EVITA (UK Tour) Review August 2013

EVITA - the musical of Eva Perón, the Spiritual Leader of the Nation of Argentina celebrates it's 35th anniversary this year and after a Broadway revival last year is now touring it's 3rd UK tour within 5 years. 

Similarly to Blood Brothers, we begin at the end of the story with the announcement of Eva Perón's death. A flashback to her early life then progresses through her rise to become the First Lady of Argentina and to the ultimate and tragic end. 

Cynically assessing the immediate mourning of Argentina is Che Guevara - the Argentine Marxist revolutionary. Played in this production by Wet Wet Wet singer Marti Pellow. Che is a demanding sing and Pellow ploughs through the score with ease and holds a mightily impressive last note in 'And The Money Keeps Rolling In'. Mark Heenehan is an impressive Peron and Nic Gibney's impressive vocal range is evident in his few outbursts as Magaldi.  One of the productions highlights is Sarah McNicholas as Peron's Mistress and her beautiful version of 'Another Suitcase In Another Hall'. A strong ensemble play a variety of roles - showcasing their versatility. 

Marti Pellow

The show however belongs to Madalena Alberto who really does capture every moment of Perón's short life with effortless conviction. From the steamy and fast paced partying in Buenos Aires to the tender, fragile final moments upon her deathbed. Incredibly strong and stunning vocal throughout particularly her rendition of 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' received a rather loud "wow" from the lady next to me who then apologised for her uncontrollable outburst. 

Mark Heenehan and Madalena Alberto

It's very difficult to fault this production but just one very distracting feature was the visibility of stage crew, complete with headsets moving Matthew Wright's stunning set of staircases around and clamping them into position. Surely there are slicker ways to do this, or disguise them. It reminds you that this is only a stage production, breaking the incredibly real situations the cast work so hard to create. 

Applause at the end of a production is what you come to expect, regardless of its overall quality. For quite a while Evita received nothing but a stunned silence as the lights went out. Here the silence speaks louder than any appreciative applause, the tragic but simply beautiful ending does leave you a little choked. Although, I must admit I was the first one to break the silence with a clap!

With Marti Pellow and Madalena Alberto

Evita really is a breathtaking production that you should make a point of seeing for the sheer talent and effort from the entire cast and fine orchestra.

"So what happens now?" .... You book tickets, that's what happens. EVITA runs at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre until Saturday 31st August and you can book tickets here. You can also read my interview with Marti Pellow here. 

Watch ITVCentral News coverage with Marti and Madalena here:

World famous musical, Evita, arrives in Wolverhampton http://t.co/4UJtJOJcwO via @itvnews
— ITV News Central (@ITVCentral) August 20, 2013

Cast List: Marti Pellow, Madalena Alberto, Mark Heenehan, Sarah McNicholas, Nic Gibney, Hannah Grover, Verity Burgess, David Burilin, Joseph Connor, Natalie Day, Joel Elferink, Laura Emmitt, Emily Goodenough, Antony Hewitt, Stuart Maciver, Joe Maxwell, Perry O'Dea, Lizzie Ottley, Ryan Pidgen, Anthony Ray

EVITA (UK Tour) Interview with Marti Pellow

Marti Pellow, one of music's most respected artists stars as Che in the 2013 UK tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Evita. In the musical, Che reflects the voice of the Argentine people; linked to Eva Peron by destiny he brings conflict to the story of Eva's rise to fame.

"It's great to be on tour again, we've just done Glasgow - my hometown and it was nice for them to be able to see me in this, Andrew and Tim's best... well, my favourite piece of theirs, by far. I'm looking forward to bringing the show to Wolverhampton, which is a fantastic theatre where I last did Witches Of Eastwick."

