Garyswordz

*****
A few fortunate novelists and playwrights have created fiction which becomes assimilated into our language. Heller’s Catch 22 and Orwell’s 1984 have a life beyond their original creations, and so it is true of Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan.

 
The idea of a young boy who never grows up celebrates childhood both for those who as children are still enjoying that time, and those of us who reflect back wistfully on a more innocent age.Director Sarah Brigham has stayed true to the traditional values of this story whilst rebooting it for a 21st century audience from Mike Kenny’s adaptation.

 
Neverland, the Lost Boys, flying, fairies, pirates, mermaids, Native Americans, and Hook are reassuringly prominent, but an original score, played live on stage gives the production a contemporary immediacy as all declare that they are “never ever going to grow up”.

 
The libretto is unusually strong for a musical, and although the score is less familiar, it is instantly accessible, and works with the story, rather than simply being an excuse to fit in a good song. Novel (1904) and musical (1954) are separated by half a century, its timeless appeal drew three generations to Derby Theatre on Press night and I had Harry, aged six, and Jacob aged five, to give me their first hand, first time, assessment of the show.

 
From the opening curtain, it was clear that this was going to be a big production show with the opening song, Never Growing Up, performed as an ensemble piece, encouraging the audience to clap and sing along from the start.

 
As the setting then shifts to the bedroom of the children’s home, so Neal Craig picked up the gauntlet, confident, convincing and perfectly cast as Mr Darling opposite Elizabeth Eves, playing his wife.

All three children were a delight. Julian Capolei, Ru Hamilton, the youngest, eschews the “cute kid” short cut and oozes character, Sally Ann Staunton is superb as Wendy, effortlessly morphing from sister to mum, with a strong singing voice. The initially mute Tinkerbell, engagingly played by Esme Sears, comes into her own when bursting into song with a wonderful vocal. The simple, functional and effective set by Neil Irish impressed, Tim Heywood’s costumes were colourful and awash with youthful zest.

 
The show lifts off, in both a literal and figurative sense, as the children travel and arrive in Neverland, with a slick, energetic, dance scene featuring the Lost Boys, a real showstopper that choreographer Kitty Winter can be very proud of. She is fortunate that the script also requires an Indian dancing troupe, The Braves, to perform, headed by Elizabeth Eves howling them on, which was a brilliant ensemble set piece. The principle cast assumed multi-roles effortlessly, and seamlessly.

 
Although Peter Pan provides the billing for the show, Captain Hook provides the soul, wickedly performed by Neal Craig, commanding the stage whenever he appeared. Peter Pan and Hook fought it out with the audience in no doubt as to who the winner should be.

 
Our resident young critics Harry and Jacob declared that “the goodest bit was when Hook got scared from the crocodile”, which had risen up from a trap door to the delight of the many children in the audience. The show kept their attention throughout, never outstaying its welcome.

 
The scene when a panto dog was tricked into taking its medicine concealed in its water had the youngsters scowling in horror and disgust.

 
This show offers a hugely enjoyable evening out for the young, old, and the young at heart. J M Barrie wrote “It is frightfully difficult to know much about the fairies, and almost the only thing for certain is that there are fairies wherever there are children.” That magic was captured tonight, in a fine show and runs till Saturday 6th January, 2018.

05-12-17

Most people will be familiar with Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a story of woods, faeries, romance and magic.

 
Some believe that the wood itself was inspired by the nearby real life Forest of Arden in Warwickshire, for the purposes of this production it is Fern Wood.

 
The Dreaming is a musical reimagining of the tale rewritten by composer Howard Goodall, whose credits include Blackadder and The Vicar of Dibley, and Charles Hart , whose lyrical credits include Phantom of the Opera. It has firm foundations and was first performed by the National Youth Theatre in 2012.

 
This is the second community theatre project directed, and inspired by, Lichfield Garrick Artistic Director Tim Ford, in conjunction with Craig Sanders, as he leads the theatre into a brave new world as a Charitable Trust following the resounding success of his first community theatre offering The Hired Man, also composed by Goodall.

