"Sister Act" by Erewash Musical Society
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

Here is one musical which, if you don't leave the theatre with a smile on your face, you've already met your maker and no one told you about it. And from where I stood, I saw no walking corpses.

What a heavenly show and what a wonderful cast graced the Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton, and has done all this week.

"Sister Act", which is based on the film of the same name and starred Whoopi Goldberg is all about Deloris, a club singer in the 1970's trying to make it big in her boyfriend Curtis's club. She sees Curtis kill one of his henchmen and reports it to the police, who just happens to be her old college mate "Sweaty" Eddie. Eddie has the idea of hiding her among a convent of nuns until the court date.

This is a whole culture shock for Deloris, so to keep her out of trouble, Mother Superior puts her in charge of the choir, who's singing aptitude is described by Mother Superior as "having no words" to describe them. With Deloris' help they are transformed into a choir Gareth Malone would be proud of and by doing so saves the nunnery from being closed down.Curtis and his friends in the meantime though are determined to find Deloris and intend to make sure that she doesn't tell anyone else about what she had seen...ever!

There are quite a few new faces and names in the Erewash Musical Society's production and they fit in like a musical jigsaw puzzle.

Taking on the role of Deloris and filling those funky FM boots is the funky and fabulous Dionne Reid. Dripping with soul and 70's sexiness she belted out those heaven sent retro disco belters, despite just recently being struck down with laryngitis. Worthy of that Donna Summer white fox fur if you ask me! Dionne had some fabulous costumes to wear but saved the best till the curtain call. Great glamour and style all wrapped around a voice that reminded me of soul singer Oleta Adams. Take Me To Heaven... yes she did. Fabulous Baby...yes she was.

Curtis, the nasty man boyfriend and mobster was played with true devilish delight by Adam Richmond. Loved the way he relished telling us all about what he would do to Deloris when he found her in his song "When I Find My Baby". Oozing evilness with that nasty grin (Curtis that is not Adam), I even heard someone booing at the curtain call. A tribute to the acting skills of the very nice in real life, Adam.

I've always loved the comedy provided by Curtis' henchmen Pablo (Lewis Haycock), Joey (Kheenan Jones) and his roped in nephew T.J (Jack Readyhoof). Their song, "Lady In The Long Black Dress" is a comical classic in musical theatre and they milked the comedy value to the max, getting the ladies in the audience screaming with delight. I half expected a pair of knickers to be tossed on stage. Loved the cheesy choreography for their routine, which by the looks of it, they also rather enjoyed.

Eddie was played by Phil Brookes. I'm not sure if Phil is one of the new members as I don't think I can remember seeing him in the past, but if he is, what a find! Lovely characterisation of the policeman who has dreams of being "that guy", and what a lovely tone to his singing voice. i apologise if Phil has been in past productions and I didn't remember, but after this performance, I won't forget Mr Brookes.

Tracey Renshaw (Mother Superior) was just sublime to watch, as were all the nuns. Loved Chrissie Oakden as Sister Mary Lazarus, the leader of the choir and Ellie Simmonds as Sister Mary Robert, who did a gorgeous version of "The Life I Never Led".

A very entertaining cast of nuns which were made up of Fiona Wright, Joan Clarke, Maria Lawrence, Alysha Gomes, Clare Toska, Alex Tavener,Christine Hewitt, Emily Oakden, Erin Keogh,Karen Robbins, Heather Howe, Gill Cooke. Laurie Trott, Leah Thompson, Kay Cocks,Sophie Robbins and Sue Hagan. Keith Butcher played a very funky Monsignor O'Hara.

Other cast members were Martin Lewis, Gary Lever, Martin Mould, James Raynerand Nick Buckthorpe.

The music is always really good at the Duchess and tonight really captured that 1970,s feel with the orchestra directed by musical theatre's equivalent of the incredible shrinking man, Dave Dallard. I felt like busting out an afro and flares listening to the evocative musical tracks. You could almost imagine John Shaft aka Richard Roundtree walking through the doors. Wonderful.

