Saturday, November 23

West Midlands

Cluedo – The Alexandra
4May By Priya GuptaNo Comments
West Midlands

Cluedo – The Alexandra

If you love classic board games, then you are in for a real treat because the detective board game Cluedo, a fan favourite has been made into a play. This play is a brand new comedic whodunnit. The Hasbro board game has had several versions and has seen many alterations over time. There was also a 1985 hit film called CLUE based on the game itself. This new stage play is directed by Mark Bell who is known for The Play That Goes Wrong, another comedic spoof on stage. This is no different and is just as farcical and nonsensical, however, this only adds to the experience, I could clearly hear the audience in hysterics at almost every other line spoken. The plot occurs on a dark, stormy evening at a country house where Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum, Mrs Peacock, Reverend Green, Mrs White...
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Akram Khan’s Jungle Book Reimagined – Birmingham Hippodrome
1May By Peter KinnockNo Comments
West Midlands

Akram Khan’s Jungle Book Reimagined – Birmingham Hippodrome

Beyond reclaiming a colonial text, character names and a pun on the words “urban jungle” there is little to connect “Akram Khan’s Jungle Book - Reimagined” with “The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling. It is very inventive, though, but with a kind of invention usually the preserve of student shows and the fringe. Card boxes, which were plentiful, were gainfully employed in various roles and made for an intriguing Kaa, but my heart sank when I saw yet another company wafting a large sheet on stage to portray the sea. It had great intentions. It was a noble attempt to use the original story as a metaphor for the present ecological crisis and if you don’t clock that then Great Thunberg’s voice will undoubtedly confirm its credentials for you. The scant and surprisingly spartan set was supplem...
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Catch Me If You Can – The Alexandra, Birmingham
26Apr By Annette NuttallNo Comments
West Midlands

Catch Me If You Can – The Alexandra, Birmingham

This thrilling mystery based on the play Trap for a Lonely Man by French writer Robert Thomas arrives in Birmingham this week. Not to be confused with the Leonardo Di Caprio film of the same name, this American adaptation written by Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert, Catch Me If You Can tells the story of newly married Daniel Corban. Daniel and his wife have gone to the mountains for their honeymoon when Elizabeth Corban goes missing. While the police are searching, Elizabeth returns, but Daniel is adamant the woman is not his wife. Is he losing his mind or is something more sinister going on? With a single room set throughout and a small cast, Patrick Duffy as Daniel Corban is on stage for most of the play. He convincingly portrays the desperation and determination of his character ...
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Madam Butterfly – Birmingham Hippodrome
25Apr By Peter KinnockNo Comments
West Midlands

Madam Butterfly – Birmingham Hippodrome

With all the characteristic style and élan we usually associate with Welsh National Opera, “Madam Butterfly” wafted decorously and gracefully into the Birmingham Hippodrome last night, alighted with panache and, once her work was done, flitted off on the thermal undercurrents of a warm and adoring audience and was seen no more. It was a delight. A crowded, expectant and semi-masked audience sat entranced as the tale unfurled of Captain Pinkerton’s child-bride, Madam Butterfly who, after providing him with a home life and a child, is deceived and betrayed by her thoughtless husband and commits the act which all deceived and betrayed wives seem to commit in opera, but I’ll not inflict a plot-spoiler so early in proceedings suffice to say the denouement arrives inevitably but shockingly an...
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Footloose – The Alexandra
20Apr By Priya GuptaNo Comments
West Midlands

Footloose – The Alexandra

Go cut loose down at The Alexandra Theatre Birmingham where Footloose has unashamedly danced its way into town. This fan favourite musical promises to be a smash hit. This musical is based on the 1984 film of the same name, with music by Tom Snow, lyrics from Dean Pitchford, and the book by Pitchford and Walter Bobbie. The show tells the story of Ren McCormack, an ordinary teen from Chicago who moves to a small town where dancing is banned. Ren attempts to overturn this ban and convince the town to get on its feet, resulting in moments of hilarity, triumph, and self-discovery. The music stole the show for me with classic 80s hits including Holding Out for a Hero, Almost Paradise, Let's Hear It for the Boy and of course the unforgettable title track Footloose. The iconic songs had the...
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Diversity Connected Tour – Alexandra Theatre
18Apr By Priya GuptaNo Comments
West Midlands

