Suffice to say, whether you are 8 or 80 there is nothing like a flying car to set the imagination soaring.

Ian Fleming’s classic children’s story about the eccentric Caractacus Potts and his fantastical inventions continues to enchant.

Most will be familiar with the musical version from the 1968 film starring Dick Van Dyke as Potts and Sally Ann Howes as sweet factory heiress, Truly Scrumptious.

Here Ore Oduba and Ellie Nunn make for a charming pair as they step into those famous roles. Oduba brings a genuine warmth to the character and his Strictly champion skills shine in the toy box scene.

Nunn gives Scrumptious an update, swapping long lacey gowns for practical jodhpurs. This is a no-nonsense woman with a generous spirit, who can turn her hand at anything. It’s easy to see why the family enjoy having her around.

The quality of the child actors is a real strength of this production, both the central characters and the ensemble. In this tour the roles of Jeremy and Jemima Potts are shared by Charlie Banks, Melody Caruana, Gracie Cochrane, Isla Ithier, Charlie McGuire, Lara Simon, Huxley Syers and Roshan Thomson. On Tuesday we saw Charlie Banks and Lara Simon. Their energy was infectious, making us believe we are on this fantasy journey with them.

The musical is a real family show and director Thom Southerland brings the childlike qualities in all the characters to the fore. Even the sinister Child Catcher becomes more theatrical than sinister. Charlie Brooks plays the part with a camp confidence, almost as if she enjoys the game of dressing up as a cat and sniffing out children with her curly trumpet more than their final capture in her fake ice-cream van.

Liam Fox (Dan Spencer in Emmerdale) gets star billing on the poster too. As Grandpa Potts, his is a smaller role but nonetheless memorable. His relative youth for the part gives him an energy that brings out the humour. His Grandpa retells his tall tales with a twinkling sense of fun and a knowingness that moves away from the film portrayal of an elderly relative with dementia.

The Sherman Brothers’ popular music and lyrics are a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Everyone knows the title track, but in case you are thinking this is a one-hit wonder there are several instantly recognisable tunes including Toot Sweets, Truly Scrumptious and the beautiful lullaby, Hushaby Mountain.

Morgan Large’s set and costume design has a pantomime feel in its vibrancy and humour including entertaining turns like the fairground dresses and definite wow moments with the car. For those who have seen previous productions the magical car doesn’t come out over the stalls, but the flying effects are still enough to make your inner-child soar and want to sing – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang we love you!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is at the Palace Theatre, Manchester from 11-16 March before continuing on tour.

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Jon Brittain’s award-winning play is a clever, funny, heart-warming story of love, gender, sexuality and courage.  It is also deeply moving, taking the audience on a rollercoaster of emotions, and I admit – I did shed a tear! 

With the auditorium lights still up, the actors take to the stage, making a real connection with the audience. Europop music pumps out, and the gorgeous, simple set with its paintings of containers, ports and bridges, transports us to an apartment in Rotterdam, Holland.

It’s New Year in Holland, and our story begins with Alice (Rebecca Banatvala) trying to find the courage to tell her parents that she is a lesbian, and living with her girlfriend. Alice, a true analytical introvert, in agony about ‘coming out’, thinks that this complex issue can be best dealt with by email. Fiona, her girlfriend, is very used to Alice’s procrastination, and has a bet with her as to when or whether she will ever tell her parents.

Fiona, played by the fantastic Lucy Jane Parkinson, is the star of the show. When we first meet her, she is lesbian, happily attending her lesbian book club, with funny quips about whether Angelina Jolie is gay or not and taking pride in outing Jodie Foster before anyone else. As a lesbian myself, I identified with so many of the jokes, and the relationship dynamics of this couple. Brittain’s dialogue is wonderful and never patronises the characters or the audience.

As Alice readies herself to send the email, Fiona too has her own revelation – finding the courage to tell Alice she identifies as a man, in fact she thinks she has always been a man trapped in a woman’s body.

As Fiona begins transitioning to Adrian, flaws in the relationship with Alice begin to surface. Alice’s co-worker, Lelani soon steps in and what begins as mere flirtation soon becomes seduction. Stella Taylor is wonderful as Lelani, portraying a very confident, very Dutch, and rather stunning millennial. Alice is, at first, a reluctant participant in the affair, but fireworks ensue with Lelani on the frozen canals of Rotterdam.

