Category Archives: Behind the Arras Reviews

Hamlet – Derby Theatre

Posted on May 28, 2016 by garylongden

  ****   There can be no more apposite piece for Behind the Arras to review than “Hamlet” ! Most would have it amongst the finest plays ever written, it is certainly the play about which most has been written. … Continue reading →

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Two – Sutton Arts Theatre

Posted on May 27, 2016 by garylongden

This play, written by Jim  Cartwright in 1989,  is to actors what the Olympic Decathlon is to athletes. It requires two actors to assume fourteen different characters, as a night in a Northern pub unfolds. As such it is hugely … Continue reading →

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Priscilla Queen of the Desert- Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Posted on May 3, 2016 by garylongden

An unseasonably cold, drab Monday evening in Wolverhampton, metamorphosed into the warmth and colour of the Australian desert drag and transgendered scene, as Priscilla rolled into town as part of a very successful nationwide tour. Spare seats were at a … Continue reading →

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All Star Stand Up Tour- Derby Theatre

Posted on May 2, 2016 by garylongden

  Derby Theatre’s diverse 2016 took another turn on Sunday night for a one night stop for the biggest comedy tour of the year, the “All Star Stand Up Tour”. Featuring double Sony Award winner and star of Mock The … Continue reading →

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Flare Path- Derby Theatre

Posted on April 20, 2016 by garylongden

  Anyone watching this play can be forgiven for a sense that it should be being performed in black and white as part of a double bill at the local Odeon cinema, such is the impact that the film version, … Continue reading →

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The Cat in the Hat – Lichfield Garrick Theatre

Posted on April 18, 2016 by garylongden

  This poem has had pan- generational appeal since it was written in 1957 by Dr Theodore Seuss. Its combination of rhyme, rhythm, fun and mischief captivating children, and their parents. Adapting the original poem has been a labour of … Continue reading →

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Mary Poppins, Hippodrome, Birmingham

Posted on April 17, 2016 by garylongden

  One of my earliest memories of cinema going as a child is a trip to see Mary Poppins. It was a magical story then, and that magic has endured. The stage show is not a transposition of the film … Continue reading →

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The Damned United – Derby Theatre

Posted on April 7, 2016 by garylongden

I did not attend this production as a neutral observer. As a teenager I watched Clough manage his great Derby side at the Baseball Ground, then later admired his triumphs with Nottingham Forest, found his television appearances as a pundit … Continue reading →

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Annie, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Posted on April 4, 2016 by garylongden

“Annie” seems to have been around forever, but in fact premiered on Broadway in 1977 making it a more modern musical than most imagine. Based upon the Harold Gray comic strip “Little Orphan Annie”, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics … Continue reading →

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Look Back in Anger – Derby Theatre

Posted on March 15, 2016 by garylongden

  This is a very special presentation . Not only is it a 60th anniversary production, but John Osborne also worked at Derby Theatre, lived locally, and set the play in the locality. Legend has it that it was written … Continue reading →

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