Aladdin Milton Keynes Theatre

4th December 2015 - 10th January 2016

I love this time of year– it's about all the little details that you want to get just right..and a traditional Christmas panto just hits the spot!

You have to take the good with the bad (it goes hand in hand at Christmas) decorating the tree and seeing it light up for the first time (or not if the bulbs have gone?) struggling through the hordes of crowds in the shops to buy those special gifts for your loved ones…and never being able to find the end of the sellotape? I'm happy that these are my only struggles...

But it's all worth while when you share this special time of year with family and friends.  I feel blessed that I can.

My Christmas's are about bad jokes, plenty of pigs in blankets and spending time with the family - however nothing says Christmas quite like an age old traditional pantomime.

Aladdin has swept into Milton Keynes Theatre on his magic carpet and brought Hollywood royalty with him!

The one and only Priscilla Presley (yes!?) is here in Milton Keynes!!  The petite figure that is larger than life is the Genie of the Lamp (oh no she's not...oh yes she is!!)

Add brilliant Gary Wilmot as Widow Twankey, Wayne Sleep as the Genie of the Ring and the gorgeous Ben Adams as Aladdin - it's a hit from start to finish.

Kev Orkian as Wishee Washee was so hilarious, entertaining the adults without the children knowing just what we were all laughing about (which does make it even funnier!)

All in all Aladdin is a great, family festive production, packed with loads of fun! I guarantee you will be laughing and the kids will be wowed by it too.  

A Christmas panto appeals to all age groups, and it is so true! I sat next to the youngest audience member ever, 13 week old Cleo and she was spellbound! You will need to buy a ticket and go along to see it for yourselves!

With fantastic sparkling sets, well known music and bags of energy, you won’t be able to resist booing when the baddy Abanazar come on to stage! 

Aladdin will give you a real "feel good factor" that you will take away with you...it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

It’s brilliant fun, I loved it from start to finish – don’t miss this, it's not just fab-u-lous it's genie -us! 

It’s a Christmas must see!

Enjoy – Merry Christmas...

Lily B X

The Shawshank Redemption

Milton Keynes Theatre 16th November - 21st November 2015

The Shawshank Redemption started its life as a short novel by Stephen King, became an Oscar nominated film and now a play adapted by Owen O'Neil and Dave Johns.

In 1947 Portland, Maine banker Andy Dufresne (Ian Kelsy) is convicted of brutally murdering his wife and her lover and is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences to be served at the notorious Shawshank State Penitentiary.

Andy soon realises that no one can survive alone and strikes up an unlikely friendship with the prison "fixer", Ellis Red Redding (Patrick Robinson) who is also serving a life sentence for murder.

Andy asks for nothing more than a rock hammer for his "hobby" and later a large picture of Rita Hayworth - items that seemed to help him cope with his brutal attacks from the "Bull Queer" gang called the "Sisters" and their leader Bogs (Kevin Mathurin).

One day Andy overhears the brutal captain of the guards, Hadley (Joe Reisig) complaining about being taxed on an inheritance and offers to help him legally shelter the money.  Warden Stammers (Owen O'Neil) hears of Andy's talents and reassigns him to the prison library to assist elderly inmate "Brooksie".

This new job is a front for Andy to help all of the prison staff with their financial matters, however, for Warden Stammers the help is a little more.  Stammer's is laundering money that is being illegally gained from prison labour for public work, all under an alias.

A new inmate arrives at Shawshank and Andy takes him under his wing, helping him with gaining some qualifications.  Andy hears that the new inmate has information that would clear his name and make him a free man, but Warden Stammers has other ideas and kills the youngster to keep Andy Dufresne as his "financial advisor."

Dufresne secretly working hard over so many years - chipping away with the little rock hammer...a roll call reveals that Andy is not in his cell. 

Stammers rips down the picture of Rita Hayworth to find a hole, just large enough for a man to wriggle down through the sewage pipework.  Andy Defresne crawls the length of five football pitches in excrement to freedom, taking with him the ledger containing the details of the money laundering...

