Author Archives: garylongden

There’s a Monster in Your Show, by Tom Fletcher- Derby Theatre

Author Tom Fletcher has declared: “I want kids to feel this is a show that they are a part of, not just coming to watch.” And for the fifty minutes of this performance he was as good as his word. … Continue reading

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Sinatra Raw – Derby Theatre

Richard Shelton is Frank Sinatra in this self penned production. He is best known as a TV  actor  who performed in ITV’s Emmerdale playing  Adam Forsythe between 2005 and 2006, before going on to portray Frank Sinatra in Rat Pack … Continue reading

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Calendar Girls – From the Top Theatre Company, Highbury theatre, Sutton Coldfield

***** As a  2003 film,   starring Helen Mirren, Calendar Girls  was hugely successful.  From The Top Theatre Company takes on the stage version, again written by Tim Firth, about a Northern Women’s institute   group  who produce a nude calendar for … Continue reading

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Poems 2024

Shylock’s lament Rates go up, as well as down And an unpaid surer cannot be sound A penny short requires an eye or a tooth We have to live and that’s the truth Some call me base, my trade so … Continue reading

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The Late Marilyn Monroe- Sutton Arts

***** Sixty two years ago, JFK, an alleged paramour of Marilyn, declared his intention for the USA to go to the moon not  “because it is  easy, but because it is  hard, because that goal will serve to organize and … Continue reading

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Oh! What A Lovely War- Derby Theatre

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This musical was first performed on stage in 1963, but it was the1969 film that made a mass  cultural impact. . Both of my grandfathers fought in World War 1 in the army, and my father served  … Continue reading

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Drifters Girl – Birmingham Hippodrome, 16/4/24

Drifters Girl- Birmingham  Hippodrome “Come on over to my place- hey you, we’re having a party” and on Tuesday night the party was at the Birmingham Hippodrome as the music of one of the most enduring vocal harmony groups of … Continue reading

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NaPoWriMo24

Under The Volcano Oblivion awaits us all It is a long time To pre-empt it artificially Seems a waste I have never been to Mexico But should like to remember my visit All of us live a life in one … Continue reading

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School for Scandal – Derby Theatre

A major new revival of  a classic  comedy produced by Tilted Wig on the third stop of its nationwide tour. – Author  Richard  Sheridan is one of the most astonishing figures in British, and Anglo- Irish, dramatic history. Born in … Continue reading

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Awful Auntie – Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

David Walliams has cemented himself a position as  a favourite children’s author both with his books and plays. His writing covers an appeal to a variety of ages. Tonight I took a ten year old grandson and seven year old … Continue reading

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