"Che is an interesting character... really he and Eva never met, he was just the catalyst and Tim and Andrew used him almost as a narrator for the musical and he's the voice of the Argentinian common man. It's funny because I just seem to get these types of roles, I just finished in Willy Russell's Blood Brothers as the Narrator and when they said do you fancy doing the role of Che in Evita it was a no brainer for me, I wanted to do that. I first came familiar with the score for Evita through David Essex's pop career and it was one of those musicals that crossed so many different genres and growing up I watched all the MG classics with my mummy on the couch but I was never really one for musical theatre and then I carved a career in pop music so I'm playing catch up here!"

"I've been doing musical theatre now for ten years, once that door was open from Kander & Ebb's Chicago I was like a kid in a candy store and this is one of the roles I'd always wanted to play. I think it's a great character and he's part of a great ensemble. I suppose most people with be familiar with the movie version with Antonio Banderas and Madonna which is a great version of it too, but for me the theatre is where it all happens - that's what it was written for after all."

"I don't really consider musical theatre a big departure really from what I've been used to in pop music with Wet Wet Wet and so on... When you're singing you're still telling a story. When you're singing any song people engage in the lyrics, hopefully, and listen to what you're trying to say and if it's beautifully written like Evita is - it's not rocket science. It's about engaging your imagination and putting a little piece of your heart into it so it's truthful and people are willing to go on that journey with you. So for me really, singing in theatre is no different, it's just another jacket you're putting on. Don't get me wrong though, it's like when you first experience Sondheim, you think whoah, where's this cat coming from! For me though, Sondheim as with all musical theatre really is like bringing a telescope into focus. At first you can't really see it and then suddenly it just goes 'click' and if you stay with it, you'll get there."

"I'm very blessed with some of the roles that I've been given, they're all big roles, Billy Flynn in Chicago - the dream, tick! Then I get to play recently Jekyll and Hyde for Leslie Bricusse, who I'd been a big fan of and he became a friend and I said to him I'd love to play Scrooge, that's what I had my eye on and then I ended up doing Jekyll and Hyde which I loved but I was a bit disappointed that I only got one wage... that's two characters right!? I love musical theatre though and I hope people come and see Evita, just don't expect me to dance... I don't do that. Actually one more thing, when I was in Chicago on Broadway and Ann Reinking came up to me whilst I was doing a wee dance routine and said 'Oh Marti, honey, your heart's in it... just a shame your feet aint!'" 

Listen to what Marti remembers about Wolverhampton Grand Theatre! 

You can book to see Marti Pellow in EVITA at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre here. The show plays from 19 - 31 August 2013.

CATS (UK Tour) Cats Make Up - Becoming Coricopat with Richard Astbury

Coricopat is the male of the twins in the musical Cats. He shares very similar make-up and costume to the female - Tantomile. Throughout the show as the psychic cats Coricopat and Tantomile are always the first to hear and react to everything and when they do they move in perfect sync. Not only do they have a difficult job on stage but their make up is one of the most complicated too...

The show goes up at 7:30pm each night and I joined Richard Astbury in his dressing room a whole three hours before the show to begin make up at 4:30pm!

Richard begins applying the first base, an Oriental paint stick, which looks rather like a dodgy fake tan. Sponging it everywhere but his mouth area which he then fills in white. Coricopat's wig is quite high and the costume neck quite low so Richard has the most to paint including his ears and down to the bottom of his neck. After each different section or colour, powder is applied and brushed in to keep the colours dry and stop them smudging. During the show this also helps the make-up in its battle against sweat. 

The first detailed part are the eyes and Richard begins with the black detail. It takes extreme concentration, particularly to match the left side with the right. In the very beginning Make Up Supervisor Maria Cave provided each member of the cast with the original designs, she would paint one half of their face and they would have to copy it on the other side. Each member of the cast has to do their own make up and some of them, including Richard are understudies for other cats and have to learn their make up too! Richard covers for Rum Tum Tugger, Macavity and Skimbleshanks. 