The play has only four actors, who through Donnacadh O’Brians’ direction, keep you absolutely captivated throughout. Ellan Parry’s clever stage design – with just two chairs and two coffee tables – manages to take us from Rotterdam apartment, to club, to pub, to station and even to a frozen canal on New Year’s eve.  Richard Williamson’s lighting design adds to the atmosphere, enhancing the neon lights and colours of the set.

The play is a wonderful montage of courage and transition. Courage as Adrian becomes the person he always was, “When I dream… I dream as a man.” And courage eventually for Alice to tell Adrian that she wants to grieve because she feels she has lost Fiona, despite Adrian’s insistence that “I’m not ill. You don’t have to treat me like I’m dying”.

Everyone in the play is going through transition. Lucy Jane Parkinson brilliantly illustrates the challenges a transgender man deals with, from getting angry with a man dressed as a lion when he identifies Adrian as female, to the heart-breaking moment when he exhibits sheer joy when Lelani thinks he is his brother (and a man!), just at the moment Lelani has declared her love to Alice.

Each individual and relationship in Adrian’s life is affected by his actions. Adrian’s brother, Josh can see what is happening, and tries his best to help, but even he cannot stop what happens when the egocentric aspects of Adrian’s transition come to the fore. Paul Heath is wonderful as Josh, a brother who accepts his new brother, and perhaps delivers one of the most beautiful parts of the play in his interactions with Alice.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to think of Rotterdam and arrived expecting a night of very tense and serious theatre.  What I experienced was a play that deals with the complexity of relationships head-on and does so with glorious wit, humour and wonderful dialogue. Whether you are gay, lesbian, straight, binary or transgender, I defy you not to enjoy this wonderful production.

Rotterdam is at the Opera House, Manchester from 13-15 June 2019. See website for full tour details.

Read our interview with the cast of Rotterdam.

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How does it feel taking on such iconic roles?

Michael: Once you get over the fact that it’s quite a daunting role to take on because it’s so well-known it’s just really exciting. Everyone is so familiar with the show and they’re so familiar with the characters that you’re just excited to do it justice, you’re ready to put in the work and bring it to life.

Simone: I agree. It’s so exciting. Being able to play such an iconic role in a show that brings the movie to life on stage is an amazing privilege.

Kira: It is really exciting but of course there’s also a lot of pressure to do the characters justice because they are so well-known and so iconic.

What’s your approach in terms of bringing a fresh take to the characters?

Kira: I don’t want to stray too far from what Jennifer Grey did in the film because I personally feel the choices she makes are things I’d do as well. Although I’m being a bit bolder with the choices so when she’s being sexy, I want people to be able to see that “Baby” can be really sexy, fiery and smart – to really show the depths to her.

Michael: It’s about ‘How would I behave if I was in the same situations?’ That frees you up to bring something of yourself to the role, to put elements of yourself into the portrayal.

Simone: It’s about thinking ‘What would I do in this situation?’ whilst thinking about Penny and the era in which the story is set, namely 1963. It’s such a different time to now and what she goes through is quite heavy so to think ‘How would I feel if I was in that time and that situation?’ is a great help because in real life I have a very different personality to her.

In what ways can you relate to your characters? And in what ways are they completely different?

Simone: The big red flag for me is what Penny goes through. She’s in quite a sticky situation and has to make some big decisions. I feel she’s quite isolated and that’s a struggle for me to understand because I’ve never really been isolated myself or had to make massive decisions that would have such a major effect on my life. But I love the fieriness of her, although it’s hard being mean to Kira on stage when we get on so well, I can relate to her passion for dance.

Kira: I’m not proud to say it but I’m not like Baby in terms of education. She knows a lot about politics and what goes on in the world but I feel I’m not in touch with that side of myself as much. But I do feel quite similar to her in that I remember when I was 17 and the first time I fell in love and doing so much to be close to that person – things I’d never think to do on a regular basis just to be with someone. I also relate to the closeness she feels with her family.

Michael: Obviously Johnny in the show is a dancer and I trained in dance myself so that’s kind of the hook I latch onto. We come from a similar background, with the training everyone has to go through, but fortunately I haven’t gone through the serious, crippling financial situation Johnny has been through or the unexplained relationship with his dad and the fact his mum is never mentioned. That’s a whole grey area that we don’t even know about and it’s a part of the character that I have to work to understand.

