BPREVIEW: Roald Dahl and the Imagination Seekers @ Midlands Arts Centre 21-22.02.20


Words by Ed King

Roald Dahl and the Imagination Seekers comes to the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd February – with shows in the MAC theatre at 2pm on both days, alongside an 11am show on the Saturday.

Aimed at children 6 years and older, tickets for Roald Dahl and the Imagination Seekers are priced from £8.50 – £10.50 for children and £8.50 – £15 for adults, depending on the day/time of performance and position within the theatre. Further concessions are available – click here for more direct show information, including full ticket details and links to online sales.

“Snozzcumber… who ever heard of a snozzcumber…?”

Roald Dahl needs little introduction. Responsible for some of the most prolific and wide reaching children’s stories (alongside some pretty dark tales for adults), Dahl’s work has become the contemporary benchmark for young fiction across the world – the highest accolade in this literary genre, it seems, is to be cited as following in the man’s giant footsteps. Just ask Walliams.

But when your portfolio boasts titles including Charlies and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Twits, The Witches, The BFG, Danny the Campion of the Word, James and the Giant Peach, and Fantastic Mr Fox… well, fair enough I suppose.

Get Lost & Found theatre company are still worried though, fearing that ‘all around the world Roald Dahl’s words are disappearing’ and the only way to save these foundations of fantasy is through an ‘ancient guild of tale tenders’ determined to keep Dahl’s stories alive. And although this creative dystopia may be contested by some (Neilsen Holdings, Tim Burton, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and Tim Minchin) why risk it?

So, with a special commission from Puffin Books, Dahl’s publisher, and a thumbs up from the writer’s literary estate, Roald Dahl and the Imaginations Seekers will be touring the UK until the end of March – coming to MAC with their ‘thrilling story delivered through performance, games and creative play’ at the tail end of February’s half term holiday.

And whilst the world beats with subjective hearts, and a man’s opinions do not necessarily reflect his work, as Ehrmann once wrote love ‘is as perennial as the grass’. So, to expand the metaphor, Dahl’s stories are a lush country estate lawn for children across the globe to play upon.

Sowed with empathy, empowerment, mischief, a smidge of anarchy and dollop of love, there are seldom better stories to prepare young minds for all the wonders and peril the world has to offer. You just have to be kind, resolute, and most of all to believe.

For as a wiser man than I once responded, to the snarled face of petulance and precocity, “…we are the music makers. And we are the dreamers of the dreams.”

Roald Dahl and the Imagination Seekers – official trailer 

Roald Dahl and the Imagination Seekers comes to the Midlands Arts Centre on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd February. For more direct information and links to online ticket sales, visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk/event/roald-dahl-the-imagination-seekers

For more from the Midlands Arts Centre, including further event listings** and online ticket sales, visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk

For more on Get Lost and Found, visit www.getlostandfound.com
For more on Roald Dahl, visit www.roalddahl.com

**If you like the look of this, why not check out some more family friendly shows at MAC:

Sarah & Duck’s Big Top Birthday (4th to 6th Apr), visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk/event/sarah-ducks-big-top-birthday
Through Time (17th Apr), visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk/event/the-noise-next-door-through-time

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NOT NORMAL NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual aggression in the music industry and beyond – from dance floor to dressing room, everyone deserves a safe place to play.

To learn more about the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here. To sign up and join the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here.

If you have been affected by any issues surrounding sexual violence – or if you want to report an act of sexual aggression, abuse or assault – click here for information via the ‘Help & Support’ page on the NOT NORMAL NOT OK website.

BPREVIEW: Beastly Belle @ Midlands Arts Centre 15-16.02.20

Words by Ed King / Pics by Andi Sapi

Running for four shows across two days, Beastly Belle comes to the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th February – kicking off Birmingham’s half term holiday weekend.

Presented by the Norwich Puppet Theatre, tickets for Beastly Belle range from £8.50 to £12.50 – covering a variety of options for adults, children (4yrs+) and babies.