The sets came alive before your very eyes. It was if you were on a film set with the wonderful projections designed by Paul Young from Scenery Projections. You could often forget that you weren't in a nunnery or on that San Franciscan sidewalk outside the Dive Bar.

Twin that with the disco style, lighting from Dave Martin and Matthew Cook and the sound production of Ben Tennett and this production didn't just come alive, it exploded in a visual and aural extravaganza which had the audience clapping along.

Must not forget the magical retro choreography from Carol Lawson who made the party swing as well as the wonderful costumes, not just for Deloris but for the whole cast from Triple C Costumiers.

If you've nothing to do on Saturday, and that is if you're lucky enough to get a ticket because this week has been a sell out, go and see "Sister Act" because, brother, you're in for the most heavenly of musicals. Did i love it? It was Fabulous Baby!!

"The Legend Of Lady Rock" by Sarah Walker-Smith
Nottingham Contemporary.

A modern musical telling of a dark and ancient Scottish Tale and when it is new, you have nothing to compare it with so let's start with the story.

Act One introduces the characters and the first part of the story. A story of Lachlan and his bride to be Catherine, daughter of the Earl of Argyll. The marriage looks almost doomed to fail after Lachlan confides in his servant, Duncan, that he only wants to marry to have an heir. On the eve of the wedding Lachlan says goodbye to his mistress, Meghan.

After the wedding, which gets off to a bad start, Lachlan starts to fall in love with Catherine, but one thing evades the marriage. An heir. Catherine's servant, allocated by Lachlan is Elizabeth, who takes care of her health needs among other things.Ten months later and there's no heir to his kingdom and he gets to thinking that there may be something wrong with Catherine and that she may be cursed. He needs to get Catherine out of his life, for good, and replace her with a wife who will provide a son for him. There's someone though who is determined to spoil everything for Lachlan....but who?

The story continues and all is not as it may seem. We discover that Lachlan's plan didn't go to plan and also find out who the snake in the Scottish highlands grass is and their intentions, and more importantly who that person really is. Lachlan in the mean time is spiralling into deep depression as he's still in love with Catherine, a fact that he reveals to his son, who is conceived with his third wife. But can Lachlan make every thing right?

The cast is made up of many well known faces from the local theatre scene and have been put together to create a wonderfully emotive and passionate piece of theatre.

Joe Heap (Lachlan) is incredible and I've not seen acting like this from Joe. I know from seeing some of his previous work that Joe is a good actor but this role was another level altogether. His Scottish accent was unwavering and very natural. there's always that urge to take the accent over the top and lampoon it but Joe got it spot on. A very emotive character driven performance.

Rosemary Cotter as Meghan the mistress has a wonderful voice and again the emotion in the role really suited her acting as well as her lovely voice. Her final scene is one of great shock.

Matt Wesson (Duncan) was another stand out performer and again, like Joe, I've seen a different acting side to Matt tonight and i love the light and shade of Matt's work. Another classy singer, which I knew from past productions but with this different style of music, he suited the role and the musical style. Once more a brilliant character driven role.

Lindsey Jaycock played an absolute blinder as Catherine. The intelligence of the character really came through as did her independent out look of the marriage. What also came out in the acting was the passion that Catherine has for Lachlan and her ultimate disappointment in the way it all ended. This cast are blessed with actors who have big voices and Lindsey is the owner of one of them. Wonderful control with operatic beauty.

Judie Matthews is Elizabeth, another possessor of one of those big voices I mentioned and one of the most character driven roles in the play, which says something because all these roles are very strong with a history behind them. great array of emotions are needed for this part and Judie shows all of them.

Robert Goll is at home in his part of Jon, Catherine's brother. Borrowing from his extensive Shakespearean repertoire, this role carries as much drama as any Shakespeare character, but no Scottish accents for Rob. Powerful and protective of his family and some lovely "angry" speeches for Rob to deliver.

