“American Idiot” by MT Experiments & Creatio Arts
Derby Theatre

“American Idiot” is the story of three boyhood friends, Johnny, Will and Tunny, each searching for meaning in a post 9/11 world. The show features the music of Green Day with the lyrics of its lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong and book by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer.

The production is directed and produced by Matt Powell, assistant Directors are Adam Guest, Andrew Bould and Rachel Bates, choreographed by Charli Richardson Astle, with musical direction by Anna McAuley, Musical and Band Director is Tom Watkins, sound design by Harry Greatorex, set and costume design by Ana Gabriela Webb-Sanchez and lighting design by Tom Mowat. Matt Powell also designed the video back drop. As you can see there is a lot of talent involved, even before we get to the stage. .

Creatio staged this musical a few years back but this is a new staging, so you’ll see a different show to the one that you last saw them produce. In fact you'll see a different show to any other staging of this rock musical.

Curtis Salmon (Johnny), who I have not seen on or off stage for such a long time, makes a welcome return to the local stage, and what a way to make a return. The main protagonist of the story. On his journey, he experiences nihilism, drug abuse, and lost love in Whatsername. Curtis' voice sounds as good on the full out rock songs as well as the ballads. You can see the fire in his eyes in his tirade speeches.

Ryan Wiggins (Tunny), He accompanies Johnny to the city, but soon joins the military and is sent to war. Tunny suffers serious injuries and loses a leg. During his rehabilitation, he falls in love with his nurse (Extraordinary Girl), and she returns home with him.

Andrew Bould (Will), plans to leave town with the group until his girlfriend, Heather, reveals that she is pregnant with his child. Will stays at home in an alcohol and drug-infused depression. Both Ryan and Will have great rock voices, and it's not everyone who can pull off a really good rock voice when steeped in musical theatre backgrounds. Both also inject a lot of soul into their vocals and passion into their roles.

Jack Readyhoof (St Jimmy) I imagined as St Jimmy as soon as I knew that he was playing this role, but seeing him bring this character alive on stage was a great piece of casting. His face on the video back drop really made him look devil-like, especially with those eyes. A playful performance, and an interesting character to play because you're never really 100% sure that Jimmy is real, or just a drugg-addled image in Johnny's head. Again some excellent vocals and attitude from Jack.

Cat Cunningham (Whatsername), Hattie Kemish (Heather) and
Alana Moran (Extraordinary Girl) all give brilliantly powerful performances, matching the attitude and passion of their male counterparts. Needless to say, their vocals are also powerful and, when required, full of attitude.

Kheenan Jones (Theo) also exercises his vocals, and it's not that often we get to hear them on stage, not as often as we should anyway. Theo is another interesting character with a slightly devilish image.

The ensemble is massive and features many well known and recognisable faces from various local stages and theatre groups, and also of variable ages. This is not just a musical for younger actors and encompasses all.

I must mention Steve Powell of the ensemble with his solo section on "Whatsername". He sounded so much like Neil Young, and when the rest of the ensemble joined in, the song took on a choral feel.

The show includes the hit songs “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, “21 Guns”, “Wake Me Up When September Ends”, “Holiday”, “Give Me Novacaine”, " Good Riddance (The Time Of Your Lives)" and the blockbuster title track “American Idiot”. Also included are several songs from Green Day’s 2009 release 21st Century Breakdown, and an unreleased love song, “When It’s Time”.

This production is a cross being rock art and a rock concert with the power and passion on that

stage.The camera and video operator (Rachel Coleman) filming the live action on stage and projecting it to the backdrop screen really gave a a special feeling of excitement, as if you were watching some live news report. It's not a new idea but was not expected, and as I said earlier, nothing like any version of this musical I've experienced in previous production.

There were just a few issues with mics peppered about but not even that could mar anything about this show. Powerful, passionate and practically the perfect rock musical production.

And let me just say as a final note, these guys would not need to go to the gym because the physical side of this show will sweat the pounds of them; I can imagine the stage wouldn't need sweeping after each performance, it'd need mopping.

“American Idiot” is at Derby Theatre until Saturday 13 July. Don't be an idiot, get a ticket!

“Club Tropicana – The Musical”
Nottingham Theatre Royal

Club Tropicana is a fictitious hotel, the 1980’s version of “Love Island”, but with a more intelligent cast! At least the characters in the musical know where Barcelona is!