How is the classic story recreated on stage?

Kira: The script is the same as the film scene-by-scene, with a few extra little surprises in there, and I feel it’s done really well. The set is a smaller replica of the actual Kellerman’s resort and in fact there are three big trucks they use for the staff quarters, the inside and outside of the hotel and the resort cabins. The music, of course, is so iconic and it’s done so well with the live band being on stage. They are fantastic musicians.

Michael: The team do such a good job of bringing the story to the stage so it’s like reliving the film live. You’ve got all the dances, all the music, the band’s on stage kicking butt – it’s such a fun show.

Can you recall when you first saw the film and the impact it had on you?

Kira: I vividly remember watching it on videotape because my mum had it and I remember watching the dance scenes in the staff quarters and I was like ‘Oh my God!’ So I knew exactly how Baby feels when she goes to the resort. It was mesmerising.

Michael: I remember my mum watching it when I was really young and being like ‘That’s not my type of film’ as I went off to play sports or whatever. Then I revisited it when I got into the dance industry more and I was like ‘Actually, it’s a really cool film’. The more time I spent in rehearsals looking through the script, which is the same as the film, we talked a lot about it being about bravery and becoming the person you want to be, regardless of your situation and people telling you you can’t. That’s very inspiring and I think that’s why it has done so well.

Simone: When I saw it I was like ‘I just want to be a part of this, to just be in there’ especially with scenes like Do You Love Me? where they’re just having a party and I remember watching the Mambo and thinking ‘My goodness, I want to do that!’ and now I get to do it.

Michael and Kira, how much pressure is there to get the legendary lift right?

Kira: It’s a huge pressure because everyone is waiting for that lift. It’s so iconic to the film, isn’t it? But when it comes to recreating it, I trust Michael. I trust that even if I fall he’ll have my back, but touch wood nothing’s gone wrong yet.

Michael: The fun bit is when we do the lift in the water, which is done by visual effects. That’s fun because it’s where you get to mess it up and go wrong.

What other challenges does the show present for you physically?

Kira: I’m a trained dancer, but I have to appear like I’m not. I have to reverse everything I’ve been taught and make it look bad, without making it look like I’m trying to be bad.

Simone: The Mambo is quite challenging. It sort of comes out of nowhere and is really explosive and fast-paced.

Michael: It’s a very dance-heavy show, as you’d expect, but I don’t think I realised quite how dance-heavy it is until we started rehearsals. There are a few numbers back to back and you’re dripping with sweat, like ‘Oh man, we’ve got to go on for the next number’ before you’ve even got into the next costume. Physically it’s a tough show but that’s why we do it – we love that challenge.

And what are the emotional challenges?

Michael: All of our characters have a moment where we have to go to that place emotionally and it’s always a challenge, but as an actor I feel like those are the fun moments too because they’re the moments where you can be brave enough to go to that place and feel all those feelings. You trust the audience is there with you and your partner is with you on stage emotionally too.

Simone: I think most of us break down into tears at some point in the show and you don’t want to make it look fake so you have to make it as real as possible. When you come off stage after a scene like that, you just have to shake it off because you get really emotional. It’s a rollercoaster but it’s exciting.

Kira: You have to take yourself to a place that maybe you don’t want to go to on that day but you just have to let yourself go there. In the scene where Baby is talking to her dad there’s this big monologue and it’s quite emotional, then you have to come off from that scene and go into the next scene with a new mindset whereas in real life you’d have a few hours to sort yourself out.

The music is a massive part of the Dirty Dancing experience. Do you have a favourite song from the show?

Kira: Hungry Eyes. I love that song and always have. Before I even auditioned for the show it was my alarm in the morning!

Michael: For me it’s (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life. It was a massive hit and it’s such a popular song.But it’s my favourite because it comes right at the end of the show. It’s such a climactic moment where everyone is on stage dancing together and there’s a moment where Johnny comes through the crowd so there’s a real connection with the audience.

Simone: Mine’s Do You Love Me? Love the routine, love the song, and it feels free where it’s like a party scene with your mates. It’s really raw and fun.

Michael, this is your professional debut. How are you finding it?