I pick these as my stand out performers but you know what,the whole cast were just incredibly magical to watch, especially in the scenes in Act two, which i won't give away, but there was a certain eeriness in them.

Graham Ward, Laura Thurman, Doug Smith, Gareth Morris, Monique Henry, Ali Biller, Abby Wells, Sean Goodwin and Jackie Dunn complete the line up, creating an air of mystery at times and a wonderful vocal backdrop.

Talking of back drops. WOW! what a brilliant scene setter they were creating an expansive view of Scotland making you feel you were out there with them. The props were well used, especially the four poster which meant that Lachlan could rise above the demons that were haunting him. A wonderful tower with stone steps and a fireplace in the Campbell's living room created the different scene settings without having to change anything. the set courtesy of Mark James and Heidi Hargreaves.

I love the music, which is all new. Creating a wonderful Celtic feel and if you imagine a new work written by Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd-Webber, this is what you;d get. There were echoes of "Les Miserables", "Sweeney Todd" and various snippets of Lloyd-Webber came to mind, creating a classy, almost non-stop set of musical lovelies. Being new, this meant that you had to really listen to the words to get the story and that's where my only (mini) gripe lies. At times the music overpowered the singers and bits were lost. On first night though the music sounds different when you have an area with people in which bounces the music around so it's a testing time to get it just right. Saying that, it did not detract from the atmospheric and powerful music and words. I'm sure that Simon Carter will have this pinned down for the next performance.

It took writer and director 15 years to write but this was worth the wait.Sarah Walker-Smith has had no formal training in this field but she struck out with this one. Great atmosphere and wonderful songs in this show will hopefully spur her on to continue in this field, as well as her acting and juggling family life. if I were Sarah, i'd be very proud of what I had created and the cast she has assembled who did her more than proud. 

Musical director was Chris Rees who captured the whole Celtic feel of the show which was important for a play such as this one.

The costumes were brilliant and having wore a kilt in the past, i sympathise for the actors if this was the first time they wore one (so much to remember when dressing to make it authentic), and you have to watch how you sit or kneel, you ladies will know what I mean.Wardrobe mistress was Ali Sheppard.

The lighting also was responsible for the feel and atmosphere and while at times the spot had a bit of a problem finding it's intended, on the whole, it was fantastic job done by Nick Gale.

A really exciting and magnetic production with many backstage and production geniuses (is that the plural of genius?), an amazing cast with storytellers and what more could you ask for when looking for a completely new musical experience, and all based on legend.

"The Legend Of Lady Rock" is on at the Nottingham Contemporary until Sunday 9 October 2016. Go and see what drove Lachlan to do what he did because what he did was not all of his own doing!!

"Barnum" by Greasepaint Prosuctions.
Loughborough Town Hall.

Roll up Roll up, the circus is in town. And what a spectacular show we have for you, courtesy of Mr Phineas Taylor Barnum. Adding more than just a little colour into your life, this is the story of the legendary P T Barnum and his shows. Behind all the glitter and glamour, there's a story of a man, and the woman who helped made his dreams a reality. 

This show is a very technical one, as well as one where you have to get your casting right. Director and producer, Shane Perry did just that.

There were four big highlights for me in this show, apart from the entertaining circus skills, the great music and the kaleidoscope of colour, and they started with the leading man, P T Barnum played by Gareth Wynne.

Following in the footsteps of actors like Jim Dale, Michael Crawford and Brian Conley, Gareth juggled, tumbled, tightrope-walked and performed magic tricks and sang perfectly, executing tongue twisters like "The Museum Song" and "The Prince Of Humbug" with ease. Switching easily from comedy to sadness and incorporating the circus skills as metaphors for parts of his life. He juggled his personal life and the tightrope walk was as risky as the risks he took in his career. The phrase "if at first you don't succeed...." a quote you could use for his own life, as well as his tightrope skills. Gareth shone as bright as his red sequined jacket. 

