"Dear England" The National Theatre production, written by James Graham.

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

I'm not really a football fan; I take a passing interest in World Cup games, when England make it through, but that's about it, and I'm not a fan of football matches disrupting my usual schedule of what I watch on TV. That aside, it's with a very basic knowledge of the game that I watched this theatre production. So, for those like myself, this is what "Dear England" is all about.....

The play follows the England men's football team under Gareth Southgate in the run-up to, and aftermath of, three tournaments: its unexpected run to the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, its defeat in the 2020 European Championship final at Wembley Stadium, and its quarterfinal exit from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The first act opens with a flashback to young Southgate as he misses a penalty at the 1996 Euro semi-finals, something I do remember watching on TV, causing England to be knocked out of the competition.

The second act focuses on the more emotional side of the game as the players develop under Southgate's leadership and take nerve-wracking penalties. "Dear England" also touches on racist abuse experienced by black players on the England team following their loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final in 2021. It ends with Harry Kane missing a penalty and England getting knocked out of the 2022 World Cup, but with Kane receiving the support from his teammates that Southgate himself had not received as a player.

Along with the factual and emotional side of the sport there's also plenty of comedy to keep the story buoyant for audience members who aren't real football fans, which is probably only about 1% like myself. There are comedy caricatures of Sven-Goran Eriksson, Fabio Cappello, Graham Taylor, Gary Lineker, Matt Le Tissier, Liz Truss, Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

Music plays a part in the football arena, and that is also a part of this play with "Three Lions", World In Motion", Bitter Suite Symphony" "Crown", "Sweet Caroline", "Samba de Janeiro", "Let Me Entertain You" and "Vindaloo" all featured. The additional music is by Max Perryment.

David Sturzaker plays Gareth Southgate. Without knowing who David was playing, you'd have been able to guess from the kick off because he looks the spitting image of Southgate. We see the real character behind the man and also all of the workings that went into creating Southgate's team, which I found to be electric. It was like having an enigma dissected before your very eyes in a language that you understand, and everything about Gareth Southgate and the way that he pieced together his England side suddenly seemed to make sense. A outstanding performance, and his was not the only one!

Samantha Womack is the team psychologist Pippa Grange. Once again the clever dissection of the process of breaking down and reassembling the mindset of a football team and how their minds worked, to get the best performance from a footballer, just seemed to be so simple. Knowing nothing of how a footballer's brain works and what they think before they go into battle, or while they are out there for ninety odd minutes, this psyche was fascinating and immensely educational. 

I have been a fan of Samantha's since the TV series "Game On" back in the 1990's. In this production you get to see more of the serious side of Samantha's acting ability as opposed to her musical theatre/comedy side in "The Addams Family" or the baddie in "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe"; more like the straight "Eastenders" acting. Whatever style Samantha takes on, she can do no wrong by me.

The rest of the cast, some who perform several character roles, are as follows...

George Rainsford (Mike Webster), Liam Prince-Donnelly (Dele Alli), Jack Maddison (Jordan Pickford), Tom Lane (Eric Dier), Ian Kirkby (Gary Lineker), Connor Hawker (Harry Maguire), Jayden Hanley (Marcus Rashford), Oscar Gough (Harry Kane), Courtney George (Alex Scott), Steven Dykes (Sam Allardyce), Ashley Byam (Raheem Stirling), Jass Beki (Bukayo Saka), Ian Bartholomew (Greg Dyke), Luke Azille (Jadon Sancho) and Jake Ashton-Nelson (Jordan Henderson).

The actors portraying the footballers have obviously been chosen for their likeness to the footballers they are playing, as well as their wonderful mimicry talents. Oscar Gough's Harry Kane is spot on with the looks and the way that he speaks, and no one would have mistaken Jayden Hanley's baby-faced resemblance to Marcus Rashford. Ian Kirkby's Gary Lineker sounded even better than Lineker's "Spitting Image" puppet and, if you squint, you'd have swore it was the Leicester lad himself on stage - complete with a packet of Walker's crisps. No one would have mistaken the three PM's, especially with Theresa May's choreography - I almost expected Abba's "Dancing Queen".

 The ensemble are made up of Stuart Ash, Natalie Boakye, Ebube Chukwuma, Sam Craig, Miles Henderson and Alex Wadham.

Directed by Rupert Goold, this show is absolutely Goolden. The choreography for all was executed with split second timing with the sound and light. The transportation of sections of the set, all carried out by the actors made for a very smooth and tight stage management of said set pieces.

Es Devlin's set design brought, not only the football field to the stage, but also the dressing rooms as well as several other settings to life minimally but extremely effectively, allowing you to completely concentrate on the script and the action.

The Video Designer is Ash J Woodward and this really takes this play to another level. You are taken, almost as if on a magic carpet ride through various countries and matches, all thanks to a brilliant video design that also gives you a time rundown for events and shows iconic pieces of the original football matches over the years, including the 1966 World Cup.