With an 11am performance and a 2pm performance across the weekend, held in the MAC’s Foyle Studio, you can find out more information (and online ticket links) for Beastly Belle by visiting www.macbirmingham.co.uk/event/beauty-the-beast-beastly-belle

For those of a certain generation, the Midlands Arts Centre is somewhat synonymous with puppets – beautifully crafted characters that used to adorn both the walls and the stages of the old Cannon Hill Park complex. Now, to start a programme of productions and workshops for the Birmingham half term holiday, MAC is welcoming another ensemble of wood and string – as the story of Beastly Belle takes to the Foyle Studio on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th February.

With a narrative perfectly pitched for today’s Instagram and Love Island devotees, yet one ‘inspired by the iconic era of 1920s and 30s cinema’, Beastly Belle tells the story of the eponymous Belle – a wannabe starlet that is plucked from poverty and given all the ‘glitz and glamour’ of the silver screen.

But what coulda, would, shoulda been a wonderful tale of rags to riches soon turns sour, as our titular heroine become seduced by the adulation of aesthetics and becomes ‘ensnared by a world obsessed with good looks’. Sounds sadly all too familiar.

Told through puppet theatre, against a backdrop of film projections and an original score, Beastly Belle tackles an issue that is all too prevalent in the world of young people today – self-worth, and the misguided benchmarks of ‘beauty’ that can be so crudely used to define it.

The play’s promotional material also cites influences from the classic fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast – so chances are this story ends with a newfound sense of self and an insightful epiphany. Which is no bad thing, for anyone at any age.

But told through puppet theatre, Beastly Belle will at least to give you a good hour of distraction (and silence) even if the message gets missed – which again to those of a certain generation, namely the one’s paying the ticket price, might not be a terrible consolation prize this half term.

And if you remember the MAC’s puppets of yore there may be some warm nostalgia as you stretch back and recall your younger days at the Cannon Hill Park complex… just remember it’s the weekend, and a school holiday, so that ice cream truck is also probably still there too.

Beastly Belle – official trailer (as used for performances at the Norwich Puppetry Theatre)

Beastly Belle comes to the Midlands Arts Centre on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th February – with shows at 11am and 2pm on both days. For more direct information and links to online ticket sales, visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk/event/beauty-the-beast-beastly-belle

For more from the Midlands Arts Centre, including further event listings** and online ticket sales, visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk

For more from the Norwich Puppet Theatre, visit www.puppettheatre.co.uk

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**If you like the look of this, why not check out some more family friendly shows at MAC:

Roald Dahl & The Imagination Seekers (21st and 22nd Feb), visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk/event/roald-dahl-the-imagination-seekers

Sarah & Duck’s Big Top Birthday (4th to 6th Apr), visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk/event/sarah-ducks-big-top-birthday

Through Time (17th Apr), visit www.macbirmingham.co.uk/event/the-noise-next-door-through-time

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NOT NORMAL NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual aggression in the music industry and beyond – from dance floor to dressing room, everyone deserves a safe place to play.

To learn more about the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here. To sign up and join the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here.

If you have been affected by any issues surrounding sexual violence – or if you want to report an act of sexual aggression, abuse or assault – click here for information via the ‘Help & Support’ page on the NOT NORMAL NOT OK website.

BREVIEW: Asking for It @ Birmingham REP – running until 15.02.20

Words by Emma Curzon / Promotional image by Hugh O’Connor

This searing production is a play that demands to be seen: a bleak, rage-filled tragedy that shines an unflinching spotlight on 21st-century rape culture and refuses to let you look away.

Hosted by the Birmingham REP, after a highly-acclaimed run at Ireland’s National Theatre, Asking for It was adapted for the stage by Irish playwright Meadhbh McHugh and director Annabelle Comyn, from the novel of the same name by Louise O’Neill.

