WINTER WONDERLAND - SNOWDOME, TAMWORTH

As Luke is now 9, I'm not really sure if this is the last year he will 'believe' so our annual Christmas outing
was all about the experience and not so much about seeing Santa in a grotto and receiving a present.
In the past we've done Chester Winter wonderland, Reindeer Lodge in Ellesmere Port, Hawkstone Park,
Chill FactorE and Stapeley Water Gardens. This year I wracked my brain to find somewhere suitable and as
Luke loves snow I knew he would love Snowdome Tamworth's Winter Wonderland. We booked into the Holiday Inn
Express 5 minute walk from the venue and booked rail tickets to ensure a stress free journey on a Saturday. They
also give a discount if visiting the Snowdome which sadly I only found out after I'd booked!

The hotel was very nice and room was spacious with a sofa bed for Luke. The Snowdome had some lovely Christmas
decorations and a beautiful tree outside. We arrived early to have food before our Winter wonderland experience.
The food hall was heaving but we managed to find a table, ordered our food and it came within 10 minutes.
It was also very tasty and Luke was impressed with his Yeti burger! 

Our slot for The experience was at 7.15pm so we queued up and greeted by a very funny and friendly Penguin
character. It was then time to enter the snow. We instantly had a snowball fight, and found a wooden sledge that
Luke was happy to be pulled around the snow in. He went down the slide in an inflatable ring too, he couldn't resist
making snow angels and was soaked by the time we were called to Santa's workshop.

We were entertained with a mini pantomime type show, very funny with lots of audience participation and plenty of
singing. The highlight was seeing Santa do a rap and then the running man.

After the show we were ushered upstairs to see some real reindeer, alpacas, Rabbits, goats, pigs and wrote a letter
to the big man himself, I was quietly hoping they were not going to be any last minute surprises!

It was so magical and I know I thoroughly enjoyed it. Luke said the best bit was the snow and he definitely wants to
go back.

I made a conscious effort not to read any reviews as there are always negative ones. I have no hesitation in
recommending our evening spent at Snowdome Tamworth. In my opinion it was perfect!
The following day, we took the train to visit the German Christmas markets, it was a great end to a fabulous weekend. 

ALADDIN - CREWE LYCEUM

We 'flew' into Crewe Lyceum on Saturday for the opening night of Aladdin, we arrived early to try out Wishee Washee's Street Food which was tasty and good value for money.

I grew up watching Cannon and Ball and saw them on stage when I was around Luke's age, I even had the 'Rock On Tommy' braces! 30 years on (and a bit!) I still found them hilarious and they're clever one-liners and banter had the audience chuckling at PC Tommy & PC Bobby.

Dan Walter of Stage School fame, was a charismatic Aladdin and his partnering with the beautiful Princess Jasmine, Danielle Chupak gave us a convincing romantic storyline. Their dancing and singing enthralled us.

Wishee Washee was played by CBeebies, Sid Sloane, he was great at involving the audience by shouting out 'Hiya Wishee' whenever he walked onto the stage. Their mother, Widow Twankey was the funny Malcolm Lord, the striptease was very funny and I almost had to cover Luke's eyes!

Mark Turnbull was the perfect Panto baddy as Abanazer and his sidekick Scheherazade (my hubby's favourite character!) was Lauren Mobley.

Without giving away too many spoilers, Dooby Duck and his friends put on an impressive show, it has us all captivated.

The costumes were stunning and colourful and it was lovely to see the theatre so full and buzzing.
I hope they sort out the sound issues as there was a bit of reverberation and the music seemed to drown out the singing at times but other than that, I would recommend as a great family entertainment show.

Go to https://crewelyceum.co.uk/Online/crewe-pantomime for tickets.

CINDERELLA - The most magical pantomime

As each year passes by, I wonder how long it will be until the 'magic' of Christmas disappears, especially as Luke is now 9. There is one thing that will never die because I won't let it, and that is an annual visit to the Panto.

This year it was a family affair as Mark was able to come along too, there was such an exciting vibe walking into the theatre with a red carpet and gold tinsel curtain and lots of little girls wearing princess dresses .