Set on a Spanish holiday resort, the show sees Garry and his staff prepare for a hotel inspection in order to be in with a chance of winning the Best Hotel of the Year prize, and hopefully beating their rival from across the bay. Meanwhile, after Lorraine leaves her fiancé Olly at the aisle, the pair find themselves at the resort at the same time

Club Tropicana sees drinks flowing, some are even free, and tans glowing, but will our young lovers decide to get back together and get married? Will the hotel inspectors finally get their way and close the resort, or will the staff save the day? All will be revealed…….

Joe McElderry (Garry) plays the Master of Ceremonies and the Entertainment boss, and you can just tell he has having a ball in this show. He is not afraid to take the mickey out of himself, even giving The X Factor a sneaky mention, albeit in another context. He is like a ball of energy exploding on the stage.The jokes are cheesy and that 100 watt smile is always on his face. His energy levels keep the flimsy storyline bubbling and you just can't help feeding off his infectious nature.

Neil McDermott (Robert) who many will recognise from playing Ryan in “Eastenders” gets to show off his dancing skills as well as a decent singing voice as one half of the Tropicana owners, along with Serena.

Amelle Berrabah (Serena), who I remember from being one third of the girl group the Sugababes, naturally gets to showcase her soulful singing voice. In the musical she is part owner of Tropicana but she has a secret crush on someone; someone who doesn't seem to know that she exists. Worry not though because this is the sort of musical that has happy endings all round.

Kate Robbins (Consuela) is brilliant as the hotel cleaner with a seemingly limited grasp on the English language - think Consuela from "Family Guy" and that is what you get in this musical. She still has a great voice and her impressions are uncannily accurate, and she was responsible for many of the laughs in this musical.

Emily Tierney (Christine) plays a brilliantly comical role. The staff are expecting a visit from the hotel inspector, and Christine seems to fit the bill, but is she all that she seems. A lot of old fashioned slapstick with this role, and the timing for this slapstick is well choreographed.

Karina Hind (Lorraine) and Cellen Chugg Jones (Olly) are just meant to be - we can all see that, and they have the highlight musical performance for me when they duet on a stripped back ballad version of Aha's "Take On Me". Both have strong and controlled voices, which is not really realised until this duet.

Rebecca Mendoza (Tracey) is a joy to watch as Lorraine's "best friend", and she has her share of some brilliant comedy scenes. Her fancy dress costume is mistaken for everything from Pirates of The Caribbean to Pete Burns from Dead Or Alive; she is dressed up as neither by the way. Her raunchy rendition of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is classic.

Tara Verloop (Andrea) plays Lorraine's other "friend", and you can see exactly why she wanted to go to Spain with Lorraine and Tracey. She is well up for the sunshine, sangria and... what was that other thing she was after?

Kane Verrall (Blaine) and Rory Phelan (Drew) are Olly's mates. Rory never seems to be able to keep his shirt on for long, and it's not long before he is stripped down to a pair of budgie smugglers for the Tropicana pool.

Blaine also manages to find love but not from a corner that we were expecting, and it's all presented in the best and funniest possible taste. Plenty of highlights with both male characters, especially with Blaine's flamenco dancing!!

One of the songs that is sung is Bucks Fizz's "Making Your Mind Up" and they pay tribute to the Fizz's whole routine, but this time with a bit of a twist.

The soundtrack is an 80’s fan’s dream with classics like “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”, “Just Can’t get Enough”, “Oops Upside Your Head”, “Church Of The Poison Mind”, “Fantastic Day”, Look Of Love”, “I Could Be So Good For You”, “Relax” and so many more, but not “Club Tropicana” strangely enough and no Wham songs at all.

Choreographed by Nick Winston, who also Directed the show, and his choreography injected so much energy into this musical.

Fashion was also a big thing in the 80's of course and Diego Pitarch hit the nail on the head with some amazing costumes. Pitarch was also responsible for the set design.

This show will not win any awards but it’s not aiming to; It’s aim is to give their audience a great night out with some brilliant 80’s Top Tunes and to put a smile on everyone’s face and make you feel good. It brings fun and sunshine and there’s definitely enough for everyone, and as that is it’s aim, I can safely say that it succeeds.

The finale has everyone up on their feet and the energy levels from all on stage makes this show a candy floss extravaganza of cheese, and I loved it for just being fun and frothy.

“Club Tropicana – The Musical” is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 13 July.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" by Nottingham Shakespeare Company
Various locations.