The Costume Designer is Evie Gurney, and as expected there were several football focused outfits, including the style changes for Southgate from tracksuits to three piece suit to polo shirt and blazer; taking you through the various stages of the England manager's stylish wardrobe.

Lighting design is by Jon Clark and Dan Balfour and Tom Gibbins are the Sound Designers. These sections to me are as important to any theatre show as bass guitar and drums are to any rhythm section of a band, because they are the backbone of it all. The sound was wonderfully loud, so much so that you could feel the bass resound in your chest. The lighting created all the visual excitement you require for a sensory and sensational piece of theatre.

There were two sections which revolved around the penalty shoot out; one at the end of the first act and the second one later in act two. I actually found myself holding my breath and tensing every sinew in my body as each nominated player stepped up to take their penalty. It's not that often that theatre gets me like this, except maybe in a good thriller, but this play is full of thrills. The football arena is a theatre of sorts with emotions that run as high as the proscenium arch, or even the floodlights that light the pitches.

I went in the theatre not being a footie fanatic but James Graham, who is one of today's best and most exciting writers for TV and theatre, and this incredible cast may just have swayed me towards the excitement of the game. It was definitely a match of the day for me!

The title of the play, incidentally, comes from the open letter Southgate wrote to England fans in 2021 during the Covid 19 pandemic.

"Dear England" is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 27 September.

Photography by Rick Guest.

 "Gaslight" by Patrick Hamilton.

Nottingham Lace Market Theatre.

Hamilton's play is a dark tale of a marriage based on deceit and trickery, and a husband committed to driving his wife insane in order to steal from her. Written in 1938, it's got a lovely Gothic thriller feel about the production.

The action is set in Jack Manningham and his wife, Bella's house. Bella is clearly on edge, and the way that her overbearing husband speaks and treats her just make matters worse. What most upsets Bella is her husband's unexplained disappearances from the house; he won't tell her where he is going, and this increases her anxiety, and then there's the footsteps she hears in the room above her. It becomes clear that Jack is intent on convincing Bella that she is going insane, even to the point of assuring her she is imagining things.

I'm so glad that I didn't give in to the temptation of watching either of the two films made in 1940 and 1944, and kept this production to be my first viewing because this show is a masterclass in thrills and suspense.

Bella Manningham is played by Kareena Sims, and as soon as she steps onto the stage you get that feeling of nervousness in her physicality. All the way through that tension between Bella and Jack increases making for an uneasy air from the stage. It isn't until much alter that you get an indication that maybe Bella is not losing her marbles as Jack would like her to think, thanks to the help of a strange visitor.

Alastair Murden, a new name to me and to the Lace Market Theatre team, plays Jack Manningham. Creating that fear and tension with such a bubbling under sense of menace is something that not every actor can do successfully, but Alastair gets it spot on. There's a scene where he snaps for a second and raises his voice to Bella, which makes practically everyone in the auditorium jump, so successfully lulled we all were. Jack is the archetypal man of the house for this period and sees his wife as inferior and plays on this by berating her, making her feel insecure - in every way possible, and flirting with the housemaid. I sat near a couple of mature ladies and could hear their tutting and comments as every negative sentence aimed at Bella was delivered.

Inspector Rough, who turns up at the Manningham residence, is played by Charles Moss. I don't know why but I got a feeling of a "Columbo" influence from Charles, especially as slowly the whole story was revealed. It was nice to see Charles back on the Lace Market Theatre stage and great to hear his projection as the almost excitable Rough gave the full history, present and future of what was to occur. 

There was one scene that had you holding your breath regarding an item of clothing, and whether he would retrieve it in time. Great little suspense packed scene!

Elizabeth, the extremely loyal housekeeper, is played by Anne McCarroll. Elizabeth is smart and sees what is going on within the household and the knowledge she has helps in the development in the second act. As usual, Anne is perfect in her character acting.

Holly Cooke plays Nancy, the feisty, street-smart housemaid who acts as if she is the mistress of the house, and the object of Jack's flirting. There's no love lost between Bella and Nancy as demonstrated by the way Nancy addresses Bella and plays up to Jack's flirting. Love the proper East End accent that Holly uses in this role.

The two policemen at the very end are played by James Whitby and Luke Willis.

Directed by Polis Louizu, who also does the sound design for this production alongside Simon Carter. Making sure that the actors keep an audience on the edge of their seats all the way through is not an easy task for a Director but Polis did just that. It also helps having a fantastic cast who can act their socks off.

Set Designer for "Gaslight" is Alexandrea Hopkirk-Spratt. As usual the Lace Market Theatre create marvellous sets and this is no different. As soon as you see the set it takes you back to the era of "Jack the Ripper" and foggy, dark cobbled streets, even though it's only the interior we see, the design gets your imagination travelling outside the parameters of the stage setting. Take a look at the pictures and you'll get an idea of the work and the design that has gone into this set.