James Nelson, as the Ringmaster was the narrator and glue that kept the story rolling on. His role reminded me a bit of "Emcee" in "Cabaret" but with a lot more physicality. James also took the roles as the Concertmaster as well as James A Bailey, the impresario who managed to get Barnum back into the circus ring at the end of the show, giving us the Bailey in Barnum & Bailey. Another sharp role for James which also allowed us to hear what a great singing voice he has as well.

Barnum's wife, Chairy, was played by Emma Healey. there's a saying that goes that behind every great man there's a great woman, (or was that just a lyric from a Eurythmics song?). Chairy was that great woman. She played Barnum at his own game and always won, ever supporting him, even through the hinted indiscretions, right to the end. Not only is Emma a wonderful actor but she has one of those voices that you could listen to all night long.

Jenny Lind was the "star turn" that Barnum was looking for and he snatched her contract away from his friend and fell for her in a big way. Played by Holly Easter, she's another very strong character actor with an amazing voice, as well as being very easy on the eye. 

A fairly large ensemble who filled out that Big Top wonderfully as stilt walkers, tumblers,jugglers, clowns, acrobats, aerialists, strong-men etc. A veritable feast for the eye.

Not everything went exactly to plan but that's the joy of live theatre and the bits that didn't, just proved what consummate pros these actors are with ad-libbing, especially during one scene where Barnum was being costume changed by Wilton (Jonny Painting) where Barnum nearly showed another set of talents. All completed though with great sense of humour which the audience loved.

Another comical moment came during the mechanical clock scene, again with Jonny, where a blow to Barnum was maybe a little too low, causing a snigger. 

Anyway, to (Big) Top it all, this show is just what you need to chase those October blues away. It's great fun, there's some wonderful songs, a great band, under the direction of James Stevens, It's colourful, there's a touch of sadness, a wonderful story, amazing costumes (as you'd expect) and a whole lot of talented people who have worked really hard to perfect some of the skills on show.

What can I say? Just get yourself down to Loughborough Town Hall sometime between now and Saturday and get yourself a front row ticket for "The Greatest Show On Earth" to be amazed and astounded.

"Darkness Darkness" by John Harvey.
Nottingham Playhouse.

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave. When first we practise to deceive!" A quote that could be weaved into this play, and how wonderfully paced this play did unweave itself.

Being new to the detective Charlie Resnick as well as the author, john Harvey, this final book from Harvey, this play has left me wanting to know more and read more about the detective.

Set against the backdrop of the miner's strikes of the 1980's, a young woman disappeared. Thirty years on a body is discovered and brings Resnick out of virtual retirement and back into the front line to assist in the investigation into her murder – forcing him to confront his past. This, quite literally, brings back the ghosts from his past that he had once put to bed.

Jazz loving Resnick (David Fleeshman) joins forces with the new girl on the block, DI Catherine Njoroge (Simone Saunders), to solve the murder mystery of Jenny Hardwick (Elizabeth Twells), the wife of militant miner, Barry (Chris Donnelly).

Jenny befriended one of the pickets, Danny Ireland (John Askew) and starts an affair with him until she broke it off. Was this excuse enough to kill her? Why did Danny leave the country for Canada?Was Barry's suspicions aroused enough to put two and two together? Or was there someone else within the family who had a reason to want her dead? If so, what possible reason could there be? Her sister Jill? (Emma Thornett), her brother in law and ex policeman, Keith? (Martin Miller). 

This is one very stylish thriller which manages to flesh out the characters' backgrounds to give you an idea of what kind of people they were, making it a realistic portrayal of the characters from the novels. This worked really well in the case of DI Catherine and her ex boyfriend, Adam (Jonathan Woolf) who turned up the slow burn of their defunct relationship from their first reunion.

Apart from the excellent story and acting, two things really stood out for me and made this a play well worth going to see. The lighting was excellent and very atmospheric, creepy at times.

The second was the contained set and sliding screens, making the scene changes very smooth. They gave the flashback sections a reality which did away with the often clumsiness which can often occur with flashback scenes on stage. The cinematography gave true history to the flashbacks and also brought the stark reality to the image of police brutality and the miner's fight.