Once the black flecks above the eye are done, white and brown is then added in, flicking it upwards. Richard's eye design differs very slightly to the original design, the flecks are slightly bigger so that it matches Tantomile's (who has a smaller forehead) and the eye make up meets the wig which sits quite high. Even at this far into the process after half an hour, there is still no one else in make up. There's no else even around yet, apart from Barry... making a cup of tea. He's a swing, he covers the older male Cats and wasn't on that night. 

Next are whiskers, and luckily these aren't symmetrical. First they're painted on white and later black is added to accentuate them. The first black paint added to the mouth area is to create a nose, painting the underside around the nostrils, a black line down the the philtrum and then out across the lips. At this point it's important to put the powder on immediately to stop the black upper lip and white lower lip from merging and becoming grey when you close your mouth. 

Once the black detail around the whiskers has been finished it's time to head into the wig department. Richard's wig cap is fitted by the deputy wigs mistress Jess Bishop. All of the cast come here to get their wigs and to have them fitted but first Richard has to take his back to the dressing room for the next stage of the make-up. The colours in Coricopat's wig are the same as the make up, but have to line up on the face so the fusion between hair and paint isn't obvious from the stage. 

The neck is painted black, all down the sides, into the hairline and completely covers the back of the neck. Flecks of black extend from the back of the neck into the orange colour at the front. Other flecks of white and brown are added too. 

After 90 minutes it's time for physical and vocal warm up. For the cast who have all now begun their transformations there is still a lot to do afterwards. The wig room is very busy after warm up, microphones are fed through the wig caps and fixed into place at the top of the head. For Richard, once his wig is secured there are a final bits of make up to touch up on before costume. The amount of powder required dulls the colours of the make up and so this is the time to make it all stand out again by going over the bits that have faded. 

As Mister Mistoffelees would say - "PRESTO!" the make up is complete. It's now only 15 minutes until showtime, and Richard is ready for costume. Shoes, tails and accessories are kept together in individual boxes for each character, after collecting these and putting them together with the catsuit itself.... we have Coricopat!

You can watch a time-lapse of Richard's lengthy transformation in under 3 minutes... If only it really took that long!

Richard is one of a 28 strong cast for the UK/Europe Tour of Cats so his lengthy transformation is actually only a very small part of the overall daily preparation for the show. Here is a little glimpse at what else goes on behind the scenes at Cats! (As with all of the pictures, click on them to view them larger)

Joanna Ampil who plays Grizabella first appears on stage for the opening as a kitten, her make up looks like this until she later adds the tears and wrinkles required for the ex-Glamour Cat Grizabella. (Production photography by Alessandro Pinna). 

Cameron Ball plays Admetus at the beginning of the show (left) but transforms mid show into Macavity (right) which requires some alterations. 

Will Lucas begins his make up for Bill Bailey and James Darch uses a close up mirror to add the finishing touches to Alonzo. 

The wigs on one of the tables include Skimbleshanks, Old Deuteronomy, Munkustrap and Gus (left), Lily Frazer's Demeter wig and Dawn Williams' Jemima sit on the top shelf (right) and the costumes are all stored together and brought up to the dressing rooms to put them on. 

There are some extra backstage pictures taken during the get in for the show on the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre's blog which you can read here. 

Cats continues in Wolverhampton until Saturday 30th March and tours the UK and Europe for 14 months through into 2014 - more details of the tour can be found on the official website. 

Review | CATS (UK Tour) March 2013

On just one special night of the year, all Jellicle cats meet at the Jellicle Ball where Old Deuteronomy, their wise and benevolent leader, makes the Jellicle choice and announces which of them will go up to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life....

That's about it, as far as the story goes, but Cats is so much more than that. On entering the theatre you're entering a dump - a giant playground for cats. The atmosphere is set before a single note is sung, before a cat is even seen. An abandoned car, larger than life-size tyres, boxes of Shreddies, Ritz biscuits, paper plates, cans of Pepsi litter the auditorium and strings of fairy lights hang from the boxes and around the circles, it's magical, yet rubbish.