The premise is as simple as it is horrific: Emma, a teenage girl from a small town in County Cork, is gang-raped at a party; the rapists take photos of the attack and post them online. Cue a brutal, sickening spiral into slut-shaming and victim blaming by everyone from journalists and radio callers, to neighbours, classmates and her own parents, in a twisted form of collective punishment for “ruining those good boys’ lives” (I’m paraphrasing, but not by much – that’s the horrifying part).

There are three main pillars to the play’s considerable strength: the expert writing of McHugh (and O’Neill), Comyn’s direction, and a truly stellar performance by Coe. In fact, I can honestly say that the Dublin-grown actress gives one of the most heart-rending portrayals of a trauma survivor that I’ve ever seen.

Coe moves seamlessly between numb depression, terrified panic attacks, and horrified despair. She is an unforgettable – no, powerful presence, even as her character becomes smaller, more vulnerable and more traumatised by the second. The rest of the cast, too, give strong performances, particularly Dawn Bradfield as Emma’s mother and Liam Heslin as her well-meaning but ineffective brother.

No review of this play, either, should overlook its non-human elements. Here, the metaphorical Oscar goes to Paul O’Mahony’s set, a monochrome structure of glass boxes and panels that are moved around to create various settings, and onto which flickering, blurry video footage is projected. Both are brilliantly deployed to highlight Emma’s downward spiral as she becomes more and more trapped, both physically and mentally. Eventually, the set has enclosed the entire stage to make the walls and roof of her kitchen, by which point she is too traumatised and stigmatised to leave the house.

The choices of soundtrack were commendable too, although I do question the realism of incorporating an admittedly excellent dance routine to David Guetta’s ‘Hey Mama’. I’m not saying teen parties are devoid of David Guetta, but I’m pretty sure they don’t include perfectly synchronised, choreographed dance sets.

The main downside of the play is that parts of the narrative are left underdeveloped. McHughs is admirably thorough with Emma’s development, but other characters are neglected. Despite lengthy periods in Act 1 being spent on Emma’s peers, including brief monologues, they – including a friend who has also been assaulted – rapidly vanish, never to be seen again. It spends too much time, by contrast, on Emma’s appearance (if she were less “beautiful”, she wonders, would that night have happened?) rather than acknowledging that a rapist can target anyone, no matter what they look like.

Still, any flaws are generally forgivable given as the play has a clear aim and, in my mind, more than achieves it. It’s a hard-hitting, bitter dissection of the hell of rape and its aftermath – a snarl of defiance against a world that still, too often, blames rape victims (especially women) for their assaults. It’s a refusal to be silenced and ignored when many would like nothing better than to look away, and a defiant claiming of a voice for the millions of real-life Emmas all over the world, even as their fictional counterpart’s own voice is slowly eroded away into nothing.

In the REP foyer, a few volunteers from Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid (BSWA) set up a stand with flyers advertising their helpline. In the women’s bathrooms, on the insides of the cubicle doors, a poster asks me: has this play affected me in any way? If so, it then gives the numbers for BSWA and the Rape & Sexual Violence Project.

Leaving the theatre, I have to wonder – did anyone in the audience call either number? Did the play bring up memories of their own, similar experiences? With around 85,000 women and 12,000 men experiencing rape or attempted rape in England and Wales every year, there’s a distinct possibility that the answer is ‘yes’. And that, more than anything else, is why this play is so desperately needed.

Asking for It – official trailer

Asking for It runs at the Birmingham REP until Saturday 15th February, with evening shows and matiness shows on Saturday 8th and Thursday 13th February. For more details, including the full show schedule and links to online ticket sales, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/asking-for-it

**Please note: Asking for It is recommended for 14+. The show contains scenes of a sexual nature, strong language and violence** 

For more on Asking for It, www.askingforit.ie 

For more from the Birmingham REP, including further event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual aggression in the music industry and beyond – from dance floor to dressing room, everyone deserves a safe place to play.

To learn more about the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here. To sign up and join the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here.