The contained set approached from the back of the stage and provided several settings within the main setting. This meant that what you saw was very much like the scene changes from a film or a TV show, again creating fluidity and ease of viewing.

I loved the music of Thelonius Monk and Billie Holiday, played as a backdrop to the story, giving the whole feel a film noir atmosphere.

Set in Nottingham with many Nottinghamshire landmarks mentioned, it was the accent that was the only thing which slightly jarred for me. Some of the accent was, for me, what I think someone from outside of Nottingham may think the accent would sound like, in parts slightly over the top. in other characters, the accent sounded naturally Nottingham. Then again, me duck, coming from Nottingham me sen, I'd notice wunt ah? 

As I said, this is one very classy and stylised piece of theatre which any murder mystery buff will relish seeing, irrespective of whether you've heard of Charlie Resnick or not.

"Darkness Darkness" will bring a welcome light into your life at the Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 15 October 2016..... and by the way i guessed who dunnit but i still loved the whole build up and reveal.

Photos courtesy of Robert Day.

"Singing In The Rain" by Encore Performing Arts.
Nottingham Arts Theatre.

There are a few local theatre groups in and around the Nottinghamshire area who, over the last year, have been very prolific in their output, and as well as being prolific, they are prolifically excellent with the standard of their output. Encore Productions are one of these groups.

At the core of this local theatre group you have Adam Guest (director),Sam Griffiths (musical director/producer) and Siân Scattergood(choreographer). These are the first of several triple threats I'm about to mention. When these three surround themselves with layers of talent the result is an incredible ball of super talent. Andrew Bould was assistant director.

"Singing In The Rain" is Encore's fourth production within 12 months, proving that they don't shy away from a challenge.

I'm sure that everyone has seen, or at least heard of this classic Hollywood 1952 movie and the story of Hollywood's silent movie couple, Lockwood & Lamont, who if the papers and magazines are to be believed, Hollywood's answer to Posh and Becks, but it's only a celluloid image for their adoring public. Comes along the change to talking pictures and there's a problem with Ms Lamont's grating voice. When Don Lockwood takes a stroll he bumps into Kathy Selden, an aspiring actress, who just happens to have the kind of voice you, and Don, could fall in love with.... and did!. Ms Lamont though isn't going to take this love rival in her stride and the results are classic Hollywood MGM.

Mitch Gamble is our Hollywood leading man, Don Lockwood. It's Mitch's first leading romantic role, which begs the question, why has it taken so long for his good looks and voice not to have been used in a leading romantic role in the past?

Mitch has always been a bit worried about his dancing capabilities, he's told me so before, but in this role as a song and dance leading man, Mitch proved that he was every inch a song and dance man. There's a lot of it in this musical and he took it all in his stride, including the iconic "Singing In The Rain" section, complete with a stage that rained. My son, you smashed it and he even mastered the Hollywood glamour and suave of Gene Kelly. 

Lockwood's best friend is Cosmo Brown and filling the tap shoes for this role was the uber-talented triple threat, Lucas Young. This boy is still only 17 years old and can sing brilliantly, can act convincingly and boy can he dance. i know Lucas can dance but tonight he raised the bar, not just for himself, but for all the cast who had to match and keep up with him. His tap dancing is fluent and loose (that is a compliment by the way) and he does all this with ease. His comedy is natural and he's a really strong vocalist, showcased in his solo "Make 'Em Laugh".

Making up another triple threat is Lisa Ambalavanar as Kathy Selden. Oh if only I was 35 years younger and had Don Lockwoods good looks, I may have been in with a chance. Seriously,, Lisa is another wonderful dancer and what a beautiful voice to match that gorgeous face. it's hard to believe that this is Lisa's first musical and the first time that she has been on stage in nine years. Please don't leave it another nine years Lisa.

Alice Wright (Lina Lamont) was another perfect casting as the leading lady with the annoying voice. She played the role with great comic timing and I absolutely loved her.

