Category: Entertainment

Gigspanner Live 10th February The Hub Lichfield

The Gigspanner Big Band are a unique force in British folk music.

Their high-energy, virtuosic performances appeal equally to traditionalists and to those looking for something more experimental, and they have garnered praise from publications as varied as fRoots, The Telegraph and The Wire, where they were described as ‘melodically folk-rooted yet open and innovative beyond the constraints of genre’

Beginning life as a trio – with former Steeleye Span fiddle player Knight being joined by percussionist Sacha Trochet and guitarist Roger Flack – the line-up has been expanded to form the Gigspanner Big Band, with acclaimed multi-instrumental duo Edgelarks (Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin – BBC Folk Awards ‘Best Duo’) and Bellowhead co-founder and melodeon player extraordinaire, John Spiers, joining the fray.

They are playing: Friday 10th February, The Hub at St. Mary’s, Market St. Lichfield, WS13 6LG.  Doors: 19:30. Tickets: £25.00. Box Office: 01543 256611.

“What a fabulous team they make, together producing a startlingly new musical form with few, if any, antecedents. The flights of musical fancy are staggering in their natural invention”
Fatea Magazine

“With the Gigspanner Big Band, Peter Knight has assembled a group of musicians intent on making some of the most important and exhilarating art ever to sit under the banner of folk music” FRUK

“Musical brilliance is abundant” Mojo Magazine

“Totally blown away by the spellbinding Gigspanner Big Band. Lost for words…” Folking. Com

“Utterly thrilling” Northern Soul

Beauty & The Beast Pantomime ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Beauty & The Beast Pantomime – Cloc Musical Theatre Company

Sutton Coldfield Town Hall

Monday 6th February 2023 – Dress Rehearsal

By Nigel Gambles

Photography – Nigel Gambles Photography

 

Cloc Musical theatre, are back at Sutton Town Hall with their annual pantomime this years offering is Beauty and The Beast.

Not to be confused with the Disney version, the story tells of the love of Belle (Beauty) played wonderfully by Sophia Powers  for a Prince (Erin Mooney) who has been transformed into a Beast (Graham Halliday) by a wicked sorceress, scorned by the Prince’s rejection of marriage. If he can find the love of another, without revealing his true identity, before the last rose of summer withers and dies, then only will the spell be broken. Belle, whose father is imprisoned by the Beast, offers herself instead and discovers her captor to be her true love. Set in and around the village of Franglais de la Mer, the pantomime introduces some interesting new characters. Among them are Belle’s too ugly (less glamorous) sisters – Brittany and Whitney played brilliantly by Hannah Muxlow and Charlene Walker- both greedy for cash and completely bent on improving their looks. To help them – Marcel and Monique – joint owners of the local beauty salon where all sorts of fun and frolics take place when the sisters turn up for their weekly therapy I have say at this point that for me Hannah playing Brittany stole every scene she was in.

The show is filled with some great toe tapping songs and plenty of audience participation. This crazy comedy is just what is needed to cheer you up on these dark winter days.

SECURITY ‘GUARDIANS’ TO PATROL SUTTON COLDFIELD TOWN CENTRE THIS CHRISTMAS

A new security team is set to patrol Sutton Coldfield Town Centre this Christmas to deter crime and anti-social behaviour, after local businesses decided to fund four new ‘Guardians’. The Sutton Coldfield Business Improvement District (BID) company will be launching the new on-street town centre security team who will watch out for anti-social behaviour and crime, while providing support, visibility and reassurance to businesses and locals. Sutton Coldfield BID – which represents hundreds of local businesses – will be employing four new uniformed security guards to be known as ‘BID Guardians’ throughout the Christmas period to provide additional security for party-goers and revellers.

Coinciding with the World Cup and Christmas party season, the BID Guardians is a trial project that will conclude on 1st January 2023.               The BID Guardians will be patrolling the entire town centre and providing reassurance on the streets of Sutton from 7pm – 1am every Friday and Saturday and helping to reduce anti-social behaviour. BID Manager Michelle Baker said: “The addition of the BID Guardians in the evening will make a night out in Sutton Coldfield feel even safer.

“They will act as the eyes and ears of the town centre and provide a welcoming face to visitors and a reassuring presence for local businesses and residents during the busiest time of the year”. The four BID Guardians will be SIA (Security Industry Authority) licenced and First Aid trained and will look to work in partnership with the Police and local pubs and restaurants.