I think you're either a cat person, or a dog person... I have a dog (ssshhh!), a sausage dog, so he's cat sized but I've never really been a fan of actual cats. But from the moment the glorious orchestra boom out the overture these creatures are somewhat strangely welcoming. Inquisitive, cute and playful at first Jellicle Songs For Jellicle Cats is the purrrfect opening, captivating the audience in every way. It's hard to pinpoint a particular element for being greater than another. Vocals, choreography, costume and fiendishly difficult make-up combine to present the stories of these practical, dramatical, pragmatical, fanatical, oratorical, delphioracle cats. 

Ben Palmer (Munkustrap)

Munkustrap acts as the narrator of the story and played by Ben Palmer (42nd Street) we get a solid and strong grey tabby who impresses throughout, particularly in his telling of Old Deuteronomy. Also leading the males is Oliver Savile (Les Misérables) as The Rum Tum Tugger, a curious cat - milking it for all it's worth, this cat revels in strutting around and gaining everyone's attention which Savile certainly achieves, riffing his way powerfully through the final choruses of Mister Mistoffelees and impressive vocal range is evident. Mister Mistoffelees, the conjuring cat has perhaps the most beautiful costume - sparkling and shimmering as he dances around, Joseph Poulton's exciting facial expressions and strength in ballet ensures all eyes are on him. Cameron Ball makes a ferocious Macavity. Nicholas Pound is majestic and in fine voice as Old Deuteronomy. 

Joseph Poulton (Mister Misoffelees) and Oliver Savile (Rum Tum Tugger)

Melissa James attracts attention as Bombalurina - incredibly sassy and impresses with Lily Frazer as Demeter in Macavity. Two other impressive duos are Barnaby Thompson (Legally Blonde) and Katie Warsop as Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer in their song, and in dance Richard Astbury and Lizzi Franklin as Coricopat and Tantomile. Ross Finnie is a delight as Skimbleshanks the railway cat, the scene in which the cats build the train from rubbish is genius. 

Cats is very much an ensemble show and as boring as it may be to list names, I cannot go without out mentioning an individual that make up this fantastic company which includes Alicia Beck, Jessica Buckby, Matthew Caputo, Collette Coleman, James Darch, Barry Haywood, Will Lucas, Paul F Monaghan, Joel Morris, Ian Parsons, Alice Redmond, Clare Rickard, Freya Rowley, Francesca Whiffin and Dawn Williams. 

Richard Astbury and Lizzi Franklin

Memory is perhaps one of the most famous songs in Musical Theatre history and comes with a lot of pressure for a singer to follow in the pawsteps of Elaine Paige. So how do you manage to succeed in wowing thousands of people each night? You cast Joanna Ampil as Grizabella. I don't think there has ever been a time in which I have seen anyone sing with as much emotion, and keeping in such beautiful voice. A true star, who deserves to be remembered in this iconic role as famously as Paige. Incredible. 

Joanna Ampil (Grizabella)

Cats plays at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, the first English venue of the current tour for two weeks until Saturday 30th March 2013. Completely unmissable, get tickets HERE NOW. 

Review | THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (UK Tour) March 2013

A year after opening in Plymouth, Cameron Mackintosh's new touring production of The Phantom Of The Opera has finally opened in Birmingham. Press Night was a most memorably celebrated event as the last venue of the tour and that Cameron Mackintosh appeared at a gala evening hosted by the theatre. The celebrations in Birmingham ran simultaneously with the 11,000th performance of the show at Her Majesty's Theatre in London.

I'm not unfamiliar with The Phantom Of The Opera but last night was the first time I had actually seen the show on stage and perhaps this worked in my favour as regular 'phans' were quick to compare with "the brilliant original". This is a complete re-staging of the London production and with some members of the original creative team sadly no longer with us, fresh eyes have re-imagined Andrew Lloyd Webber's masterpiece.