Michael: It’s been indescribable really. It’s been an amazing journey and I’m so privileged to be able to do it. It’s a great role, a great show, the cast have been amazing, the team have been fantastic, everyone’s helped me along on the journey and it feels like we’ve become a really strong team.

What are you all most looking forward to about taking the show on tour?

Kira: I love connecting with different audiences in different venues. We get excited moving around the country so we’re buzzing on stage and the audience feeds off that.

Michael: I think we’re really lucky to take the show on tour because we get an opening night every week. It also means you get to perform for a huge range of people and the fact you’re travelling together makes you a stronger company.

Simone: It keeps it exciting because you’re not within the same four walls for a long time. It feels new each time and for me, being from Australia, getting to travel the UK is awesome.

What’s the one thing you couldn’t be on the road without?

Michael: I’d have to say my NutriBullet…

Kira: [Laughs] Six-pack yawn!

Simone: For me, it’s my hubby. He’s coming on tour with me so he’ll be my taxi driver.

Kira: I like to have books with me. I do like reading and it’s nice to wind down after shows by taking yourself off to some imaginary place.

Dirty Dancing is at The Palace Theatre, Manchester on 22-27 April 2019. See website for full tour details.

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Add to that an audience worldwide of more than 25 million and you start to get the picture – this is no ordinary jukebox musical.

Writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice spent hours with the real men behind the wild stories, merging their recollections to tell the previously unheard true story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, using the band’s catchy hits as a backdrop to chart their journey from the back streets of New Jersey to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame heroes.

We all love a rags to riches tale, and this one has so much action along the way. It is clear to see why in their 1960s heyday the band’s clean cut, blazer-clad images wouldn’t have stood up to revelation of what has since emerged. There’s gang crime, links to the mob, gambling, prostitution, family breakdown, drugs, tragedy, and at its core a fiercely-held belief in New Jersey loyalty. As Nick Massi wryly comments: “Sell 100 million records and see how you handle it”.

Alongside this drama is a rapid rise to fame with a string of hits including: Sherry, Walk Like A Man, December, 1963 (Oh What a Night), Big Girls Don’t Cry, My Eyes Adored You, Let’s Hang On (To What We’ve Got), Bye Bye Baby, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Working My Way Back to You, and Rag Doll.

This UK touring production keeps the original staging of original Broadway creative team. A base of multi-layered steel platforms, overlaid with multi-media filming, making for slick scene changes and impressive concert scenes.

However, even such solid foundations could falter without a strong cast to bring the characters to life. Michael Watson leads with a powerhouse performance as Frankie Valli, growing convincingly from the nerdy 16-year-old in baggy jeans to confident, slick-suited superstar; making us believe in and feel for Valli as a superstar singer with a soaring falsetto voice as well as a human being with all his vulnerabilities and flaws.

But this is by no means a one-man show, and much of its strength comes from the rich depth with which all four band members are drawn. Lewis Griffiths as bass-player Nick Massi has a voice as deep as Valli’s is high, bringing relatable humanity and humour to a figure who could easily be cast into the shadows. Peter Nash hits the perfect pitch as wide-boy guitarist, Tommy DeVito; while Declan Egan captures the relative innocence of young whizz-kid songwriter and keyboardist, Bob Gaudio.

When the four take to the stage concert-style, the audience erupts as if seeing the real thing and the atmosphere is electric.

Joel Elferink deserves special mention as producer-songwriter Bob Crewe – a versatile performer who we could imagine switching to a mobster in the blink of an eye. And James Alexander Gibbs makes a memorable impression as a young Oscar-winner, Joe Pesci.

There is so much richness in this show, it’s easy to see why audiences come back over and over again. This UK Tour is as good as it ever was. If you’ve not seen it before, go. If you have seen it before, go back. It has all the drama of Hollywood wrapped in constant stream of nostalgic, uplifting hits. It’s terrific.

Jersey Boys UK Tour is at the Palace Theatre, Manchester from 29 January to 16 February 2019. See website for full tour details.

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It’s fair to say that if you’re a fan of Frank Baum’s original tale, you’ll get much more from this re-imagining of the story’s characters. But I’m equally sure Wicked has gained a whole new audience of its own, probably bringing as many new viewers to the 1939 film as it is gaining from it.

