#Birmingham Theatre

[suzie81blog]

Press Review: BMOS presents Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Musical

The BMOS Musical Theatre Company – an amateur performing arts group with members of all ages from across the West Midlands – is back on stage at The Alexandra Theatre, this time with a rousing production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Based on the novel by Roald Dahl, the world-famous Willy Wonka is opening the gates to his mysterious factory…but only to a lucky few. Young Charlie Bucket…

[firstpersonnarrator]

Because we really just want Rob.

Robert Sheehan publicity shots source: @theatre_weekly on IG; Withnail & I at the Birmingham Rep; original full photos: (X)

[bumble-b1]

So I got to see Hadestown yesterday and I wanted to share some highlights.

It's obvious even when listening to the album that Orpheus is extremely innocent, but seeing his face and mannerisms makes it even more obvious and more tragic.

When Hades comes for Persephone he and Eurydice exchange looks and Orpheus jumps in front of her to block Hades view.

The woman who played Persephone faked a lisp to seem drunker for most of the play but whenever she said something serious she dropped the lisp which just added to the effect that her words had.

When Orpheus says "to the world we dream about and the one we live in now" everything goes dead quiet. No music, no movement just those words.

When Eurydice is looking for food the fates rip off her jacket and her coat.

The entrance to the train station is a bay door that opens to reveal a bright panel of lights and smoke.

When Orpheus takes the back entrance to Hadestown the set separates to let him through just like the rocks split in the original myth.

When Hades says "I conduct the electric city" the lights get so bright that it is blinding.

When Orpheus sings for Hades there are three spot lights; one for him, one for Eurydice and one for Persephone.

Hades and Persephone dancing. Also the way Orpheus holds Eurydice.

The works all wear caps that make them look almost identical. When Orpheus makes them remember their lives they take the hats off.

The stage is so dark and smoky when Orpheus is walking that even the audience does not know if Eurydice is there.

They light up a set of stairs and a doorway to represent the end of the journey back to the surface. When Orpheus turns around there are audible gasps from the audience and the bay doors slowly close on Eurydice.

At the very end, they reset the entire stage to make it look exactly like it did when they started emphasizing that they will never stop telling the story.

That got a bit long, but there is so much to say. I honestly barely covered half of it. It's an incredible show and if you ever get the chance to see it you should.

[cannedbluesblog]

Saw "Withnail And I" play at the Birmingham Rep last night

[jazzreloaded]

Play On! By Talawa Theatre @Belgrade Theatre 26 / 09/ 24

Review by Vidal Montgomery

The press night performance of Play On! - A Broadway Blues with a twist on "Twelfth Night" - was not undersold in terms of bums on seats ( because it was a full house, and based on this showing it deserves a full house everywhere it goes!), but in terms of spectacle; because for the near-three hours running time, it was thoroughly engaging, spectacularly entertaining and, despite dealing with some serious subject matters ( such as how a misogynistic Harlem resists change, made all the more relevant with the recent revelations around Music Moghul Sean Comb's recent indictment), it was joyful for the audience from start to end, evidenced by the raucous laughter, gasps and applause throughout.

The title "Play On!" may also refer to the four year development process to get a work of this magnitude and depth and craft and intimacy and nuance in front of a live audience; it is no mean feat that this splendid work of Ellingtonian excellence by Liam Godwin and Benjamin Burell is finally in front of an audience, and with a truly magnificent cast from top to bottom:

Although the dramaturgy obviously has its focal characters, the dancers / understudies / supporting cast acquit themselves equally well, and the audience is gifted with over a dozen amazing voices ( of which Lifford Shillingford was my personal favourite ), who perform comparably, shouldering the responsibility of energetic dance, tense drama and soulful song, and carrying the narrative along. This for me is the most captivating thing about this show. Tanya Edwards as Miss Mary and Llewellyn Jamal as Jester deliver stylish and soulful performances late on into the second act just I thought the show had probably reached its peak - boy was I wrong!