Lighting Design is by Nick Gale. This design really creates the spookiness of the plotline, and as soon as that design starts to kick in, it also puts you on your back foot. With the title of the play being "Gaslight", it straight away indicates that the lighting of the set is a big clue to the sort of design you're in for, but it's also what creates the tense moments.

The costumes for this brilliant period piece are thanks to wardrobe wizard Max Bromley and Sue Roberts. I love a good period drama because everyone's costume is classy; that's one of the reasons why "Downton Abbey" was such a hit in my opinion. Style and class throughout.

Wigs for this show are provided by Linda Croston.

Props are sourced by Lesley Brown and there are many of them. This is also another area of production that the Lace Market crew excel at, and I love that when the characters have tea, or a drink of any kind, or something to eat, you see the liquid that forms that drink. The items in the writing desk are relatable, the glass cabinet doesn't have just a few glasses, it's a complete cabinet. I really enjoy getting into my seat early so that I can take in all the detail of the set because there's so much to look out for. 

As I said earlier, the play is a masterclass in acting and presentation as well as manipulating an audience as to how they should feel throughout a production and to the individual on stage characters. If you like a good thriller, come see this one because you will NOT be disappointed at all.

"Gaslight" is at the Nottingham Lace Market theatre until Saturday 27 September.

Photography is by Kathryn Edwards.

 "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie

Nottingham Academy Of Performing Arts (NAPA).

Bonington Theatre, Arnold.

This is a brave choice of play for a young cast to perform. Most of the characters in the play are reasonably mature, whereas this cast are in their teens. Once you get over the fact that no ageing make up is used and there's a difference between the young cast and the character's physicality, I relaxed into the seat to enjoy this Christie classic.

Ran by Kirk and Bex Mannering, the Nottingham Academy of Performing Arts based at Redhill School.

Christie's classic murder mystery thriller is performed extremely well by this group of actors, and I must admit, being a Christie fan, I was impressed to start with that director, James Fox is also a fan of the thriller writer and genre, and chose this particular play.

A group of people are lured into coming to a deserted island under different pretexts.  All have been accused of the deaths of other human beings, but either escaped justice or committed an act that was not subject to legal sanction. The guests and two servants who are present are "charged" with their respective "crimes" by a gramophone recording after dinner the first night, and informed that they have been brought to the island to pay for their actions.  

The nursery rhyme “Ten Little Indians” describes how the ten little Indians are killed off. Gradually the guests are killed off in turn, each in a manner that seems to parallel the deaths in the nursery rhyme. Nobody else seems to be left alive on the island by the time of the apparent last death, but someone must be responsible for the deaths, but who?

There were a few nerves at the start, which is completely understandable with the enormity of the play, but you could see those nerves slowly melt away and the cast relax more and started to enjoy what they were doing. Those nerves may also have caused some of the cast to forget slightly projection, but that soon remedied itself as well.

Another thing that I like about drama groups like this is that I have no knowledge of any of the actors and therefore no preconceptions of what to expect or history to compare to.

Tom Rogers is the Butler and, along with his wife, has been assigned to look after the guests. Played by Keiran Rhodes he certainly looked the part of the service staff. Kieran is one of those young actors who has confidence but needed just to raise his voice slightly, but that will be nerves. Also by just lifting his head slightly will project the voice without trying. A word perfect performance and his physicality showed that authority for his character brilliantly, and I also noted that there was no rushing about from Keiran, which also fitted in well with the role of a butler. Well observed delivery of character and script.

Ethel Rogers, played by Melody Rhodes, is Tom's wife and the cook. A lovely loose performance by Melody, and when I say that I mean that there were no nerves evident in her performance. As the put upon cook and general dogsbody, Melody bought the frustration to the character, and while her husband held the air of dignity for a butler, she brought a more urgent pace due to the amount of work she was afforded to do by looking after the number of guests.

Fred Narracott is the boatman who had the job of bringing the guests to the island, and their only link to the mainland. Played by Ged Watson it's not a massive role but was a vital jigsaw piece in the puzzle. Possibly Fred's hat may have been just a bit big for Ged as it hid quite a bit of his face. A solid but swift appearance.

Vera Claythorne is an attractive young woman and object of a couple of the guests' attentions. Sophenya Mannering was lovely and relaxed and showed no signs of nerves, in fact very comfortable and assured as Vera.

Captain Phillip Lombard the wise-cracking, revolver toting soldier of fortune is played by Theo Carey. There's a lovely chemistry between Lombard and other characters and that can only be projected when the actor is confident in what they're doing, and Theo shows confidence in this role.

Anthony Marston is the hooray henry, lover of fast cars who makes an impression on some of the other guests when he arrives, but for all the wrong reasons! Cohen Taylor played the confident speed demon, and another very confident young actor.

