Category Archives: Behind the Arras Reviews

The Songs of Sister Act – Lichfield Garrick

Posted on September 18, 2014 by garylongden

Out of the Habit Sister Act has been a hugely successful film and stage musical, the former driven by the charisma and personality of Whoopi Goldberg. The gospel soul tinged music is evergreen, and so it is not surprising that … Continue reading →

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Open All Hours is coming to the Lichfield Garrick

Posted on September 15, 2014 by garylongden

Open All Hours, an adaptation of Roy Clarke’s sitcom, is coming to the Lichfield Garrick on Saturday and Sunday,20th and 21st, of September. It has toured around the Midlands, taking in Burton on Trent, Stamford, Redditch, Solihull and Shrewsbury. I … Continue reading →

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Ladykillers, The Grange Players, Grange Playhouse, Walsall

Posted on September 11, 2014 by garylongden

The Ladykillers is a stage adaptation written by Graham Linehan based on the Ealing comedy film of the same name which premièred at the Liverpool Playhouse in November 2011. Only just released for amateur performance, the Grange Players are fortunate … Continue reading →

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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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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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Black Adder Goes Forth, Dudley Little Theatre, Netherton Arts Centre

Posted on May 14, 2014 by garylongden

Stage adaptations of television comedy series have a chequered history , but when the script is as well written as this, by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, the company has a head start , and so it proved for this … Continue reading →

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The Kingfisher, Sutton Arts Theatre

Posted on May 1, 2014 by garylongden

This was a left-field choice by Sutton Arts, a seldom performed piece written over a quarter of a century ago. Author William Douglas Home’s lineage is as the maverick brother of Tory PM Sir Alec . He lived in the … Continue reading →

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