Diversity Connected Tour – Alexandra Theatre

I don’t know about you, but 13 years have flown by. It feels like only yesterday it was 2009 and Diversity was winning Britain’s Got Talent. Since then, they have gone from strength to strength and have become extremely successful. Now, Diversity is back with an extravaganza of a show. As promised on their last tour, this one is bigger and better than ever! Fans will not be disappointed at this spectacle of a show which is full of powerful and energetic routines. This new show centres around social media, the internet, and the new digital world that we now find ourselves living in. It is aptly named Connected, highlighting how we are all interlinked no matter where we are in the world thanks to this new digital age. This is cleverly done by intertwining visuals alongside video messages ...
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Bedknobs and Broomsticks – Wolverhampton Grand
7Apr By Clare ChandlerNo Comments
West Midlands

Bedknobs and Broomsticks – Wolverhampton Grand

The iconic Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks has been adapted into a ‘magical musical’ with additional songs from Neil Bartram, and a new book by Brian Hill. Adapting a beloved film for the stage can be risky, but Candice Edmunds and Jamie Harrison navigate the challenges with some flair and ingenuity. Harrison’s clever design references the original film’s animations, which also influence Gabriella Slade’s costume designs and Sam Cox’s hair and wig work. The opening sequence cleverly situates the piece in London during the Blitz as the Rawlins’ children’s world explodes. Following a bomb blast their bedroom shatters, its fractured parts framing the stage providing a constant reminder of the reality of war. There is some clever theatrical magic as we see the Rawlins’ children evacuat...
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Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Birmingham Hippodrome
7Apr By Peter KinnockNo Comments
West Midlands

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Birmingham Hippodrome

If you have an idle moment, Google Mike Holloway. Like Doctor Who, you always remember your first Joseph. He was mine. Pre-Covid, pre-Millenium, pre-pretty much everything, Mike Holloway was the Joseph of the eighties. He was preceded by Jess Conrad who is now in his eighties. On and off I’ve been watching Joseph since 1985 and the show forever proves itself joyous, wholesome and nice. Very, very nice. Starting as a short oratorio for school kids way back in the late sixties, it evolved and grew into a neat and hugely popular stage production from Bill Kenwright (starring the aforementioned JC). Then Andrew Lloyd Webber took it back and mounted an extraordinary production at the London Palladium with Jason Donovan in the title role and now Donovan once more dons Egyptian garb and finds him...
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Coming to England – Birmingham Repertory Theatre
5Apr By Priya GuptaNo Comments
West Midlands

Coming to England – Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Dame Floella Benjamin’s award-winning and iconic book Coming to England is brought to life in this touching stage adaptation. It's an inspirational story of ambition, tenacity, and victory. Award winning director Omar Okai has created a show full of magic, joy, hope and happiness. The children’s book is a firm favourite by many, with wonderful illustrations captivating Floella’s own journey of emigration from Trinidad to London. These illustrations are brought to life in the simplistic yet colourful use of props and set design. Such as the rows of light up houses that create the streets of 1960’s London to the cabin style beach huts that reflect Floella’s Trinidadian home. The show explores complex issues and themes of racism, overcoming adversity, and personal triumph. It is an insp...
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Birmingham Hippodrome
30Mar By Annette NuttallNo Comments
West Midlands

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Birmingham Hippodrome

The award-winning National Theatre Production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time comes to Birmingham, perfectly coinciding with World Autism Awareness Week. Christopher Boon has found his neighbour’s dog murdered, he decides to investigate what has happened and who killed him. This is very much outside of his comfort zone and the more he investigates the more he reveals, leading to some uncomfortable discoveries.  From the start, it is clear that Christopher sees things differently to most people, his neurodiverse condition is never named but alluded to in the script. The novel (by Mark Haddon) on which this play is based, is written in the first person, which could be difficult to translate to the stage. However, by mixing live action with Christopher explaini...
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