Tag Archives: reviews

Press Review: Here & Now – The Steps Musical at The Alexandra Theatre

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⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ A jubilant and nostalgic homage to one of Britain’s most beloved pop groups. Sensational!

Back in February I had the privilege of speaking with award-winning director Rachel Kavanaugh and writer Shaun Kitcherner about their new project: Here & Now, a brand new musical based on the songs of British pop band Steps. 

At the time, the casting process hadn’t yet started, but right from the beginning they were both passionate about roles being made available for “all types of ordinary people of all ages, young people, older people of all shapes and sizes, all heritages, all gender identities.”

And almost nine months later, after seeing snippets of cast rehearsals and interviews, ticket sales that were so poplar that extra nights were added and glowing initial reviews of early performances, I was eager to see whether it would deliver.

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Press Review: Dear Evan Hansen at The Alexandra Theatre

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⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ A Heartfelt Masterpiece!

Today is going to be a good day. And here’s why…

The Olivier, Tony, and Grammy award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen has arrived on stage at The Alexandra Theatre.

With the Book by Steven Levenson, and Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (The Greatest Showman), I have seen the rave reviews and heard the songs a thousand times, and to say I was excited is an understatement.

The story follows Evan Hansen, a socially anxious teenager whose life takes a drastic turn after a misunderstanding leads him to become an unexpected beacon of hope for a grieving family. The musical’s exploration of loneliness, the pressures of social media, and the search for belonging feels achingly relevant in today’s world.

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Press Review: Peter Pan Goes Wrong at The Alexandra Theatre

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Directed by Adam Meggio and written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, the members of the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society are back on stage, battling technical hitches, flying mishaps and cast disputes as they attempt to present J.M Barrie’s much-loved tale of Peter Pan. But will they ever make it to Neverland? 

Peter Pan Goes Wrong, part of the ever growing Mischief Theatre (which includes the hugely successful The Play That Goes Wrong), has remained one of my favourite productions since I was lucky enough to watch it in February 2020. Would it be just as funny the second time round?

Yes. Yes it was. 

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Cocktails at The Colmore Club!

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Cocktails at the Colmore club

I received an invitation last week via The Stilettos Network, asking if I would like to attend a cocktail-making masterclass at the exclusive Colmore Club in Birmingham.

Ooh, yes please!

The venue, which opened in September 2015, is situated in the business district of the city and is owned by Dave Roberts and Jonathan Wilcox. With a beautifully designed social room, board room, quiet study room, kitchen and bar, it offers the opportunity for social gatherings, business meetings, workshops and events for it’s £500-a-year members. I’ve been lucky enough to visit the club before, and it’s absolutely stunning, with the atmosphere, the welcome and the service being exceptional.

The bar is stocked with an impressive collection of spirits, and for those with particularly expensive tastes, a £24,000 bottle of Krug champagne. After previously sampling several of their beautiful cocktails I was particularly keen to try out others that were on offer. Continue reading →

How Companies Are Taking Advantage of Bloggers

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I’m going to send you an email.

In that email, I’m going to give you a theme. It could be about anything – a time or a place, an event, lifestyle choice, food or a holiday that is approaching. I’m then going to ‘invite’ you to write a blog post about that theme, and ask you to return my email if you’re interested in doing so.

When you reply, I will ask you to include a link to my blog in your post. I’m going to give you absolutely nothing in return, but I may offer you a vague indication that your blog post will possibly be featured on my social media pages. However, I won’t commit to anything – my focus is that your blog post includes information about me.

Would you do it?

To be fair, some of my readers probably would – I’ve known them for a number of years and value their friendship very much. I love promoting other bloggers, and I do so on a regular basis both on the blog and my social media. I don’t expect anything in return when I do this – I love the community and if I can help another blogger I will.

But if you didn’t know me or anything about my blog, I can pretty much guarantee that you’d ignore my email or tell me to get lost. Continue reading →

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Plot

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imageIt was 11am and I was hanging out of the lounge window, smoking a cigarette. My head was pounding from the consumption of my entire bodyweight in Sambuca shots the night before and my feet were swollen and sore from the ridiculously high heels that I had insisted on wearing, despite knowing that I would only last half an hour in them before I had to take them off. I had make-up smeared down my face, my hair was creating it’s own style and had managed to stick up all over the place at the back and to finish the whole ensemble I was sporting my enormous blue ‘Winnie The Pooh’ dressing gown. Gorgeous. I heard the door open and in walked one of my nine flatmates (I lived in a flat of ten at my university Halls of Residence). He’d been up early and was returning from the gym, as he always did at the weekend. He looked at me, smiled and said:

“Morning Bridget!” Continue reading →