Author Archives: garylongden

The Bodyguard- Birmingham Hippodrome

Posted on August 7, 2015 by garylongden

I came to this show neutral, but curious. Whitney Houston, upon whose music, the show depends, has always been an enigma for me. A fine singer for sure, but neither she, nor her music, ever touched me. She entertained, but … Continue reading →

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Grimm Up North- Old Joint Stock, Birmingham

Posted on August 4, 2015 by garylongden

The Second City on a Friday summer night is a vibrant thing. Brummies know how to have a good night out, and Colmore Row was buzzing with weekend revellers, England cricket fans celebrating a three day Ashes win, and England … Continue reading →

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Absent Friends – Derby Theatre

Posted on July 9, 2015 by garylongden

One of the lesser known of Ayckbourn’s seventy plus plays, London Classic Theatre Company have revived this classic gem as a 70’s period piece, rather than attempt to update it. First performed in 1974, it plays in real time as … Continue reading →

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Holy, Holy- The ultimate tribute band?- Birmingham Academy

Posted on June 30, 2015 by garylongden

When tribute bands first started to form, I was scornful. I began to watch a few, some were good, some were not. Then a friend pointed out that you don’t go along to a Beethoven concert and report: ” It … Continue reading →

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Buddy- The Buddy Holly Story, Sutton Coldfield Musical Theatre, Garrick Theatre, Lichfield

Posted on June 3, 2015 by garylongden

“Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story ” has now been touring for twenty five years , celebrating the songs of an artist whose recording career lasted barely two years, but whose music endures some fifty six years after his untimely … Continue reading →

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Neville’s Island – Sutton Arts Theatre

Posted on May 2, 2015 by garylongden

Neville’s Island was the first play penned by author Tim Firth in 1992 and was originally   commissioned by Alan Ayckbourn . Firth later found fame with Calendar Girls, and was a contemporary of Nick Hancock and David Badiel, and the … Continue reading →

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Live at the Brixton Academy- Simon Parkes

Posted on March 25, 2015 by garylongden

A riotous life in the music business As a teenager I learned the gig going ropes in London. The Hammersmith Odeon, Rainbow Theatre Finsbury and Wembley Empire Pool (as was) became regular haunts, as well as occasional visits elsewhere. It … Continue reading →

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Bedroom Farce, Sutton Arts Theatre

Posted on March 20, 2015 by garylongden

When you ask Barrie Atchison to direct an Ayckbourn play it’s like recruiting Jose Mourinho to manage your football team, you are guaranteed a safe pair of hands, and success. And so it proved on this, the opening night. Although … Continue reading →

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Boston Marriage, Highbury Theatre Studio, Sutton Coldfield

Posted on March 9, 2015 by garylongden

A three handed play, with all -female cast, by David Mamet, written in 1999. “Boston Marriage” is set a century earlier, the title being a euphemism, said to have been in use in New England in the decades spanning the … Continue reading →

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Hansel and Gretel- WNO, Birmingham Hippodrome

Posted on March 8, 2015 by garylongden

“Hansel and Gretel” is a Märchenoper (fairy tale opera) by nineteenth-century composer Engelbert Humperdinck, based on the eponymous Grimm brothers’ fairy tale . The first four rows of the stalls at the Hippodrome had been removed to accommodate a full … Continue reading →

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