Cinderella's theme remained traditional throughout with the odd 'modern' twist that had Luke and his friend in stitches. References to the Poo emoji, dabbing, mannequin challenge and Pineapple pen was 'down with the kids' whilst the adult innuendos had the grown ups 'lolling'! 

The lovable and very popular Jonny Wilkes played Buttons also directed the production, his character as always was cheeky and hilarious. The chemistry between him and the talented Christian Patterson is slap-stick entertainment, he was Beyonce one of the Ugly sisters and also wrote the script and directed too. The other Ugly sister, Rihanna was the comical Simon Nehan, I loved how Luke explained to his friend that they were both men!

Finley Guy played the beautiful Cinderella, her voice was magnificent and I was emotional with the transformation before the ball, I literally had tears rolling down my face. The story telling between her and Prince Charming (Owen Broughton) was romantic. Ian Stroughair played a camp and humorous Dandini, we enjoyed singing along to his YMCA.

The 'Who, What, I don't Know' was my favourite sketch and had me literally splitting my sides, it included Dandini, Baron Hardup (Michael Geary) and Buttons. 

It was an incredible show, full of laughs for all the family, the best one yet!

To book your tickets if you haven't already go to:-

http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/cinderella/regent-theatre/

THE COMMITMENTS

The Commitments is one of those films that I always meant to see but never got round to it so last night I went into the theatre not really knowing the main storyline. I was familiar with the famous songs “Mustang Sally”, “In the Midnight Hour”, "I heard it through the grapevine", "River Deep, Mountain High" and “Try a Little Tenderness" so quite surprised why I'd never seen it before.

The story is set in Dublin in the 1980’s when an ambitious band manager, Jimmy Rabbitte (Andrew Linnie) and a group of aspiring musicians get together in the hope of forming a band. Jimmy wants to manage the world’s greatest soul band and holds auditions at his dad's house played by Kevin Kennedy of Coronation Street Fame. He calls the band “The Commitments” and together they attempt to head up an Irish soul revolution.

The band is made up of egotistical lead singer, Deco played by a brilliant Brian Gilligan, when he belted out Proud Mary in the opening number as a drunk at the Christmas party, I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed. The talented band members were all musicians playing their own instruments too, pianist, drummers, guitarists, saxophonist and trumpeter. Each and every band member had their own hilarious character. The 3 backing singers had superb voices and dance moves to match.

I loved how we were their audience at a gig, they certainly deserved the standing ovation at the end, it was a fun and feel good show, I can't wait to watch the film now.

So in the words of 'Wilson Pickett'.......Do you like Good Music, Sweet soul music?.....if so you need to get your tickets before its too late. At the Regent Theatre until Saturday 19th November http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/regent-theatre/

VERY DIRTY DANCING

Dirty Dancing is back this week at the Regent Theatre, I was gutted to miss it last time so absolutely thrilled to have been there last night on opening night. I invited along my friend Yasmin, who I know is a big fan of the film, she was mega excited as it was also her first visit to the Regent Theatre, I'm certain it won't be her last either!

Anyone who is a fan of the movie will not be disappointed, the dance routines, songs, dialogue and costumes was true to the film. The revolving stage setting was incredible and you felt like you were being transported round Kellermans the main setting of the story.

It's set in the Summer of 1963 when a 17 year old Frances 'Baby' Houseman (Katie Hartland) is on holiday with her family at the Holiday park, Kellermans. Bored and inquisitive, she manages to find the Staff Quarters where she 'carried a Watermelon' to an all night dance party full of raunchy moves. This is where she encounters her first dance lesson from resort dance instructor, Johnny Castle (Lewis Griffiths). There are challenges and lots of dance tuition along the way but these two determined young spirits find romance.

Griffiths played a charismatic Johnny, he oozed sex appeal and there were many wolf whistles in his topless scene and even more cheers when we caught a glimpse of his bare bottom! Katie was impressive as the lead, 'Baby', there were moments of comedy that she played outstandingly.

Penny played by Carlie Milner was a superb dancer and her high kicks were thrilling. Lizze Ottley played Baby's sister, Lisa Houseman, she treated us to Hula Hana which was hilarious.

The water scene 'lift' in the movie is transformed onto the stage and cleverly convincing. The final scene where we hear the famous line 'nobody puts baby in the corner' was greeted with cheers, it gave me goosebumps and then we watched in absolute awe as they danced to 'The Time of My life'.

