Birmingham
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Countdown to Cruella – Behind The Scenes at 101 Dalmatians Pt 1
Every year at Christmas time, the Birmingham Rep offers something a little bit different to the traditional panto fare. This year it is bringing an eagerly awaited production of 101 Dalmatians to Birmingham and last week, on World Theatre Day, I was lucky enough to get behind the scenes at the Rep, to watch a rehearsal, chat to the cast and director Tessa Walker, designer Jamie Vartan and puppet director Jimmy Grimes. It was a fascinating look at what goes into the production of a Christmas classic. In this first post I am going to bring you the chat with director Tessa and puppet director Jimmy, who talked about why…
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Awful Auntie Live On Stage In Birmingham
Awful Auntie stormed into the Birmingham New Alexandra Theatre tonight delighting both children and adults alike. The latest David Walliams novel to be adapted for the stage has all the hallmarks that make Walliams’s books so brilliant, a monstrous villain, a plucky, determined child, a story of loss and friendship. But, unlike the other Walliam’s stories, this is a story set in the past, in the 1920s, and there’s no sign of Raj. That said,it is still a brilliantly told tale, and in Alberta Saxby, it has one of the most memorable baddies in recent times. Stella Saxby is 12, almost 13, when she wakes up in her bed swathed…
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Christmas Party Beauty Sorted With Blow
Blow Ltd has been called the Uber of the beauty world, able to deliver fabulous hair, nails and beauty makeovers in the comfort of your own home, simply by using a downloadable app. But now, just in time for Christmas, a Blow Ltd salon has opened in Debenhams in the Bullring, Birmingham, ready to perform those express miracles for all your Christmas party needs. I went along last week to check out the blow dry service, and couldn;t believe the transformation that was achieved. The new salon is large and bright, with stations for hair, beauty and nails. Blow Ltd offers a menu of services, with a range of different…
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Deathtrap At The New Alex Theatre – Deliciously Chilling
A famous, successful writer now suffering from writer’s block, a young student who has written the perfect play and a wife who is worried that her husband is about to turn killer. This is the exciting premise of Ira Levin’s Deathtrap, which opened at Birmingham’s New Alex Theatre last night. It was a deliciously chilliing night of theatre, with shocks and jumps galore, and enough twists and turns to keep the audience constantly on the edge of its seat. I loved it. Sidney Bruhl is a successful writer who is now struggling to write a new play after the failure of his last effort. Married to the supportive Myra in…
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The Night Before Christmas at John Lewis Birmingham
“Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house”, well, all through John Lewis in Grand Central Birmingham actually, but you get the general picture. Christmas arrived in Birmingham last week, as a group of very lucky bloggers (myself included – yay!) were invited to a Christmas launch event after hours in the flagship Grand Central store. There was fizz, there was delicious looking food, and there was everything that says ‘Christmas’, It was amazing. The night was all about getting a taste of John Lewis Christmas, before the much anticipated advert is released. There was an opportunity to look at specific promotions, including a set of very special…