If you have been affected by any issues surrounding sexual violence – or if you want to report an act of sexual aggression, abuse or assault – click here for information via the ‘Help & Support’ page on the NOT NORMAL NOT OK website.

BREVIEW: Peter Pan @ Birmingham REP – running until 19.01.20

Words by Vix & Ruby-Lou / Pics by Johan Persson

The opening scene of Birmingahm REP’s new production of Peter Pan, ‘reimagined’ by Liam Steel and Georgia Christou, is set outside a dull and depressingly grey concrete apartment block, where adults and youths collide and tensions run high.

Wendy (Cora Tsang) plays an angsty teenager in foster care, with major trust and abandonment issues, who ‘mothers’ her foster brothers and has clearly lost all concept of her own carefree youthfulness.

Nia Gwynne plays Jess, the children’s patient foster mother – and later a fabulously female Hook, scared of nothing; nothing but the crocodile’s ticking clock.

We are soon transported to a fantastical urban underworld; imagine Peter Pan being given the Mad Max treatment, but with way more vibrant, clashing colour. The crew kick it with a rap-rock track and we can feel their energy. Ruby-Lou turns to me wide-eyed, “Mummy! This is brilliant!” I agree. The whole ‘Post-Apocalyptic Day-glo Steampunk’ vibe is a visual delight.

Lawrence Walker is an amiable Peter Pan, staying true to the iconic character, whilst Tinkerbell (Mirabelle Gremaud) is a feisty, foul-mouthed fairy. Let me clarify, when I say ‘foul-mouthed’, the worse it gets is her calling anyone and everyone a “silly ass”. Ruby-Lou is quite shocked (I’m pleased and proud to say) exclaiming: “Tinkerbell is my favourite, but why does she keep saying that?!”

Thankfully, my 9 year old daughter totally understands when I explain Tink is angry, unhappy, and doesn’t have anyone to tell her what’s right and wrong etc – one of the intended morals of the play. Plus, Tink flies about wearing a spacetastic silver tinsel and glitter outfit which is great fun to watch (I’m sure I wore something very similar with Fuzzbox on John Peel stage at Glastonbury back in ’86!).

Needless to say, REP’s new production of Peter Pan is right up our street – following the parallel universes and the deeper parallel meanings, and for me relating to my own experience running Community projects with LAC (Looked After Children) and Foster Families.

Moreover, as a proud Brummie born and bred, I am delighted to hear local accents (far more authentic than in Peaky Blinders, I might add) in a new take on a literary classic that has been adapted ‘specifically for Birmingham audiences.’ Thank you for the positive promo Birmingham REP.

I ask Ruby-Lou her thoughts and she exclaims that this is “the best show ever! The actors, the scenery changes, the songs, the costumes…!” We unanimously give Peter Pan a big fat 10 out of 10 – this imaginative reimagining by Liam Steel and Georgia Christou is everything it promises to be, and then some.

On stage at the Birmingham REP well into the New Year, there is still a chance for many more people to catch this wonderfully creative and contemporary take on a classic festive fave. Peter Pan runs until 19th Jan, so book your tickets now and let a little magic in. The clock inside that pesky croc is not the only one ticking down…

Vix & Ruby-Lou’s Live Vlog Review – Peter Pan @ Birmingham REP

A special season’s greeting from Vix & Ruby-Lou

Peter Pan runs at the Birmingham REP until 19th January 2020 – adapted by Liam Steel and Georgia Christou. For direct show information, including a full production schedule and links to online ticket sales, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/peter-pan

For more on the Birmingham REP, including venue details and further listings, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To learn more about the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here. To sign up and join the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here.

If you have been affected by any of the issues surrounding sexual violence – or if you want to report an act of sexual aggression, abuse or assault – click here for information via the ‘Help & Support’ page on the NOT NORMAL NOT OK website.

