Central Reviews

Writer: Douglas Maxwell Director: Tessa Walker Reviewer: John Kennedy See y’man, Dougie? He has a moral imperative to right some historical wrongs and he has his presentation all prepared on PowerPoint but that all goes west - as once did the countless slaves, he announces, their family ancestor, millionaire, Saracen Bell, condemned to the sugar plantations. Jonathan Watson’s, at first amiable, ...

Writer: Sally Cookson from the novel by Charlotte Brontë Director: Sally Cookson Reviewer: Selwyn Knight Director Sally Cookson says that it is a daunting task to take one of the iconic English novels, a novel that is credited with changing the face of the novel by focusing on the thoughts, feelings and development of the eponymous heroine as she makes ...

Writer:  Simon Stephens, based on the novel by Mark Haddon Director: Marianne Elliott Reviewer: Natasha Hegarty The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time is based on the bestselling novel by Mark Haddon and has won a bucket-load of awards, and with good reason. It follows Christopher Boone (Scott Reid), a 15-year-old boy with an extraordinary mind. After ...

Book, Music & Lyrics: Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey Director: David Gilmore Reviewer: Natasha Hegarty Set in the 1950s, Grease is probably one of the most famous – and best - musicals of all time, spawning, of course, the hit film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. It follows a couple of teenagers, Danny Zuko (The Wanted’s Tom Parker) and ...

Book: Arthur Laurents Music: Leonard Bernstein Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Director: Pollyann Tanner Reviewer: Carol Lovatt Stage Experience at the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham is an opportunity for young performers to showcase their talents in a professional setting and this year’s choice of the musical West Side Story, the iconic tale of the trials of youth is both inspirational and memorable.  ...

Writer: Paul Allen from the screenplay by Mark Herman Director: Gareth Tudor Price Reviewer: Selwyn Knight 1994. Ten years after the miners’ strike and life in the Lancashire mining village of Grimley is still, well, grim. The future of the pit is in the balance – its miners will vote on whether to accept a redundancy payout or send the ...

Book: Alan Parker Music and Lyrics: Paul Williams Director: Robert Marsden Reviewer: Hannah Powell Friday 4th August sees one hundred youngsters aged 10-21 enthusiastically take to the stage at Milton Keynes Theatre in their rendition of Bugsy Malone, the American gangster play famously performed entirely by a cast of children. The tongue-in-cheek portrayal of the New York mob scene is ...

Reviewer: John Kennedy Surely there must be a few 'Heads' here tonight who saw The Nice at Mothers, Erdington,1968 - for those brief few years the utterly coolest and most ludicrously sweaty venue in the UK? Maybe even more who witnessed ELP's second (but really their debut launch) gig at the IOW Festival 1970. Emerson's defiant struggle to escape from ...