Category Archives: Behind the Arras Reviews

The Lady Vanishes – Derby Theatre

Posted on October 8, 2019 by garylongden

  *** The play is synonymous with the 1938 British mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. The film itself was #based on the 1936 novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White. This … Continue reading →

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One Man, Two Guvnors -Derby Theatre

Posted on September 11, 2019 by garylongden

***** This comedy, written by Richard Bean in 2011, performed to unanimous acclaim by the National Theatre in London, now starts a regional run in Derby, where it is playing for the first time ever. Bean is a prolific playwright … Continue reading →

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Cabaret – Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Posted on September 4, 2019 by garylongden

***** Once in a while, a show catches you off guard, it surprises you, and delights you. This is such a show. Sumptuously staged, it veers from burlesque, to grotesque, from bright lights, to dark alleyways.   “Cabaret” is synonymous … Continue reading →

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Hair – Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Posted on July 24, 2019 by garylongden

Hair – Wolverhampton Grand Theatre *** Passers- by on Wolverhampton Broad Street may have mistaken the billboards for “Hair” as an immediate tribute to our new Prime Minister’s legendary tousled locks. They would have been disappointed. Instead this is a … Continue reading →

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Sutton Arts Preview 2019/20 Season

Posted on June 6, 2019 by garylongden

  Sutton Arts have announced their 2019/20, 75th anniversary, programme. Invariably they produce a thought provoking combination of hidden gems, much loved standards, and the quirky.They have excelled once again. Here is a preview of the treats in store. Absolute … Continue reading →

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1984 – Derby Theatre

Posted on May 25, 2019 by garylongden

**** George Orwell wrote 1984 in 1949. Seventy years on Derby University productions have rebooted the story for the 21st Century. The undergraduates have produced every aspect of the show with the only external direction coming from co-directors, Theatre Arts … Continue reading →

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1984 – Derby Theatre Preview, Opens Fri 24th May, 2019

Posted on May 21, 2019 by garylongden

1984 – Friday 24th and Sat 25th May, 2019 Any piece of writing, or film, about the future inevitably meets its day of reckoning, when the future becomes the present. 1984 was first published in 1949, thirty-five years prior to … Continue reading →

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The Rocky Horror Show – New Alexander Theatre, Birmingham

Posted on May 14, 2019 by garylongden

Now in its 46th Year, The Rocky Horror Show shows no sign of slowing down, or losing its edge. Few shows have the audacity to use their best song as the opening number. Yet that is what happens here. The … Continue reading →

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Turn of the Screw- Derby Theatre

Posted on May 8, 2019 by garylongden

**** “Turn of the Screw”, written by Henry James in 1898, is an essential component in the canon of English Literature adapted for stage here by Tim Luscombe. It is co-produced by Mercury Theatre Colchester, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre and Exeter … Continue reading →

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Club Tropicana – Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Posted on April 29, 2019 by garylongden

*** Name checking one of Wham!’s greatest hits, then not performing it, or any other George Michael composition is an inauspicious start. Fortunately, the 80’s spawned a plethora of toe tapping, finger snapping, hits, many of which appear in this … Continue reading →

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