It's a fairly big cast with some wonderful cameo roles Mike Evans (RF Simpson), the studio boss. I've seen Mike many rimes before but only on my bus home and I always thought that he looked classic actor, and should have been an actor, and guess what,,, he is an actor. Normally acting in Derbyshire, Mike's a welcome addition to the Nottingham stage.

Tom Preston, who I first saw in the ensemble of "Copacabana" in Long Eaton, and I'm sure that he won't mind me saying, he was incredibly nervous in that show, and it showed back then, but we all have to start somewhere. Tom played Roscoe Dexter here and I can truly say that he has left all nerves at the Copa. A really assured performance and it's like seeing a completely different actor tonight (I had to check that it was the same person).

A wonderful ensemble brimming with local talent providing a wonderful backdrop to the leads with dance and vocals. Sandy C Lane, Lucy Bailey,Rachel Barry, Rebecca Drysdale, Dan Gribbin, Harry Ilyk, Jess Lacey, Jacob Lloyd, Becky Morley, Cibele Ponces Alvarenga, Sam Ward (who makes his stage debut in this show), Helen Whittle and Jess Woods.

The sets are colourful, as are the costumes. Such glamour and style. The filmed sections are wonderfully nostalgic and were filmed at Kelham Hall. The cast must've had such fun filming them.

This is a song and dance musical and Siân Scattergood must be one very proud lady with the wonderful choreography.It's always good to see classic choreography done well, and know Sian's past work, I know that she will push to get the standard she is used to and that showed tonight. So much hard graft for all the leads and the ensemble combined. Classic MGM style.

A brilliant orchestra under the musical direction of Sam Griffiths and lovingly directed by the mighty talent of Mr Adam Guest, who also clinched a couple of cameos for himself.

So many great songs here "Moses Supposes", "Good Morning", "Would You", "Fit As A Fiddle", "Make 'Em Laugh", "You Were Meant For Me" and of course the title track.

Practically perfect show, which i know will top perfect as the shows continue. For a wonderful slice of Hollywood glamour, the Nottingham Arts Theatre is the place to head for, but get there before Saturday or you may find yourself out in the rain, as opposed to inside with the rain. And on that note, long may Encore and all involved reign on the Nottinghamshire stages.

The Full Monty"
Nottingham Theatre Royal.

I love a good old feel good play which includes, suicide attempts, impotence,despair, unemployment and marriage breakdowns and underdogs who, like a good topping of cream, always rises to the top. Throw in a big dose of realism and life, a wonderful balance of sadness and humour and a very cute 12 year old and you have a brilliant night out at the theatre. And I haven't even mentioned six very brave actors willing to get their kit off on stage for a baying audience predominantly of women.

The once-successful steel mills of Sheffield, have shut down and most of the employees have been laid off. Gaz and Dave are trying to make ends meet, with a bit of help from Gaz's son, Nathan, by "liberating" a big steel girder for scrap money, mainly so that Gaz can pay his child support. That fails and while Gaz and Dave are outside their local working men's club, Gaz sees a poster for The Chippendales, who are performing inside the club.

When he learns how much money can be made by taking his clothes off in front of a crowd of women, he sees an answer to all of his monetary worries as well as a lifeline to seeing Nathan and paying his child support, He ropes in some his old work mates as well as holding auditions for other male strippers which results in "Horse" and Guy. One has an unfair advantage over the others and the other........well, you can probably guess!

The six bond and go through a few close shaves while rehearsing , as well as discovering some secrets about each other, but in the end it all comes to a head with a standing ovation.

The play starts a bit different than the other versions I've seen with the voice of the Prime Minister of the 80's, Mrs Thatcher which straight away sets the scene for the despondency and lack of hope in the economical downturn for the workers. A nice touch from director Jack Ryder, who you may remember from Eastenders fame, but now a very successful director. Here's something that you may not know about Jack, his dad is Jack Hues, lead singer of 80's band Wang Chung, and their "Dance Hall Days" track is played in the play.