Inspector Blore is a former police officer and played by Polly Edwards. Why does Blore arrive with a false past and name? Straight away puts the others on the back foot where Blore's credibility is concerned. What has she got to hide? Well acted by Polly.

General Mackenzie, who thought he kept seeing his late wife, Leslie, and seems to be slowly losing his mind. Played by Tyler Tarn. I'd have loved to have seen Mackenzie's gait slowed down a tad and maybe visually aged to show the character's mature status. That said I spotted the conviction Tyler had in the delivery of his lines for the General.

Emily Brent is an acidic old woman who seems to get annoyed with many of the guests, especially the younger ones. Matilda Stapleton plays Brent and you got the feeling of Brent's maturity in the way that Matilda delivered the lines, i.e. in the way that someone with a bad smell under her nose would berate another. She really made you want to steer clear of this pious character so that you wouldn't be on the receiving end of that tongue. Really enjoyed Matilda's character play.

Sir Lawrence Wargrave, known as "The Hanging Judge" is played by Hal Watson. I loved Hal's pace with this script; no rushing and every word deliberated which drew your attention to what Wargrave was saying and how he formed his sentences, meaning you listened to him carefully. Hal has pace in his performance and he made use of gaps, keeping you hanging on to his every word. As a legal man, you have to make sure that others understand what you say, and what you mean!

Dr Armstrong is a renowned Harley Street doctor and played by Sophia Smith. Another serene performance befitting the character of a medical professional and well observed by Sophia.

Directed by Kirk and Bex Mannering. Even with such a young cast, they had me glued to that stage at Bonington Theatre, even though I have seen this play many times, and knew who the villain was. The young actors also managed to keep that uneasy feeling going from the start, right to the reveal of the U.N Owen villain! The pace was done well and even though I kept glancing at those little figures on the shelf, I didn't spot when they disappeared and by who's hand! It's just like a magician drawing your attention to another place while the magic happens in full view. The time flew by.

Sound and lighting is by Peter Hodgkinson.

There are only two performances of this iconic piece of theatre and closes after the evening performance today, Saturday 20 September.

Now that I have seen this talented cast, I can't wait to see what they all do next. Here's to the next NAPA production.

 "Calendar Girls The Play" by Encore Performing Arts.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

I've seen this show on film, in musical form and of course in play form several times now, but it's only really when you lose someone to cancer that the story takes on a different feeling for you, and becomes almost personal.

When Annie's husband John dies of leukaemia, she and her long-standing best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital waiting room. They eventually persuade four friends and fellow members of the Women’s Institute (W.I.) to pose nude with them for an "alternative" calendar. They are assisted by hospital porter and amateur photographer Lawrence, who looked after John in his final days. This is much to the horror of the their local W.I. chairman, Marie.

The success of the calendar goes beyond their wildest dreams and they have soon raised the money needed and much more. Their efforts also catch the attention of the national and international press, who soon descend on the small village of Knapeley in the Yorkshire Dales. Although the calendar is a huge success, Chris and Annie's friendship though is put to the test by their new-found fame.

Tim Firth’s play is based on the true story of a number of W.I. members who famously posed nude for a calendar to raise money for the Leukaemia Research Fund in 1999.

Lizzie Norris (Annie), Mina Holtom (Chris), Sandy Lane (Cora), Milly Bould (Ruth), Kathryn McAuley (Celia) and Angela Walters (Jessie) are all equally as wonderful to watch, and at times you forget the woman behind the role, such is the strength in their story-telling abilities. I then recognise the comedy, and there's a lot of comedy in the script, and relate that comedy to the actors themselves, who are all fabulous when the make up is removed and they revert to normal life away from the characters and the stage.

 I'm not going to write swathes of adjectives to describe every one of these six ladies' acting prowess; I don't need to, they operate as a team, and they certainly won as a team in this play. And I also take my hat off to you all for baring (nearly) all in front of a live audience. The bravado needed, and the trust shown in the Directors itself, deserves a round of applause. Their humour shines so brightly via Tim Firth's script, and it's a warmth and feminine humour rises to the top.

John is played by Martin Holtom, and there's a lot of dark humour in this role, but the moment when you realise that he has succumbed to leukaemia adds a chill to the air.

Simon Parker plays Rod, Chris' husband, battling through business problems with the floristry.

Lawrence, is the shy photographer who rapidly comes out of his shell when he actually gets behind the camera for the photo shoots, and is played by Kheenan Jones.

Jack Readyhoof is Liam, the person in charge of the shoot for the TV commercial, originally in the film in Hollywood, but in this version, a little closer to home.

Alex Tavener plays Marie, the pompous, and quite pious Knapeley WI leader. Alex is a brilliant character actor and this performance shows just why.

Hayley Wood plays Elaine, the make-up artist drafted in for the TV commercial shoot, Brenda, the guest speaker who arrived to present a talk about broccoli to the WI. as well as Lady Cravenshire, again a smaller role but one with nice comic touches. All three roles are lovely comic parts, something that Hayley does so well.

