"Sweeney Todd" by Gatepost Theatre Company.

May Hall, Trent College, Long Eaton.

Sweeney Todd, real name Benjamin Barker, uses his new alias to resume work in his barber shop above Mrs. Lovett’s struggling pie shop after being wrongfully sentenced to life imprisonment by the corrupt Judge Turpin. After swearing vengeance against the Judge that tore his family apart, Todd and Lovett plot a unique plan that helps them both and leads them down a dangerous, thrilling path with deadly consequences.

I never tire of watching this musical, partly due to the wonderful Sondheim soundtrack, and partly because the productions have always been excellent. No difference here in my attendance of the tale of Sweeney Todd!

That said, this was a production like I've never seen before for so many reasons. Even before you enter the auditorium you get a sense of unease with the masked greeters at the door. They then proceeded to sit on the stage and stare at the audience, making sure that you also felt uncomfortable in your seat.

As you can tell, from the start, this production is like no other you've seen of "Sweeney Todd". It's very stylised with a contemporary feel, sound and look.

Christopher Collington plays Todd, as well as directing the show.. He was menacing and his underlying anger didn't take long to surface. His scenes with Mrs Lovett ranged from the serious to the comic, often the comedy would be as subtle as a sidewards glance in her direction; the dramatic involving a great deal of trust from Lottie at the hands of Sweeney, especially near the end of Act Two! Anyone having seen Chris on stage before will know anyway that he has a big old voice with plenty of control, and with Sondheim's songs, the actor shone.

Mrs Lovett is played by Lottie Lodge. I've already mentioned the trust value that Lottie had within her role as the pie maker extraodanaire, but this role is bigger than some people may give credit for. From her first scene to her last, there's an amazing amount of lyrics and script to deliver, as well as that big and busy character. Lottie took all this in her stride and delivered the perfect Mrs Lovett in my eyes.

Kiah Smith plays Johanna, Sweeney Todd's daughter. Kiah has a gorgeous, operatic voice that could cut glass. There are several duets with Anthony, who is new in town and falls in love with her immediately, and these duets have been so meticulously practiced that just a second out would throw both off. Note and word perfect for both roles.

Anthony Hope is played by Jack Lawrence. The thing that you notice first off about Jack is that strong vocal style, simmering for the gentler numbers and when he sings "I feel you Johanna", you believe every word that he sings. I don't recall seeing Jack before, so maybe he's new, but he's a name I'd watch out for coming up through the ranks.

Judge Turpin is played by the very talented Simon Owen. Creating an image in stage is not as easy as some may think, but when Simon plays Joanna's ward, and his intentions become clear, you get an uneasy feeling in your stomach. He makes you feel disgust at the character. As I said, this is just an image portayed for the character because Simon, in real life is a lovely bloke. Extremely far removed from Turpin.

Luke Steven Grainger plays Beadle Bamford, Turpin's right hand man. Now, I've known Luke for many years and this is really his return to the stage after quite an absence, and what a way to return. I took great pleasure, when chatting to Luke afterwards, that I had forgotten just how good a voice he has; what I didn't add was he has great range as well. Bamford is one of the slimiest roles in this musical, and that did come across, but what also came across was how unhinged Beadle is. He reminded me of Malcolm McDowell's role in "A Clockwork Orange". One minute mocking, the next laughing, then a sign of the evil within the character. Welcome back Luke - and I got his name right as well - a private chuckle. I think that his credit in the program was done to ensure that I got it right.

Harrison Ince plays Tobias Ragg, and again this is another young actor who really shone for me. Tobias is the young lad who works for Pirelli, who, after Pirelli "disappears", is informally adopted by Mrs Lovett to help with the pie making. Harrison showed that he has a strong and clear voice, especially in the duet "Not While I'm Around" with Mrs Lovett, especially as they had to perform this without the aid of amplification - more of that later. A really confident performer who wasn't phased by the tongue twisting "Pirelli's Magic Elixir" one bit.

Some of the comedy element in this show is provided by the "Italian" barber Pirelli, here played by Gary Heap - great accent by the way. Another role that is as double edged as the razor he uses to shave his customers with. I can't remember Gary turning in a bad performance, and he certainly was not going to start here as Pirelli.