 
The burgeoning enthusiastic and colourful cast of 70 community actors includes some new to the stage while others are more experienced hands to steady the ship. Visually the stage set, including steel trees, and children’s ball pit coloured balls, and costuming, is stunning. It produces a kaleidoscopic phantasmagoria of colour, possibility and illusion. What struck me was how the production had caught the quintessential Englishness of the setting, while simultaneously creating a parallel fairy tale land of spirit and deception, the latter of which owes much to the lighting of Matt Clutterham.

 
Chris Gilbey-Smith as Angel , and Macie Barrington as Jack, the latter of whom is still at junior school, caught the eye and ear. With the cast numbers so strong, the ensemble choral pieces could not fail to impress, but there was plenty of light and shade too with a distinctly folky feel which had me half expecting Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull to pop out at any moment.

 
Shakespeare loved a play within a play, and we have one here, The Ballad of St George
Cheek, played by Alfie Kentesber, leads the company of actors, and the comedy with a fine performance, of comic and physical delivery. The Cuckoo Song was marvellous, so good they do it twice. Olivia Deane as Faery Queen Sylvia neatly combined mystery and beauty in a performance of vim and brio.

 
A community production is about providing stage time to as many people as possible, and in this respect it delivers in spades. The choreography team needed to have crowd management skills, as well as dance training, the net effect being one of effervescent joie de vivre. A thoroughly enjoyable show, and a credit to all involved, one cannot leave the show without feeling a heart-warming sense of fun.

 
With so much going on, and so many people, it does help to have refreshed your memory of the plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, or to take a few minutes to read the programme notes before, there is so much to see and take in. The Dreaming continues at the Lichfield Garrick theatre until Saturday 5 August.

Gary Longden

1/8/17

****
Grease is one of those ubiquitous shows . The older generation remember Olivia Newton John in THAT black leather cat suit in the 1978 film, the younger generation have been introduced to it as a staple of secondary school and amateur productions. Even when it came out, its 1950’s setting suggested that it had been around for twenty years. It still appears on the amateur and professional stage regularly, the film appears on television as a staple, and the hit songs live on as radio nostalgia favourites. It is not difficult to understand its success. Great songs, some strong characters and a decent, if predictable, plot, all meld into a satisfying whole with cross-generational appeal. The original production first performed in 1971, had a gritty edge to it, was set in Chicago, and had a different score, but this is wholesome fare. I saw the film when it came out, when I myself was a teenager. The stylised tale from America’s Rydell High did not resonate with my friends in suburban England , or myself. But the songs stuck in the mind, and we had ONJ in that cat suit… It was a fantasy, and that is, and was, its strength.

The key to making this show a success is great choreography. In hiring Arlene Phillips as choreographer, the company made the pivotal appointment to the creative team. Phillips is a justifiably legendary figure in contemporary dance, peerless in her understanding and experience of musical shows. Now seventy -four years old , she is a seminal presence in contemporary musical dance theatre. Famed for her creation of dance troupe Hot Gossip, and choreographing Duran Duran’s “Wild Boys” video, there is not a West End show of note which she has not enhanced. This show is meat and drink to her: cue swirling skirts, bright costumes, tossed hair, great feet, and energy levels set at maximum. Costume designer Andreana Neofitou and her team have their work cut out with some 140 costume changes and 59 wigs. The show looks luscious . After a slightly mawkish front of curtain “Sandy”, as Danny and Sandy duet, the show opens to an ensemble “Grease is the Word”, a fine, supremely crafted number, performed with gusto and brio by a talented cast, it sets a standard and pace which never really lets up.“ We Go Together” is a fabulous closer to the first Act, showcasing the considerable chorus talents of the Pink Ladies and T Birds. It sounds great, it looks great with intricate movement, and is great. Both songs bookend several other impressive set pieces including “Summer Nights” and an incendiary “Greased Lightning”. It is a tremendous first half.