Co-Directed by Adam Guest and Katie Bird; a dynamic duo indeed, and what a beautiful and powerful piece of theatre they have given us all, even creating a personal and poignant ending that brings the story even closer to home for the cast.

With a show like this one there are quite a variety of props needed; everything from iced buns, knitting needles and music sheets to photographic paraphernalia, broccoli and projectors. The list of props throughout are many and are managed by Katie Bird.

Set Designer is Terry Stevenson with the majority of the set being the hall used by Knapeley WI complete with noticeboard, chair stacks, a piano etc, so you know straight away where the action is taking place. The scene change from indoors to outdoors is achieved by a backdrop showing the Yorkshire Dales.

Stage managed by Emily Owen.

Sound design and operation is by Adam Guest. I've known Adam for well over a decade now and you come to realise that Adam is very passionate, as well as knowledgeable about the music that is used to link scenes. There are some gorgeous pieces of linking incidental music used in this production, and I know from past experience that Adam will search for just the right piece of music to feature for maybe just a 15 - 20 second scene link. 

Lighting Designer and Operator is David Price. A luminary legend of lighting.

Costumes are thanks to Mina Holtom, ranging from easy to wear tracksuits and leisure wear through silky style kimonos and dressing gowns to the very glamorous black dresses.

Encore are supporting two very special charities throughout the run of this production; they always choose an apt charity, or charities to support with every show they do, and this time they are raising money for Treetops Hospice in Derby and Every Cloud, a charity that provide treats for those people affected by cancer so they can have something nice to look forward to with family, friends or just themselves.

They are doing this fundraising in a very novel way; by selling programmes for the show for £5.00. Ah! I hear you cry, that's a bit expensive for a programme, and why is that novel? Well, I'll tell you. The programme is actually a 12-month calendar for 2026, but every month has a picture of the cast members, but they have taken their lead from the show, and all cast members (sorry lads), have been photographed in the nude (not naked) but the photos are all done in the best possible taste. Something to remind you of this show and the wonderful cast for the next 15 months. And a good calendar nowadays will cost you over a tenner, so why not buy two?

If you've never seen the play version of "Calendar Girls", get yourself a ticket. If you have seen the play version of "Calendar Girls", also get yourself a ticket because there is so much warmth in this play, but you'd better hurry because the tickets for the remaining few shows are selling like iced buns with cherries on top!

"Calendar Girls" is at the Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton until Saturday 20 September.

 "Friends The Musical Parody"

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Full disclosure: I've never seen a complete episode of "Friends" in my life. I do however know all of the characters in this American sit-com, so this isn't entirely a new experience for me, although the essence of the storylines of this show is a new one, personally, and many of them are completely lost on me. You really needed to be au fait with all of the in jokes and character foibles to "get" much of the references and comedy.

The show is a musical comedy made up of moments from all ten seasons of the television series. Featuring an original musical score, the show follows the escapades of this group of twenty-somethings; Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe.

The cast have been well picked but it's like being in a waxwork museum that didn't quite get it right (in some of the characters). You knew who they were meant to be but some you had to have an educated guess. That said Joey, Rachel and Monica were real doppelganger moments.

Enzo Benvenuti is Ross Geller, the paleontologist. Considered by some to be the most intelligent of the six main characters, but at the same time a clumsy, quirky man, Ross is known for being a smart, know-it-all who prides himself on his rationality, despite his clear hopeless romanticism. He is shown to be the most caring of all six members in various instances on the show, but also shown to be the most neurotic and his insecurities often get him into trouble.

Alicia Belgrade is Monica Geller, the younger sister of Ross and best friend of Rachel, the latter of whom she allows to live with her after Rachel forsakes her own wedding.

Daniel Parkinson is Chandler Bing, known for his sarcastic sense of humor, and is often the wittiest member of the group. He has been Ross's best friend since their freshman year in college. Chandler is often depicted as being somewhat of a hapless individual, suffering a lot of bad luck while struggling through life. 

Eva Hope is Rachel Green. Eva is the spitting image of Jennifer Aniston, helped enormously by Aniston's trademark hair. Aniston went on to make several hair care commercials, which was mercilessly parodied in the second act. Rachel is introduced into the musical after dumping her fiancé, Barry, at the altar, immediately having something in common with Ross, who was dumped at the altar as well by his fiancé. "Friends" devotees will know the ending of this serial romance.

Ronnie Burden is Joey Tribbiani Jr., a good-natured but not-so-bright struggling actor, who becomes mildly famous for his role as Dr. Drake Ramoray on a fictionalized American daytime soap. Joey is a womanizer, often using his catchphrase pick-up line "How you doin'?" which in this musical is immortalised in song form.

Amelia Atherton is Phoebe Buffy Hannigan, a ditzy, aspiring musician who plays the guitar and sings songs with somewhat unusual lyrics at the coffee shop.