Jude Cliffman plays the beggar woman. Crazy, frustrated - in every way possible - but yet another character that is so much more than her initial one dimension entrance. Jude gets to deliver some really comical lines as well.

The ensemble consist of Phil Deakin, Ben Gray, Ellie Banbury, Rachelle Bragg, Jordan Neary, Claire Rybicki, Max Wilde, Sarah Knight and Kirsty Vastenavondt. Mostly masked up to create that air of uneasiness, especially in Act two where these faceless creatures surround Todd in his barbershop.

The Musical Director role is also down to Christopher Collington (how many hats can one very talented man wear?).

There are some of my favourite musical theatre tunes in "Sweeney Todd". Sondheim's music is not an easy score to perform but this cast performed them as if they were reciting nursery rhymes. "Worst Pies In London", "Johanna", "The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd", "Pretty Women" - which is as hypnotic as looking into the eyes of a snake, "A Little Priest" - which must be one of the most cleverly crafted musical theatre songs ever, "By the Sea" and the beautiful "Not While I'm Around".

Directing this show, Chris has ramped it up and made the whole feel of the show even darker with several added extras which I'm not going to reveal. As I said earlier, I've seen this musical several times, but this has that extra uneasiness and darkness interwoven.

Lighting Design is by Stephen Greatorex. This really added to the dark overtones of the story with plenty of shadows. Lights of red to give a bloody feeling and dark colours to show the sinister aspects of the plot.

The set design by Mark Green is something like I've not seen for a production like this. It uses an extended stage with two cut outs in the stage floor - the reason for that became apparent quickly, but also looked as if the demons of Todd's doing were rising up form the Underworld in one section, especially with the backlighting. A modern design for the salon and a higher level for the party scene and Johanna and Anthony's scenes.

Sound operator is Pete Gough, and it's this area that made the sound guy the hero of the night. Throughout Act One it became apparent to me that something was slightly amiss. I'd heard these issues before elsewhere and put it down to a wiring problem with the portable mic packs that actors where. But the issues continues and into Act two everything came to a head when the time came for "Not While I'm Around". Lottie's mic pack just didn't want to work and then Harrison's, meaning that there was no amplification for either. The sound had gone completely.

Chris took to the stage to do the only thing he could do, as his role as Director and stopped the show, apologised, explained what was happening and there was a slight delay while things were sorted out. Chris is a naturally funny guy and his honesty and comic ability really endeared him to the practically full theatre.

There was one other moment which rivalled anything in "The Play That Goes Wrong" involving Bamford, who had to play the keyboard for part of the show. I did mention to Chris at the end that maybe they should keep the "what a lovely instrument" piece in the show, but he politely declined the suggestion.

I've always said that every night's performance is different to the one before; well that was so right on Wednesday night, but the honesty and respect for their audience won everyone over. Something that was out of their control was fixed within five minutes and as the old adage goes "The show must go on", and it did, receiving a standing ovation for, not only a superb new production, but for the way that this episode was handled calmly and professionally. And I expect Chris will have had a drink or ten to mark this occasion.

"Sweeney Todd" is at May Hall until Saturday 15 April, so don't be a pudding, buy a ticket and wrap your mince pies around this chilling and impeccably performed piece of musical theatre.

 "Steel Magnolias" by Robert Harling.

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Just in case you didn't know, like me, the title of the piece is said to be how the female characters are described; as delicate and sweet as magnolias, but as tough as steel.

Set in the fictional northwestern Louisiana parish of Chinquapin, the play opens at Truvy's in-home beauty parlour where a group of women regularly gather. They discuss Shelby's upcoming wedding to her fiancé, Jackson. The plot covers events over the next three years relating to Shelby's Type 1 diabetes, and with how the women cope with their conflicts, while remaining friends: Shelby's decision to have a child despite jeopardizing her health, Clairee's friendship with the often bad tempered Ouiser; Annelle's transformation from a shy, anxious newcomer in town to a good-time girl then repentant revivalist Christian; and Truvy's relationships with the men in her family. Although the main storyline involves Shelby, her mother M'Lynn, and Shelby's medical battles, the group's underlying friendship is prominent throughout.