Covering a time before, during and after Dorothy stepped onto the famous Yellow Brick Road, Wicked tells the story two young girls who grew up to become Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. We find out how the Cowardly Lion lost his courage, the Tin Man’s heart hardened, and why Scarecrow never had much of a brain to begin with. And perhaps the biggest revelation of them all – how the Wicked Witch, Elphaba, when looked at from a different perspective, isn’t quite so wicked after all.

It’s both delightfully complex and simple at the same time. At its heart is a story of friendship and dreams. It shows us in life, people and things aren’t always what they seem. You don’t have to be the perfect popular kid in school for someone to fall in love with you – you can even be beautiful and green. Is it any wonder teenagers go wild for this story?

Eugene Lee’s dramatic sets and Susan Hilferty’s sumptuous costumes, bring the Emerald city gloriously to life in all its vibrant eccentricity and technicolor. Defying Gravity, where Elphaba flys for the first time, is one of the most spectacular ends to a first act you will ever see.

The touring show premiered at the Palace Theatre in Manchester 10 years later. Now five years, five countries, 27,000 miles and 2.2 million theatregoers later, the tour is back where it started, for a final Christmas run in fitting ‘no place like home’ style.

For those who saw the tour on previous visits to the city, expect the same big-budget, blockbuster of a stage-show with some cast changes along the way. Amy Ross and Helen Woolf are both excellent in their roles as Elphaba and Glinda, and most importantly work well together, creating that elusive spark of stage-chemistry to pull the audience into the emotion of their friendship.

For those who haven’t yet seen the show – there is a strong reason why this show is the fifth longest running musical in the West End, up there with the likes of Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia! and The Lion King. it has the combined wow factor of story, score and sets that keeps people coming back time after time.

I am one of those theatre-goers who keeps coming back. I’ve seen it several times on tour and in the West End, and this Christmas run is every inch as wicked.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Wicked is at The Palace Theatre, Manchester from 4 December 2018 to 5 January 2019.

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Judging by the response of the audience, I’m far from the only one in it for the umpteenth time and still excited. If you want to see a show that’s become a phenomenon, this is it.

There are no big names in this current touring production, but with this show now it’s fair to say the music is the star. It’s a slick, fast-paced show that keeps the energy high and the story moving – even though by now probably 99% of the audience know what happens.

Sophie (Lucy May Barker) is about to marry beach-body hunk, Sky (Phillip Ryan). There’s only one thing missing from the happy day – her father. Sophie doesn’t know who he is, but after stumbling across her mum’s old diaries she finds he could be one of three men. Believing she’ll recognise her father on sight Sophie invites all three men to the island for her big day. But she’s about to find out, life is never that simple.

Oblivious to her daughter’s plans, mum Donna (Shona White) is reliving her own youth with old friends, Rosie (Nicky Swift) and Tanya (Helen Anker), dressed up to the nines in platform heels and sparkling flares for a reunion of their girl band, Donna and the Dynamos.

Shona White makes a believable, Donna. Wearing blue dungarees and a tool belt, she looks like she really does know how to handle a drill. Nicky Swift as Rosie (the Julie Walter’s character in the film), plays the fun friend but keeps the comedy low key, leaving the big laughs to Helen Anker as Tanya, who brings the house down with her cougar beach scene to, Does Your Mother Know.

Lucy May Barker has played Sophie before in a previous tour and makes it her own to the extent that when watching you easily forget the long-line of other actresses who’ve taken on the part. For such an iconic show, that’s no small feat.

Throughout the show, shoulders were shaking and feet were tapping as the audience were itching to get involved. At the glam mega-mix finale, everyone is on their feet dancing before leaving on a high.

Bring on Mamma Mia 2!

Mamma Mia! is at the Palace Theatre, Manchester from 3-14 July 2018. See website for details.

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It’s 11 years since we first met Elle Wood, the pink princess turned legal eagle, in the 2007 blockbuster film starring Reece Witherspoon. The stage version has proved an equal audience winner, clocking up seven Tony nominations for its Broadway run, and on its West End transfer winning three Oliver Awards, including Best New Musical.

This tour is just as much a crowd pleaser, with the audience jumping to its feet in appreciation at the end of the night.

Everyone knows what is going to happen, but the fun is all in the telling. Elle is so smitten with boyfriend Warner that when he dumps her because she’s not serious enough, she follows him to Harvard Law School to prove him wrong.

