“Spring Awakening” by Regis Theatre Company
Duchess Theatre

Finally I have managed to get to see this wonderful musical which was banned after it was performed at the turn of the century with the story written back in 1891. Set in late 19th Century Germany it tells of a group of teenagers and their various awakenings to their own bodies and feelings.

This is a musical that you do not want to go and see if you are depressed or have a sharp implement in your purse, because this is dark with a capital "D". It's also powerful with a capital "P"

It has a certain shock element but maybe that is because when you think of the term musical you expect happy endings and jazz hands, and this has neither, but what a refreshing change to see

something so honest which slaps you around the face and hypnotises you all at the same time.

We’ve all had to go through puberty and the problems this causes on an individual basis, so this is one musical that we can all relate to in one way or another.

We've all had crushes, be it gay, bi or straight and we've all fallen in love and done things we shouldn't have done, so this play should affect everyone who sees it.

There’s humour as well as deeply poignant moments, especially surrounding Wendla’s and Melchior’s story, but every character has a story to tell and often not easy to hear and watch, especially Martha’s tale.

The story is controversial, even today, and with the themes depicted, which are of a mature and adult nature, you’d think that this play isn’t for children, but, depending on the child, I feel it should be a piece of theatre that should be open to them, even if it’s as an educational tool, but then you have to know your child well enough to judge.

In today’s age, it would be naive to think that your kids don’t know, or at least think about the stuff in this play, which is why, even after all this time from its origin, it is still has great relevance to all ages and makes you think nowadays how lucky we were and today's kids are.

The cast is superb and there are parts which must not have been easy or comfortable for them to play

Ruth Kniveton (Wendla) and Paddy Stafford (Melchior) had a kind of magic onstage and their plight, together and separately really touched you. Both have wonderfully pure voices with lovely control and range, at times though lost in the sound mix, especially in the quieter, spoken parts of the incredible soundtrack. Their emotive scenes will tear you up, especially in the second act.

Oliver Wheddon (Otto), Andrew Bould (Ernst), Hattie Kemmish (Martha),Kheenan Jones (Georg), Tammie Morgan (Ilse), Jack Readyhoof(Moritz), Anna McAuley (Anna), Molly Hewitt-Richards (Thea), Ruby Crawford (Greta), Sky Marsden (Melita), Matt Powell (Hanschen), Joe Morley (Bobbi) were just phenomenal as the kids with Adam Guest, Graham Buchanan, Milly Shawcross, Louise McGowan and Verna Bayliss as the adults, who also turned in some very uneasy to watch performances, Uneasy in the best possible terms by the way.

There are a couple of sections that use sign language which add another layer to this production. I know a smidgen of BSL and know it's not easy to master at the rate they did, but Milly Shawcross obviously did a great job with the cast.

Ollie Turner is the Producer and Director assisted by Matt Powell who also choreographs the musical. The choreography is contemporary and, again, hypnotic, and I love the punk element of one of the pieces.

They use the stage well and also utilises the auditorium as well. they have created a monster of a show to follow, but I know the talent on the production side, so know that they will relish whatever they take on next

Tom Watkins is the Musical Director and the band sounded gorgeous. The soundtrack is gorgeous anyway.

The sound at times was a little messy in places, but I imagine with the amount of people onstage, Tom Olding, didn't have the easiest of jobs on sound, so there's no way I'm going to say anything derogatory because I know how hard the job is to juggle the sound, and that makes me appreciate his hard work.

I'm not sure who was the set designer but I loved it and watch out for the complete redesign of the set in Act Two!

Because of the content of this musical there is a guidance advised for younger theatre goers, but I've seen and heard worse on stage, and it was all done tastefully.

It's one musical that I have been longing to see for a long while and I was not disappointed one iota as it's an important piece of theatre which will, at times, shock you, mainly from the attitudes and actions of the adults rather than the "kids" in the play

And before I sign off I must also mention the lovely, friendly front of house staff, as I feel they should also be recognised for all the hard work they do. Where would any local theatre group be without them?

“Spring Awakening” is at the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton until Saturday 8 September 2018.

“Sweet Charity”
Nottingham Playhouse

This is one of the most anticipated shows this year, probably because it’s the first full blown musical that the Nottingham Playhouse have been involved in since 2006. To cite a phrase from one of the songs... "All I can say is WOW!" This musical will blow your sicks off.

Based on the 1969 film starring Shirley MacLaine and the book by Neil Simon with music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields.