Many moons ago, when I was but a wee child, my mother used to take me, on a Saturday morning, to her hairdressers for her weekly hairdo. I'd sit there zoning out but now and again zoning in on maybe a few of the clients and staff's conversation pieces. fast forward, probably fifty years or so to this evening, and those memories of being sat in a ladies' hairdressing salon, and unfortunately zoning out some of the people within the salon, but focusing on two or three.

I'll be frank here, a lot of this play did not float my boat or keep my attention. However the second half is a lot better than the first, for me, but there were two constants and a late runner for my attention in "Steel Magnolias"

Laura Main (M'Lynn Eatenton), you will recognise from the wonderful "Call The Midwife" was the late runner for me. M'Lynn is Shelby's mother but it was only when the story unfurled after the interval did I really start to appreciate the acting skills of Laura Main. I am a big fan of "Call The Midwife" and love her acting, especially the emotional drama that she often had to portray, and it was the emotional act two performance that I really started to sit up and pay attention to the character in the play.

Claire Carpenter (Ouiser Boudreaux) understudied tonight for Harriet Thorpe and did a very good job, but again I couldn't really get attached to the character, I'm sorry to say.

Diana Vickers (Shelby Eatenton-Lathcherie) has carved out a very respectable theatrical career since being a contestant on "The X Factor" and I loved this portrayal of Shelby. Having never seen the film of the same name, all of the characters and characteristics were new to me, and this was one character who I instantly warmed to. Don't ask me why as I don't know, I was just enveloped by the character itself. I've seen Diana in several shows over the years and have loved her work, but tonight it was all about the character and how Diana played her for me. One of my two constants.

Lucy Speed (Truvy Jones), I remember from "Eastenders" many moons ago, is my other constant. For me, she drove this play and kept it buoyed for me. Lucy looked like Dolly Parton and sounded like Dolly Parton, and like Dolly Parton, she was fun, light, bouncy but where it counted, also had empathy. If you've never seen the film, like I have not, Dolly played the role of Truvy.

Caroline Harker (Clairee Belcher) has a very distinguished CV including parts in film, TV, stage and radio. I was mesmerised for some reason with the wig that Caroline had to wear, well I assumed it to be a wig, but loved the English accent.

Elizabeth Ayodele (Annelle Dupuy-Desoto) graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2021 and, despite the Covid years, is building a nice list of theatre and film credits to her name. This character, for me was the only one that developed from where it started to the end of the play.RoRoyal Central School of Speech and Dramayal Central School of Speech and Drama

Laura Hopkins' Set Design was wonderful and the scene changes in Act One were incredibly swift, I am still trying to work out how they did them with the additional props that suddenly appeared on stage with just the shortest of turnarounds. I also liked the fact that the set was reversed in Act two to get a different perspective of the salon.

Howard Hudson's Lighting Design was effective, I'm not going to give any of the story away by saying which parts of the design made me feel that way; go and see for yourself.

The Sound Design and Music is by Max and Ben Ringham. I always love it when a sound effect can turn your attention to a specific area of the set, whether that be on stage or off stage, and this design controlled your ears as well as your eyes, almost like a magician would point you in the direction that he/she wanted you to look. Very clever, and I appreciated it.

Directed by Anthony Banks, for me it was like looking for the meat in a stew, you had to swallow a lot of gravy before you got to some meaty bits. But it flowed well and there were enough carrots to entice me to want to see more.

I also loved the wigs and costumes - I've already touched on one wig - Susan Kulkarni's costumes were brilliantly, but aptly dated - well I was around to witness the style myself. Richard Mawbey's wig designs were fantastic and the combination of the wigs and costumes for Lucy Speed was worth the ticket price itself.

Ok, so the story didn't grab me and several of the characters didn't click with me but there were sections and characters in here that did, and they made it worth the watch. I do not think I'll be searching Youtube though to view the original film.

What it does show though is the power of talk and womanhood as well as friendship and good friends.

"Steel Magnolias" will be shutting up shop and relocating after their final makeover on Saturday 15 April.