Shakespeare wrote his plays to be performed in the open air so this new company have decided to do just that , perform the Bard's plays in the open air in various Nottingham locations. This isn't a new thing but it's so much fun to be out in the fresh air and to take in the beauty of Shakespeare's works.

This company really do do this for the love of it as they don't get paid and there's no charge to see them perform, although the cast do come round afterwards for any donations you may want to give. This is just to cover the materials and costumes that they have sourced for their shows.So please give as generously as you can.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is one of my favourites so when I knew about this free outdoor presentation, I was there straight away.

This cast of twelve, plus Meg Yearsley (Moonshine's Dog) have a wonderful way of bringing the audience in with their energetic performance and bring out the full comedy element of Shakespeare's script, with some extra music bits thrown in.

There's a fallacy that Shakespeare is still for the elitist audience but NSC go a long way to smashing this idea by bringing it to the people at ground level in a way that everyone can understand, so don't be afraid that you won't be able to understand the Bard's words.

Graham Johnson, David Watts, Sarah Marshall, Lottie Martin, Frances White, Dwight Pritchett. Michelle-Louise Wright, Cat Prescott, Tom Salyers, Katrin Salyers, Jack Linley and Jeremy Goldsmith create a world that, with just a little imagination, will transport you to a magical kingdom with some very interesting characters.

As previously mentioned there's music involved and dancing, choreographed by Verity Dunbold; the music you'll know for sure!

The shows last only ninety minutes but seems a lot shorter than that because, whether you know the story or not, you'll find your self enraptured by this production and cast.

You can see the rest of the mini outdoor tour at these sites....

Thurs 11th July 7pm Highfields Park nr D H Lawrence Pavillion

Fri 12th July 7pm Cobden Chambers, Pelham Street

Sat 13th July 1pm Queens Walk Recreation Ground

Sat 13th July 7pm Robin Hood Statue

Some of these sites may not have spaces for you to sit, so why not take a cushion or portable seat for comfort, and if the weather is fine, make an event of it and take a picnic.

Shakespeare in the sun, just the way the Bard would have loved it to have been performed.

“The Wizard Of Oz” by Erewash Musical Society Youth Group
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton

We all know the story of the young girl, Dorothy Gale who lives on a farm in Kansas with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and little dog, Toto. It tells the story of how a tornado sweeps her, her home and Toto to a magical land called Oz, how she manages to eradicate the Munchkins from the Wicked Witch of The East by flattening her when the house lands on her.

On the way to meeting the Wizard, so she can get back home to Kansas she meets, and helps The Tinman, Scarecrow and The Cowardly Lion while the quartet have a few adventures on their way.

Just lately I have had the absolute pleasure of seeing some brilliant Youth Group/High School editions of musicals, and they always leave me flabbergasted as to the talent these younger groups have. This group are equally as amazing and talented.

With this particular musical, characterisation is everything and every one of these young actors completely nailed the characters they played.

Alice Renshaw (Dorothy) sounded like Judy Garland and her accent was spot on. She has a lovely voice and completely embodied the role of this Kansas lass.

James O Boyle (Scarecrow/Hickory) just blew me away with how he played the Scarecrow. It's a very physical role and he,literally, threw himself into it. Nice comic timing and slapstick elements.

Gabryl Oleshko (Tin Man/Hunk), again really got into the character and the physicality of the role exceptionally well.

Ethan Fletcher (Cowardly Lion/Zeke) .gave another character-driven role, completely winning the audience over.

James Christian (Professor/The Wizard) got into character really well and produced two wonderfully mature comedy roles.

Maddie Stevens (Wicked Witch/Miss Gulch), completely cornered the market of evil witch baddie, and I can see her doing really well in panto. Maddie looked like she was relishing every minute playing the two nasty roles, and quite rightly, received "boos" from the audience when she took her curtain call bows.

Bethan Moore (Glinda) gave a lovely performance as the good Witch. Very refined and delicate, befitting of the character, and she has a really lovely voice as well.

Emma Foster (Aunt Em) and Oli Hickling (Uncle Henry) also gave very mature performances, character wise and also image wise. They looked completely right for the roles, and to start with I thought that a couple of elder actors had been drafted in, so good was the imaging for this pair.

Evan Hagan (Oz Guard) may only be a small part but he played it with great conviction as well as a nice sense of comedy.

Alfie (Toto) stole many scenes as well as many hearts. The acting fraternity used to say "never work with children or animals", probably because both will steal the show, as this group and Alfie did.