Sitting directly underneath lot 666, the chandelier of the Paris Opera House as it illuminates during the chilling overture is just one of those theatrical moments you don't forget. The staging and Paul Brown's set is of magnificent proportions. From the beautifully detailed backcloths and opulence of a gold proscenium the set revolves to reveal dark and dirty backstage corridors and a crumbling fly-floor. There are floating candles above a stairway of planks down to the Phantom's lair seeming to appear magically out of the wall as he and Christine descend.

The scene that I've heard does suffer from the confines of touring (and this production does well to eradicate any touring limits) is the Masquerade ballroom. Grand in its use of gold statues and mirrors, there is no staircase as in Maria Björnson's original and for the Phantom's interruption a plainer alternative to the skull mask. But not having seen the original I could fully appreciate it's beauty. The effects are second to none, not only does the Phantom's ability to produce fireballs from the floor heat things up but the spectacular finale to Act I sees the fate of the chandelier explode in spectacular fashion. The grandeur of the design combined with Paule Constable's lighting and Mick Potter's beautiful yet haunting sound ensures that you don't get better touring productions than this - it's far superior.

Angela M Caeser is impeccably trained and impresses as Carlotta - also providing the comedic moments which is welcome relief from the warnings of Buquet (Lee Ormsby) and the cold, draconian Madame Giry (Elizabeth Marsh). Simon Bailey is Raoul and presents a solid character, mastering the vocals and providing Christine with a desirable lover. Katie Hall is the beautiful soprano and her Christine is reminiscent of Sierra Boggess at the world-renowned 25th Anniversary performance. At her most passionate and endearing in 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again'. Hall's duets with Bailey emanate a beautiful romance but with the Phantom vocals are tested chillingly to the extreme. Earl Carpenter first took over the role of the Phantom full time in the London production in 2005 - giving over 1000 performances. This experience is most evident in his expert portrayal. Caring and passionate, frightening and desperate - every phase of this Phantom's struggle leaves your heart aching.

Cameron Mackintosh

The Birmingham Hippodrome is the final venue of the UK Tour before plans of moving to America. This new production of the Phantom Of The Opera can only be seen until 4th May 2013. Book tickets here. 

Promotional Tour Trailer:

CATS (UK Tour) Interview with Ben Kennedy

Based on T.S Elliot's 'Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats', Andrew Lloyd Webber's record-breaking musical Cats is about to embark on a UK tour. Premiering at the Edinburgh Playhouse on 9th February the tour plays it's first English venue in Wolverhampton at the Grand Theatre for two weeks beginning 19th March.

With an impressive back-catalogue that includes Hairspray, We Will Rock You, Wicked, Love Never Dies, The Wizard of Oz and most recently the UK Tour of Wonderful Town and the Wyvern Theatre's pantomime Aladdin, Assistant Musical Director Ben Kennedy is excited to be bringing Cats back to the Midlands where he grew up.

"I lived in Codsall all of my life so I've been to the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre on many occasions - from an audience member watching shows during my teenage years and more recently as a pit musician working on the touring shows which I started doing in 2007. I'm delighted that Cats is coming to the Grand for two weeks and I'm sure that Wolverhampton audiences will be delighted with the show!"

Cats ran for exactly 21 years in the West End between 11th May 1981 and 11th May 2002 and is currently back in London for the rehearsal process of a brand new tour.

Rehearsing Skimbleshanks The Railway Cat.

(Photographs by kind permission of Joanna Ampil.)

"Rehearsals are going very well at the moment, we currently have only one week left in London before we move up to Edinburgh for tech week and dress rehearsals at the Playhouse Theatre. A typical day in the rehearsal room starts with a thorough physical warm-up so that all of our company are totally prepared to work on the show, which is one of the most physically demanding shows in the musical theatre genre. We then do a vocal warm-up (as the show is also a demanding sing!), before starting work on the show itself.

