Category Archives: Behind the Arras Reviews

Poetry @ The Shrewsbury Coffee House

Posted on February 8, 2014 by garylongden

This outpost of poetic excellent continues to flourish under the assured guidance of Liz Lefroy and the support of a committed audience. Shrewsbury’s remote geographical location is no match for Liz’s poetic address book. Once again she dragooned a high … Continue reading →

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Run For Your Wife, Sutton Arts Theatre

Posted on February 8, 2014 by garylongden

“Run for your wife”, by Ray Cooney, is one of the most successful stage farces of modern times, guaranteed to have an audience, and so it proved at a packed Sutton Arts Theatre on Friday night. First performed in 1983, … Continue reading →

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Spire Writes, Chesterfield, January 2014

Posted on January 25, 2014 by garylongden

This was my third visit to Spire Writes but my first to the new venue, the White Swan PH. A deluge outside of biblical proportions was ignored by a burgeoning audience which spilled out of the main room into the … Continue reading →

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Roy Wood Band, The Robin 2, Bilston

Posted on December 14, 2013 by garylongden

I have been watching live music since the Seventies, from pub bands, to Led Zeppelin at Knebworth, and the Rolling Stones in stadiums. Yet The Robin has become one of my favourite venues to see a band play. First at … Continue reading →

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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs- Sutton Arts Theatre Company, Sutton Coldfield

Posted on December 4, 2013 by garylongden

***** Snow White is one of the better pantomime stories. The versatile Sutton Arts Theatre company chose their production well for this year. Director Emily Armstrong has done a fabulous job in putting her own spin on the story, in … Continue reading →

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New Jersey Nights – Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Posted on November 19, 2013 by garylongden

New Jersey Nights is an interesting new phenomena. The fifties, sixties and seventies spawned a slew of memorable popular music, the originators of which are now largely either dead, or in their dotage. First, tribute bands came along to keep … Continue reading →

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Spoken Worlds, 5th Anniversary, Burton upon Trent

Posted on November 17, 2013 by garylongden

The poetic community overwhelmingly features good people doing good things. Spoken Worlds celebrated its 5th birthday on 15th November, hosted and curated by Gary Carr. The Old Cottage Tavern is the third home for this event and has proved a … Continue reading →

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Aida, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Posted on November 12, 2013 by garylongden

This was the second night of opera presented by Ellen Kent , La Boheme having been successfully played the night before. Many of that cast assumed new principle roles and many in the audience had come for a second helping … Continue reading →

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La Boheme, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Posted on November 11, 2013 by garylongden

It is quite a couple of days for opera fans at the Grand, with La Boheme last night, and Aida tonight, both by Ellen Kent . Puccini’s La Boheme demands proper staging, and this production delivers that. It is a traditional … Continue reading →

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The Cork Poets – Midlands Tour

Posted on November 8, 2013 by garylongden

Each year Cork and Coventry act as a staging point for a poetry exchange, swapping poets, poetry, experience and humanity. This year Rab Urquhart and Julie Field (aka Julie Goo) were Cork’s representatives for an itinerary that now includes three … Continue reading →

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