Tag Archives: Birmingham Theatre

Press Review: BMOS presents Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Musical

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The BMOS Musical Theatre Company – an amateur performing arts group with members of all ages from across the West Midlands – is back on stage at The Alexandra Theatre, this time with a rousing production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 

Based on the novel by Roald Dahl, the world-famous Willy Wonka is opening the gates to his mysterious factory…but only to a lucky few. Young Charlie Bucket and four other golden ticket winners will embark on a life-changing journey through Wonka’s world of pure imagination including chocolate waterfalls, nutty squirrels and the great glass elevator, all to be revealed by Wonka’s army of curious Oompa-Loompas.

The whimsical world of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory was brilliantly realised with vibrant colourful stage décor, dynamic use of space and well-crafted stage props that transported us straight into Dahl’s fantastical universe. 

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Press Review: The 39 Steps at The Alexandra Theatre

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⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Alfred Hitchcock’s classic spy thriller, The 39 Steps, hilariously recreated for the stage as the smash-hit Olivier and Tony Award-Winning Comedy, is back out on a UK tour after nearly 10 years in London’s West End, taking Broadway by storm, playing in 39 different countries across the globe, and delighting over 3 million people worldwide with its plucky spirit and dashing sense of fun.

Quintessential Englishman Richard Hannay (Understudy Jacob Daniels) lives a boring life, until he finds himself wrongly accused of murder and on the run after the death of the mysterious Annabelle Schmidt (Safeena Ladha). In an adventure that takes him all the way up to the Scottish Highlands, he must stop an organisation known as ‘The 39 Steps’ from stealing military secrets, much of which while being handcuffed to a woman named Pamela (also Safeena Ladha).

What follows is 100 minutes of chaos as just four actors take on 139 characters, some of them at the same time. 

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Press Review: Shrek The Musical at The Alexandra Theatre

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⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ A must-see for fans of the movie and musical theatre enthusiasts alike!

Get ready to leave your troubles Far Far Away and embark on an unforgettable adventure filled with laughter, love, and ogre-sized fun as the award-winning Shrek The Musical comes to the Alexandra Theatre stage. 

With the Book and Lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and Music by Jeanine Tesori, we follow the story of Shrek, a lovable ogre who finds himself on a quest with the quirky and talkative Donkey to rescue Princess Fiona from a tower guarded by a fire-breathing dragon. 

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Press Review: The Bodyguard, The Musical at The Alexandra Theatre

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⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ – “An incredible evening of pure nostalgia.”

Based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Oscar nominated Warner Bros. movie starring Whitney Houstonand Kevin Costner, The Bodyguard tells the story of the complicated relationship between former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer and superstar Rachel Marron, when Farmer is hired to protect her from an unknown stalker. 

‘Each expects to be in charge; what they don’t expect is to fall in love.’

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Press Review: Twelve Angry Men at The Alexandra Theatre

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⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ “Absolutely a must-see show!”

Following a record-breaking West End season, this powerful production of Twelve Angry Men is back in session…

Twelve Angry Men is perhaps best known as one of the most highly-regarded films of its era, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Citizen Kane and The Godfather when it comes to cinematic legacy. Yet the piece actually began life as a television play in 1954, being adapted for the stage the following year. Following its incredibly successful run on the West End, this new production has brought the story back to the Alexandra Theatre stage, ready to remind audiences why this drama has retained its legacy status.

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Press Review: STARS – An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey at The Old Rep Theatre

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A finalist for the George Devine Award 2022, STARS is a new play written by acclaimed playwright Mojisola Adebayo (winner of the Alfred Fagon Award 2021). Moving, joyous and uplifting, the show features a ‘tour de force’ performance by Debra Michaels and music mixed live on stage by Bradley Charles, weaving in exquisite animations by artist Candice Purwin and creative captioning throughout.

STARS is the story of Mrs, a woman in her eighties looking back on her life, her marriage and friendships, and all the pleasure she’s missed out on and looking forward to the possibility of reclaiming this – in outer space! The show takes its audience on a journey from ancient West African folklore, via a council flat in South London, to the stars.

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Press Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

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⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ A spectacle that needs to be seen!

From the imagination of Neil Gaiman, best-selling author of Coraline, Good Omens and The Sandman, comes the National Theatre’s major new stage adaptation of The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Returning to his childhood home, a man finds himself beside the pond of the old Sussex farmhouse where he used to play. He’s transported to his 12th birthday when his remarkable friend Lettie claimed it wasn’t a pond, but an ocean – a place where everything is possible… Plunged into a magical world, their survival depends on their ability to reckon with ancient forces that threaten to destroy everything around them.

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Press Review: Heathers at the Alexandra Theatre

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⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ A must-see show for 2023!

Following two smash hit West End seasons and the Whatsonstage award for Best New Musical, the record-breaking show returns to Birmingham!

Welcome to Westberg High, where Veronica Sawyers is just another nobody dreaming of a better day. But when she joins the beautiful and impossibly cruel Heathers and her dreams of popularity may finally come true, mysterious rebel JD teaches her that it might kill to be a nobody, but it is murder to be a somebody…

Heathers is a blistering black comedy musical, based on the 1989 cult classic movie of the same name, starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater. Set within the corridors of Westberg High, it follows 17-year-old student Veronica Sawyer and her struggles with the social hierarchy of high school, desperate to climb the ladder and improve her popularity status. This is Mean Girls with murder!

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Press Review: Home, I’m Darling

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Every couple needs a little fantasy to keep their marriage sparkling. But behind the gingham curtains, things start to unravel, and being a domestic goddess is not as easy as it seems…

Directed by Tamara Harvey written by Laura Wade, the 2019 Olivier award-winning Home, I’m Darling tells the story of Judy (Jessica Ransom) and husband Johnny (Neil McDermott), who are living a 1950s fantasy life – Judy has left her job to fully embrace the role as a housewife after an upbringing with a feminist and activist mother (Diane Keen). Their love of the era is shared by friends Fran (Cassie Bradley) and Marcus (Steve Blacker-Barrowman), but for them, it is merely a hobby.

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Press Review: Annie at The Alexandra Theatre

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⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ A sensational show!

Directed by Nikolai Foster, book by Thomas Meehan, with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin, the show tells the story of Annie (Zoe Akinyosade), who lives a life of misery at Miss Hannigan’s orphanage. While holding onto the hope that her parents will return, her luck changes when she’s chosen to spend a fairytale Christmas with famous billionaire, Oliver Warbucks (David Burrows). Spiteful Miss Hannigan (Craig Revel-Horwood) has other ideas and, together with her criminal brother, hatches a plan to spoil Annie’s search for her true family.

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