SIX decades ago, rock and roller Tommy Steele decided to turn his attention from Singing the Blues to the stage. Composer and lyricist David Heneker and Beverley Cross (book) were commissioned to write a “vehicle” show for him, and the HG Wells 1905 novel Kipps was chosen. In 1963 Tommy opened at the Cambridge Theatre as…
WHEN stoically British audiences go to “summer’ open air performances, they are weighed down with food and drink for picnics, camping chairs, tables, and in some cases rugs, snuggle-suits and pillows as they set off from the car park to the auditorium, ready to spread out and relax. Then comes the play, and most of…
THE always polished professional Disney stage productions put you in mind of modern day packaging of chocolates and sweets, beautiful presented giving the impression that there is far more of the product within the wrapping that there actually is. When you finally get over the shortage of the product on offer and sample the sweets…
NOEL Coward wasn’t called The Master for nothing, and up until the end of his long and prolific writing career he continued to produce wise and witty plays with an inimitable style. The last of these was a collection called Suite in Three Keys, all set in the same suite of a Swiss lakeside hotel,…
IN the old days of classic Whitehall farce, the set designers had an easy job. They built a classic box set and put in as many doors round the sides as possible. Then the actors dashed at break-neck speed through them, often changing not just direction but costume and character backstage. And then of course the…
IN the show Cowardly Custard you will find a song entitled Why Must the Show go on, which makes it rather appropriate that it was from the stage of the Noel Coward Theatre that Sir Ian McKellen fell a couple of weeks ago, making it impossible for him to finish the run of Players Kings…
WHEN fans of Chalke Valley History Festival heard last year that long-time sponsors the Daily Mail were ending the relationship, there was inevitably concern – how would the festival fare without this major, high-profile supporter? The answer has been a resounding “very well, thank you.” With a renewed focus, a slightly changed name, a wonderful…
EMLYN Williams was an actor and dramatist who died in 1987 at the age of 81. He was a great favourite in his time, and my mother was among his many avid fans. He had a 35 year marriage, and was actively bisexual throughout his life. He wrote 15 plays and performed in more than…
WHEN a frisky faun with a dirty mind and a way with words travels from his usual stone plinth in the Tuileries gardens in Paris and settles in Dorothy’s garden, the scene is set for the kind of mayhem you don’t often encounter, as ancient Greek gods meet a 21st century mother and daughter, with…
BEFORE the friends, relations and fans of the late Lord Tweedsmuir, John Buchan, rush to point out that it was he and not Alfred Hitchcock who penned this classic tale of mystery and adventure, it should be pointed out that in their programme Fiery Angel, who present the current touring production of this show, give…