a musical; a musical that is not often performed. So what's the story? Lettuce enlighten you!

It is Summer 1954. Jane and Timothy Dawes meet in a park, soon after their graduation, to plan their lives. They agree to get married, and do so in secret, but Timothy's parents have urged him to ask his various influential uncles to find him suitable employment. He and Jane, however, decide that he must take the first job that he is offered. A passing tramp offers them £7 a week to look after his mobile piano for a month, and, upon accepting, they discover that when the piano plays it gives everyone within earshot an irresistible desire to dance.

After attempts by the Minister of Pleasure and Pastime (Timothy's Ministerial uncle) to ban the disruptive music, the piano vanishes, and Timothy enlists his scientific Uncle Zed to take help them retrieve it. When it is found, the tramp reappears to tell them that their month is up and the piano must be passed on to another couple. Another secret is also revealed to the couple!

The show is longer than I expected, but there is so much going on in the musical that the time simply flew by. It's very dated but that is what makes it such good fun. The show wouldn't work if there were any updating of the material. I loved the accentuated RP accents, along with several other accents, mostly over the top; another thing that makes this show such a spiffing watch. It's camp, it's corny and it's a cracker.

The script is packed with corny jokes, that had the audience groaning, delivered by actors who, having seen several of them in previous shows across the county, know how to deliver a comedy line.

Throughout Act One, the male contingency of the cast really outshone the women, especially with their vocals, but come Act Two and it became a more level playing field, and by the end they were all on a par. Maybe because it was one of those rare full on musicals performed at The Lace Market Theatre, there were a few nerves, plus it was opening night which always adds pressure to a performance.

Ali Biller (Lady Raeburn/Artist/ Theatre Goer/ Arms Dancer/ Anthea and a Don), always pleases on stage because she has that smile, which we got to see lots of in this musical; there's plenty to smile about in her various roles, and what a collection of costumes Ali gets to wear as well. Ali is also the choreographer for this show, which I am sure that she had fun with, because from the audience view, it was great fun to watch.

George Bond (Asphynxia/Troppo and a Don) is a name I don't think I know, but what a find! Troppo's character converses by mime, and it's refreshing to see this on stage. George's second character is a complete contrast, but I'm not going to say why, but I know for a fact that this is a very comfortable role for George, which shows. No other cast member would have been able to perform the role as convincingly, or as splendidly as George does. A new musical theatre star is born.

William Evans (Timothy Dawes) seems to get younger with every show. Another perfect piece of casting because William plays this 1950's style character with fresh-faced fantastic foppishness. At times he is almost like an excitable puppy, full of playful energy; at other times reminiscent of a character from the Famous Five books. His singing is also worthy of a mention as he mastered the clipped delivery while singing, bringing the real feel of the novelty vocals from big bands of that era such as Henry Hall into play.

David Gyles (The Tramp/ Bishop/ American/ Tom Smith/ Press and a Don), again a master of several characters, delivered with great entertainment value throughout.

Rob Hurst (Inspector/ Timothy’s Father/ Butterfly Catcher/ Augustine Williams and Don). The Postman is back! I loved one of the opening scenes where Rob is playing Tim's Father around the breakfast table as this showed his, and the other cast members' timings in their song, telling Tim that he has to find a job and something to do. His role as the Inspector is also comedy class as he tries to work out which style of dance PC Boot had been performing in the park. Wonderful comedy pairing with Jarrod for these scenes.

Ro Kelly (Jane Raeburn) is another perfect match as Timothy's "wife". they really bounce off each other. Ro has a singing voice that matches this era perfectly, which seemed to grow stronger as the musical progressed.

Jarrod Makin (Manager/ PC Boot/ Electrode/ Ambrose and a Don). I've had the pleasure of seeing Jarrod perform, and grow as a performer, right from the start. He is an all-rounder; he is perfect for comedy, he can act, dance and sing. This is borne out by the opening of Act Two.

Anne Mccarroll (Timothy’s Mother/ Heloise/ Lady/ Sunbather/ Marguerite and Don). As with Ali, I love seeing Anne perform, and lovely to hear her sing as she has a pretty powerful set of lungs on her. There's a lovely duet with Ali, as the two mothers of Timothy and Jane, and their voices blend well, and this is where we first get to hear that power.

Christopher Mercer (Sir Clamsby Williams/ Uncle Zed/ Theatregoer/ Gardener/ Press and a Don). I love Chris in panto mode, and these roles work so well as pantoesque characters. For me, Chris brings any comic character alive, and with his wonderful projection, he makes sure that even the back of the theatre get to hear some very corny one liner jokes, whether they want to or not!

Lucy Moon (Rowena/ Aunt Prue/ Manicurist/ Waitress/ Lady and a Don). A lovely various selection of roles which Lucy injects character into, ensuring that you don't overlook her characters.

Isobel Munden (Fiona/ Shopgirl/ Tennis Player/ Assistant and a Don). There are several "cameo" characters throughout this musical and, as with Lucy, they stand out due to the work put in by the actor. Isobel is another example of this.

Owen Patten (Nigel/ Fosdyke and, surprise surprise, a Don). Many stiff upper lip characters you find seem to attract disrespectful laughter, but Owen's characters didn't make me feel that way. They are "nice" guys, albeit extremely well off, and it's nice to see that image of a toff played down to represent a likeable character. And along with that breeding comes style, and you don't get more stylish than a tuxedo to wear. What glamour Owen portrays.

The whole cast have been really well chosen for their characters.

Directed by Meng Khaw, he has delivered an excellent piece of theatre full of charisma, charm, immense fun which bounces along at a lovely pace. As I previously hinted, the musical comes in at just under three hours - with interval - but seems a lot shorter, due to the talents of the cast to keep their audiences' attention. It's nice to have Meng back in the theatre in any guise; actor, Director or even Musical Director which is another hat Meng adorns throughout this week as well as providing the music for "Minnie" live.

There are several earworm songs in this production so be prepared to leave the theatre with them buzzing around your head. "We Said We Wouldn't Look Back", "The Saucer Song", "It's Easy To Sing", "We're Looking For A Piano" among them.

The Sound Design is by Jonathan Blacknell and you get to hear everything that you need to hear with crystal clear clarity. As all the actors were not mic'd up, there were no issues with missed cues of any kind because projection was in the hands, or should I say the tonsils of their beholder.

Lighting Design is by Matthew Allcock. Spot on, as always and his timing was excellent.

The Digital Design, by Meng and Matt, is inspired to say the least. The University scenes, you'll recognise and the opening, as images of 1950's adverts and television stars bring back memories. The design also shows the various scenes without having to move any parts of the set, which is also a help with pace.

Stage management also works at speed to clear props away behind the curtains, which we never really get to see on stage unless there is a musical being performed, so it's nice to see the curtains again.

I touched on the costumes and yet another success for Max Bromley and his Wardrobe team.

Even though this was not originally written as a musical, an end of the pier revue was it's intention back in 1954, it's great fun musically, and while the story is dated, the comedy is still very funny, which proves that good comedy transcends time. And it's nice to hear a musical which has only a piano backing, anything more would spoil the feel of the show. One not to be missed so it can be ticked off the theatrical bucket list.

"Salad Days" is at the Nottingham Lace Market Theatre until Saturday 29 July.