After serving forty years Red finally gets parole and as the two had discussed, heads to a beach in Mexico, where he is reunited with his friend, Andy Dufresne.

This is truly an amazing production.

Ian Kelsey and Patrick Robinson were outstanding in their roles - they deserved their standing ovation, as did all of the cast.  The audience were captivated by the action on the stage.

The Shawshank Redemption is a cracking good story and it is not lost at all in this adaptation.  The set and lighting produces just the right dank, grimy and chilling backdrop for the cruel drama to unfold.

This is unmissable!

Lily B X

Brilliant shows that you have missed at Milton Keynes Theatre...










The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Milton Keynes Theatre

This wonderful show picked up seven Olivier awards in London and five Tonys on Broadway and rightly so. 

This National Theatre production, based on the award-winning novel by Mark Haddon, is one of those shows that make live theatre such a very special experience.







The Glen Miller Story - Milton Keynes Theatre

Tommy Steele has been a household name for more than fifty years. 

As a song and dance man, no-one else comes anywhere near his talent and the affection in which he’s held. Glenn Miller was the great star of the big band sound. 

Combine the two and immerse them in the true story of Miller’s mysterious disappearance in 1944 and you’ve got The Glenn Miller Story, a new show to get you In The Mood.

English National Ballet - Lest We Forget

Milton Keynes Theatre

20th October 2015

2014 marked the centenary of the Great War.  Families in much of the Western world were torn apart by its unprecedented horror - though soon, for the worst reasons, it would have to renamed the First World War.

Young men eagerly responded to the call of their national leaders to enlist and defend their country and homes, while their mothers, wives, lovers and sisters flocked into the support services and armaments industry. 

Millions died in many countries, millions were blighted or bereaved - the world's grief was as overwhelming as the relief of survival or the ecstasy of victory.

Lest We Forget features three works expressing the experiences of those who fought the war, and those who stayed behind.

No Man's Land (Liam Scarlett), Second Breath (Russell Maliphant) and Dust (Akram Khan) - this compelling and extremely emotional work brings together superb design and evocative scores.

Scarlett, Maliphant and Khan, three of the most sought-after choreographers working today, have created dance works full of unforgettable and haunting images.

The whole company of dancers were sublime, their expression and emotion was captivating - a very memorable production from the ENB.

Lily B x

King Charles III - Milton Keynes Theatre

12 - 17 October 2015

Mike Bartlett's ingenious future history of the Windsors is a theatre must see.  Director Rupert Goold with Whitney Mosery has been described as producing "a brave piece of work" and I totally agree, it is very deserving of its must see status.

It is written and performed in a very Shakespearean style, with the dialog delivered in prose (which was unanticipated)  It is staged against a minimalist backdrop...bare brick wall and a few candles.

The language lends a musically to the speech laden scenes and a ghost of Diana adds to the Shakespearean tragedy style

The idea of a play about our monarchy serves up images very different to the gripping story of the Windsors.  Following the death of Queen Elizabeth after a reign of 70 years (putting us in 2022)  It tells the tale of Charles who has waited in the wings more than any other Prince of Wales in history.

It is both funny and deeply serious as it speculates on the future history of our monarchy.

Charles has a point to be made, to prove he is not just a puppet to be manipulated by our government - he has a voice and he wants it to be heard.

The cast is superb across the board with Robert Powell, although not attempting to impersonate Charles, does employ his hand movements and stiffness to give a sense of the would-be King.

Richard Glaves as Harry adds an air of levity to the proceedings with Ben Righton as the dutiful son William and Jennifer Bryden as a very surprisingly powerful and determined Kate.

The play reveals the difficulties for the monarchy in this age, although is not irreverent in its treatment of the royal family but is balanced in its approach to the issues surrounding the Windsors.

