Midlands productions

Published: 13 May 2012
Reporter: Steve Orme

ILL-Abilities by Ben LiNow in its ninth year, Breakin’ Convention, an international festival of hip-hop dance theatre, hosted and curated by Jonzi D, returns to Birmingham Hippodrome tomorrow (Monday) and on Tuesday.

Ali Bastian, Stefan Booth, Tupele Dorgu and Bernie Nolan will give Chicago plenty of razzle dazzle at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton from tomorrow until Saturday.

Bette and JoanAnita Dobson and Greta Scacchi step into the shoes of legendary rivals Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in Bette and Joan at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre from tomorrow until Saturday.

Richard Alston Dance Company returns to Nottingham Playhouse with a programme including Unfinished Business and Roughcut on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Birmingham Royal Ballet visits Buxton Opera House for the first time with a mixed programme on Tuesday and Wednesday.

An Inspector CallsThe National Theatre production of J B Priestley’s thriller An Inspector Calls visits Northampton’s Derngate from Tuesday until Saturday.

Connie Fisher stars in Leonard Bernstein’s musical comedy Wonderful Town at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal from Tuesday until Saturday.

Two actors, two props and the convergence of two cultures lead to a re-imagining of the rarely seen first quarto of Shakespeare's classic in Two Gents Productions’ Kupenga Kwa Hamlet at The Drum, Birmingham on Wednesday.

A new comedy by Chris Ponka, Raining Men is expected to bring a ray of sunshine to audiences at Lichfield Garrick on Wednesday and Thursday.

EquusThe London Classic Theatre presentation of Peter Shaffer’s Equus gallops into the Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton on Wednesday and Thursday.

Wah! Wah! GirlsEast London meets Bollywood in a new musical, Wah! Wah! Girls, which previews at Curve, Leicester from Wednesday until Saturday before opening later this month at Sadler’s Wells.

Brian Mitchell and Joseph Nixon’s heavyweight comedy about two of the greatest wrestling rivals, Big Daddy Vs Giant Haystacks gets to grips with Derby’s Guildhall Theatre on Thursday.

Nottingham’s Lakeside Arts Centre hosts Translunar Paradise, Theatre Ad Infinitum’s “amazing journey of life, death and enduring love”, on Thursday.

Touring company Ballet Central takes a programme of ballet, contemporary and jazz dance to The Core at Corby Cube, Northamptonshire on Thursday.

A “unique blend of electrifying circus, South American hip-hop and reggaeton dance”, Circolombia’s show Urban is at Birmingham Hippodrome on Thursday and Friday.

The Hound of the BaskervillesOldham Coliseum’s presentation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, adapted for the stage by Clive Francis, growls into Buxton Opera House from Thursday until Saturday.

A new musical based on the life and times of Marilyn Monroe, Blonde, is a Theatre Arts student production at Derby Theatre from Thursday until Saturday.

In celebration of Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of independence, dance company L’Acadco looks into Jamaica’s history and celebrates its heroes, achievements and creations in Ruckumbine in the studio at Curve, Leicester on Thursday and Friday and The Drum, Birmingham on Saturday.

Danza Contemporanea de Cuba takes a programme including Kenneth Kvarnstrom’s playful interpretation of a Bizet classic, Carmen?!, to Nottingham Playhouse on Friday and Saturday.

Solo performer Rebecca Vaughan explores Elizabeth I’s struggle to reconcile the desires of womanhood with the duties of sovereignty in I, Elizabeth at Buxton Pavilion Arts Centre Studio next Sunday.

Coventry Belgrade’s production We Love You City, which is getting a replay in the theatre’s B2 auditorium to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Coventry City’s winning the FA Cup, continues until Saturday, 26 May.

At the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, The Comedy of Errors continues until tomorrow (Monday); Twelfth Night continues until Tuesday; The Tempest continues until Saturday; Richard III continues until 15 September; and King John also continues until 15 September.

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