It’s electrifying!

The three key roles go to Danielle Hope ( Over the Rainbow) as Sandy, Tom Parker (The Wanted) as Danny, and Louisa Lytton (East Enders; Ruby Allen) as Rizzo. Of the three, Hope fares best. Her singing is faultless, her stage presence strong, her portrayal of the vulnerable , shy side of Sandy, metamorphosing into sex goddess, was convincing and strong. Danny Zuko is not an easy part to play. He needs to be charismatic, but also possess a darker dangerous side to him too. As boy band frontman, Parker has the looks to excite the girls, but struggles with the full characterisation of the role. East Enders fans gave Louisa Lytton a great reception. She captures the sexy street wise side of Rizzo well, but her vocals were stretched by the part. Michael Cortez as Sonny and Tom Senior as Kenickie are a delight as a quickfire double act with superb vocals and commanding stage presence. George Olney kicked the show up a gear whenever he appeared on stage as Teen Angel/Vince Fontaine .

Danielle Hope struts, her stuff, Tom Parker tries to look Wanted

The second Act is slightly lighter on memorable songs. “Hopelessly Devoted to You” sounds strained and schmaltzy now despite Hope’s very best efforts. Yet it prospers because of the show-stopping “You’re the one that I Want” and a greatest hits medley at the encore. Director David Gilmore must take great credit for a coherent vision, satisfyingly realised. The onstage band, faultlessly and energetically led by musical director Griff Johnson, adds considerably to the evening’s enjoyment. In just a few months I have seen productions of a trio of American Teen Musicals, “Hairspray”, “Legally Blonde” and ” Grease”. “Hairspray” wins on narrative, but “Grease” wins on the songs. The applause at the end was sustained and warm from a full house for a cast who had given their all, particularly Danielle Hope. “Grease” runs until Saturday 2nd Dec and continues on tour.
Gary Longden

Bob with his hands full

Oscar Wilde declared that there is nothing so out of date as the recently fashionable. The Out of Joint Theatre Company has gambled with their revival of this acclaimed eighties one act play, first performed in 1982 about Thatcherite Britain, that the writing would travel  effectively into twenty first century  Austerity Britain. Written by working class shooting star Andrea Dunbar, who died tragically young, aged twenty- nine, this is a tale of under- age sex, dark humour, and grit, semi-autobiographical, and written when she was just nineteen years old.

Original  director Max Stafford Smith championed Dunbar as an unknown. Current Director  Kate Wasserberg has produced the play faithfully as  a period piece rather than try to shoe-horn it into the present day. A contemporaneous soundtrack, conceived by sound designer Emma Laxton,  reinforces that sense of time and place, providing the oil and space between scene changes, following the timeline of the story from 1982 month by month, from the likes of Blondie, Human League  and , of course, Gary Numan’s “Cars”.

Ostensibly the play is about lecherous, amorous Bob, and his rage at a society within which he feels a trapped loser. He justifies his extramarital interests by his wife’s sexual froideur, but he displays precious little to warm her up. James Atherton handles the tricky role of Bob with great skill. It would be easy to play a loathsome predatory pervert, instead he stays the right side of caricature, and even has time to deliver the centre piece political diatribe; “there’s no hope for kids today and it’s all Maggie Thatcher’s fault.” His easy patter beguiles all, his crude core does not, when exposed. Tim Shortall’s  set and costume design is functional, effective and evocative. Four car seats centre stage do what they have to do, framed on either side by the exteriors of tired flats, a pastoral backcloth of the moors broods over proceedings out of reach in the distance . The clothes are  painfully accurate.

The early pivotal scene of Bobs’ bare buttocks as he has sex with the ankle sock clad girls still shocks and amuses in equal measure, awkward, funny, and expertly timed, with some wonderful physical expressions from all. It is the dialogue which shines, particularly the dialogue between the women, but  also between Bob, Rita and Sue.  Quick – paced, crude, and authentic. The strap line for the film version of this play (1987) was; “Thatcher’s Britain with her knickers down”, it was a good summary.