BREVIEW: Grandpa’s Great Escape Live @ Arena Birmingham (last show on 26.12.19)

Words by Vix & Ruby-Lou / Pics courtesy of Arena Birmingham

It was my daughter, Ruby-Lou, who spotted this event, exclaiming: “I am a huge David Walliams fan – I read all his books and I’ve seen all of his films; I need to see Grandpa’s Great Escape Live!”

Although this is the only Walliams flick I haven’t seen, I have heard of his bestselling book (and favourite, apparently). Plus, if it’s from Walliams you can trust the content will be humorous, thought-provoking, and suitable for child and parent alike. So, we’re on our way to Arena Birmingham… full of Frankfurt Christmas Market food and good cheer.

Getting tickets to the very first performance of Grandpa’s Great Escape Live (which will run for three days at Arena Birmingham before heading out across the country) we sit down in our rickety seats amidst an almost sold out venue – packed with excited children, accompanying parents and grandparents.

There is a ‘catwalk’ style walkway which protrudes from the stage and into the audience. Then, out of the blue, Walliams himself walks out across the stage, down the catwalk and into the centre of the arena. This is a real surprise and a lovely personal touch, as he promises us that we are “in for a treat” and indeed we were.

Nigel Planer stars as the beloved Grandpa Joe and WWII flying ace, who is struggling with dementia. Jack, his grandson and only true ally, keeps him on path by using military metaphors and commands – played superbly by Tom Cawte, who hops around the stage like a young effervescent Gordon Ramsey (but without the potty mouth of course).

Jack’s traffic cone obsessed father isn’t much help. His teenage sister is too preoccupied with her boyfriend and Duran Duran, whilst his aerobics instructor mother just wants to send Grandpa Joe to Twilight Towers (cue lightning crack and loud thunder sfx) the dreaded retirement home where residents are doped up on sleeping tablets as the evil owner, Miss Dandy, swindles them out of their money. And if you haven’t already cottoned on this story is set in the 1980s, so contains numerous references that only ‘we of a certain age’ would understand. Having spent my teenage years as a popstar in the mid-80s, this is an added bonus for me (however, they could have used Fuzzbox’s ‘International Rescue’ for one of the rescue scenes).

All that’s left is for Jack and Grandpa Joe to plan the titular ‘great escape’ – saving all the old folks from Twilight Towers, Grandpa flies away in a life sized Spitfire just as he did in WWII. It’s a poignant reminder to value and respect our elderly family and friends, the moral of this story, with a particularly sombre moment at Grandpa Joe’s eventual funeral.

I definitely want to watch the film of Grandpa’s Great Escape now, and if you get a chance to see the live production both Ruby-Lou and myself would recommend it – my daughter giving it a whole-hearted 10/10 because “it was soooo good!”, whilst I award a slightly more reserved 7/10 due to the description of a ‘spectacular show’ and ‘wondrous stage design’ feeling a little exaggerated.

And whilst it may be down to opening show jitters, a few of the jokes fell a bit flat and more encouragement for audience participation would have gone down well – it wasn’t always clear when we should or shouldn’t join in. But the life-size props of a Spitfire airplane and real tank were exciting to see, and overall Grandpa’s Great Escape Live is a very enjoyable afternoon.

Vix & Ruby Lou’s Live Vlog Review – Grandpa’s Great Escape Live @ Arena Birmingham

Grandpa’s Great Escape Live presents its final show at Arena Birmingham on 26th December, before touring across the UK– as presented by Phil McIntyre Entertainments. For direct show information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.arenabham.co.uk/whats-on/grandpas-great-escape

For more on Grandpa’s Great Escape Live, including full tour details and online ticket sales, visit www.grandpasgreatescapelive.co.uk

For more on Arena Birmingham, including further event listings, visit www.arenabham.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To learn more about the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here. To sign up and join the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here.

If you have been affected by any of the issues surrounding sexual violence – or if you want to report an act of sexual aggression, abuse or assault – click here for information via the ‘Help & Support’ page on the NOT NORMAL NOT OK website.