Author Archives: garylongden

Journey’s End, Sutton Arts Theatre

Posted on September 1, 2014 by garylongden

Amongst the myriad events marking the centenary of the start of the First World War,Sutton Arts Theatre chose R C Sherriff’s “Journeys End” as their offering. Written in 1928, some fourteen years after the event, Sherriff originally struggled to find … Continue reading →

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Midlands Poetry What’s On August 2014

Posted on August 12, 2014 by garylongden

Tues 5th, Word, Y Theatre, East St Leicester We’ve got the amazing George Szirtses as our guest poet! George Szirtes was born in Budapest in 1948 and came to England as a refugee in 1956. He was brought up in … Continue reading →

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Midlands Poetry What’s On July 2014

Posted on August 12, 2014 by garylongden

Tues 1st

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Midlands Poetry What’s On June 2014

Posted on August 12, 2014 by garylongden

Sun 1st

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The Cornbury Festival

Posted on July 9, 2014 by garylongden

The posh festival. That is what I read prior to my first visit. So it proved. Behind the posh festival tag lies a much more intriguing sub-plot of “toff wars”, with Cornbury promoter and impresario Old Etonian Hugh Philimore falling … Continue reading →

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20th Century Boy- Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Posted on June 30, 2014 by garylongden

Modern musicals based upon pop stars and their music continue to find a place on stage. That place is determined by a number of factors; the star quality of the artist, whether they are dead or not, whether they still … Continue reading →

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Buddy- Birmingham Hippodrome

Posted on June 24, 2014 by garylongden

This is the 25th anniversary tour of a show which celebrates the songs of an artist whose recording career lasted barely two years, but whose music endures. A jukebox musical, the two halves mainly comprise his rise to fame and … Continue reading →

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Caught on the Hop- Sutton Arts Theatre

Posted on June 19, 2014 by garylongden

Written by Derek Benfield, and first performed in 1977, Caught on the Hop is a romantic farce as popularised by Brian Rix. Its success is wholly dependent upon the energy and brio of the characterisation. Fortunately Sutton Arts were well … Continue reading →

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Design for Murder- Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Posted on June 18, 2014 by garylongden

Set in the 1970’s, this psychological thriller, written by Donald F East, unfolds in the living room of Clive and Moira Richards replete with ghastly furniture and a record player. Although the costume is neutral, with the fashion excesses of … Continue reading →

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Lines- Phil Binding

Posted on May 20, 2014 by garylongden

“Stories of Railway Folk and other important people” Some dismiss poetry as esoteric, ethereal, and divorced from the everyday. Those doubters would be well advised to consider Phil Binding’s debut collection. Binding was a railwayman in the days of British … Continue reading →

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