 "The Commitments" by Roddy Doyle

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

"The Commitments" tells the story of Jimmy Rabbitte, a young working-class music fan who dreams of starting the finest soul band Dublin has ever produced. Placing a classified advert in a music paper, Jimmy auditions a number of wannabes before finalising the members of his new band: The Commitments. But as any live musician knows, getting a band together never quite goes to plan – especially after a few pints of Guinness!

I loved the film and I love the music and this is the second time that I've seen the stage musical. And guess what, I love this show.

It features over 20 soul classics performed live on stage including: "Night Train", "Try A Little Tenderness", "River Deep, Mountain High", "In The Midnight Hour", "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", "Save Me", "Mustang Sally", "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", "Thin Line Between Love and Hate", "Reach Out, I'll Be There" "Uptight", "Knock On Wood", "I Can’t Turn You Loose" and more!

It stars Nigel Pivaro, who you may remember from "Coronation Street" when he played Terry Duckworth. Nigel plays Jimmy's Da and marks his return to the stage. Surprisingly I didn't see an older Terry Duckworth; I saw an actor who looked as if he was enjoying every second on that stage. Now, when I say "stars" Nigel Pivaro, I'm sure that even he would concur that the real stars were the actors who took part as the band, The Commitments and their lead vocalist. Nigel also gets a secondary role as the caretaker, but with that bushy moustache, you may not have noticed it was he!

Jimmy, who at times is also the peacemaker as well as manager, is played by James Killeen. He pretended not to be able to sing during "Mr Pitiful", but that impression was smashed in the final encore of soul smashes.

Deco, the lead singer, is played by Ian McIntosh. What a voice he has. Whether it is belting out the big, brassy soul tunes such as "I Can't Turn You Loose" or "Reach Out I'll Be There", or melting achingly with the ballads like "Thin Line Between Love And Hate" or "Try A Little Tenderness", the audience loved him, on several occasions breaking the fourth wall to croon to an audience member. He had them in the palm of his hand, especially when he did a costume change on stage. One for the ladies there!

All members of the band played their own instruments, and they sounded amazing, almost as if they were performing in their own little concert for us.

Stuart Reid plays Joey "the Lips", Outspan is played by Michael Mahoney, Ryan Kelly plays Billy, Dean is played by Conor Litten, Ed Thorpe tonight was Derek, Stephen O' Riain plays James,

Ciara Mackey plays Imelda, Eve Kitchingman plays Natalie and Sarah Gardiner plays Bernie, the three backing singers who also sounded great upfront.

The roles of Mickah and Ray are played by Ronnie Yorke. This man also won everyone over as the skinhead bouncer who could also bash out a solid rhythm on the drums. A wonderfully comic performance which was enjoyed by all, if the increase in the applause volume was anything to go by!

Directed by Andrew Linnie, who should feel at home with this show as he played the role of Dean in the original stage production in 2013. Later he went on to play Jimmy in 2016/2017. To borrow from The Who, the whole show was meaty, beaty, big and bouncy with lots of pace.

The scenery just seemed to melt away, only to be replaced with something else for the next scene, thanks to the designer Tim Blazbell.

George Francis was the Musical Director, working the wonderful arrangements by Alan Williams of these classic songs brilliantly. It was like being at the best soul party ever.

Sound Design is by Rory Madden. You could hear every single word of speech and the music was like the first time you heard your favourite song on compact disc. The sound jumped out at you, slapped you around the face and ordered your feet to dance!

Jason Taylor's Light Design really shone. there are several sections that have to be split second timed to get the desired effect, and while most of the audience may not notice or appreciate this light cueing, I certainly did.

The show is pure entertainment with the absolute best soundtrack ever. Some people may not like "jukebox musicals" but when the quality of the music is as excellent and tasteful as the music used for this show, you just can't go wrong. I can still hear that mental brass section for "Turn You Loose" now in my mind and I need to break out some more Wilson Pickett.

If you don't leave the theatre dancing, then someone must have crept in and lopped off your feet while you were watching the show, obviously enjoying it so much that you hadn't noticed.

"The Commitments" is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 8 April.

 "Jekyll & Hyde" by The Expressions Academy of Performing Arts.

The Create Theatre, Mansfield.