Edward Leigh plays Gunther, the owner of the coffee shop, Tom Selleck and Paolo the primate. He also plays the warm up guy who comes on before the show starts properly to "warm up" the audience, and then at the start of the second act, involving audience members in a competition to see who is the biggest "Friends" fan.

Lottie Lester and Meg Darcy are the female ensemble and Jared Thompson and Harry Mallaghan complete the male ensemble.

Directed by Michael Gyngell.

Choreographed by Myles Brown.

The music is by Assaf Gleizner.

The Set and Lighting Designer is Andrew Exeter. Not having seen the TV show, I wasn't too educated in the particular sets, but I of course recognise the apartment as well as the iconic sofa, Gunther's coffee house as well as the fountain scenes; all of which are represented faithfully on stage. 

Sound design is by Chris Whybrow.

Jennie Quirk's costume design also faithfully replicates the costumes from the TV show, making it easier for me to recognise the characters at a glance.

Wigs, hair and make up design are by Craig Forrest Thomas and this is one area that really excelled for me with several wig changes for Edward, and a brilliant make up design for Janice. "Friends" fanatics will know all about Janice!

Mark Crossland is the Musical Supervisor and the music is arranged by Charles Olins. While the show parodies the TV show, there are also some of the songs that parody songs from big musicals i.e. “Cell Block Tango” from "Chicago", "Matchmaker Matchmaker" from "Fiddler On The Roof", "Part Of Your World" from "The Little Mermaid", "Damnit Janet" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and “Seasons of Love” from "Rent". Many of the others sound like they should be from familiar musicals, or maybe they just have that familiarity; like a favourite pair of slippers to slide your feet into on a chilly Autumnal evening.

There were some songs from the show though that I really found myself tapping my toes to, "We Were On A Break", which opened Act Two, was a real catchy number, "OMG It's Janice" is another, and "Could I Be Any More In Love With You" has the makings of a memorable melody.

The vocals from this group of actors are clean and strong and really carry these songs, making them quite a highlight for me.

I will admit that by the end of the first act, I was not impressed at all, but slowly this parody musical started to grow on me and, while it'll never be on my list of favourite musicals, it was Ok. I feel that you would need to be a fan of the show to get everything from this musical; much of the in jokes were lost on me I'm sorry to say.

"Friends The Musical Parody" will be there for you to see at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 20 September.

Now I'm off to catch up on some TV episodes of "Friends" and see what all the fuss is about the word "Pivot"!

 "The Last Stand Of Mrs. Mary Whitehouse" by Caroline Bird.

Nottingham Playhouse.

Whether you believed that Mary Whitehouse was a campaigner for the clean or one of the fun police, there's no denying that people listened to Mary Whitehouse back in the 1970's, sometimes to the detriment of Whitehouse's clean campaigns. If someone tells you not to watch something which includes filth, what do you do? Yes, you watch it, just to see what all the fuss is all about!

Her massive personality was such that she was lampooned on the 1980's satirical show "Spitting Image" on several occasions.

She was the founder and first president of the National Viewers and Listeners Association, through which she led a longstanding campaign against the BBC, for what she perceived as a lack of accountability and excessive use of bad language and portrayals of sex and violence in its programmes. 

Back in 1976, when the play starts, I was just thirteen years old, and Mary's opinions were of no interest to me, so she flew completely under my radar. Since discovering her again from "Spitting Image", and then again via this play, while I personally do not agree with her moralistic high ground, I do have respect for the woman and what she believed that she believed in.

Caroline Bird, who regular Playhouse patrons may remember from the wonderful "Red Ellen" which was also staged at The Playhouse back in 2022, delves into Whitehouse’s most explosive battle; her infamous blasphemy trial against Gay News and a poem that the paper printed in it, which she believed libelled the Christian faith as well as Jesus. It's an education for anyone who doesn't know an awful lot about Whitehouse, and while there's a lot of comedy written in, there's also quite a bit of sadness as we discover her early life with her parents and her own family life.

The play is a work of fiction inspired by real events. Some characters and scenes have been imagined, or have been combined from various sources including diaries, court records and interviews. There are some scenes which do come as a shock, especially what happened to Jacob after Whitehouse's "advice". 

There's also a scene where she invites a news reporter over to film her; she wheels round a trolley of tea and her favourite home-made Victoria Sponge with raspberries from the garden, only to wheel it back inside untouched when she discovers, after questioning, that the reporter is a suppressed gay man. Is Mary Whitehouse homophobe or just seriously misinformed and educated? I personally would not like to conclude on the latter as she was a very intelligent woman. Needless to say the play allows you plenty of questions.

Maxine Peake plays Mary Whitehouse in a powerhouse of a performance where she rarely leaves the stage. All costume and wig changes are done on stage and with every change of costume and wig, Maxine seems to morph backwards and forwards age-wise. From footage of Mary you can tell that Maxine has studied the character stoically and conveys every foible, look and sound of this powerful woman.

