Category Archives: Behind the Arras Reviews

Make no mistake, this  production was a big call by Sutton Arts. It is wordy, and worthy, and played out on a single set. Its themes of  the American Dream, the anatomy of truth, and fidelity are more fully realised … Continue reading →

Photo credits to Mark Douet Some lament the turgid fare of contemporary musicals. “ Tony! (The Tony Blair Rock Opera)”, by Harry Hill and Steve Brown challenges that stasis. Charlie Baker takes the lead as the eponymous messiah, channelling “Smashy … Continue reading →

***** – This is a one woman, one hour performance. The Blue Orange theatre,  a modern, compact space on the fringes of the Jewellery Quarter was perfect. Off beat, and intimate. – An established writer, actor  and performer on the … Continue reading →

This is a revival of a play  by British playwright Roy Williams,  first staged in 2010 at the Royal Court Theatre in London when it was nominated for the Evening Standard Award and the Olivier Award for Best New Play. … Continue reading →

*** Six years ago   Derby theatre  performed Laura Easons’ adaptation of this classic story directed by Theresa Heskins .  The 2023 production 150 years on from  the original English publication, is very different and unrecognisable from its previous incarnation , … Continue reading →

This was the third Bowie Tribute I have  seen in as many months providing a useful contemporaneous comparison, previously John Mainwaring’s Jean Genie, then Oliver Slee’s Bowie Experience.  I suspect that “better or worse” comes down to the setlist and … Continue reading →

Two months after the originally scheduled show was postponed  at short notice due to illness,  the “Bowie Experience” appeared to a 500 seat sell out at the Lichfield Garrick Theatre on a Sunday night. I am a die hard Bowie … Continue reading →

Robin Hood & the Major Oak- Derby Theatre ***** A fine new Easter production for all the family written by Deb McAndrew who has rebooted the classic tale  for a 21st century audience in a seamlessly integrated BSL production, signed … Continue reading →

What’s this? Panto in Wolverhampton at  the end of February?  Oh yes it is. Having stormed the normal panto  season first in Brighton, then  the Duke of York’s Theatre in London, the audience response was too positive for  it to … Continue reading →

**** Touring theatrical companies are having a tough time as costs escalate everywhere. This production by the Cahoots theatre Company, has the answer, reduce your company to one. – Robert Daws brings Wodehouse in Wonderland to  Derby  in a single-hander … Continue reading →