At its heart , the play is about the women. Rita and Sue aspire to be like Michelle ( Samantha Robinson), Bob’s wife, simply because she has a husband, black tights, high heels and trendy clothes, but  feel the strain of a shared sexual liaison. Michelle struggles with a feckless husband, and it is the girls who are condemned as sluts, their unjustified labelling as home wreckers skilfully rolled out, as they wriggle, trapped within the confines of the Estate.

The performances of Taj Atwal (Rita) and Gemma Dobson (Sue), convince as teenage pals, part adult, part child ,with great chemistry between the two. Their innocence counterpointing Bob’s leering predation. Bravely they are not portrayed as victims, nor do they see themselves as such.   Sex is fun. Sex is free. The idea of two working class girls seeking escape was reprised, albeit in lighter, softer tones, in Frank Clarke’s film “Letter to Brezhnev”(1985), but this story eschews the romantic. This is about getting a jump.  Sally Bankes and David Walker are brilliant as Sue’s mum and dad. The former faces down the latter’s every brash empty threat, the latter displays nifty footwork while dancing drunk to “Tainted Love” without spilling a chip from his bag. Every teenager, and parent of a teenager, will recognise something in the performance.

The judgement of how well Thatcherite Britain transposes into Austerity Britain I suspect will be determined by the politics of the audience, for me it worked well. What is unequivocally apparent is the brilliance of the dialogue. The audience were wincing, laughing and gasping, so sharp was the script. Highlights from the night include a lively argument between Rita and Sue as to who gets to shag Bob first, and an hilarious on street showdown as the story draws to a close, in which all parties let the other know exactly how they feel.

Dunbar’s absence has left a hole not easily filled.  A well -attended opening night audience, some of whom had passed on  the nearby attraction of Derby County’s home game with  Queens Park Rangers,  gave  the performance a rousing reception at the final curtain.  After the show, the cast returned for a question and answer session which only reinforced the cast and Director’s commitment to the play, and admiration for Dunbar’s writing. The Out of Joint Theatre company remember her legacy in fine style with this production. “Rita Sue and Bob Too” plays till Sat 25th at Derby, then continues its nationwide tour.

Gary Longden

For more about  Andrea Dunbar:https://garylongden.wordpress.com/2017/11/14/rita-sue-bob-too-derby-theatre-preview/

The 2017 Touring Cast – Samantha Robinson, Taj Atwal, Sally Bankes, David Walker, James Atherton, Gemma Dobson.

This revival of a play which enjoyed considerable success as a film, comes to Derby Theatre on the 21st November. It is impossible to discuss the play without discussing the playwright, and rather than burden the review of the opening night next Tuesday with too much background, I thought the production worthy of a preview.

Andrea Dunbar was the Amy Winehouse of her theatrical generation, a glowing, glowering, talent, who died young at twenty- nine years of age. When someone quotes “twenty years experience” in something, I am often moved to ask “Twenty years experience? Or one year’s experience twenty times? Dunbar was the obverse of this. A young woman who achieved much professionally from the time of the inception of her first play “Arbor” as a fifteen year old, to her untimely death. Personally, life crammed an indecent amount into her short time, the George Michael line “What we learn we rarely choose” a fitting epitaph to those years.

Dunbar was raised in Bradford in Brafferton Arbor on the Buttershaw council estate , one of seven brothers and sisters, and attended the local Comprehensive secondary school. There she began writing her first play “The Arbor” in 1977 at the age of 15, writing it as a classroom assignment for CSE English. It was autobiographical in part, and the sum total of a multitude of first hand experiences and second -hand anecdotes. The combination of her bright, sharp writing style, and the gritty realism of her subject matter was a recipe for success.