Gary Lucy (Gaz) revisits his role and is as cheeky as ever and very clear that he is a crowd pleaser with the ladies, even with his clothes on. Even more by the end of the play as he playfully flashes his backside as he leaves the stage.

Andrew Dunn (Gerald), who you'll know from "Dinnerladies" again revisits his role with great dryness, but with that little twinkle in his eye.

Louis Emerick (Horse) is another actor who is back in the saddle as he also has played the role the last time it came to town. The crowd loved his moves. This horse could pony alright! 

Chris Fountain (Guy) was tempted out of the wilderness by Gary Lucy to play this role and after much deliberation from Chris took the role and headed straight for the gym to make sure his role looked as buff as possible. It's good to see a young actor like Chris given the chance like this after, in my opinion, being tossed aside by TV. Chris is almost unrecognisable with his cropped hair and his weight loss, but a great performer and I hope that this role sees him being offered more theatre work because he is a really likeable and talented actor.

Anthony Lewis (Lomper) starts his role at rock bottom but shows that if life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Lomper's confidence grows and he gets a few friends into the bargain as well. A really good life assuring character, played with sensitivity by Anthony.

Kai Owen (Dave) is the overweight one, but you know what, he had the audience in his hand and immediately won them over with his everyday worries and issues and especially with his wife, Jean, played by Fiona Skinner, who stood by him all the way, insecurities and all. And what a brilliant part Fiona plays, great fun to watch.

Charlotte Powell (Mandy) is Gaz's desperate ex wife, who you can tell still has a bit of a soft spot for him, but has to lay down the CSA law where Nathan is concerned. talking of whom...

There are four young actors playing Nathan on tour and I saw an incredibly talented young man called Felix Yates. Felix, from Sheffield, has amazing stage presence and a great naturalness about him and a wide range of emotions to offer. Then again he's been acting since he was three years old and has a very credible list of credits to his pre-teen stage and TV CV. Monday night was only his third time in this role.

With a set, designed by Robert Jones, that evolves from one scene to another just by a few sliding doors, creating simple but effective changes and great fluidity to the play.

The music from the film's there as well, Hot Chocolate "You Sexy Thing", Irene Cara's "Flashdance", James Brown "I Feel Good" and of course, the iconic Job Centre scene to Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff". Choreography by Ian West, who I'm sure a lot of ladies would like to thank for the finale "You Can Leave Your Hat On". One man these actors do not want to upset would be the lighting man with the final scene! The whole show is produced by David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers, who between them have a whole history of theatrical successes in their wake. this is just another great production to add to their list.

You know what, if you don't leave this show with a broad grin on your face, male or female, there's something wrong with you.The Full Monty is just a brilliant "human" story played with great humour by a bunch of talented actors who have a whole history of TV, stage and radio experience behind them who also look like they are having the time of their lives on stage.

"The Full Monty" is on show at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 1 October 2016, and you won't need your binoculars ladies to spot the talent. Go on, you know you want to!

"One Man Two Guvnors" by Festival Players
Loughborough Town Hall.

The play is billed as "The Funniest Play In The Western World" and you know what, I second that because it's packed with so many incredibly funny lines, and I've seen it several times but it still feels so fresh.

Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6,000 from the dad of his fiancee. But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who has been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers.

Holed up at The Cricketers Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be reunited with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple.

The play is like a bottle of wine, fruity, fizzy, very smooth and gets better with age and like a good cheese matures well and gets tastier every time you go back for a piece.

I could go into the history of the play and it's Italian roots and "Commedia Dell'arte" but what really matters here is that it is so very funny when performed with the panache and comedy timing of The Festival Players.

I've seen this play several times performed both by professional actors and non professionals (I don't like to use the word amateur), and I've loved every show, and this production is up there with the rest, showing that as long as you do a good play justice, you won't spoil anything.

