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Dateline: 23rd March, 2008

News from the Midlands

Courts drama moves to London

Derby Playhouse's attempts to stave off liquidation so that the board can reopen the theatre will be played out in London's High Court.

Directors of Derby Playhouse Ltd are appealing against a claim by the Arts Council for the repayment of a £1.4m grant as part of a recovery package.

A senior judge will not be available in Derby until the end of the year, it has been revealed, so the case will be transferred to London so that it can be heard at an earlier date.

Derby City Council is waiting to take over the theatre if the Playhouse Ltd does go into liquidation.

Steele and Cannon blast their way into Nottingham

Tommy Steele, Cannon and Ball and Jonathan Wilkes are lined up for the summer season at Nottingham's Royal Centre which also features a specially commissioned season of Horrible Histories Nottingham written by Terry Deary and a Royal Company production of Robin of Sherwood.

The programme in the Theatre Royal includes:

the Agatha Christie Company with And Then There Were None with Gerald Harper, Alex Ferns, Denis Lill, Chloe Newsome, Jennifer Wilson, Peter Byrne and Mark Wynter from April 28th to May 3rd;
Horrible Histories from May 6th to 10th;
Bernie Nolan, Sarah White and Pauline Fleming in Mum's The Word on May 1th;
Hello Dolly! starring Anita Dobson, Darren Day and David McAlister from May 20th to 24th;
Opera North with Verdi's Macbeth on May 28th and 31st, A Midsummer Night's Dream by Benjamin Britten on May 29th and 31st (matinee) and Gounod's Roméo et Juliette on May 30th;
Tommy Steele as Doctor Dolittle from June 3rd to 14th;
The Rat Pack Live From Las Vegas from June 16th to 21st;
Cannon and Ball in Big Bad Mouse from June 23rd to 28th;
the swinging '60s musical Shout! with Claire Sweeney and Su Pollard from June 30th to July 5th;
the Birmingham Stage Company presentation of Treasure Island from July 8th to 12th;
Horrible Histories Nottingham every Thursday morning from June 12th to September 11th;
Jonathan Wilkes and Natalie Casey in The Wedding Singer from July 14th to 19th;
Robin of Sherwood by Michael Morpurgo, adapted for the stage and directed by David Longford, starring Peter Duncan as the Sheriff of Nottingham, from July 23rd to August 2nd;
the Classic Thriller Season, with Holmes and the Ripper by Brian Clemens from August 4th to 9th, Francis Durbridge's Deadly Nightcap from August 11th to 16th, A Party To Murder by Marcia Kash and Douglas E Hughes from August 18th to 23rd, The Edge of Darkness by Brian Clemens from August 25th to 30th, and Ira Levin's Deathtrap from September 1st to 6th.

In the Royal Concert Hall the programme features:

a new production of That'll Be The Day on May 18th;
Beyond the Barricade on May 22nd;
a celebration of the swinging '60s, All You Need Is Love, from June 3rd to 7th;
Bob the Builder Live! on June 15th and 16th;
the Imperial Ice Stars with The Sleeping Beauty On Ice from July 1st to 5th;
Les Dennis and Sally Lindsay in Eurobeat, the world of the Eurovision Song Contest live on stage, from July 21st to 26th;
a new production of Giselle by English Youth Ballet on August 1st and 2nd;
Guangdong Acrobatic Troupe of China with Swan Lake from August 13th to 16th;
The Aluminium Show, a fantasy incorporating dance, puppetry and special effects, from August 28th to 30th.

The outdoor theatre season features four shows at Nottingham Castle by Heartbreak Productions.

Peter Pan flies into the castle grounds on June 14th, Charley's Aunt travels there on June 28th, Henry V goes unto the breach on July 17th and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream gets to the bottom of things on August 22nd and 24th.

Oddsocks Productions will be staging Much Ado About Nothing at the castle on July 24th and 25th.

The Lord Chamberlain's Men will take to the stage at Newstead Abbey, Ravenshead, Nottinghamshire with Much Ado About Nothing on July 6th while Illyria take over with The Merry Wives of Windsor on July 11th and Pinocchio on August 16th.

What's on this week

Tony Britton stars in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, presented by Middle Ground Theatre Company, at the Royal, Northampton from tomorrow (Monday) until Saturday;
Motown's greatest hits feature in Dancing In The Streets at Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall from tomorrow until Wednesday;
the Royal Shakespeare Company adaptation of Malorie Blackman's novel Noughts and Crosses tours to Nottingham Playhouse from Tuesday until Saturday;
Hull Truck Theatre's production of Our House, written and directed by John Godber, makes its home at Newcastle-under-Lyme's New Vic Theatre from Tuesday until Saturday;
Alan Plater's musical play Blonde Bombshells of 1943 swings into the Theatre Royal, Nottingham from Tuesday until Saturday;
Lisa Riley and Sarah White star in Dave Simpson's The Naked Truth, a comedy set in a pole-dancing class, at Buxton Opera House from Tuesday until Saturday;
Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker! leaps into Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday until Saturday;
Lichfield Garrick Rep Youth Theatre stages Les Miserables - Schools Edition at the Garrick from Tuesday until Saturday;
Thomas and Friends Live On Stage steam into Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall on Tuesday and Wednesday;
London Classic Theatre perform Mike Leigh's classic Abigail's Party at Coventry's Belgrade Theatre from Wednesday until Saturday;
conventional dance will disappear on Wednesday when Derby Assembly Rooms welcomes Evgenii Panfilov Russian State Ballet with The Big Ballet;
That'll Be The Day is back by public demand at Stafford Gatehouse Theatre on Wednesday and Thursday and Leicester's De Montfort Hall on Saturday;
Derby-based Red Earth Theatre stage The Crane, integrated theatre accessible to deaf people, in the city's Guildhall Theatre from Thursday to Saturday;
The Young Rep hope to banish boredom with Chantal Hopkins' Yawn No More in The Door at Birmingham Rep from Thursday until Saturday;
Moving Talent return to Buxton's Paupers Pit Theatre from Thursday to Saturday with three short plays by Jean McConnell, collectively known as On The Prom;
Hard Graft Theatre Company's comedy about how they survived walking 216 miles Coast To Coast without any money or food strolls into Stafford Gatehouse Theatre on Friday;
Kid Creole leads a young cast performing the biggest hits from the 1970s in Oh! What a Night at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham on Friday and Saturday;
Claire Price continues in a new production of Ibsen's The Lady From The Sea at Birmingham Rep until Saturday;
a new play about a family's harrowing experience of the Coventry blitz, One Night In November, continues in B2 at the city's Belgrade until Saturday;
Buxton Opera House stages Masters of the Musical next Sunday.

Reporter: Steve Orme

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