West Midlands Archives - Page 2 of 16

17Apr

By Robert BartleyNo Comments

West Midlands

Kinky Boots – Birmingham Hippodrome

Undeniably the best musical ever to be set in Northampton, the story of ‘Kinky Boots’ first came to the nation’s attention back in 2005 in the non-musical film version. Although brilliant, it always felt that this story was born to be brought alive with sequins, sparkles, and as its leading diva describes them, “a gaggle of fabulous Drags”. So just shy of a decade later, Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein and icon of pop Cyndi Lauper got their hands on it, and turned it into the glittering musical that we know and love today. One of the rare examples of a musical adaptation being better than its original source material, the story of the failing shoe factory that turned its fate around by manufacturing outrageous boots for drag queens has seen great success both on Broadway...

3Apr

By Robert BartleyNo Comments

West Midlands

Dear Evan Hansen – Wolverhampton Grand

The West End production of ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ was one of the biggest casualties of the pandemic, forced to close 6 months into its run and then unable to gain back its momentum after its eventual re-opening, despite 3 Olivier wins (a mis-judged film adaptation released around the same time probably didn’t help either). Its fate is somewhat ironic, given the themes of isolation and longing for connection that run so deeply throughout the show, themes which were heightened during those Covid times. Fortunately, the musical has found a new lease of life with a well-received touring production which kicked off in Nottingham in September 2024. Now 6 months in, the tour has connected strongly with audiences, and rekindled the fire that burned all too briefly in the West End. ...

2Apr

By Annette NuttallNo Comments

West Midlands

Ghost the Musical – The Alexandra

The popular romantic thriller film from 1990, Ghost, has been adapted into a musical. This current production takes to the stage in Birmingham for the week. Sam and Molly are a young couple with their lives and many adventures ahead of them. All this changes with Sam’s untimely death. Trapped between two worlds Sam enlists the help of psychic Oda May Brown to contact Molly. Can they both move on and find happiness again? Although songs and dances have been added, the musical remains pretty much faithful to the film, the favourite moments are all there. The characters are faithful to the original without trying to imitate the film’s stars, each member of the cast make the roles their own. The standout performance of the night was Rebekah Lowings as Molly. She pulled out every emoti...

27Mar

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Dragons – Birmingham Hippodrome

Set amidst an effusive of silver piping which wouldn’t look out of place in an industrial park, “Dragons” is a bright, engaging and slightly potty amalgam of dance, movement and physicality which, despite lacking plot, character and much we can get a grip on, proves itself a shining and engaging piece of theatre. South Korean choreographer, Eun-Me Aha, who’s company’s first appearance in the UK this is, presents herself as a book-ended sage opening and closing the show between which six buoyant young dancers carry the bulk of the performance - Gaon Han, Deokyeong Kim, Hyekyoung Kim, Seven Kim, Doohee Lee, Hyeonseo Lee and Yongsik Moon. The energy is palpable and the joy tangible as we are presented with a fluctuating series of vignettes rooted in ancient dance culture but living very much ...

12Mar

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

War Horse – Wolverhampton Grand

Galloping across the country like the noble steed it is, “War Horse” stops off momentarily at the Grand Theatre for some water and hay staying long enough to regale us once more with the stunning and breathtaking tale it has been sharing since it first staggered out of its stable back in 2007. Though initially a book by Michael Morpurgo it was playwright Nick Stafford who trained and groomed it for success with this adaptation at the National Theatre. Handspring Puppet Company have transcended their art and produced creatures which are beyond anything we've before seen - they live, they breathe, they gallop. I defy anyone to see the work and not come away thoroughly convinced they have been amongst real animals. It’s uncanny. You can almost smell them. The image of Joey is now iconic ha...

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – Birmingham Hippodrome

5Mar

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – Birmingham Hippodrome

“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang the Musical” first took off over 34 years after the original film starring the eternal Dick van Dyke was released based on the original book by Fleming, Ian Fleming with malicious additions by a pre-Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl - who else could have invented one of the most terrifying characters in all cinema - the Child Catcher? Though I’m reluctant to place it among the spate of tribute theatre we’ve seen of late (name a favourite film from your childhood/teens and add “the musical” and wait for the tills ching) it does smack of that genre. Nonetheless, though the film is a haphazard sub-Disney confection, it has wormed its way into our collective hearts not least through an endearing and irresistible score from the ever reliable Sherman Brothers. Our fine fou...

Handbagged – Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

28Feb

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Handbagged – Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

I overhear the couple behind me, probably in their twenties. One says, “Did you get the references?” the other replies, “I’ve seen ‘The Crown’ so I get the gist…” I suddenly feel very old and the details of Moira Buffini’s play, which were once at the political forefront for all of us over fifty, seem strangely distant and tepid. The Miner’s Strike and Section 28, once viscerally crucial, are thrown into quaint relief by the Trumpian carnival currently erupting across the water. What was once breaking news is now the fading past. Those of us who got the references - and the play is stuffed with them; Heseltine’s hair, Howe’s dullness - are happily served but what of the pair behind me? “Handbagged” appeared in its full form in 2014 within living memory of the events portrayed and only j...

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Birmingham Hippodrome

8Feb

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Birmingham Hippodrome

This elegant old bird glides into the Hippodrome after swooping across the world for nearly thirty years and proves itself to be in turns vibrant engaging, compelling and comic. Matthew Bourne first envisioned and delivered his barn-storming creation to the world back in 1995 way before most of the cygnets in tonight’s performance were even hatched and it maintains and sustains its artistic integrity, vision and panache without a single feather out of place. Bourne has given the world something stunningly unique and intelligent which remixes the familiar tropes and tunes of the Tchaikovsky ballet rearranges, reimagines and reupholsters them in a breathtakingly new, yet recognisable, manner using the swan imagery as a metaphor for our young princess’s sexual awakening coupled with a thri...

5Feb

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Community – Birmingham Rep

Farrah Chaudhry’s new play and, seemingly, first play is set in the epicentre of the second city and tells a comedic tale of coming of age, identity and belonging. Zoya and Leyla are ethically, morally and politically in different leagues. While Zoya could be best described slightly spoiled. Leyla is the epitome of nose-to-the-grindstone communal responsibility. When Zoya’s parents decide she no longer has a place in their home (for reasons we’re eager to discover but are never told) she turns to her friend for help, support and a couch to sleep on. Thus begins the story and were this the TV Times, I could add “with hilarious consequences” though that wouldn’t be entirely accurate. Parts are funny, parts are very funny and lots of it works very well. It’s patchy in parts, though, and ha...

4Feb

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Hairspray – Wolverhampton Grand

“Hairspray” explodes onto the stage of the Wolverhampton Grand with all the vigour, vibrancy and verve one has come to expect and does exactly what it says on the spray tin. It’s a wild effusion of fun and frolics expertly delivered and tempered with a sobering seam of politics of racial segregation. John Water’s originally movie strutted out of the celluloid closet way back in 1988 featuring the grotesque drag artist Divine in the mother role creating a cult sensation. The tradition of casting a male in the female role continues today and it’s an interesting decision in the air of the shifting notions of identity and genre which have emerged since the show's inception especially in a country which already has a long tradition of the dame. However, Neil Hurst is a natural in the role and m...