James Daw is made for the role of Francis Henshall, or maybe Francis Henshall was made for James Daw. Either way this is the closest you'll get to James Corden recreating his role as our quick thinking hero. James works so well and so naturally, whether it's the frantic farcical moments, the slapstick or the audience working, her was in his element and so much more funnier than Rufus Hound or Norman Pace, the pros I've seen doing Henshall. 

Every single one of the cast were perfect for their roles and none more than Kirt Hammonds as Stanley Stubbers, the fiance of Rachel Crabbe and murderer of Rachel's brother, Roscoe. His portrayal was part John Cleese, part Robbie Rotten (kids will know Lazytown) and part Stan Smith (American Dad) in his look and sound and for me has just as good a script as Henshall. Great comedy timing and some wonderful facial contortions which made his role an absolute joy to watch.

Rachel Ingham (Rachel Crabbe) again perfectly cast as the Roscoe twin, and as Roscoe, well dead Roscoe. Rachel gets to deliver a mouthful of a speech, describing how twins are formed which richly deserved that audience appreciation she received.

Steve Illidge (Charlie Clench), don't you think Clench is a surname was made in comedy heaven? A wonderful wide-boy role who reminded me so much of how Bob Hoskins would have played the part.

Simon Page (Lloyd) providing some comic revelations and reflections of his time inside adds to the comedy.

Hannah Levenston (Pauline Clench) is wonderfully dotty, a beautiful airhead and played to simple (take that whatever way you wish) perfection. She has some incredibly well written comic lines which are delivered with spot on comedy timing and feeling.

Henry North (Alan Dangle) is the over the top wannabe thespian. it's not often that a play is written with so many secondary characters who have such wonderful lines and character driven and Henry is fantastic as this drama queen who's in love with Pauline, so much so that he will fight to the death for her, whether that be Pauline's death or someone else's. A wonderful fop of a character.

Nick Grainger (Harry Dangle), a solicitor and father of Alan Dangle. Another secondary character with a few funny passages to add to the play, especially the legal jargon section.

Julie Easter (Dolly) is the character with all the brains in this play and also the tightest clothes as well (I'm a bloke, I notice these things on a purely professional and artistic level). Dolly is Francis' object of desire, after haddock, chips and mushy peas that is. Played to perfection and for some reason I could see a glimpse of Yootha Joyce's sauciness with Julie. What a lovely character driven role for Julie.

Chris Marshall plays Gareth the chef, Dan Grooms has a wonderfully slapstick tole as the 86, or is that 87 year old Alfie. How he can act that bent double i don't know. Dan's performance reminded me so much of Dick Emery's old geezer character. Very very funny, and I hope that the bruises heal soon after the run.

A play like this needs good stage management, due to the high energy and slapstick comings and goings through those doors, which make a good farce, and Benjamin Hardy is quite obviously just as talented back stage as he is front stage. As far as you could see everything ran like clockwork, proof of a good stage manager.

Directed by Amy Walters, This isn't the easiest of plays to direct, I'd imagine, but what a success from a directorial point of view.

Classic set design by Andrew McGowan, The sets were very smoothly positioned, also thanks to the trio covering just long enough with their skiffle band. Ted Ragg, Michael Fenton and Brian Rodwell providing the musical fill ins.

Audience participation and Francis' improvisation skills, sorry James' skills, make for a different show every night. Additions to the script also keep that fresh feel and even back in 1963, when the action is set, they managed to predict two women Prime Ministers, keeping the show topical and up to date. Some lovely script additions making this show definitely one of the funniest shows I've seen, In fact I can't remember the last time I heard so many guffaws and proper belly laughs resounding around Loughborough Town Hall. 

An excellent cast, an excellent production and excellent to see such a full theatre this late in the run. "The Funniest Show In the Western World" I'd back that statement to the hilt!

This is the first production I've seen from The Festival Players, but I really hope that I get invited back to see more from this wonderful, talented group.

"One Man Two Guvnors" is at Loughborough Town Hall until Saturday 24 September 2016.