Wolverhampton Grand Theatre set to open its doors

The Wolverhampton Grand Theatre is without a doubt one of the most popular venues in our city. Offering a fantastic professional and amateur theatre programme every season, regular theatre-goers are rarely disappointed, but it is always good to get more people to come along, perhaps those who would not normally come to see a show.

With this in mind, the Grand are holding their Grand Theatre Family Fun Day tomorrow, August 6 from 11am – 4pm, opening the doors for a special day of fun and activities for all ages and offering the opportunity to go back stage and see how the theatre operates from the other side of the curtain and meet the staff who make it happen.

As well as backstage visits, there will be technical displays, competitions offering the chance to win tickets, heritage displays celebrating theatre in days gone by, a chance to dress in Victorian costume, prosthetic demonstrations, a performance by X Factor and pantomime star Nikki Evans and most importantly, live performances from amateurs who are appearing in forthcoming shows over the next few months.

Two performers from my group, South Staffs Musical Theatre Company, will be singing three songs from our next show, Guys and Dolls which we will perform at the Grand from October 11-15.

Lucy-Ellen Parker will be appearing as Sarah Brown, the Salvation Army girl with big dreams, who does not factor falling in love into her plans and Simon McGee will play high-rolling gambler, Sky Masterson.

Also the guys will be singing performances of If I Were a Bell and the hugely popular Luck Be a Lady, as well as the duet I've Never Been in Love Before. Call me old-fashioned and sentimental, but these tunes really are timeless.

There will also be performances from Wolverhampton Musical Comedy Company and Bilston Operatic Company to promote their forthcoming productions of Half a Sixpence in March 2012 and A Christmas Carol in November 2012 respectively, as well as song and dance from Coppice Farm High School and the Grand Theatre Glee Choir.

Entrance is just £2.50 each, or £8 for a family of four, which can be redeemed as a discount voucher off the price of any future ticket purchases and what's more, Friends of the Grand get in free of charge!

For further information, call the Grand Theatre Box Office on 01902 429212 or visit www.grandtheatre.co.uk - See you there!

Now for news of a new musical website, www.plevnamusic.co.uk, which has no less than 23 new, full-length musicals and over 280 songs available.

With music suitable for performance by both adults and children, the whole selection has been written by ex-Hollywood film writer Stan Mason and composed by professional musician Jim Birchall.

Choose from musicals based on popular tales such as Treasure Island, The Three Musketeers, The Pied Piper of Hamelin and The Hunchback of Notre Dame to name but a few.

Stage 2 Summer School, based at Millennium Point in Birmingham, is running courses from 10am – 4pm each day from August 22-26

They are offering three different experiences this year, the first of which is entitled Shakespeare: Revision or Revelation!

This course is totally devoted to the Bard, looking at his plots, themes, the time in which he lived, his characters and offering the opportunity to perform pieces from his plays.

Tales From Around The World is a course looking at the morals, legends and truth behind international stories with the opportunity to perform at the Artsfest Weekend in Birmingham City Centre on September 10-11.

The final course is simply based on general acting skills, teaching stagecraft, improvisation, looking at scripts and characters and developing skills.

All ages and abilities are welcome to join any of the courses and no one will be asked to perform alone if they are not comfortable with that thought.

There's lots to learn and at the same time have fantastic fun. For further information, visit www.stage2.org or telephone 07961 018841.

Finally this week, you can catch the classic Lewis Caroll tale, Alice in Wonderland, presented by Lights Down Theatre Group, at the Ludlow Assembly Rooms on August 7, with two performances at 4pm and 7.30pm.

Based in Ludlow and Hereford, this group have put together something a little different, exploring the dark and magical side of Wonderland through dance and music, with modern choreography and an exciting mixture of characters, to create an unforgettable piece.

Tickets, priced at £11-£10 are available from the Ludlow Assembly Rooms box office on 01584 878141 or by visiting www.lightsdown.com

Well, that's all for this week. Keep those emails and phone calls coming to a.norton@expressandstar.co.uk or 01902 319662. I love to hear from you.

Break a leg!

Alison Norton