Charity is an unlucky in love gal who makes a living from dancing in a seedy dive in New York called The Fandango Ballroom.. Having just been dumped by her latest boyfriend, she decides that enough is enough and she is going to change her life. A chance meeting with the shy Oscar in a broken down lift kick starts her turnaround.....or does it?

This show has the most exquisite soundtrack with big belters like “Big Spender”, “If My friends Could See Me Now”, "I Always Cry At Weddings" and the infuriatingly catchy “Rhythm Of Life” and oozes style and glamour

Charity Hope Valentine is played by West End and Olivier award-winning rising star Rebecca Trehearn. What a wonderful voice she has and you can tell that she has had a West End grounding by the whole aura she has on that stage. She is fun to watch and she makes you feel for her character.

Oscar Lindquist is played by EastEnders actor Marc Elliott. The thing I love about seeing actors from TV in shows like this is that you see a completely different side of the actor. When you are in people's living rooms six days a week you think you know everything about that actor. Seeing them on stage brings another side of their talents to life. Marc shows a great talent for comedy and character acting as well as a decent voice.

The rest of the cast are incredibly good but I must mention a few by name. Jeremy Secomb (Vittorio Vidal) has an amazing voice that sent the hairs on my arms up, Carl Sanderson (Herman) also has a very flexible set of vocal chords.

Charity's fellow dancers, played by Amy Ellen Richardson (Nickie) and Carly Mercedes Dyer (Helene) are also great fun and have lovely voices which really blend well in those harmonies.

The whole cast exude boundless amounts of energy. especially in the choreography which is wonderfully created by Alistair David, with assistance from Emily Goodenough

Directed by Bill Buckhurst he keeps the fun and pace going throughout but when there are lower moments, they really hit home. Great contrast.

The show design is by takes and the whole set is breath taking and exciting, slotting smoothly in and out of position.

Musical director is Caroline Humphries and her band, which were on stage all the time, created the feel of the 1960's perfectly.

The Playhouse have great acoustics and staging musicals really ought to be done more often than they do. The blend of the sound (Emma Laxton) and the wonderfully visual lighting design (Joshua Carr), along with the marvellous cast, make this show the massive success it is and will continue to be while at the Playhouse.

“Sweet Charity” is at the Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 22 September 2018, so if you want to have fun, fun, fun as well as a few laughs, then you know where to go for a good time!

"The Nightmare Room" by Tabs Productions.
Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Based on a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle, this is one cracker of a play to bring the Colin McIntyre Classic Thriller Season to a close.

Two women. One Locked room. One bottle of poison.Plenty of twists.

Right from the off, you're drawn in to the production by the stark white room, almost like a sterilised hospital room, dare I say an asylum. There is one table, two chairs, a water decanter, two glasses and a phial of poison, and only one person gets out alive.

Why are they there? There's another person involved but what is the connection in this pairing? All is not as it first appears and the twists in this play come as a real surprise!

Sarah Wynne Kordas and Angie Smith play the two women and they put in an incredibly pensive and tension packed performance. The action includes flashbacks which show how they ended up in the locked room. The flashbacks are presented in a very effective way which helps you realise what is happening thanks to blackouts and sound effects.

I don't know Angie, but i do know Sarah and I saw a different side to her acting tonight. I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of her after seeing this play!

These two actors keep you right on the edge, and for just two actors to be able to keep you so enthralled is not only an acknowledgement to the wonderful adaptation of the play and the original story, but to the incredible acting skills of Sarah and Angie.

The stark design which gives the sterile environment feel, taking nothing from the two women's performances but adding so much to the atmosphere of the almost crazed and manic twists of the women's actions. But remember, not everyone in this room gets out alive, which makes these twists even more interesting and unexpected.

It's a thriller which oozes class throughout, From the stylised staging and design (John Goodrum) who also directed this edge of the seat piece of theatre, to the power dressing - costumes Geoff Gilder, to the lights and sound effects - and you'll see just why the sound is so important in this play when you see it!

A thriller in the true sense of the word and an amazing end to the 2018 Thriller Season.

"The Nightmare Room" is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 25 August 2018. Don't have sleepless nights about getting tickets for this brilliant production,,, get your tickets NOW!

“The Scarlet Pimpernel” by Tabs Productions
Nottingham Theatre Royal

Week Three of the Colin McIntyre Classic Thriller Season and the thrills continue with Louise Page’s adaptation of the Baroness Orczy’s classic “The Scarlet Pimpernel”

They seek him here, they seek him there, they seek the Pimpernel everywhere. Sacre bleu!

