Friday, December 5

Tag: Rosemary Ashe

Mary Poppins – Birmingham Hippodrome
West Midlands

Mary Poppins – Birmingham Hippodrome

P.L.Travers, by all accounts, cried at the opening of the Disney adaptation of her famous children’s novel - and not in a nice way. She was a stickler for accuracy and precision and wanted her book recreated almost exactly as she had envisioned it - Disney had other plans. Disney often did. In reinventing her novel (and ignoring Traver’s demands) he gave the world one of its most beloved family films which has woven itself in the DNA of our shared culture for over sixty years. It gave us those indelible Sherman Brothers songs coupled with an endearing, cute plot and one of the worst cockney accents committed to celluloid. So when Cameron Mackintosh landed on the idea of staging the show he not only took on the behemoth of a cultural icon, the might of Disney but, perhaps most intimidatingl...
Call me Madam – Upstairs at the Gatehouse
London

Call me Madam – Upstairs at the Gatehouse

When all a country has to offer is babies and cheese, it’s little wonder they need help. Enter the good old USA with their helpful loans and Bob’s your side of chicken. Except, that’s not quite how things pan out. ‘Call me Madam’ is set in 1950, in the years following World War II, when Truman was rolling out the Marshall Plan to help finance the economic recovery of devasted European countries. If you’re thinking this is political, don’t, it’s purely a backdrop for what is essentially a double love story. At a time when women were expected to make home, Sally Adams (Rosemary Ashe), is bound for the Grand Duchy of Lichtenburg in her newly appointed role as ambassador. Her creds: Parties and socialising. Next, enter Cosmo Constantine (Richard Gibson), a man who cannot be bought, a man...