Based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic gothic thriller, "Jekyll & Hyde" is the tale of a brilliant mind gone horrifically wrong, set to a powerful musical score by Frank Wildhorn with book and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. In an attempt to cure his father’s mental illness by separating “good” from “evil” in the human personality, Dr. Jekyll inadvertently creates an alternate personality of pure evil, Mr. Hyde, who wreaks murder and terror on the city of London. As his fiancée Emma grows increasingly fearful for Jekyll, a prostitute, Lucy, finds herself dangerously involved with both the doctor and his alter ego. Struggling to control Hyde before he takes over for good, Jekyll must find a cure for the evil he has created in his own mind.

Directed and choreographed by Lynn Nelson, this production has so much "edge of the seat" anticipation, and pulls no punches when it comes to the terror element. There's a real feel of being unnerved as the auditorium is kept mainly in the dark with haze swirling around to create that foggy London eeriness. A backdrop projection with rain, dark clouds and bats flying around, illuminated by the moon, coupled with gloomy incidental score, Big Ben tolling and the squeaks of the bats. Before the music and action start you're already slightly on edge.

Jamie Smith plays a likeable Henry Jekyll but shows the horror and anguish of his alter ego taking over extremely well. A really physical role which I feel Jamie takes in his stride. I love the way that everything about Jekyll and Hyde are opposites. Jamie is blond, has a sweeter voice and is more slight of build as opposed to Hyde.

Edward Hyde is played by Adam Elliott, who is more well built, slightly taller, which works really well in the transformation sections. Hyde is dark haired and Adam has a rockier voice. You can almost hear the vitriol spat out in the songs as Hyde gets ever the more evil. As with Jamie, Adam is a physical actor and both embody their characters well. You're able to buy into the characters and there are several times when Hyde appears suddenly when you start to grip your seat.

Jekyll's fiancee, Emma, is played by Libby Johnston. I've said this previously but this is a very physical piece of theatre and it's not just the men in the cast that get to perform physically, because Libby, at times, also gets to be mercilessly pulled around, especially by Hyde. A lovely singing voice and a cracking character actor as well.

Shannon Lockey plays Lucy Harris. Another well observed character; from the voice, the accent, even the swagger of Lucy's movements and attitude, it's all there, captured perfectly by Shannon. I'd actually forgotten about the way that Lucy dies, so this also was another moment when a sharp intake of breath was needed.

John Utterson, Jekyll's best friend and confidante, is another piece of wonderful observation of a character driven role. Played impeccably by Harry Bailey.

Director Lynn has also surrounded the main characters with some excellent supporting actors. Jessica Marriott (Lady Danvers-Carew), Jessica Moore (Nellie), Sean Singh - who looks like a young Daniel Radcliffe ( Simon Stride), Joe Keegans (The Bishop Of Basingstoke), Kyle Linn (The Priest), Eleanor Bailey (Lady Beaconsfield), Charlie Kerry (Lady Annie Proops), Destiny Pink - which is a great name for an actor (Lady Glossop), Thomas Davies (Lord Savage), Devon Pearson (Spider) and Kieran Aisbitt (Poole).

And a meaty ensemble consisting of Max Abbott, Kazie Brown, Logan Elvin, Maddison Gillen, Beth Nichols, Caitlin Ward, Katie Wise, Leah Anderson, Harrison Dean, Keenan Flynn-Parkinson, Hannah Moore, Grace Proudlock and Mikayla Winfield.

The score for "Jekyll & Hyde" has some very powerful songs, and is practically sung all the way through. With the style of the songs and the incredible harmony sections, this is no easy task for a theatre group to take on. It has some beautiful highlights such as "This Is The Moment", sung with great power and control by Jamie, "Someone Like You" and "In His Eyes", all providing a softer sound, while the song "Murder Murder" heightens the fear factor. Musical Director Adam Howell has done a superb job with this extensive soundtrack.

My one and only gripe was that the backing incidental music was at times a little loud and it sometimes swamped the actor, making it difficult to hear the spoken word, but apart from that, I loved the production. It was gripping, full of tension, the fight choreography was done well, the acting was superb and there's some excellent vocalists and character actors within this group.

I unfortunately only caught the final production of their four day run, but I hope that the previous nights were as well received as Sunday afternoon's crowd, with a standing ovation that was truly, and richly deserved.