Jenny Ell - Page 10

Without a resident theatre or base, Vienna Festival Ballet have achieved remarkable things over the last 35 years since its conception by Austria's most successful ballet dancer, Peter Mallek. They are very much a touring company living and working out of a suitcase but in doing so, have created a solid reputation in many countries. This production is a showcase of several of their favourite Tchaikovsky ballets within their repertoire to celebrate achievements made working independently for so many years.

Nominated for seven 'Offies' and 'Best Off West End Production' at the 2012 Whatsonstage Awards, Climar Productions' 2011 production of Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story moved to the Charing Cross Theatre for a very successful run before being revived in 2014 for the Edinburgh Fringe where it won the Bobby Award for 'Best Production'. By special arrangement with Samuel French, the show is now in the middle of a UK tour.

Jim Cartwright's play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice opened to great acclaim at the National Theatre in 1992 before transferring into the West End.

Vienna Festival Ballet is currently in the midst of its 35th Anniversary Gala UK tour which celebrates their extensive repertoire and wonderful performers. I had the privilege of speaking to the company's principal female dancer, Emily-Joy Smith, who is presently enjoying performing some of her favourite characters all in one show!

I've just seen a news headline saying that a cougar has been seen loose around town. Turned out it was referring to a town in California and not the stars of Cougar the Musical which has just opened at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry for its UK premiere, following two very successful years playing Off-Broadway.

Brighton-based theatre company Talking Scarlet are building up an increasing repertoire of stage productions and there are currently four of their shows on the road. The play I had the pleasure of seeing last night was The Ghost Train by Arnold Ridley. A comedy thriller written in 1923; it has been revived countless times over the last ninety years and considering it only took Ridley a week to write, that's rather impressive!

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels opened to critical acclaim in the West End last April. It's taken a while to cross the pond having opened on Broadway over a decade ago but now UK-wide audiences are at last able to enjoy this production, having opened at the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham last night. The entire team of staff need to be commended on creating a wonderful experience before you even stepped in to the theatre. With French-speaking staff to martinis, they went the extra mile which should be recognised.

Over the last year, many productions have been revived to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War. Oh What A Lovely War , originally produced by Joan Littlewood at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, is another example of this and is playing the final week of its UK tour at Birmingham Rep.

Telling the story of the March sisters growing up in Civil War America, Little Women has never really had the recognition it deserves as a musical. It only lasted for four months on Broadway and has had just a few short stints elsewhere. Based on Louisa May Alcott's semi-autobiographical novel, it is a very character driven piece adapted for the stage by Allan Knee with music and lyrics by Jason Howland and Mindi Dickstein respectively. BOA Musical Theatre have yet again recreated a wonderful production.

Daphne du Maurier's most famous novel Rebecca - written in 1938 - is spectacularly brought back to life by Kneehigh Theatre Company's current UK tour. "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again" is the iconic line starting and ending the performance and from the moment it is first uttered, the audience are hooked. Du Maurier is a master storyteller and with all the twists and turns, it is a hugely engaging piece of theatre. It has been ten years since I last saw the play but it still feels as fresh and timeless as ever.

The Producers, a Mel Brooks musical, has been a favourite of mine since I saw the Las Vegas production years ago starring David Hasselhoff - who was surprisingly good, I might add! The show had been condensed into an hour and a half straight through which worked well in my opinion. The musical was adapted from the 1968 film of the same name and opened on Broadway in 1991, receiving 12 Tony Awards - a massive achievement by any standard. The 2005 film version was also very enjoyable and starred original Broadway cast members Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick.

Renowned lyricist Lesley Ross is celebrated in SimG Records latest album - Love, Lies & Lyrics. Featuring songs from several shows that Ross has contributed to with different composers, the recording gives us a variety of musical styles to enjoy. It is like putting your iPod on shuffle, not knowing what will come up next! Admittedly I don't tend to do this with the musical theatre recordings I have on my iPod because sometimes stand along numbers do not have the same effect out of context. However I don't really mind in this case as the storytelling within the songs are powerful enough to set the scene for you; credit to Ross' writing.

Bouncers remains a timeless piece and one of John Godber's most popular plays. The current tour presented by the John Godber Company and Theatre Royal Wakefield is playing its penultimate venue this week in Birmingham. The show has been extensively performed across the country so one would presume it would be difficult to keep the text fresh. However, a bouncer's recollection of a regular evening at work is as valid now as it was thirty years ago when it was written.

Following a successful run at Derby Theatre as a companion piece to The Odyssey, Penelope Retold is now embarking on a national tour. The show intertwines myth and reality in a fast paced modern take on the military wife.

Birmingham Ormiston Academy (or BOA as it is fondly known) may already be on your radar but if it isn't, you won't escape it for much longer. The performing arts academy for 14-19 year olds is an independent state-run establishment and was modelled on the very successful Brit School in London. In general, BroadwayWorld UK would not cover many non-professional productions but having been granted an exclusive license by Cameron Mackintosh to produce Betty Blue Eyes; an exception has been made. Performed by the Year 13's musical theatre pathway and supported by the Production Arts students in a technical capacity, the show also boasts a professional creative team whom the students can learn a myriad of skills from.

Last night saw the world premiere of new musical The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole at the Curve in Leicester. Being a champion for original writing and aptly being author Sue Townsend's home town, it was only right that this show sees its debut here. Many people hold the books in high regard - myself included - and watching it last night made me reminisce. Set in 1980s Leicester, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole centres around a boy aged 13 and ¾ who is essentially battling through adolescent life; from spots to girls to bullies, Adrian is encountering all of them! Townsend's books are written in Adrian's words and in diary format so I was incredibly intrigued about how this could successfully be adapted for stage.

Back Down is a collaboration between Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the Roundhouse and is the debut play written by Steven Camden, who may be better known as the spoken word artist - Polarbear. The story centres around three friends who embark on a climb up Mount Snowdon as their final outing before Luke goes off to university. The play is ultimately about their friendship and how such change and growing up can put strains on their relationship. It is a sentimental piece of writing (perhaps overly at times) but is heart-warming and you can really relate to these characters on an emotional level.

Debuting earlier this month in Chichester, The King's Speech opened to critical acclaim. The show is a co-production with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre where I had the privilege of watching last night. When the film was released in 2010 starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush, it became the most successful independent British production at the UK box office taking £250m and winning a series of Oscars.

Based on the 2003 novel by Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time premiered at the National Theatre in 2012. By the following year, it had transferred into the West End and won a massive seven Olivier Awards including Best Play. As well as continuing in London, it is also playing on Broadway and is currently in the middle of a UK tour. Having seen it at the Gielgud Theatre, I was hugely anticipating seeing the touring production which I saw in Wolverhampton last night.

Last April I reviewed The Play That Goes Wrong for BroadwayWorldUK during its UK tour prior to its West End run. I enjoyed it immensely and the reaction to the production is clearly widespread as the production company recouped their investment within the first portion of their stint in London. Peter Pan Goes Wrong is the response to their success and is equally, if not more, hilarious than its predecessor.