It was premiered in 1980 at London’s Royal Court Theatre, directed by Max Stafford-Clark and jointly won the Young Writers’ Festival, before progressing on to be performed in New York. The play described the experiences of a pregnant teenager with an abusive drunken father, and was widely acclaimed leading to her being featured in the BBC’s Arena arts’ documentary series. Commenting on the play, Director Max Stafford-Clark said; “When Andrea wrote her first two plays, she was a teenager from a rough council estate who’d never been to the theatre. Now, thirty-five years after its premiere, Rita Sue and Bob Too takes its place in the Octagon and Royal Court’s seasons in the role of Classic Play. It’s one of the privileges of my career that Andrea’s astute, fresh and funny writing reached my desk, and it is exciting to bring her vivid, albeit alarming world to life again with these fine actors.”

Dunbar was quickly commissioned to write a follow-up work, creating Rita, Sue and Bob Too, first performed in 1982. The play explored similar themes to The Arbor, in this case depicting the lives of two teenage girls who are both having an affair with the same married man.

The film version of Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987) was adapted for the cinema by Dunbar and directed by Alan Clarke. It divided opinion on the Buttershaw estate, with several residents becoming hostile in an area where she still lived.

Her personal life was chaotic. She had fallen pregnant at 15, but the baby was stillborn at 6 months. She later had three children by three different fathers. The first, Lorraine, was born in 1979 to an Asian father. A year later, in 1980, Lisa was born, again while Andrea was still a teenager. As a single mother, Dunbar spent 18 months in a Women’s Aid refuge and battled a dependency on alcohol. Her relationship with Lorraine was strained, seventeen years after Durbar’s death, Loraine, a heroin addict, was convicted of manslaughter for causing the death of her child by gross neglect after the child ingested a lethal dose of methadone. In 1990 she died of a brain haemorrhage at the age of 29 years old.

All of the above is infused into her three plays. Written in Thatcher Britain , her writing now plays in Austerity Britain. The characters, and characterisations, can seem awkward. Working-class life is depicted awash with alcohol, casual sex and debauchery, against a backcloth of squalor, deprivation and poverty with sex free upfront, and no price to be paid after.

The central dynamic of the play, an older man bedding two fifteen year olds, is as unsettling now, as it was then, probably even more so with the Grooming Gang Scandals which have beset several towns and cities, including Bradford. Yet this is no moralistic polemic. Durbar just tells it as it is with an authentic voice that disturbs because of its verite rather than a result of the subject matter. Her gift is of story -telling and dialogue, dialogue that is witty, sharp acerbic, melancholic and brutal. Although the political landscape may have turned full circle, the position of women in society has shifted. Superficially, women’s confidence in themselves seems greater now, whether that is true on the Arbor, I am not so sure.

I know we are guaranteed some bawdy laughs on Tuesday night, how Tour Director Kate Wasserberg plays the female roles will be the intriguing part. The Rita, Sue and Bob Too UK tour is co-produced by Out of Joint, Royal Court Theatre and Octagon Theatre.

Rita Sue and Bob Too runs at the Derby theatre from 21/11- 28./11/17.