Something else that I noticed was the similarity, voice wise, with Julie Walters' characterisation of Mrs Overall from Victoria Wood's "Acorn Antiques" and almost expected the "Two Soups" sketch to be played out by Whitehouse. Could Julie Walters have been inspired by Mrs Mary Whitehouse, I ask myself?

Samuel Barnett plays every other role in the play, and there are a fair few, including among them Mary's Mother, a documentary filmmaker, a Roman Centurion, Margaret Thatcher and Jesus! If Samuel's name rings a bell, he played the part of Posner in the iconic Alan Bennett play, and later film, "The History Boys". A great pairing as Samuel also morphs wonderfully into each character played, both male and female, complete with some pretty nifty costume changes.

Directed by Sarah Frankcom this play rolls along at a fair old pace, thanks to scene, costume and wig changes done in full view of the audiences. Maxine and Samuel are experts in comedy timing and balancing the comedy with the more serious stuff is managed perfectly, often swinging from one emotion to the other on the turn of a sixpence, especially with the scene between Mary and Ms Tweedy in the second act.

Set Designer is Peter Butler and there's a lot to take in. From sitting in Mary's back garden through television studios, back stage dressing rooms to the reception room of 10 Downing Street.

Lighting design is by Malcolm Rippeth and sound design is by Annie May Fletcher. The lighting allowing you to be drawn into the solo speeches by Mary, and then widening to expand the scenes. Many sound cues surround you which are all perfectly timed.

Liz Flint ensures that all the accents and vocals are spot on, being the Vocal and Dialect Coach.

I love a play that entertains and educates and this one certainly did that for me. Before tonight I always viewed Mrs Mary Whitehouse as a bit of a killjoy, never really acknowledging what a charismatic person she was, nor did I realise the full power that she could wield throughout the media and the upper echelons of power in the 1970's onwards. As I mentioned earlier, I don't agree with her views on everything, but this play has given me an understanding of why she  thought in this way.

"The Last Stand Of Mrs. Mary Whitehouse" is at the Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 27 September.

 "Eurobeat - Pride Of Europe" by Gatepost Theatre Company.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

Being a BIG fan of Eurovision, this was one production that I could not pass up on seeing, and it was everything I had expected it to be; crazy bonkers and immense fun, everything that is represented by the real Eurovision Song Contest.

The fun starts even before you reach the auditorium with flags and "clackers" on sale in the reception of the theatre, ramping up the excitement and anticipation of the show to come and let's face it, how many theatre shows do the cast implore you to make this much noise while they perform?

There are eleven countries all vying for your vote - yes, you get to vote for the act of your choice, meaning that someone different has the chance of winning every night of the run, and also means that the ending of the show will more than likely to be different to any that has gone previously this week. And when you think of Eurovision you get such a variety of acts, some serious, some over serious and some completely zany and off the wall. They're all depicted in this show.

In the first half we are introduced to mien hosts of Lichenstein, the host country and hear all eleven of the song entries, after which we get to vote for the act we want to win by scanning a bar code or voting by a paper form available. These votes are then counted up and in the second half the winner is revealed in the same way as Eurovision does with representatives of the various countries giving their votes, automatically updating the scoreboard as the points are doled out, and then the winning act gets to perform their winning number again.

Our host for the show is Marlene Cabana, played by Lottie Lodge who is well aware that she is the sensible one in control of the show, and regularly makes sure that anyone, Serge, does not overstep the main presenting line. Both presenters give us plenty to chuckle about with their clever word playing and puns, partly due to the brilliantly funny script, but also because the chemistry that Lottie and Chris have on stage. Marlene gets her chance to showcase her vocals in the song "In The Dark".

Every main host in the real Eurovision has an equally glamorous co-host, as does Marlene in the form of Sergei Pocholitzo, played by Chris Collington. No one can forget just how brilliantly Sir Terry Wogan used to comment on the acts, and that same slightly caustic, often tongue in cheek naughtiness, are alive and well with Sergei's commentary. An ideal role for Chris as he is the expert of on stage ad libbing. this is highlighted in the section where a member of the audience is chosen, completely at random by lucky dip There are also some excellent, and humorous costume changes to watch for, not that you'd miss them as there are about a dozen of them!

The whole show starts off with the big opening number called "The World Is Your Dancefloor", which I guarantee you'll not be able to get out of your head and performed by everyone.

So, onto the acts vying to take that Eurobeat trophy. Each act is individually directed by one of Gatepost's talented members, something that is never seen in standard theatre when there's only maybe a couple of Directors involved in a production. This also means that every act has that individual style of the Director, further creating individuality of the mini show of that act. The Directors being Jordan Neary, Chris Collington, Tessa Raum, Kiah Smith, Jessica Hin and Jude Cliffman.

