Youth Onstage theatre company, formed in 2002, perform two productions each year. Our House staged at the Old Rep Theatre is their first production of the season. Based on the music of Madness with a book by Tim Firth, Our House tells the story of Joe Casey. Set in North London on the night of … Continue reading Our House – Youth Onstage
The Thrill of Love
Ruth Ellis is infamous for being the last woman in the United Kingdom to be hanged in 1955. Ellis received the death penalty for killing her lover, racing car driver David Blakley. The sad and emotional play A Thrill of Love, by Amanda Whittington, tells the events leading up to the death of Ellis from … Continue reading The Thrill of Love
The Twisted Tale of Hansel and Gretel
Patrick studio, Birmingham Hippodrome, Hurst street, Birmingham. The Twisted Tale of Hansel and Gretel is a co-production between Birmingham Hippodrome and the Open theatre company, with artistic direction and assistance provided by Metro-Boulot-Dodo. This fully integrated production includes cast members from BecauseWeCanCanCan, a learning disabled-led theatre company based in the West midlands. A flustered storyteller … Continue reading The Twisted Tale of Hansel and Gretel
The Last Ship
From the opening anthem We got nowt else, quickly followed by The island of souls, with its descriptive lyrics and haunting harmonies, I sailed away on the “Last Ship”. This Tony nominated musical, opened at the Neil Simon theatre on Broadway in October 2014 and ran until January of the following year. In the UK … Continue reading The Last Ship
Eva Noblezada – ‘Girl No More’
Eva Noblezada’s portrayal of bar girl Kim in the 2014 west end revival of the iconic musical Miss Saigon, is to date one of my favourite performances by an actress in a musical. So, you can imagine my delight, when my Mother’s Day gift from DT included a ticket for Noblezada’s one woman show Girl No … Continue reading Eva Noblezada – ‘Girl No More’
Fat Friends – The Musical
Most people will remember Fat Friends as the award winning TV drama that hit television screens in October 2000. The TV drama, which lasted five years on ITV, starred Alison Steadman, Gaynor Faye and Lisa Riley as some of its stars. Written by Kay Mellor, the show was nominated for multiple awards including the BAFTA … Continue reading Fat Friends – The Musical
The Kite Runner
I was not able to catch The Kite Runner on its West End Run so I was excited when MT bought me tickets to see the production at The Birmingham Rep. I nearly missed out again after convincing myself that we had tickets to the evening performance. It was 1:20 p.m. before we realised we … Continue reading The Kite Runner
The Rat Pack – Live from Las Vegas
Our first dance at our wedding was “The way you look tonight” by Frank Sinatra, which makes it very obvious that we are fans of swing music and the man himself. So, we were thrilled to be given the opportunity to see The Rat Pack live from Las Vegas at the Alex theatre in Birmingham. … Continue reading The Rat Pack – Live from Las Vegas
This is Elvis
I would never call myself a fan of Elvis Presley. As a child I was aware of his music through the many Elvis films that appeared on our television screens, usually as part of the Sunday matinee season. (These blogs are like a stick of rock, always have Sunday matinee running through them!) As a … Continue reading This is Elvis
Cirque Beserk
The circus takes me back to my youth and the time I spent in the National Youth Music Theatre. Whilst working on the production “Creation”, I was given the opportunity to take part in professional clown training. Ever since that experience I have been convinced that I am a fully-fledged clown. When we were offered the … Continue reading Cirque Beserk
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