This Christmas the Lichfield Garrick Theatre has Aladdin as the pantomime show. A strong cast includes CBeebies’ Cat Sandion who will be playing the role of Jasmine .
Cat, one of the leading presenters on the Bafta award winning channel, is best known for her singing and dancing, and will be familiar to many pre-schoolers and parents alike with her new hit show ‘Magic Door!’
The Garrick also welcomes back Sam Rabone as Dame Widow Twankey, and Ben Thornton as Wishee Washee after their stand – out performances in last year’s sell out show, Sleeping Beauty .
The production also features Lizzie Wofford as The Spirit of the Ring, Adrian Bevan as Aladdin, Ian Billings as The Emperor of China, James Mitchell as PC Pongo and Robin Johnson as Abanazar.
This is the second year that the Lichfield Garrick have teamed up with Evolution Productions to co-produce the show. Evolution Productions are led by television presenter Paul Hendy and his partner Emily Wood who produce shows throughout the UK.
I know Sam Rabone from having performed with him many years ago in amateur pantomime when I was rubbish, and he was good. I am still rubbish, but he has become outstanding! Sam took time out to chat with Behind the Arras to talk to us about his forthcoming residency at the Garrick.
Q1 – Sam, you are a local lad who has performed all over the country. Where have you been performing, and how does it feel to “come home?”
This year has taken me not just all over the country, but a few places in the world. I’ve managed to take shows out to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sweden, which has been a right treat for me this year. Usually I perform in holiday parks all over the U.K. so this year has been a little different, but a great experience. And with all that travelling it makes coming back home even better!
Q2.- As a veteran of many pantomimes, how strongly do you rate Aladdin as a show?
Aladdin is one of my favourite titles, I think Dick Whittington is my favourite, but Aladdin is up there. I love Aladdin because we get to “travel” starting in Egypt, and heading over to China, and then out into the country and the mountains. The transformation in the cave is up there with the Cinderella and Mother Goose transformation for me, the rags to riches, but also a whole cave transforming to a cave of jewels. The children get to see people fly on magic carpets, they get the magic of not one, but two magical characters. So for me, Aladdin is a great pantomime!
Q3.- You specialise in playing pantomime dames, how did that come about?
I think Gary has a bit of inside information here. I never really planned to be on the stage, I joined the Vesey Players to help out back stage. After being in the stage management team, I was asked if I could go on stage the following year, I wasn’t keen but they said they didn’t have enough men, so, I asked to do a smaller part and appeared in Aladdin as one of Abanazar’s henchmen. After that I auditioned and ended up playing dame for the Vesey Players, the rest, as they say, is history.
Q4 – The pantomime dame is a complex role, difficult to pull off. How do you see the role, and what do you try to bring to the part?
For me, the dame is a bloke in a dress, everyone knows this, and that’s the joke. Drag is a completely different art form and one that I would struggle with, as my dame, is me, a short, portly bloke in a dress. The dame I think, when played best is an extension of yourself, mine has characteristics of my grandma, my mom and some Julie Walters in there somewhere, as how can’t Mrs O feature in a Brummie dame!
Q5 – What do you like about the part of Widow Twankey specifically, and how important is the dynamic with Ben Thornton as Wishee Washee?
LONG INTERVAL – as soon as they go to the cave, the kettle is on! I joke (I don’t) – really Twankey for me is everything a dame should be, a mother, down on her luck, still working to make a living, single and on the prowl (watch out!) but of course she gets rags to riches too. I think the Dame and Comic dynamic is so important, I think it shows in a show when they don’t get on. Ben and I got on instantly, we had a similar sense of humour, and a very similar work ethic. Some comedy duo’s try to out to each other and get the last laugh and top the other ones, the best out there get a laugh, and don’t mind who’s achieved it. We just want the audience to love the show. So for me, the comic and dame dynamic is one of the most important in the show, we need to get on, and understand each other and each others tempo. Hopefully that comes across.
Q6 – You have performed at the Lichfield Garrick many times before, what is your impression of the venue as a performer?
One of the friendliest theatres to work at in the country, we have been welcomes with open arms every time. The team want us to be happy, knowing if we are happy we’re going to be doing our jobs even better. The venue itself I love performing in. I can see every row, and I try and have look round to see as many faces as I can, that myth that we can’t see you…… LIES! I can see all your faces.
Q7 – How closely is the show scripted, do you have any flexibility to ad lib? Is every show the same?
Evolution write a fairly tight script, tighter than a lot of other companies I have worked for. BUT he does this knowing it works, and knowing what’s funny. We have a bit of flexibility in rehearsals if a joke isn’t working for us, or if something more topical comes along. HOWEVER no show is the same as the audience is also a member of the cast, the influence the show more than they realise.
Q8 – A pantomime run of shows is exhausting- what do you do to relax between performances?
Head to the bar! Mines a G&T. I enjoy reading, and baking and find this helps me relax, but also going to see other pantomimes, I love going to see what other people are doing and how their shows are going. A busman’s holiday if you will.
Q9. – Are there any parts in pantomime that you have not played yet which you would like to?
Smee! I would love to play Smee in Peter Pan one year. But the dresses keep coming back!!
Q10 – Pantomime always sells well. What is the secret of its enduring success?
Moving with the times, yet keeping with tradition, and being one of the true fully British things we have left. This genre works very rarely anywhere else in the world. Choosing strong casts who know pantomime, getting better scenery and costumes year on year, and creating a cast that people want to come back and see year on year. What better way to spend Christmas, a time to be spent with family and friends, than at the theatre with you’re nearest and dearest laughing until it hurts!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Aladdin runs from Thursday November 30 until Saturday January 6 in the Garrick’s main auditorium.
For tickets visit http://www.lichfieldgarrick.com or call the box office on 01543 412121.