I must also mention Joel Dawson, who played the Mayor, because his projection and supreme confidence on stage shows that this young man has a big future on stage.

An excellent ensemble who played every other character from snowflakes to flying monkeys to trees and Munchkins. One of the hardest working ensembles for their age group.

Produced and Directed by Chris Renshaw, he kept everything tight and pacy, and this is not a short musical, two and a half hours over with interval, so it was all go, and these youngsters kept that pace and energy going throughout.I'm sure that he is incredibly proud of this cast.Eliza Charnock was Assistant Director.

The ten piece orchestra never sounded so good and was well balanced. Musically Directed by one of the youngest looking MDs I've seen, Matthew Cook. A very talented young man who looks like he should have been tucked up in bed by the time the show ended. Maybe I'm getting old when MD's look so very young.I also really loved the acapella arrangement of "Over The Rainbow" at the end which really showcased the vocals and harmony work of the cast.

Choreographed by Carol Lawson, assisted by Natalie Austen, I love the choreography for this musical because it looks so simple, but anything that looks as simple as this cast made it look, obviously isn't. A great deal of energy and work has gone into making these routines look as if anyone could do them. Do not be fooled, Carol and her cast have worked so hard getting these routines perfect and the proof is definitely in this pudding.

One area that often gets overlooked is stage management, but I really must commend the stage crew and Stage Manager, Mark Robbins, for their work on this show.

Great sound by Dave Dallard and wonderful lighting, Dave Martin, two masters at this art, so I expected nothing less from these two wizards.

The costumes for everyone were incredibly good, especially to say that they were all sourced by the committee and family and friends. It goes to show what can be achieved when a theatre family pull together. The results were brilliant.

The backdrop cinematography was wonderful and gave great depth to the play and created a magical feel to the show.

It's not that often that I have nothing to nit pick on, but this production gave me nothing to nit pick on at all. Really well produced, directed and performed which shows the dedication and discipline EMUS Youth Group have instilled into them.

I think that there may be just a few tickets left for the Saturday performance. but if you can get some, you won't be clicking your heels to wish yourself back home, I can assure you that!

“The Wizard Of Oz” is at The Duchess Theatre until Saturday 6 July

"Chicago" by Encore Performing Arts
Nottingham Lakeside

OK, strap yourself in, this could be a long and gushing review!

Set in the legendary city during the roaring “jazz hot” 1920s, Chicago tells the story of two rival vaudevillian murderesses locked up in Cook County Jail. Nightclub star Velma Kelly’s serving time for killing her husband and sister after finding the two in bed together.

Driven chorus girl Roxie Hart’s been tossed in the slammer for bumping off Fred Caseley, the lover she’s been cheating on her husband Amos with. Not one to rest on her laurels, Velma enlists the help of prison matron Mama Morton and slickster lawyer Billy Flynn, who turn Velma’s incarceration into a "murder-of-the-week" media frenzy, thus preparing the world for a splashy showbiz comeback. But Roxie’s got some of her own tricks up her sleeve…

This has got to be the sexiest, hottest production I've seen, and that includes the professional touring productions over the years. And from my seat, the best in the house - in my opinion - the heat was most definitely ON! This cast certainly steamed my glasses up.

Adam Guest, Director of the show, and owner of Encore Productions has that kind of reputation as to attract the best actors for his shows and every production, this being Encore's 10th has a fluid cast, meaning that every show you see introduces you to different faces, and talents, every time.

This production has everything you could imagine to make the show the practically sold out show it is and should be. Surrounding yourself with the best people, on stage and behind the scenes, practically guarantees a success and a stylish, classy, and in this case, sexy show.

Choreographer, Lucy Castle channels the trademark Bob Fosse moves. I didn't even need to look at the choreography, as I normally do in musicals because I know Lucy's work ethic where choreography is concerned. I also know that many of the actors that I've seen in other productions have a similar dance ethic, so I could just sit back and enjoy the classic choreography in this show. This is a show for anyone who loves dance, and will not be disappointed by this cast and their choreographer

Morris Fisher is the Musical Director - another class act who you can feel completely comfortable in his work. The 13 piece Orchestra, who were on stage delivered a bright, brassy backing for these amazing vocalists and were perfectly balanced sound wise. With sitting on the edge of the stage I really got a different perspective of the orchestra , and noted just how hard they work. Normally I don't get this close but I couldn't help but notice what a tight and hard working area of musical theatre they are.

