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Reviewed – Dead Sheep at the Birmingham Rep
“Being savaged by Geoffrey Howe is like being savaged by a dead sheep.” – Denis Healey One of the greatest political stories of modern times is that of how the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, was ultimately brought down by her most loyal acolyte, Geoffrey Howe. The man who had been described by playwright Jonathan Maitland as Thatcher’s ‘political soulmate’ became her Brutus, her assassin with a resignation address that opened the floodgates to the growing dissent that had already been rumbling in the Conservative government. ‘Dead Sheep’, which opened at the Birmingham Rep last night, looks into the intrigue, the key political characters of the time, and also the premise…
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Guys and Dolls at the Wolverhampton Grand
When it comes to musical theatre, Guys and Dolls is a bonafide American classic. Inspired by the betting and gambling side of New York City that spilled from the pen of the great Damon Runyan, Guys and Dolls is a world where every man is, on the surface at least, a no-good heel, and every woman is a doll, a dame, a broad, but it is also warm and funny, and ultimately a love story where true love does conquer all. The latest touring production opened at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre last night and proved that its power to entertain and enchant audiences shows no signs of flagging. It was,…
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Blood Brothers at the Wolverhampton Grand
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End of the Rainbow – Judy’s swansong at the Wolverhampton Grand
If ‘Over the Rainbow’ was Judy Garland’s signiture tune, then ‘End of the Rainbow’ is definitely her swansong. The play, that started a three night run at the Wolverhampton Grand last night, is the story of the screen legend in the months before she died, during a 6 week run at London’s ‘Talk of the Town’. This is Judy destroyed by the alcohol, the pills, the late nights, bad men and heartache, with no will to go on with the show anymore. Set in London in the early months of 1969, the play is a three hander concerning Judy, her fiance Mickey Deans and her erstwhile piano player Anthony Chapman.…
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The Rotters Club – Teen Angst in 70s Birmingham
If you asked me to name my favourite book, I could do it quite easily. ‘The Rotters Club’ by Jonathan Coe is a coming of age novel set in 1970s Birmingham, complete with teenage crushes, ‘prog rock’, meals at the Bernie Inn, and the horror of the Birmingham Pub Bombings. The Rotters Club will make you laugh, make you cry and make you smile, and it has now been bought vividly to life by The Young Rep, the Birmingham Rep’s Youth Theatre. The action starts in 1973 and follows the high school life of Ben Trotter (or Bent Rotter as he is more commonly referred to). Ben is a pupil…
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The 39 Steps is a laugh a minute at the Birmingham Rep
The classic John Buchan novel that became a classic Hitchcock film is also a play, or maybe that should be amended to a farce or slapstick comedy. The 39 Steps opened at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre last night, and had the audience crying with laughter. Using a brilliant ensemble cast of just 4, and with hilarious one-liners and physical comedy to rival the silent movie greats Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin, The 39 Nine Steps is the most fun you can have in less than 2 hours. The Hitchcock version of the book is a taught thriller filled with tension and menace, but the play is a totally different proposition,…
