A missing woman. The family that Lock Stock forgot. A hapless policeman trying to solve a case and save his career, whilst not getting involved with a leggy blonde who may just be a killer. And Robbie Williams, lots of Robbie Williams. This is the premise for the utterly hilarious Murder at Midnight, a comedy thriller from Torben Betts that is currently showing at the Birmingham Rep and is one of the funniest things you will see in theatre in this, or any other year. Jason Durr is Johnny, a one eyed gangster masquerading as a pig farmer. He lives with his mother Shirley, who is all kinds of crazy…

Take a beloved 1950’s musical about the queen of the Wild West. Add the incredible Carrie Hope Fletcher in the leading role, and you get what can only be described as perfect theatre entertainment. Calamity Jane arrived at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre last night and it is absolutely joyous. The songs soar, the cast performances are uniformly excellent, and, in Carrie Hope Fletcher, you have a leading lady who leaves you asking ‘Doris who?’ Calamity Jane is a cowgirl who is as strong and brave as any man. Living in the gold rush town of Deadwood she likes to drink Sarsaparilla and spar with Wild Bill Hickok. She is also…

When promising actress Rebecca dies on an Oxford stage during a performance of Hamlet, Inspector Morse suspects it is a case of murder. There are no end of suspects who had means, motive and opportunity to kill the young woman, many of them linked to Morse’s own university days in the city of dreaming spires. Morse, along with his young sidekick Lewis, investigates the case but soon realises that the answer may lie in the ghosts of his own past. This is the intriguing premise that signifies the return of a much loved TV icon, Morse, this time around live on stage and being played by the brilliant Tom Chambers.…

I feel that this review should come with a disclaimer. I am not a Meat Loaf fan. The odd song here and there is fine, but a whole musical full of them…really not for me, or so I thought. This is definitely a review that I approached with trepidation. But I really shouldn’t have worried. Jim Steinman’s songs, which have always had a theatrical, epic edge, have totally found their natural home in theatre. They sound incredible, particularly when performed by a cast with the verve and the talent of this one. Bat Out of Hell is a must see. It’s as simple as that. This is a modern day…

This is not a review as such, as I have promised, along with the rest of the audience, not to divulge any spoilers about Ghost Stories, which had its press night at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre last night. What I will say it is that it is a theatrical event that really needs to be seen, and that yes, you will scream and will be sleeping with the light on, but you will also laugh as well. Ghost Stories is that rare phenomenon, a play that has managed to keep its plot and twists secret (I can only think of The Mousetrap that also tries to do the same, and…