An unforgettable Kander and Ebb soundtrack which includes so many musical theatre classics like "Razzle Dazzle", "Roxie", the amazing "Cell Block Tango", "All I Care About Is Love", "All That Jazz", "We Both Reached For The Gun", the list goes on.

Lizzie Fenner (Roxie) even seemed to look a little like Renee Zellweger. She has a wonderful musical theatre voice and acts with the whole of her body, creating that character we know from the film.

Shona Stewart (Velma) is perfectly cast opposite Lizzie, and someone that I'd not seen before. Shona has an amazing voice and the power within that voice is perfectly controlled. I think I loved Shona's performance more than Catherine Zeta Jones's film performance because of the fiery attitude that Velma has in this production.

David Partridge (Billy Flynn) perfects the smarm of the high flying lawyer. Another big voice and a natural leading man.

Laura Jones (Morton), is also one of the best Mama Morton's I've seen. She really brought the sauce out with her big song "When You're Good To Mama", complete with wink and a twinkle of the eye.

James Dean (Amos) is another actor who can get everything across with a certain facial expression, and the "geeky" Amos' hang-dog expression said so much about Amos character than any description could. One of my favourite songs from the show is "Mr Cellophane", Amos' song, and this really got a great reaction from the packed Lakeside audience with this performance. This song also showcased what good voice control James has.

Jorge Diniz (Mary Sunshine), I've seen in several roles, and as Mary, not only does he show off his wonderful characterisation as a woman, but also his amazing voice. A wonderful jaw-dropping moment with the song "A Little Bit Of Good".

The ensemble in this musical is vital and has to be as strong as the main roles, and again Adam Guest has amassed the best of the best from several local theatre groups. Their singing is note perfect. Their choreography is tight and their group work is slick.

Laura Such, Lottie Valks, Sarah Towle, Keli Wain, Jodie Cresdee, Sascha Cornelius, Rachel-Louise Bray, Cibele Ponces Alvarenga, Eloise Warriner, Jessica Royce, Christopher Mundy, Joshua Robinson, Tom Stanley, Matthew Charlton and Joe Green are the very talented ensemble who also at times double up for some of the minor roles.

I loved the costumes and I loved the set design ( Richard Warriner). I love the music and I love the sensuality of this production. In brief, I love everything about this show.

I saw Encore's first show, "A Chorus Line" in 2015 and they have steadily grown from being the new kid on the block of theatre companies, to being one of the theatre companies that every local actor wants to be a part of. The name, Encore, is so apt as once you've seen one of their shows, you want more.

Encore's chosen charity for the run of this production is Mind, so please drop something in the collection boxes on your way out.

"Chicago" is at Nottingham Lakeside until Saturday 6 July. It would be a crime to miss this show!

Photos by Chris Clarke.

“9 To 5 – The Musical” by Ripley & Alfreton Musical Theatre Company
Mansfield Palace Theatre

Pushed to the boiling point, three female co-workers concoct a plan to get even with the sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot they call their boss. Violet, Judy and Doralee live out their wildest fantasy – giving their boss the boot! While Hart remains "otherwise engaged," the women give their workplace a dream makeover, taking control of the company that had always kept them down. Well, a girl can scheme, can't she?

The music and lyrics are by Dolly Parton and the musical is based on the 1980 film, which also starred Dolly. Dolly also pops up during the show in voice only

Georgie Bond plays Doralee and completely captures the fun and slightly air-headed character Dolly had written based on herself. Georgie's rendition of "Backwards Barbie" was spot on.

Amy Wicks plays Violet, who is in charge of the office. Violet knows what she wants and where she wants to go at work but only one thing is stopping her from getting there, Hart.Amy has a great voice and stage presence, and loved how these came together in "One Of The Boys"

Helen Perry, is Judy, the newcomer to the office who's husband had just dumped her for a younger model, called Mindi "with an I". Judy learns fast and quickly learns many new skills in the office, as well as in life! Helen has another very strong and powerful voice and this is especially shown off in my favourite song from the musical "Get Out And Stay Out". Helen delivers this song with so much emotion and power and gave me goosebumps.

Cameron Trail played the bigoted boss Franklin Hart Jr, He really looked to be enjoying playing such a pig of a character, and you almost felt like cheering when Doralee, Violet and Judy reaped their revenge.

Adela Green plays Roz, the lovelorn, and possibly only fan of Hart. Loved the bit where she declares her undying and unreciprocated love for Hart. That reveal coaxed a wonderful reaction from the audience.