The characters are broad-brushed, bordering on cartoonish, and the set matches them in one-dimensional, vibrant boldness. As times move on, there are things we could pick at in the story, such as Elle’s ‘gaydar’ outing a man on the stand because he doesn’t fall for her eye-popping, bend-and-snap movement. But even here there is an innocence in the telling that keeps it tongue-in-cheek, opening to a big, camped-up number – Is he gay or European?

There’s also a strange mix of 1950s values and present-day references – the privileged Elle lives next to Simon Cowell, and there are some celebratory flossing moves in the final courtroom scene. But in this fictional land what matters is heart, and this show has plenty of it.

Lucie Jones has the audience on side at every step as the Malibu cheer-leader, Elle. She’s perhaps best known for being an X-Factor finalist in 2009 and the UK’s Eurovision entry for 2017, but she is also a strong talent in musical theatre. Elle is a role she’s played before at Leicester Curve in 2016, and, coming to the end of the tour, she is confident and still bouncing with energy. Jones has a clear voice, good comic timing and a radiance that gives the impression she’s constantly smiling.

Rita Simons (EastEnders’ Roxy Mitchell) as her hairdresser confidante Paulette, and Bill Ward (Emmerdale’s James Barton) as the sharkish law professor, give fabulous star-turns.

Tiny chihuahua Bruiser steals the limelight with every appearance. And the happiness of this bright, pink, fluffy show is infectious, with even Rufus, the supposed brutish bulldog, beaming a wide doggy grin as he crosses the stage.  

Legally Blonde is at The Palace Theatre, Manchester from 25-30 June 2018.

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When choosing a real-life character on which to hang a musical, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber came up with a winner in Eva Peron. First staged in 1978, Evita made a star out of Elaine Paige and many will remember Madonna’s film version.

For dramatists, the life of dictator Juan Peron’s glamourous wife gives plenty to work with – a story of power and fame; poverty to riches; revolution and corruption. Combined with Webber’s emotive score, including such memorable hits as ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’, ‘Oh What a Circus’ and ‘Another Suitcase in Another Hall’, it makes for a fabulous musical.

Nevertheless, it’s easy to become jaded when reviewing a production that’s been touring for 10 years like Bill Kenwright’s Evita. It’s easy too, with a successful show for producers to take the audience for granted, rolling out the same show time and again without offering something new. A star name is the usual go to for bringing in a new crowd. But rarely do we get a long-running production revived with the star quality seen in this current tour.

Madalena Alberto is not the type of household name we’ve come to associate with the star-turns in so many well-worn musicals. She isn’t simply someone famous thrown into the part to put bums on seats. Of course, that type of casting does bring people through the doors, but it doesn’t leave them with the emotional response Alberto creates. Both seductive and fierce as Peron, we can imagine the public being swept-away by her image. In the true sense of a much over-used word, her charisma and talent combine to make her a true star.

No wonder, Kenwright brought her back four years after her critically acclaimed run in the part. I saw that tour in Manchester in 2013. Madalena felt wonderfully cast then. Now she is on fire. Turning ‘You Must Love Me’ from a vulnerable ballad to a final command, she strips it of sentiment and makes Evita feel like a whole new show. It is a strong dramatic performance the likes of which is rarely seen in musicals.

Gian Marco Schiarett is also brilliantly cast as Che, whose cynical voice brings through a stronger sense of rebellion than I’ve felt in some other productions. He is a strong, clear narrator, whose permanent scowl forces us to question not just Eva’s position but the danger of turning our politicians into entertainers today.

‘Oh what a show’ indeed.

Evita is at the Palace Theatre, Manchester from 6-9 December 2017.

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Seven years after reaching the finals of BBC talent show, Over the Rainbow, the Mountview Academy graduate has found her pot of gold, with leading roles as diverse as Princess Fiona in Shrek the Musical to now celebrated song-writer, Carole King. She talks to Carmel Thomason about all things Beautiful.

You’re ‘home’ for Christmas this year – how does it feel?

I can’t wait to open in Manchester, I’m very excited. And it’s opening on my birthday. I’ve got quite a lot of family in that night and I think as a cast we’re going birthday bowling.