It leaves the audience with much to consider, it is thought provoking and powerful.


Lily B x

AS THE DAYS GET SHORTER, THE NIGHTS GET MORE ENTERTAINING!

Autumn: season of mists and mellow fruitfulness – and a fantastic line-up of amazing shows at Milton Keynes Theatre!

When they are rehearsing a show, The Bunbury Players are very much in earnest. In this case, it’s The Importance of Being Earnest that they are presenting.

A starry cast of some of our best known actors, including Nigel Havers, Martin Jarvis and Sian Phillips, kick off the autumn season at MKT with an original take on Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy.

They may be Dirty Rotten Scoundrels but the two swindlers who try and fleece the well-heeled tourists on the French Riviera may well find that making a living as con-men is tougher than they thought.

Snuggling into an ermine trimmed cape in October and direct from a sold-out run in London that earned five star reviews, King Charles III suggests one possible scenario for the future with Robert Powell as the newly-crowned monarch on the British throne.

Theatre at its best comes in many forms. While it’s true that English National Ballet is one of the great dance companies performing today, and Glyndebourne is a world famous festival opera company, both organisations have a reputation for being far more than the sum of their parts.

ENB’s Romeo and Juliet, inventive and passionately choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev, and Lest We Forget, a poignant reflection on World War I, are both unforgettable theatrical experiences. Milton Keynes Theatre is one of only three venues in the UK lucky enough to host Glyndebourne Tour 2015.

And this year, the company is proud to present the next generation of opera stars in three diverse works by Mozart, Donizetti and Handel.

Tommy Steele has been a household name for more than fifty years. As a song and dance man, no-one else comes anywhere near his talent and the affection in which he’s held. Glenn Miller was the great star of the big band sound. Combine the two and immerse them in the true story of Miller’s mysterious disappearance in 1944 and you’ve got The Glenn Miller Story, a new show to get you In The Mood, coming to Milton Keynes at the end of October.

Book your tickets now for this one. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, coming to Milton Keynes Theatre in November, picked  up seven Olivier awards in London and five Tonys on Broadway – rightly so. This National Theatre production, based on the award-winning novel by Mark Haddon, is one of those shows that make live theatre such a very special experience.

No-one can survive alone. Incarcerated at the notorious Shawshank facility accused of a double murder, former accountant Andy Dufresne finds that out to his cost. The Shawshank Redemption is regularly voted the nation’s number one movie of all time. Now you can see the classic story on stage in a new production. Watch this space for news of the star casting!

Almost single-handedly – or should that be footedly - Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace have elevated ballroom dancing to a new art form. They are back in November with a thrilling new live performance. But The Last Tango is what it says on the tin; it’s their final ever theatre tour…

Christmas at Milton Keynes Theatre just wouldn’t be Christmas without the best panto in the region. Following on from last year’s record-breaking show, Peter Pan, the star cast will be flying the magic carpet off to the Far East in Aladdin, with all your favorite panto characters on board. Get into the festive spirit right here at Milton Keynes Theatre!

With an amazing line-up of one night shows including comedy from Dara O Briain, Milton Jones and Paddy McGuiness, live music from The Hollies, Squeeze and UB40, anecdotes and reflections from that multi-talented actor, globe-trotter and former Python nutter, Michael Palin and the very best from tribute bands performing music by Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Fleetwood Mac, Motown and rock ‘n’ roll the autumn season at Milton Keynes Theatre is more than enough to keep the winter chill at bay!

A little bit further ahead, you can look forward to spring 2016 and a sparkling season of shows that includes musicals, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Chicago, Hairspray, Annie and the smash West End hit The Bodyguard.

Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty, David Walliams’ Gangsta Granny, the National Theatre’s, An Inspector Calls and three operas from Welsh National Opera should give you plenty to choose from – but if not, there is more….

To book just visit Milton Keynes Theatre Box Office, call 0844 871 7652 (bkg fee) or go to www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes  (bkg fee)