Charlie Torry plays Joe who also is lovelorn, this time though for Violet, and he does not take "no" for an answer. Joe also saves the day later on which does his case of undying love a great hand up.

There are also some lovely character performances in the ensemble.

Directed and Choreographed by Kristian Cunningham, he has brought the fun out of this musical, and I loved the tap section in particular.Charlie Bond is Assistant Choreographer for this show,

Musical Director is Tom Bond,and it surprised me to see that the band only consists of Tom on drums, Roger Davis on keys, Jeff Widdowson on bass and Harry Greatorex on guitars, because the sound they made gave the impression that there were more people involved.

I've always said that the sound and light can make or break a show, and in this show the sound stood out for all the wrong reasons. The sound was messy and plagued the show throughout. the mix of the band to the actors was too loud and a lot of the comedy in the songs was missed as the words were lost. There were mic issues and cues were missed.

There were also light issues for me. Lighting cues were missed and several times the actors were in the shade or the dark. Whether the actors were in the wrong place on stage or the spots were out, I noted that there were times when a spot was on stage and no one in the spot.

There was also one part when the stage was dark for almost a minute and no one on stage, You could hear the stage crew from the audience and then the set was moved, so that also needs tightening up.

These three things I am sure will be looked at and remedied for their second show on Thursday night.

It's a fun show and the actors are well cast. Some big voices and some equally big hair, thanks to Sue Gould, who along with Jane Oates provided the wonderful costumes.

It's definitely one to see if you've not seen this musical before.

“9 To 5 – The Musical” is at the Mansfield Palace Theatre until Saturday 6 July

"Happy Bloody Birthday" by Riverside Drama.
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

It's not often you get a brand new play,written locally that is genuinely funny, but here is one that ended its' run on Saturday night. I am so glad that I was able to catch it.

The play starts on the first birthday of young Josh, son of Alan (Phil Whitaker) and Gemma (Samantha Badman) and they have just revealed that they will be trying for a second one to their guests who appear from the front room, where all the child action is.

There's Charlie (Jenni Wright) whose child is depicted as the devil child, but the way she describes him and what he does makes him seem like the devil child. Underneath the comedy though there's a more serious matter that is addressed later in the play. Jenni is also the writer of this sharply observed piece of theatre, which rang many bells with me and I know with almost everyone who must have seen this play throughout its' run.

The mother, Elaine (Liz Turner) who is the calming influence but also has some secrets of her own.

Serena (Donna Osmond), Alan's sister who tries her best but always ends up causing trouble with her brother and sister-in law, especially with her second act revelation and her new boyfriend.

Mike (Jim Green) is the token single man, the womaniser with a one track mind, but we also see a change in Mike by the end of the play. This is JIm's debut with Riverside.

Katrina (Lizzie Norris) has a daughter and her partner Tom (Joe Downing), who is the sort of person you want at any kids' party as he is down with them. He loves kids and loves Katrina's daughter as his own. In all perfect relationships though, there may be cracks, and they can surface. While Lizzie is a regular on stage within Riverside productions, this is Joe's first acting role with the company

Amy (Rebekah Dean) is gay who deals with the friendly atypical banter from Mike with the humour it deserves,and you get the feeling that Amy has heard it all before and comes across as a very cool, laid back character in a sea of troubled family and friends.This is also Rebekah's debut with Riverside.

And then there is Grandad (Dave Wilson). A lovely grumpy character who adds "bloody" into every sentence or comment, which is also where the title comes from.

Over a period of 12 months we see the changes within this group of family and friends and the changes in their circumstances. Some were expected and some came like a bolt from the blue.

I loved this set (Jenni Wright) and the back drop projection (Andrew Bullett), which I noticed also changed from Act One to Act Two.

I also loved the way the action was frozen as we learned about the characters from the others. this was particularly well highlighted by the lighting (Dave Martin).

The Sound Design (Jenni Wright and Andrew Bullett) was also very clever and well presented, as well as very smartly timed. Every time the door to where the party was being held opened, the sound of the kids and activity emerged naturally.

The play which first took root fifteen years ago and was devised after Jenni's son's first birthday party, has grown into a well scripted, naturally comic and brilliantly observed piece of theatre. And when you match such writing with a quality cast, as we have here, it's a production to celebrate.

I hope Jenni's next play will not take another fifteen years to materialise.