We spent the initial part of the rehearsal period working on different sections of the show and putting all of the choreography together and learning all of the music. We are now at the stage of running the whole show - which is such an exciting part of the process!"

Cats has not only broken long-run records in the West End (21 years) and on Broadway (18 years) but has seen productions across the world including Madrid, Zurich, Sydney, Warsaw, São Paulo and Budapest to name but a few. The show has been translated into 10 different languages including Japanese however the show's title has rarely been changed. The Mexican people voted unanimously in favour of keeping 'Cats' as opposed to translating to 'Gatos'. The show has not only been presented in theatres but in tents in Japan and Korea as well as an engine shed in Switzerland. Perhaps the most recognisable version of the show however is the film version recorded at the Adelphi Theatre and released in 1998 starring Elaine Page and John Partridge. Fans should be pleased to discover the 2013 UK tour stays loyal to the much-loved favourite. 

"This is very much the Cats everyone knows so well. Chrissie Cartwright is directing and choreographing the production, bringing Gillian Lynne's brilliant original choreography to the stage once again. We were very lucky to have Gillian visit us in rehearsals this week, which was inspirational to all of us."

Cameron Ball rehearsing as Macavity. 

"Cats is such an exciting score to play. Firstly, as there are no dialogue scenes we are playing throughout the entire show, so we are kept very busy indeed. Secondly, Andrew Lloyd Webber has incorporated such a great variety of musical styles into the score that each section has it's own challenges. The result is a gripping piece of musical theatre, and demands a high level of continued concentration throughout. A good amount of the music in the show accompanies detailed choreography so we have to be totally focussed in order to give the company the perfect tempi, musicality and phrasing at all times. As Assistant Musical Director I get not only the pleasure of playing the beautiful score but also conducting one or two performances each week - which I'm looking forward to immensely!" 

Dance rehearsals require extreme precision. 

Cats has featured many well-known and much loved theatre stars in it's time including Elaine Page, Wayne Sleep, Bonnie Langford, Paul Nicholas, Brian Blessed, Sarah Brightman, John Partridge and Louie Spence. This brand new tour also has it's share of stars as musical theatre favourite Joanna Ampil leads as Grizabella. Joining Joanna is Les Misérables' Oliver Savile as Rum Tum Tugger, Nicholas Pound as Old Deuteronomy, Joseph Poulton as Mr Mistoffelees, Cameron Ball as Macavity and Katy Warsop as Rumpleteazer. 

You can book tickets to re-live the memory of Cats at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from 19th - 30th March online here.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (UK Arena Tour) October 2012

Having read Lyn Gardner's one star review in The Guardian for this new arena tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock musical I was a little worried that the performance of show would suffer with the ambitious new staging. I can honestly say I disagree entirely and Jesus Christ Superstar is a true phenomenon. I'm happy to defend the show entirely.

In this new adaptation, last years riots form the setting of the story. Just as rioting plans spread through social media, Jesus uses a similar tactic to spread his word.

ITV Superstar winner Ben Forster stars as Jesus, and proving every doubter wrong that indeed someone on the show was more than capable of being Jesus. I actually think that Superstar matched and exceeded a lot of the talent on any TV talent search before. Ben's Jesus is powerful and expertly sung. Gethsemane was most definitely a highlight of the show, with the stage action pausing immediately after to allow for a very lengthy applause. Tim Minchin is superb in the role of Judas Iscariot. Melanie C is a far cry from a Spice Girl here and is an impressive Mary Magdalene. Other stand-out performances come from musical theatre veteran Alexander Hanson as Pontius Pilate and Giovanni Spano as Simon is perfection in his rendition of 'Simon Zealotes'. Pete Gallagher as Caiaphas is a mighty bass. The ensemble, led by dance captain Russell Smith are energetic and exciting. Chris Moyles has a relatively easy job in comparison with his cameo as Herod which injects some fun and musical campness to the proceedings. 