The core story of Play On! revolves around the day Duke Ellington loses his muse, and the lengths- and distance! - one lucky lady will go to to help him get it back; Earl Gregory, Koko Alexandra, Tsemaye Bob Egbe, and Cameron Bernard Jones play the four pillars of the love quadrangle that is "The Duke", his old flame ( lady Liv ) , his new muse ( Viola "Vyman" ) and Rev, the manager of the Cotton Club clutching at straws and clasping his hands in his hopes of keeping the four together as exemplars of Ellingtonian Excellence - and also keeping the show on the road...

Sadly the live band - directed by the unassuming Ashton Moore and delightfully driven by the delicate drumming of Empirical's own Shane Forbes - are not featured as characters in their own right - I am sure that later productions in the three month run will attend to this oversight.

Despite this, the mix of moods and blues and beats and grooves from the bandstand become the main character, and for me ( as a musician! ) this is the star of the show: Ellingtonian Classics like Mood Indigo, I got it Bad, It Don't mean a thing, Black Butterfly Rocks In My Bed and In a Mellow Tone are turned inside out and taken back from the trash heap of Abersold Appropriation,and are played in a way that suits the strengths of individual artists, and balances temperaments of their characters as a whole as they play moves towards reaches its climactic reveal; at this moment the only other disappointment was that the band was not as big as, say, the English Touring Opera's for the recent run of "The Rakes Progress" : With this amount of dramatic tension in the stage, and with the audience in the palm of the band's hands the Ellington Big band, really needs to be a BIG band.

As it was, on the night Kaz Hamilton and Alexander Polack acquited themselves very well, making a myriad of moods that were both historically authentic and stylistically de jour. And the commitment to shared seat of Chris Hyde / Josh Vadivello on Double bass ( NO electric big band era please! ) brings gravitas authenticity and sensuality to the greatest american songbook in a way that only a Double Bass can. This show is all about that bass!

Having recently sat through the often turgid and salacious KAOS, a reworking of the mythology of Orpheus and Euridice, ( which was not a patch on Marcel Camus Seminal 1950's classic ) and also attended the afforementioned reworking of Igor Stravinsky's "Rake's Progress" ( often not my sense of humour, albeit markedly less turgid and salacious than Charlie Covell's Netflix Production ) I was far from convinced that , per se, " A reworking of Twelfth Night " was going to as vivacious, contemporary , and nourishing to the soul as it turned out to be. But on this occasion I was rewarded for my bravery ( And by "bravery" I mean only braving the inclement British weather ) , and I will forever regard Play On! as somewhat of a late birthday present - ( or maybe early Christmas gift? )

Ironically, whilst sipping free Prosecco and listening to a(nother) jazz function band in the reception area after the show , I had the good fortune to speak with one the trustees of the Talawa Theatre and we discussed how important it may be to not label Play On! as ( simply ) a "jazz show", because of how many people may miss out on an amazing contemporary socially and culturally relevant human experience, simply because they do not know or have not yet been sold the depth and breadth of the jazz canon.

But Play On! is "Jazz Hands" in safe hands. And I can say with confidence that Talawa Theatre have a winner on their hands; it is Black Joy. And "Black Joy" may turn out to be a better euphemism for the vibrancy we expect "Jazz" to bring to us. Congratulations on the fully immersive experience that Director Michael Buffong brought to the Belgrade Theatre tonight.

PS: As with many theatre shows, the stupidly difficult train schedule doesn't really support the 2+ hour format, but I can only say that on this occasion it was worth missing our last train to catch the "A Train" one more time...

Talawa’s Black Joy season presents:

Play On!

A new Jazz musical

Based on Shakespeare’s

“Twelfth Night”

Conceived by Sheldon Epps

Book by Cheryl L.West

Music by Duke Ellington

Produced by Talawa Theatre Company and The Belgrade Theatre

Co-produced with Birmingham Hippodrome, Bristol Old Vic, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and Wiltshire Creative

Artwork by Feast Creative

For the full programme, click or scan the image below:

[willstafford]

Stars and Strips

GYPSY Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, Sunday 12th May 2024 They’re an ambitious lot at the Crescent.  I’ll say that in their favour from the off.  Now they’re tackling this mammoth of a musical, which brings its own challenges: the many locations, the large cast of characters, and the musical numbers. Ostensibly the origin story of burlesque star, Gypsy Rose Lee, it’s really the story of her…

[shedontlovehuhself]

Misha already being in the UK and hanging out in the London theatre district(west end?) is so very him.