We are transported back to the French Revolution for a story of blackmail, heroism, faith and romance with buckles to be swashed. Will the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel be in time to save the life of the next innocent victim? Well you don’t expect me to give away the ending, do you? Come and see for yourself!

Andrew Ryan stars as the elusive one, as well as Sir Percy Blakeney. Wonderfully foppish as Blakeney and dashing and heroic as The Pimpernel. Putting the Ooh! into Ooh la la.

A relatively new cast and the six actors throughout made it seem deceptively bigger.

Corrinne Begluk (Marguerutte St, Juste), Anna Mitchum (Suzanne De Basseerive), George Gough (Armand St Juste), Stephen Cherrett (Sir Andrew Foulkes) and Mark Huckett (Citizen Chauvelin) balanced the comedy with the thrills perfectly.

Directed by Karen Henson who utilised the whole theatre for exits and entrances for the actors, making this production an even more exciting watch.

Another brilliant touch was to have the actors dressing the sets complete with balletic choreography, and male actors doubling as ladies in a section similar to "Little Britain", both adding to the pure enjoyment of this classic piece of theatre.

Swathes of sweeping red and white material indulged the set and made a visual impact as soon as the curtains opened. designed by John Goodrum.

As only to be expected in this period piece, the costumes and wigs were gorgeous, befitting the decadence of the era, thanks to Geoff Gilder.

All in all this is a brilliant romp where you know what the outcome is going to be, so no whodunnits to guess, just a wonderful camp watch which will

take you back to those heroic story books from your childhood.

“The Scarlet Pimpernel” is a la Theatre Royal until Samedi 18 Aout – or Saturday 18 August por favour.

"Twelfth Night" by Much Ado About Theatre.
The White Lion, Beeston, Nottingham.

Shakespeare in the open air as part of their local tour, but what happens when it rains?

You put up a gazebo!

What happens if the gazebo is too small for all the people who want to see this production?

You move the production indoors!

Simples, well for us, the audience, but this can cause a multitude of problems performance wise for the actors and crew. Not that you'd have noticed because thinking on your feet and going with the flow is something that this theatre company seem to have a natural ability to do. they moved everything to the pub's upstairs room and performed their production in the round.

"Twelfth Night" or "What You Will" is a Shakespeare comedy, believed to have been written as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck. Viola (who is disguised as Cesario) falls in love with Duke Orsino, who in turn is in love with the Countess Olivia. Upon meeting Viola, Countess Olivia falls in love with her thinking she is a man.

This cast really take the advantage of making all of the characters very animated, especially Sir Toby Belch, and really shows the cartoonish comedy in Shakespeare's writings, cementing his talent for the absurd.

I've never seen this theatre company before but a few of the cast I had seen before, so straight away knew that I was in for a good performance.

Shakespeare is one of those playwrights that a director and cast can have fun with. Adding bits in and omitting others, making sure that the performance is different to any other production you've seen before. Who would have imagined that "Is This The Way To Amarillo" would be part of one of the Bard's plays?

The cast is very strong, and obviously know each other's strengths, and trust the other actor when ad libbing some parts, which keep Shakespeare fresh and enjoyable over 400 years after they were written.

Peter Radford (Orsino), Chloe Crump (Viola/Cesario), Abi Moore (Olivia), Konrad Skubis (Sebastian/Valentine), Jennifer Reckless (Maria), James Parnham (Sir Toby Belch), Hannah Breedon (Sir Andrew Aguecheek), Tori Hope (Antonio), Matthew Hammonds (Feste/Officer) and Nick Parvin(Malvolio/Sea Captain), acted and reacted their socks - or is that stockings - off.

The enthusiasm for what they do is obvious and infectious and they have no qualms about involving members of the audience in their act, showing confidence in their audience's affection for the play and the production company.

The comedy came thick and fast, not just in Shakespeare's words, but also in the physicality of the production; sections of which bordered on slapstick.

Performing in non theatre based surroundings also make it fun and accessible for everyone, and I love the clever way they break down the barriers many people have with Shakespeare by adding the fun and twists to their show.

Looking at the eye catching poster and programme,designed by Chloe Crump, it gave an incite to the cartoony element of the production.

I must also commend the wonderful costumes, supplied by CNR Services Ltd.

A wonderful and fun production which only provides proof that Shakespeare's plays are still popular, as well as great entertainment, for all ages today. And a cast that performs with such ease the words of the Master, will ever keep his plays alive and most definitely kicking.