Gary Longden

This review appears in behindthearras.com

****
This story is now in its third incarnation. First came the book by Amanda Brown, daughter of a lawyer, and Stanford Law student herself. Brown drew upon her own experiences for inspiration. The 2001 film starring Reese Witherpsoon , adapted for the screen from the book by Heather Hach, was the breakthrough to a mass audience, resulting in this stage show premiering on Broadway in 2007.

It is light, it is frothy, it is pink. On stage, dogs, “Bruiser” and “Rufus” provide the “aah” factor, a trial provides the drama, and lots of up -beat song and dance numbers set the tempo. The set, designed by Mathew Wright, is a 21st century/1950’s mash up. The songs are a long way off being standards, but Musical Director James McCullagh drives a talented, vibrant, band. A functional set is skilfully enhanced by some excellent lighting, and Elizabeth Dennis’s vibrant costumes , which are predominantly – pink. . The first half is shorter than the second. Oddly, the opening “OMG You Guys” is staged with static bikes, and it does feel like a while before everything gets going. But once it does, the fun starts.

Lucie Jones stars as Elle Woods, the girl determined to prove that blondes can have fun and brains. X Factor brought her to prominence and she can certainly sing, and carry the acting part. Set piece numbers abound, choreographed by Anthony Williams and Dean Street.

The highlight of the dance numbers is undoubtedly ‘Whipped into Shape’ featuring Helen Petrovna and Brooke Wyndham, with fluorescent skipping ropes which kick starts the second half in dynamic style .

Bill Ward , of Coronation Street fame, is well cast as Professor Callaghan, his unwanted stolen kiss with Elle, abusing his relationship and position of trust, was serendipitously contemporaneous . Rita Simons, another soap star, this time from East Enders, as beautician Paulette, steals the comedy honours as the trashy tart with a heart. She can sing too. Her vocal for “Ireland” was superb, the Irish dancing sequence joyful. The ladies in the audience are spoilt for (pink) eye candy. Hunky delivery man Ben Harlow as Kyle? Ugly duckling to swan David Barrett as love interest Emmett? Or Liam Doyle as bounder Warner Huntingdon? Everyone seemed to have their favourite.

The plot founders a bit when it tries to deliver some uncertain messages, the gay and lesbian themes seem awkwardly handled- then picks up when the song and dance returns, never more so than during, “ There Right There” . But nothing here is meant to be taken too seriously, the story, and staging are fantasy, and pink. Lucie Jones justifies her star billing carrying the part of Elle with warmth, energy, a fine voice, and plenty of pink shoes and dresses.

The audience overwhelmingly comprised young women who stomped and cheered from the start, and danced in the aisles to an encore medley of the show’s greatest hits. It is cheesy, it is awash with kitsch, but the target market loved it. At two and three quarter hours, no-one will leave the theatre feeling short-changed.” Legally Blonde” runs till Saturday 12th and continues on tour.

Gary Longden