Many towns and cities employ private security including Shrewsbury, Rugby and York.

The Guardians are the latest improvement to be announced by the BID, since the launch of the new Visit Royal Sutton Coldfield – a programme of year-round events which aims to encourage more people to choose the town centre as a destination to spend time, eat, drink, shop and relax.

Lionel Barts Oliver! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oliver – Manor Musical Theatre Company

Sutton Coldfield Town Hall

Monday 24th October 2022 – Dress Rehearsal

By Nigel Gambles

Photography – Nigel Gambles Photography

We were back at the Town Hall the second time in a week and Manor Musical Theatre Company were “Considering Us Part Of The Family”

Yes Oliver has returned to the Town Hall and you will absolutely be asking for more.

Directed by Pam & James Garrington, the staging of the production is very traditional, helping the audience be transported to the era, the set costumes lighting and props were all sympathetic to this. The set was fantastic and a special mention to “Going Dark Theatrical Services” for the atmospheric lighting. Coreography is by Jennie Mason who has created some great routines considering the size of the ensemble and stage keeping them in style of the set. Musical Director is Tim Harding and the nine piece band did a lovely job although I do think the volume was too loud in some cases with the soloists struggling to compete at times.

For this production there are two sets of youngsters team jelly and team custard! We were treated to team custard who are Evan Taylor playing Oliver Twist who very much looked the part and told the story well coming across more confidently as the show progressed. Jack Goode played the Dodger. For me he was one of the stand out performances, his command of the stage was excellent and the the confidence of his performance superb. His rapport with Nancy and Fagan  was also very good.

Fagan is played by Barry Styles a regular with the group, his character portrayal is superb and convincing taking command of the stage on every appearance

Nancy is played by Paula O’Hare who you might remember as an excellent Maria in the company production of Sound of Music earlier this year. She brings great energy and enthusiasm to this iconic role her vocals strong and clear.

Bill Sikes is played by Peter Bushby, suitably scary and menacing.

There are far too many roles to really mention in this review but I will say that all the cast and ensemble were excellent and seemed to throughly enjoy themselves and I felt that the overall acting and storytelling was very strong. The vocals and choreography were excellent. Well done to all on stage and behind the scenes.

We Will Rock You ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We Will Rock You (young@part) – Sutton Coldfield Musical Youth Theatre

Sutton Coldfield Town Hall

Monday 17th October 2022 – Dress Rehearsal

By Nigel Gambles

Photography – Nigel Gambles Photography

 

Sutton Coldfield Musical Youth Theatre rocked back into the Town Hall for their second show of the year with Queen & Ben Elton’s best selling jukebox musical “We Will Rock You (young@part)”

Directed by Paul Lumsen, choreography by Maggie Jackson and musical director Chris Cocoran.

Set in the future on iPlanet where all musical instruments are banned, computers generate the music and everybody downloads it. This is a world where it is cool to conform, be compliant and live your life on the internet (sound familiar), where rock music has been long forgotten. Ruled by Killer Queen played by Sienna Renshaw who gives a fine  performance. Enter Galileo our leading man played by Nate Wallace who is plagued by dreams and memories of songs long gone, he joins forces with Scaramouche played brilliantly by Amelia Waldron who has a fantastic presence and wonderful vocals delivering a great  version of Somebody To Love. Amelia and Nate also deliver some stunning duets, Under Pressure and Who Wants To Live For Ever bouncing off each other well.

Together they set off on a mission to discover the last surviving instrument aided in their quest by a motley crew of Bohemians including Oz and Brit played by Ellie Summerfield and Finley Hunt, both have a wonderful stage presence and deliver lovely vocals in “I Want It All”. For me the highlight of the show was when Ellie sang “No-One But You”…. stunning is all I can say and I bet there won’t be a dry eye in the house.

The second half of the show is where the magic happens, the plot becomes secondary and the hits come thick and fast with classics like We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions and of course Bohemian Rhapsody.

Special mention to Oscar Ralley playing Buddy wonderfully.

This show is pure entertainment and will have you on your feet clapping and singing along.

 

Six Weekends of Christmas Fun

SIX WEEKENDS OF CHRISTMAS FUN IN SUTTON COLDFIELD TOWN CENTRE

Sutton Coldfield town centre will be spreading the festive fun this season, with events every weekend over the Christmas period – including a visit from the Grinch!

