Entertainment
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Hatton Country World Enchanted Christmas
Yesterday we took a little trip to Warwickshire to take in the Enchanted Christmas experience at Hatton Country World. Hatton is a place I have never visited, so we were all very excited at checking out Christmas in the beautiful countryside. I have to say, we had the most wonderful time. Hatton is both a child friendly attraction, and a gorgeous shopping village that is full of interesting independent stores. Yesterday, there was also a Christmas market that was stocking everything from jewellery to vintage cake stands. Hatton is set in rolling countryside, and makes the most of this with different activities set out across lots of fields, from mini…
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It’s Panto time as Cinderella thrills Wolverhampton
With the always fabulous (but very naughty) Julian Clary leading the cast, ‘Cinderella’, which opened at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre last night, was always going to be the bawdiest panto on offer this year, but it is also glittery, glamorous and oh so funny. Telling that aged-old story of a beautiful girl victimised by a couple of pug-ugly step-sisters, who then wins the heart of the handsome prince when she is the belle of the ball, only to have to run away on the stroke of midnight, leaving a rather gorgeous shoe behind, the Grand’s retelling stuck to the tale the audience know and love. What it did differently however,…
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Five Minutes with Tim Driesen from Jersey Boys
Ahead of a Christmas run at the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham, I had the opportunity to chat to Tim Driesen, who is playing Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys. The full interview is currently on the Style Birmingham website (you can read it here), but here are a few of Tim’s selected musings on Jersey Boys, Boy Bands and all things Christmas. On Frankie Valli ‘…I met Frankie Valli and was lucky enough to spend a morning with him. He is such a down-to-Earth guy, a real grafter. He has been in business since he was 15, and he’s now 80 and still doing 50-60 gigs a year. Music is…
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Christmas with The Rat Pack – Yes please!
Last night was a very special one at Birmingham’s New Alexandra Theatre. It was the grand opening of the Ambassador’s Lounge, an exclusive area of the theatre to be used as part of deluxe packages for theatre goers. It was also the start of a three-day run of one of my favourite theatre shows, ‘Christmas with The Rat Pack’. So when I was invited to the launch of the Ambassadors Lounge, with the opportunity to watch the Rat Pack thrown in, I have to admit to being very excited. The Ambassadors lounge almost resembles a private members bar mixed with the cool dark atmosphere of a 1920s speakeasy. Lit with…
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Turning a Dangerous Corner at Birmingham Rep
A chance remark about a musical cigarette box is the premise for a series of life changing revelations to be revealed in JB Priestley’s Dangerous Corner, which opened at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre last night. What then follows is an exciting, multi-layered drama that challenges the concept of whether it is always better to tell the truth, or whether you should sometimes let sleeping dogs lie. Dangerous Corner was Priestley’s first foray into the idea of time slips and deja vu as a plot device, something he later used to such amazing effect in the masterpiece ‘An Inspector Calls’. The play starts with a gunshot, which turns out to be…