You need to get your tickets now if you want to see this breathtaking performance on until the end of the week.

http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/dirty-dancing-2/regent-theatre/

CATS

CATS was my first ever West End show, I remember vividly travelling to London with a group of my dance school friends as a child and being very excited by the whole experience, the lights, scenery, costumes and make up. I was around 10 and instantly fell in love with the show, it is up there with being one of my favourite childhood memories. Last night was my 8th time seeing it again, my first at the Regent Theatre Stoke though.

I got goosebumps walking into the theatre with the scenery of a backstreet alley littered with cereal boxes, crisp packets, tyres and a car boot and when the music started and the cats creep round the audience and onto the stage I was totally transfixed. 

The storyline is set on one special night of the year when all Jellicle cats meet at the Jellicle Ball and their wise leader, Old Deuteronomy makes a choice of who will go to the Heaviside layer and be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life. Along the way, each cat is introduced, showing their character and personality. The songs are taken from a book called 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats' by TS Eliot, I had a copy of this book as a child but mislaid it, gutted as I never managed to learn the songs!

Each and every cast member mimicked the cats so realistically, the costumes and make up was life-like too, I couldn't help but study it, especially being a facepainter. You could really believe they were real life cats. The dancing and singing was energetic and breathtaking, everything was so colourful you could not take your eyes away from the stage.

There was an update to the Rum Rum Tugger character, I remember he was a cheeky chappy but the street dance moves and rap was a welcome modern version. 

The white cat was captivating as usual and the Magical Mr Mistoffelees was worth the wait, I held my breath watching his turns and spins. The first time I saw it, he was played by Wayne Sleep and Shiv Rabheru who played him was as awesome. 

When Grizabella, played by Marianne Benedict belted out 'Memories' I was unable to stop the tears falling down my face, such a powerful and beautiful voice and it sent shivers down my spine. 

It will always be one of my favourite shows and to top it off, I even got stroked by a cat!

If you have tickets this week you will not be disappointed, watch out if you're sitting in the stalls!

You can see the show until Saturday 10th September, go to http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/cats-2/regent-theatre/

HAIRSPRAY THE MUSICAL

The award-winning Musical, Hairspray is in Stoke for the first time ever, it's a musical I'm familiar with and love many of the songs and the storyline.

It's set in Baltimore in 1962 where a larger than life teenager with big hair and big personality, Tracy Turnblad (played by Freya Sutton) dreams of dancing her way onto national TV. She soon becomes a local star and uses her fame to fight for equality and changes the rules that black dancers are allowed to join together on The Corny Collins show. Freya played the part fantastically, with a great voice and comedy which had the audience laughing out loud in the first half. Tracy's love interest, Link Larkin was played by Ashley Gilmour and portrayed a slick, heartthrob with great charisma. 

There were great comedy moments between Tracy's mother, Edna played by Matt Rixon and her father played by Peter Duncan. I never even knew Peter was a performer! It was a pleasant surprise and a nice pairing.

Dex Lee as Seaweed impressed with his slick moves and the bedroom scene with Penny Pingleton (Monique Young) was hilarious. Duane was played by Layton Williams from Bad Education wowed us with his flips. 

Claire Sweeney is Velma Von Tussle, the bitchy producer of The Corny Collins show and pushy mother of Amber who she wants thrusts in the limelight. She was brilliant and hilarious when she was clambering over some unsuspecting members of the audience in the stalls. Her daughter, Amber was played by Lauren Stroud, with such a beautiful face, voice and talented dancer. 

Brenda Edwards is cast as Motormouth Maybelle, she was an X Factor semi-finalist and a real powerhouse, I felt so emotional watching her especially as I saw her being interviewed on Loose Women a couple of weeks ago talking about her current battle with breast cancer and had chemotherapy only days ago, what an absolute inspiration and strong lady. 

The whole cast deserved the standing ovation at the end and the audience were clapping and singing along. A real feel good musical that you should definitely not miss the opportunity to see whilst its in Stoke! 

Tickets are still available until Saturday 14th May

http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/hairspray-the-musical/regent-theatre/