For more information about this theatre group, please visithttps://www.muchadoabouttheatre.com/

“A Touch Of Danger” by Tabs Productions
Nottingham Theatre Royal

The second instalment of Colin McIntyre’s Classic thriller Season 2018, now in its’ 30th year, is a classic Francis Durbridge’s “A Touch Of Danger” and in contrast, but on a par with last week's excellent Season opener.

Max Telligan, a popular novelist, returns to his London apartment from a business trip to Munich when he finds his evening newspaper contains a report of his violent death.

As the evening goes on, Max is greeted by a parade of mysterious visitors as it becomes increasingly clear that he has, it seems, unwittingly become embroiled in the activities of an international terrorist group!

We've come to expect a top notch cast and that does not fail us this week either. Susan Earnshaw (Liz Ferber - Max's secretary), Jacqueline Gilbride (Harriet Telligan - the estranged wife), David Martin (Jeff Seago - the golf ace), John Goodrum (Max Telligan), Andrew Fettes (Vincent Crane), David Callister (Lloyd Mitchell), Jeremy Lloyd-Thomas (Graham Digby), Emma Vickery(Connie Palmer - Seago's partner), Charlie Henderson- Howat (Rose).

Directed by Karen Henson, the play is nicely paced and keeps you guessing right up to the end, although there are clues to the guilty party/parties dropped as the play unravels.

The set, designed by Geoff Gilder, is typical of the 1980's, where the play is set as are the costumes, also by Geoff.

Everything is timed to perfection with the lighting design by Michael Donoghue and sound design by David Giltbrook. The scene changes are assisted by the closing of the curtains with musical accompaniment to allow the stage managers to rearrange the stage and to dispose of the bodies, and gives the audience to quickly compare notes as to who is behind this cleverly written plot. Well it is Francis Durbridge after all!

Wonderfully entertaining, and for once I got close to guessing who was behind it all, but not until close to the end.

“A Touch Of Danger” is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 11 August 2018.

“This Is Elvis”
Nottingham Royal Concert Hall

I, like any Elvis fan, can remember precisely where I was and what I was doing when I heard of the death of The King of Rock n Roll. I never had the privilege to see the man live. This show is as close as you will get to that event.

Ok let’s get this out there to start with. This is not an Elvis tribute act.

Stephen Michaels has been performing Elvis’ songs for many years now. He started as a three piece rockabilly group performing the songs Elvis recorded for the Sun Record label. This trio grew to a 14 piece ensemble of musicians and singers and toured Canada, United States and Australia.

The tour has now hit the UK and Nottingham. Steve has performed with several of Elvis’ original band and singers, so this man has been accepted by the people who worked alongside and knew the king of Rock n Roll.

This production celebrates 50 years since the Elvis ’68 Comeback Special aired on TV and includes so many of The king’s biggest hits, “Trouble”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, “Hound Dog”, “Love Me Tender”, “All Shook Up”, “Jailhouse Rock”, “One Night”, “It’s Now or Never”, “Are you Lonesome Tonight?”, “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, “In The Ghetto”, “Suspicious Minds”, “American Trilogy”, “Just Can’t Help Believing” and many more.

The first act we see Elvis's lead up to this massive event; an event that brought the fear and the nerves from The King, but an event that showed what an incredible performer the man was.

As an Elvis fan I was a little unsure just how much Stephen Micheals would look like Elvis and how close to the Elvis sound he would get.

I need not have been so sceptical because within just a few minutes of being on stage, Stephen Michaels was Elvis Presley. Closing my eyes I could imagine the man on stage was Elvis. He sounded like Elvis and he has an uncanny resemblance to him also.

I say that this show is not a tribute to Elvis and in my mind, that is true. Stephen Michaels is not just an actor placed in a musical to portray The King. He has a natural air about him which makes watching Stephen magnetic to watch. the more you watch and listen, the more you realise that Stephen Michaels is an Elvis fan and he loves the music, and that adoration to the man he becomes on stage is as hypnotic as I can only imagine being able to see Elvis on stage might have been.

Elvis could sing anything, gospel, blues, rock n roll, ballads, country, disco and he made every song his own, even his version of "Old MacDonald Had A Farm". Elvis' nuances and the way he played with the notes, just like an experienced jazz singer, were all noted and presented on stage.

For one who never had the chance to see the real thing, this is the closest I'm ever going to get, and I left the theatre happy that I got to see what a great performer of songs the man was, even if it was from someone who obviously loved the man and his music as much as myself.

Must not forget to mention though that this show also boasts an equally amazing band and backing singers, recreating that special sound.

“This Is Elvis” is at the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall” until Saturday 11 August 2018.A must for any fan of great music.