I find it hard to talk rationally about Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker.
I’m always looking for something new to review, a policy that’s stood me in good stead over the years – you never know what new treat you’re going to see.
The Trocks, as they’re affectionately known to their hordes of devotees, travel the world constantly only showing up in Britain every three or four years so there’s a high demand for tickets when they do make one of their rare appearances in Birmingham.
Just occasionally you see something that’s packed so full of good stuff you know you’ll be thinking about it for years. This is absolutely the case with Big Script’s latest offering
By a weird fluke of programming this week seems to be David Tristram week at the Garrick.
Billed as the 50th Anniversary tour it was hardly surprising everyone in the audience was getting on a bit – the last episode of Round The Horne was broadcast in 1968. It caught the mood as the baby boomers’ post-war world cracked open before their avid eyes.
Technically the Gala Premiere of Doreen – the Movie doesn’t need a review, if its point is publicity for the purpose of selling tickets. Because Doreen (in private life known as Gill Jordan) doesn’t need publicity.
I couldn’t make the first night of this dramatisation of Meera Syal’s much-loved autobiographical novel about growing up in a 1970s Black Country village, but I caught the last night and can truly say that it’s a feel-good hit.
I don’t know how they do it, but I have to say Vienna Festival Ballet are really great.
When first offered a review ticket for Birmingham Royal Ballet 25 years ago I knew nothing at all about ballet. The resulting quarter of a century has been an education not just for me but for their ever-growing audiences the length and breadth of Britain.
Ever since their first appearance, Different Animal have pounced on iconic stories and remade them with reverent affection, allowing us to take a fresh look at why these fables enshrine treasured cultural values for us as a national family.
Read Phil Preece’s review of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s performance of Swan Lake.