Mark Fisher's set as first appears to be a simple set of stairs, but they soon transform, with a variety of functions. The cross is impressive, and bright enough to light the arena alone, it must be very hot for Jesus up there beside those bulbs! The show works well in an arena, and the sound fills the space easily. My only problem is that being sat at the back of the arena it was difficult at times to make out who was who. There was a large screen at the back of the stage that didn't always show the action, but instead a building or 'backdrop' to suggest a location. The intimacy you would get in a theatre is completely lost and the stage was just too far away. You could only truly focus on what the screens decided to show you, rather than what you wanted to see. 

Overall, the evening was enjoyable and the show holds it's own as a theatrical spectacle. JCS no doubt has paved the way for other theatre-based musicals making the transition to the arena, with the Ben Elton and Queen hit We Will Rock You embarking on a world arena tour in 2013. If there are tickets left for your hometown JCS is worth it for the experience alone. 

You can buy the DVD and BluRay of the arena tour here:

DVD: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jesus-Christ-Superstar-Live-Arena/dp/B009DHOP4S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1349432093&sr=8-3

BluRay: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jesus-Christ-Superstar-Blu-ray-Region/dp/B009DHOZ5M/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1349432093&sr=8-5

Book tickets here:

http://www.jesuschristsuperstar.com/2012/05/16/jesus-christ-superstar-arena-tour-2/

STARLIGHT EXPRESS (UK Tour) Review August 2012

Starlight Express is the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical based on toy trains that sing, dance and race each other... it shouldn't work, but it does.

When I first seriously started going to London for shows Starlight Express had already departed from the Apollo Victoria Theatre and Wicked had just taken up residency. I missed the Starlight tour that followed and was very depressed that I would never get to see the show I'd always wanted to see - at least not soon. It was New Years Eve, December 2011 when Arlene Phillips tweeted that Starlight Express would return in the new year. The dates soon followed and none of my beloved local theatres were on the list. So it was off to Nottingham I went!

The set for this tour, is simple and uses mainly lighting. It works as a toy train set, and the little train going round and round as the audience take their seats is a cute little entertaining feature. The only downside to the design is that the curtains in the wings are constantly flying open and the lights are on the other side - so you can see everything. You can also see the stage-hands waiting on stage to move the ramps around which is a little distracting. 

Perhaps the biggest change (aside from the ever-changing musical numbers) in the show from the London production is the 3D screen that drops in to show the races. It is completely impractical to build the huge racecourse tracks around the auditorium like the original production and so the 3D is perhaps the most modern and exciting way to do this. The 3D glasses were those cardboard ones and I'm not sure whether it was the glasses or the quality of the screen that let down the quality of the 3D slightly. It was slightly blurry, dark and not always clear. Perhaps the recent influx of 3D movies has spoilt our idea of 3D quality. The 3D sequences were still exciting to watch but it was good to take the glasses off and get back to watching live actors.

The cast however put all the little niggles about set to the back of your mind - they are fabulous. Many of them have been in the London production, previous tours and the production currently running in Bochum. Understudying the role of Pappa was Gavin Ashbarry who took on the elder role with ease and perfection. The Hip-Hoppers Robert Nurse, Lex Milczarek and Glenn Robb provide the modern edge and impress with their dance skill. Mykal Rand is a delight as Electra - all eyes on him and he dominated the stage. Also worthy of mention is Amanda Coutts who takes on the role of Pearl. Amanda has always been one of my favourites after seeing her dominate the roles of Scaramouche and Meat in the London and touring productions of We Will Rock You. She is fantastic as Pearl and oozes charisma and charm. She thoroughly deserves her place on the stage. 

Overall this production, however scaled down, and however different from the original works wonderfully and is a delight of a production. I would see it again and again if it wasn't for the distant venues. Thoroughly enjoyable, upbeat and a fun family night out. 

Starlight Express plays at the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall until Saturday 1st September and continues on a UK tour into 2013.

Website: http://www.starlightexpressthemusical.com