Sweden is represented by Anna Lungstromberg portrayed by Kasia Cichocka complete with accompaniment from Tessa Raum, Jess Collis-Millward, Arfaa Butt, Alex Tavener and Ellie Coulthard with the song "Semaphore Of Love".

Poland's entry is sung by the trio consisting of Christie O'Connor, Josh Neville and Dean Porter, under the name of Churning Circuits, and here is where we first get to see the flesh flashed, along with some saucy choreography.

Jude Cliffman, as Earnestasia with dancers Laura Stone, Ellie Heap and Sarah Butler represent Romania with a delicious slice of gothic horror inviting us to "Listen", where part of the props include large body parts!!

Gary Heap and Jess Collis-Millward represent the United Kingdom as Nigel and Nadine with their song "Why Don’t You Love Me Anymore?" with Gary looking remarkably like a certain ex PM and Jess looking like a member of Daft Punk.

Lithuania pay homage to Abba with the song "This Is How We Dance", which turns into another sauce-fest choreography wise, and great fun for Jordan Neary, Harvey Tavener, Luke Grainger and Kiah Smith to perform by what I could tell.

Arfaa Butt sings  the dreamy "Oh Aphrodite" as Persephone with backing dancers Claire Webb and Kasia Cichocka representing Greece.

Harvey Taverner as Mateus Villela represents Portugal with the song "Guy With A Guitar", and straight away seems to be the audience favourite, or is it just that Mateus is the token young heartthrob entry. As the song goes on we see more and more of Mateus. Keep a watch on the video screen behind Mateus though as at times there seems to be additional lyrics that don't quite match what he sings. Josh Neville also makes an appearance at the end, but what has he been doing behind the structure where Mateus has been standing??? He definitely looks like the cat who got the cream (nudge nudge, wink wink).

There's a saucy group of nuns from Vatican City led by Mother Morag, played by Ellie Coulthard, backed by Tessa Raum, Jordan Neary, Alex Tavener and Sarah Butler sing about being a "Good Girl" with some very unholy costumes.

Estelle La Croix is the French entry and all kudos to Christie O'Connor for performing the song totally in French - well there's always one in Eurovision who performs in their mother tongue isn't there?. It's a dramatic love song called "Je Vous Deteste Tous".

Australia's entry comes courtesy of Corrinne and Steve, aka Claire Webb and Dean Porter with dancers and backing singers consisting of Ben Gray, Laura Stone, Ellie Heap and Josh Neville in various costumes. The song is called "Oh Steve", a tribute to the legendary Aussie naturalist Steve Irwin.

Norway's entry song is all about Vikings, called "The Vikings", and I will admit my personal favourite, and yes, I did vote for this one to win during the interval. Gary Heap, Luke Grainger, Jude Cliffman and Kiah Smith. Strangely this quartet are not listed in the programme under "Meet the Countries"

The whole show is Directed by Chris Collington. This show plays to every one of Chris's strengths. It's zany, risqué, bonkers and completely brilliant, all adjectives that could be used to describe the wonderful Christopher Collington.

Choreographed fabulously by Lottie Lodge. I would not be able to pick out a favourite choreographed piece from this show because even the routines that looked naff were wonderfully entertaining. By the way, the more naff dance routines are actually supposed to look naff, just in case anyone thinks that I'm criticising the choreography.

Apart from the main acts there's a chance for the ensemble to entertain in a couple of big numbers like "The World Is My Dancefloor" and the big opening number for the second act, "May The Best Team Win", as well as the finale.

Lighting is by Steve Greatorex and is possibly the best light show that I've seen at The Duchess. It shouts the magnitude of the event with some very nice lighting designs, which are made to look even better (if possible) with the use of stage haze. This is big production lighting and looked amazing.

Sound is by Granite AV and was absolutely perfect. It was big and meaty with perfect sound cues all round.

What also makes this show another level is the video design and the projections. Chris Collington, who I know is an absolute Eurovision devotee has created a video design to match anything that Eurovision could create. the technical side of the show is insane, and everything worked perfectly. 

I was really impressed with the QR code system for audience members to be able to vote through their mobiles as well as the scoreboard which totted up the scores as they were delivered. The second half also showed representatives of the various countries relayed live with some great backdrops. Technically this show just has to be the most adventurous that I have ever seen locally. Sam Bunting is the Qlab operator (I had to google that one) and if you're not sure what Qlab is..... "QLab is powerful macOS software for designing and playing back sound, video, light, and show control cues". Entertaining as well as educational this show is.

And finally, a show like this is made slicker thanks to a hard working stage crew. Tilly Bedford (SM), Mark Green (DSM) and the Stage Crew being Steph Dennett.

Anyone who has even a passing adoration for Eurovision and the campness of the event will LOVE this show, but hurry up and get your tickets as it's only on until Saturday 13 September. Its douze points from me.

I can't think of a better way to start your weekend.... and don't forget to buy those clackers and flags!

Photos by Martin Holtom.