[the-tenth-arcanum]

I went to see Best of Enemies with David Harewood and Zachary Quinto tonight. thank you National Theatre I love you 💕

[miashyperfixations]

SIX: THE MUSICAL

29.07.2022 @ Vaudeville Theatre, London (690 Capacity)

02.03.2023 @ Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham (1,850 Capacity)

Written March 2023

The first time I saw SIX in London, I was pleasantly surprised at its format and the production as a whole. I went into it expecting your usual musical theatre production but was greeted with six talented vocalists and their band, singing and dancing without an ensemble or supporting actors.

This emphasized the message of the show, which was that these women were underestimated and overlooked in history, considering they had such a huge impact in the Tudor era. It also set the show apart from the traditional production as it felt like a concert rather than show where you had to pay attention at all times in order to follow and understand the plot but it was almost informational. One thing we liked about both performances was that it had an entirely diverse cast, referring to both ethnicity and body type, making each actress shine in her own right. I was still able to learn and have fun, I probably learnt more here than in my 2 years of history before choosing my GCSEs!

Moreover, we didn’t notice until after the show was that the cast that we saw was some of the original cast members from when it opened in 2019, back in the Arts Theatre with a capacity of 350. We bought the tickets for the Birmingham show back at the end of November spontaneously as my mum hadn’t seen it since she went in early 2019, and we had only seen it the previous year.

It was fun to notice all of the different stylistic and vocal changes between not just the London & Birmingham shows, but the soundtrack available on streaming services, which one would obviously expect. The subtle differences in the songs and dialogue allow for diversity and for each cast member to put their own spin on their characters and interpret them as their own. 💛💚🩵❤️🩷💙

[centrestagereviews]

Shows to see this Christmas

Shows to see this Christmas 🎄🎭 Looking to spend some time in the theatre this Christmas? We’ve put together a small guide of some of our top picks for the festive season!

Looking to spend some time in the theatre this Christmas? We’ve put together a small guide of some of our top picks for the festive season and some tips and tricks on how to get discounted West End tickets! Shows we’re recommending this Christmas: Regional: The Wizard of Oz – Leicester Curve The Wizard of Oz will run at the Leicester Curve till 08/01/23 Click your heels together three times…

[rincewindsapprentice]

[ID: "As George Peyton, Mr. Delafield had little to do, and in this respect the part was one exactly suited to his abilities."]

19th century papers were fucking brutal, holy shit.

Source: Birmingham Daily Post, 11/3/1863

[suzie81blog]

Press Review: The 39 Steps at The Alexandra Theatre

[firstpersonnarrator]

More shots of Withnail and I coming out of The Birmingham Rep

This time we even get a glimpse of Uncle Monty. Source: @theatre_weekly on IG

All the shots already released in prev post (X)

The cast:

“Robert Sheehan plays Withnail, Adonis Siddique plays Marwood and Malcolm Sinclair plays Uncle Monty. The cast is completed by Adam Young (Danny), Israel J Fredericks (Presuming Ed), Morgan Philpott (Wanker/Jake the Poacher), Matt Devitt (Farmer/Colonel & Band), Adam Sopp (Geezer/Policeman, Band & Musical Director), Sooz Kempner (Miss Blenehassitt/Policewoman & Band).” Source (X)

[louandlillie]

So grateful to share my short film about how my sister and I cope with caring for our mother who has dementia 7:00pm tomorrow at the Sidewalk Film Center in Birmingham, Alabama. Thank you, Luminal Theatre for the chance to share.

[literarylondonhq]

New kids on the (Theatre) block…

At the opening of the new #scrumtheatre space in #Hammersmith #London last night. The actor (and fellow Brummie!) Adrian Lester was there and cut the ribbon. It was great fun!

[willstafford]

Jury Fury

TWELVE ANGRY MEN The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, Monday 30th October 2023 Reginald Rose’s classic play from 1955 is doing the rounds again and it’s well worth catching even if, like me, you have seen it before.  Based on Rose’s own experience of serving on a jury, this tense, taut thriller continues to weave its engrossing spell, as a dozen increasingly tetchy males gather in a jury room to…