Hairspray - The Broadway Musical 

Milton Keynes Theatre 4th April - 9th April 2016

The story finds a plus-size, beehived white girl, Tracy Turnblad, played by Freya Sutton, leading a local black civil resistance campaign.

This show lumps together all differences – race, sexuality and size.  A straight laced TV producer Velma von Tussle (Claire Sweeney) won't let Tracy dance on the Corney Collins Show. The producer von Tussle is determinedly respectable, her hair neatly curled in an oh so perfect way, as is her squeaky clean daughter Amber.

On the flip side, Tracy's mum, Edna, who has been played by the likes of John Travolta and Michael Ball, is such a panto dame! Matt Rixon as Edna has a voice is like a foghorn and looks like Fred Flintstone in a frock! Rixon was hilarious, as was her loving husband Wilbur (Blue Peter's Peter Duncan) The two of them on stage singing "You're Timeless to Me" was truly fantastic and received rapturous applause.

A mention has to go to Brenda Edwards (X Factor contestant 2005) as Motormouth Maybelle, Edwards was simply superb, to quote a fellow member of the audience "Wow...Wow...Wow!!"

The live band on stage were fantastic in their own right, musical director Liam Dunachie lead the way!

If you’re not on your feet and dancing at the end of this feel good musical, then I suggest you check your pulse!  It's infectious, just watching the audience around me enjoying the show made me smile!

The Milton Keynes Theatre audience needed little encouragement to be on their feet and clapping along to "Can’t Stop the Beat" and after that, a standing ovation for a brilliant show and a very talented cast.

Brighten up your day with a theatre visit to catch this brilliant show!

Enjoy!

Lily B x

To book tickets go to  www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre (fees apply)

WNO The Barber of Seville - Milton Keynes Theatre 

Rossini's score for The Barber of Seville fizzes with life and wit and with the extra material to generate more laughs, it just makes this production more of a triumph!

The Welsh National Opera's new production by director Sam Brown's with Kelley Rouke's English translation of Sterbini's original 1816 libretto is an updated, no holes barred translation that ensures that this production of The Barber of Seville is nothing short of brilliant.

Featuring Ralph Koltai's striking sets, this staging shows no shortage of colour - the traditional barber pole strips echoed within the costumes.

The opening is a visual feast - the well known overture is accompanied by a balletic display of giant scissors snipping away in perfect unison with the chorus all clad in black.



This version of The Barber of Seville combines both warmth and wit.  A memorable moment is the slow motion brawl, with the chorus arriving on stage in drag brandishing rolling pins and saucepans - in a very Monty Python esque way.  It had the desired effect on the audience, with instantaneous laughter igniting around the auditorium.

The pace is fast and never lets up from the start.  Everyone is carried along by a whirlwind of crazy disguises, twists and turns and very unlikely interventions.

The Barber opens with one of the best loved of all overtures, with Figaro (Nicholas Lester) letting us the audience know he is societies problem solver. The lovely Rosina (Claire Booth) does well, however her lower range didn't project at all, which was a shame.

The sophistication of the singing was superb throughout although I felt that the translation to English meant that some of the arias were "lost in translation".

With James Southall conducting, the pace of the music never falters, keeping up well with the mayhem on stage.

At times it seemed more of a musical than opera, however, the production was very much appreciated by the audience.

Bravo WNO!

Lily B x