Instead of a one-day Christmas lights switch on event, organisers at Sutton Coldfield Business Improvement District (BID) will be spreading the Christmas magic over six consecutive weekends, so that more visitors and families can enjoy the festive activities in Sutton Coldfield town centre.

Starting on Saturday 19th November and running up to and including Saturday 24th December, the BID is funding six weekends of Christmas fun and entertainment for festive shoppers in the town centre. The extended Christmas activities are part of the new Visit Royal Sutton Coldfield programme of year-round events which aims to encourage more people to choose the town centre as a destination to spend time, eat, drink, shop and relax.

Christmas activities will include an amazing life-size snow globe in the town centre over a three-day period, which shoppers can step inside for a free Christmas photograph. And Christmas characters will be roaming among shoppers, including giant Christmas Penguins, life-size Gingerbread Men, Father Christmas and The Grinch.

The town’s Christmas lights switch on event has historically been funded jointly by Gracechurch Shopping Centre and Sutton Coldfield Business Improvement District (BID) but the event did not go ahead for the last two years due to the Covid pandemic.

This year Sutton Coldfield BID would be the sole funder and has taken the decision to do things differently and spread the Christmas magic over six weekends instead of focusing one evening of entertainment. It is hoped this change will benefit local businesses and boost footfall each weekend in the run up to Christmas.

Bid Manager Michelle Baker said: “We’re aiming to make Sutton Coldfield town centre a big attraction, with regular events to bring people in.“So, we thought for Christmas this year instead of putting all of our efforts into one lights switch on evening, we would do something different and make the fun last throughout the festive season, with something every weekend. “Residents will love the visitors and attractions we have lined up for Christmas – we just hope the Grinch doesn’t spoil everything!”

In recent weeks events organised under the vibrant new Visit Royal Sutton Coldfield brand – including a visit by a giant T Rex and a popular new Farmer’s Market – have seen thousands of extra people flood into the town centre.

The next Farmer’s Market is due to take place on October 30th, with a Halloween theme. 

VRSC XMAS 1 Grinch

The Grinch will be visiting Sutton Coldfield Town centre for Christmas.

VRSC XMAS 2  Snowglobe

A giant snow globe will be available for shoppers to get free photographs.

VRSC XMAS 3 Father Christmas

Father Christmas will mix with the crowds.

VRSC XMAS 4 Christmas penguins

Giant festive penguins will be one of the attractions across the six weeks.

VRSC XMAS 5 Elves

Santa’s elves will be there to greet shoppers too.

The Miser – Mint Theatre Society

Mint Theatre Society are a pop up theatre group which contains six members from the same family. They are back with their second show this year a modern farcical take on Molieres The Miser.

A tale of greed, love and mistaken identities which all lead to an evening of fun. Spokesperson Ellie Ball, “This brand-new adaptation by Sean Foley and Phil Porter is packed with modern jokes, slapstick and bawdy humour.”

Mint Theatre is a pop-up operation that tours local venues several times a year. They are a happy band of actors whose passion is producing high-quality, fresh and exciting amateur theatre.

The Miser is coming to Aldridge Community Centre on October 1, Stonnall Village Hall on October 7, and Shenstone Village Hall on October 8 – all performances start at 7.30pm.

To book tickets, go to ticketsource.co.uk/mint-theatre-society or call 07783 823390. For more information on The Mint Theatre Society, follow @minttheatresociety.

Photography by © Lee Williams Photography for Whats On In Sutton Coldfield

 

Trinity Players present “A Bunch Of Amateurs”

My name is Di Mannion and I am Director/Co Producer of this play.
My Co Producer is Phil Lines.
This year’s play “A Bunch of Amateurs” is a comedy written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman. Nick has written a really personal good luck message from them both which is included in our programme.

The play follows a group of am dram actors trying to raise money to keep their tiny village theatre open. They manage to get Jefferson Steel (a fading Hollywood actor) to come and add his name to the play King Lear for promotion purposes. However, his agent has stitched him up and he thinks he’s going to perform in Stratford on Avon alongside Judy Dench, Kenneth Branagh etc., whereas he will actually be performing in Lear at Stratford St John in Suffolk with A Bunch of Amateurs!! Obviously he is “NOT PLEASED”. It’s funny and cleverly written and I have a brilliant cast.