It’s very important for me to be home this year. I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw we were in Manchester.

What’s Christmas like in the Barbé household?

It’s usually my mum and my sister and dog. And sometimes my grandma and her dog as well. This year I think my boyfriend will be with us too. We have brunch in the morning, usually smoked salmon and a Buck’s Fizz. I don’t get dressed until 4pm! We watch films, and we have to play games.

It’s now seven years since you took part in Over The Rainbow. What did you learn from the experience?

I think what I took from it is that you just have to work really, really hard. There are no two ways about it. Just to keep on it and keep going and not let things phase you.

It was amazing how upset I got when I was voted out. But I learned not to take things too seriously. We’re playing for a living. It’s a responsibility, especially when you’re playing a real person, but just enjoy it.

How much did you know about Carole King before getting the role in Beautiful – and how did you prepare for the part?

I knew very little. I had Tapestry on vinyl for a few years and loved it. My mum told me to get it and it’s wonderful. The amount of feeling in it. But I didn’t realise until I saw the show how much Carole King had written, all these songs, and how much I knew them. They’re ingrained in you, they’re all just in there.

It was a new thing for me, playing a real person who is still alive. You have to honour that.

Playing a real person is just very different – certainly to playing Princess Fiona! It’s very subtle. I didn’t want to do an impersonation, more an interpretation. I did a mass of research; I had a list as long as my arm. I read her autobiography, and also another book which was really amazing, about people like Carole King and Janis Joplin, which was very raw, whereas the autobiography comes from a different angle.

There’s so much on YouTube too, you could watch her for 24 hours a day and never see the same thing.

What is your favourite moment in the show?

Beautiful, without a shadow of a doubt.  I love Natural Woman and You’ve Got a Friend. But Beautiful is ridiculous. I’ve never felt anything like it, it’s crazy. The words are so amazing and it’s such a gratifying moment. It’s a great song and I can completely relate to it. It’s a great way to end the show.

What will Manchester audiences experience if they come and see the show?

I just hope they’re going to love it. It’s so full of heart and unique in that you know every single song without trying. It’s nostalgic. A woman came up to one of the guys in the cast and said she loved the Locomotion because she remembered dancing to that with her fiancé when she was 18. It’s wonderful to hear the stories. And it ends on such a high. Everyone is on their feet.

Beautiful – The Carole King Musical is at The Palace Theatre, Manchester from Tuesday 12 December 2017 to Saturday 6 January 2018. Visit the website for tickets or call the Box Office on 0844 871 3019. For more details about the show visit BeautifulMusical.co.uk

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Writer, Debbie Isitt knows how to pen a winner. Currently working on the fourth installment of her Nativity film series, it’s an idea showing no signs of slowing down. Considering its popularity, perhaps it’s surprising the story took so long to make it to the stage. Watching, however, it’s easy to see why a live version took so long.

The musical takes the story of the first film, two old drama school friends, now primary school teachers warring over who can direct the best Nativity. Andy Brady makes an entertaining pantomime villain out of Mr Shakespeare, leading the privileged kids at posh, Oakmoor Prep. Meanwhile, our Cinderella of the piece, Mr Maddens (Daniel Boys) is struggling at his Ofstead-failing school, St Bernadette’s, whose previous Nativity was panned by local Alan Carr style critic (Jamie Chapman).

Step in fairy godmother, Mr Poppy (Simon Lipkin), a manic teaching assistant whose energy and humour saves the day in every sense – rescuing the musical from schmaltz with his playground rap and slapstick pranks.

But this isn’t a show about the adults. This is a show for children about children. And it feels like Isitt, who also directs, has done a Mr Poppy – asked youngsters what they would like to see, then given them everything.

There is a lavish set with huge wrapped-presents, sparkling stars, flying youngsters, snow, coloured lights and gold streamers. Even the school yard has the attraction of a sweet shop, with fluorescent hula-hoops, skipping ropes and bright-blue footballs. The children near me had their faces pushed over the seats in front to get closer – it was magical to watch how well Isitt had cast her spell.

How Birimingham Rep found so many fantastic little actors, is another bit of magic to add the real Sparkle and Shine to this production. Heart-warming and hilarious – Debbie Isitt has another winner.

Nativity! The Musical is at the Palace Theatre, Manchester from 29 November to 3 December 2017. 

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