Category Archives: Behind the Arras Reviews

Evita – Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Posted on August 22, 2013 by garylongden

Evita is amongst the best Lloyd Webber/ Rice collaborations. Its themes of power, fame, human triumph, tragedy and frailty are Shakespearean in ambition, wrapped in a popular accessible package which delights audiences wherever it goes. Marti Pellow is the big … Continue reading →

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Bilston Voices- June 2013

Posted on July 14, 2013 by garylongden

Bilston Voices has always had a reputation for strong poetry, an appreciative audience and skilful compering. And so it proved in June with a typically eclectic selection of poets on a warm summer evening orchestrated by the ebullient Emma Pursouse. … Continue reading →

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Steaming, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Posted on July 3, 2013 by garylongden

Steaming was written in 1981 by Nell Dunn and was first staged at the Theatre Royal, Stratford, in London, winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy . It is part of an ambitious and varied summer season of … Continue reading →

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Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Sutton Arts Theatre Company, Sutton Coldfield

Posted on June 24, 2013 by garylongden

Laughter on the 23rd Floor is a Neil Simon comedy which opened on Broadway in 1993.According to Simon, Sid Caesar’s writers on the original Your Show of Shows ,including himself and his older brother Danny Simon, held their script sessions … Continue reading →

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“Yes Prime Minister” ,Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Posted on May 8, 2013 by garylongden

“Yes, Minister” is a rarity, a television catchphrase which entered into popular parlance. A code, implying the reverse of its overt meaning. The sitcom, which morphed into “Yes Prime Minister”, was essential viewing in its heyday, the Thatcherite eighties. It … Continue reading →

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“Emma” , Sutton Arts Theatre, Sutton Coldfield.

Posted on May 3, 2013 by garylongden

Sutton Arts continue their policy of imaginative programming by presenting this production of Emma, an adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel. Such adaptations can be problematic. Aficionados of the novel can be critical of what is inevitably omitted, those … Continue reading →

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Bilston Voices, Metro Cafe, Church St, Bilston

Posted on April 26, 2013 by garylongden

Bilston Voices has had a weather interrupted start to the year with two of the four events snowed off. Thus a full house turned up in expectation, and relief , the show is back on the road. The pulling power … Continue reading →

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Cosi Fan Tutte, English Touring Opera,Grand Theatre Wolverhampton

Posted on April 15, 2013 by garylongden

English Touring Opera made a return to Wolverhampton Grand Theatre with two ambitious titles for Spring 2013; Cosi Fan Tutte, and Simon Boccanegra performed on successive nights, Monday night’s performance was of the former opera. The music for Cosi Fan … Continue reading →

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Driving Miss Daisy, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Posted on April 10, 2013 by garylongden

This play is held in high regard by actors because of the challenge it offers in two regards. Firstly, the two lead characters age 25 years in 90 minutes, secondly, the play is performed as a three hander, further intensifying … Continue reading →

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Boxed Set- Paul Francis

Posted on April 9, 2013 by garylongden

Paul is a retired teacher from Much Wenlock with a growing list of published credits. An accomplished and regular performer on the Midlands and Borders poetry circuit, his writing, and subject matter, is eclectic and diverse. Cross- fertilisation between cinema, … Continue reading →

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