In fact there are parallels with our own society as I struggled to find a leading man because of holidays and other commitments but was fortunate to be rescued by Andrew Tomlinson, a seasoned actor who is certainly not fading in any sense of the word.
The play runs from Wednesday 28th September to Saturday 1st October at Streetly Community Centre, Foley Road East, B74 3HR. Tickets are £12. Online at www.trinityplayers.com. Box office 07843 928830. 73 Britwell Road, Sutton Coldfield B73 5SW.

Priscilla Queen Of the Desert ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Priscilla Queen Of The Desert – Lichfield Operatic Society

Lichfield Garrick Theatre

Tuesday 20th September 2022 – Opening Night

By Nigel Gambles

Photography – Robert Yardley Photography

Priscilla Queen of the Desert storms in boldly and brashly, taking the audience on a whirlwind, drag-laced tour through not just the Australian outback, but also attitudes towards drag, transsexuality, and acceptance – while featuring a phenomenal back catalogue of karaoke classics to a glittery shoe

I have to admit I have neither seen the show or the film before so I knew I was in for a surprise. This fabulous production directed by James Pugh races through at a scary pace with songs and routines coming thick and fast which leaves the audience cheering for more. From the opening “Its Raining Men” to First Act closer “I will Survive” It was non stop..

In Pete Beck, Adam Gregory and Patrick Jervis’s performance of Bernadette, Felicia/Adam and Tick/Mitzi we are given life, love and a bit of lip- syncing. They are equal parts sassy and soft, while brilliantly bring their characters stories to life. All while managing to maintain a wonderful tongue in cheek playfulness and thankfully never taking themselves too seriously.

I have to add that the understated stars of the show who take the vocals and dancing to the next level have to be the ensemble who were truly magnificent and must be totally worn out at the end of the show with all the costume changes.

The show is witty and clever eliciting plenty of oohs and aahs. I cant finish this review with out mentioning the choreography. Charlotte Jervis has worked miracles putting together all the dance and chorus routines from her own very creative mind and taught with mazing skill and dedication.

It might not have the best storyline or the most complex or intense performance, but thats not what you are there for, you are there to be taken on an amazing colourful eye popping, sing a long with spectacular dance and an iconic musical score under the guiding hand of David Easto. I guarantee you will be up on your feet and dancing in the aisles by the end of the show.

Made In Dagenham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Made In Dagenham – Tudor Musical Comedy Society

Sutton Coldfield Town Hall

Monday 19th September 2022 – Dress Rehearsal

By Nigel Gambles

Photography – Nigel Gambles Photography

Made in Dagenham, the musical based on the 2010 film that tells the true story of the 1968 sewing machinists’ strike at the Ford factory in Dagenham, Essex, is Tudor’s first production of 2022.

This show certainly packs a punch with a strong feminist message, catchy tunes and electrifying performances from its talented cast. This was musical theatre at its best!

Led by a great creative team Paula Lumsden in the director’s chair, Andy Timmins heading up the orchestra and Jenny Morris setting the dance moves. Made in Dagenham a show full of life and humour with wonderful toe tapping tunes from the opening number “Made In Dagenham” to the closing “Stand Up” All in all this is a show not to be missed.

The real strength in this performance was the ensemble with their slick choreography and phenomenal vocals.

This is a cast that cares about the story, loves working together and knows how to put on a great show.

Natasha Cartwright led the Dagenham girls as Rita O’Grady, the machinist-turned-campaigner. From not wanting to get involved then letting her fiery side take over and leading the ladies in their fight. Her vocals throughout were strong and clear and she blew us away with her stunning voice in her final call-to-action, Stand Up!

Nathan Rock played Rita’s forgetful but eventually supportive husband Eddie, in a mature and sensitive performance. His vocals reflecting his character well. Nathan is joined on stage by his daughter Sharon, playing his daughter Scarlett alongside Jake Silvester who played his son Graham. These two youngsters play their parts with great professionalism.

Hannah Wys had the audience laughing with her hilarious take on Beryl, the bawdy factory worker who wants all the gossip on her colleagues’ love lives, Rhiann Horsley as Sandra the resident “dolly bird” flirtatious but struggling to adjust to the strike and Georgia Young as Claire so well meaning but always struggling to find her words and Louise Grifferty brought pathos and power to the show as the seasoned union convenor, Connie. These ladies bring real substance to the show.

Paul “Lumpy” Lumsden plays the pipe smoking, gannex wearing Harold Wilson perfectly and Charlie Ward as Barbara Castle is his perfect foil this pair will have you laughing out loud and gripped by their great vocals and charm.

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