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Christmas Magic with The Nutcracker
Christmas really came to town in Birmingham on Friday with the opening night of The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky’s yuletide classic at the Birmingham Hippodrome. A full house for the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s production showed that this evergreen classic shows no sign of losing its ability to enchant, with this particular production stunning in both dance and visually through the incredible sets. The Nutcracker tells the story of a wonderful family Christmas Eve, with the initial scenes dominated by a wonderful Christmas tree. This is a picture box Victorian Christmas scene, one that could’ve come from a Christmas card, or the top of a quality street tin, the tableaux is so vivid…
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The Woman in Black – The Ultimate Spinechiller
A virtually bare stage of a 1950’s Theatre. An actor and an old man with a story to tell. Imaginary horses and a dog called Spider. None of it sounds particularly scary, but these are the ingredients of the most celebrated theatre chiller of them all. The Woman in Black has been frightening theatre audiences for more than 30 years, and last night it brought its own brand of menace to the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, and the audience loved it. The play is a two (three?) hander. An old man Arthur Kipps (Malcolm James) wants to tell his horrific story of The Woman in Black in the hope it will…
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Jersey Boys Is Once Again, Simply Wonderful
It lays a claim to being the greatest musical of them all, and last night it once again delighted audiences who braved the snow to enjoy some of the most fabulous pop music ever created. Jersey Boys, the story of the Four Seasons, is the musical that has it all – instantly recognisable songs, strong performances, and a story that is so incredible in its highs and lows it could almost be a work of fiction. The fact that it is all true makes this truly special – potent theatrical magic that is simply mesmerising. The story of Frankie Valli and the original Four Seasons is the stuff of legends.…
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The Play That Goes Wrong – Hilarious From Start To Finish
British Comedy has a long tradition of slapstick and farce. From Jeeves and Wooster, to Monty Python, from Benny Hill to The Young Ones, British Comedy always has the ability to send itself up, to be slightly anarchic and to understand that, no matter what goes wrong, the show must go on. That tradition is now in the safe hands of Mischief Theatre and their comic creation, The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, in the side splittingly funny ‘The Play that goes wrong’ which had its opening night at The Alex, Birmingham last night. ‘The Play that goes wrong’ is exactly what it says on the label. The Cornley Polytechnic Drama…
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Club Tropicana Brings Fun And Sunshine To Wolverhampton
If your musical tastes tend to lead to the decade of shoulder pads, Dynasty, Ra Ra skirts and Wham, then you really need to make sure you check out ‘Club Tropicana’, the bright and shiny ode to 1980s package holidays that opened at the Wolverhampton Grand last night. Full of classic 80s songs by the likes of ABC, Aha, Cyndi Lauper and Depeche Mode, and with an hilarious, scene stealing performance by veteran comedienne Kate Robbins, Club Tropicana brings fun and sunshine in spades, and had its approving audience dancing in the aisles. Olly and Lorraine are about to get married, when Lorraine gets cold feet and jilts Olly at…
