Local Am Dram Group is "Stepping Out" into the spotlight.
Am dram is as popular as ever it seems, and across our area there is plenty to choose from. Here is just a selection taking place during March.
One of my absolute favorite plays is Richard Harris’ “Stepping Out.”
Following the antics of an amateur tap dancing group who are entered into a charity gala, despite being the underdogs, it is funny, heart-warming and thoroughly entertaining and of course, features one of my favourite pastimes, tap dancing. We get to know each of the colourful characters as they discuss their home lives, loves, dreams and fears, all while rehearsing their routine.
“Stepping Out” had a very successful three year run in the West End before transferring to Broadway and although the original was set in North London, it eventually became a movie set in Buffalo, New York, starring Liza Minelli and Julie Walters. Who can forget Miss Walters saying the immortal line, “Sticks to Vera!”
I was therefore delighted to hear that Shrewsbury Musical Theatre Company is performing the show at the Walker Theatre within Theatre Severn in the town from March 27-28.
It is well worth a watch, so visit www.theatresevern.co.uk/shows/whatson/stepping-out or call 01743 281281 to book tickets.
There is an opportunity to enjoy yet another of Richard Harris’ comedies, this time “Outside Edge", which Wolverhampton based group Studio 61 will be presenting at Newhampton Arts Centre from March 26-28.
Roger has enough trouble assembling his cricket team to play each Saturday afternoon, but these complications pale into significance compared to the problems with the team’s various wives and girlfriends. And then to top it all, it begins to rain ….
The original play was adapted for TV in the 1990s, starring Robert Daws, Brenda Blethyn, Timothy Spall and Josie Lawrence, some of our finest comedy actors.
Amusing and very much of its time, “Outside Edge” is guaranteed to entertain. Visit www.newhamptonarts.co.uk or studio61.org.uk to book tickets.
If you prefer a serious drama, albeit one with dark comedy too, head over to Dudley Little Theatre for a production of “The Dresser” by Ronald Harwood, which became a West End and Broadway hit in the eighties.
Harwood based this drama on his own experiences of being a dresser to a well-known Shakespearean actor and it surrounds the circumstances an aging actor's personal assistant endures as he struggles to keep the actors on the straight and narrow.
“Sir” is one of a dying breed who is determined to bring Shakespeare to the masses, but is getting forgetful and confused. Is he playing Otherllo, King Lear, or Julius Caesar? Only his dresser, the seemingly insignificant Norman can control his ego and indeed his life.
“The Dresser” plays from March 13-16 at St. Peter’s Church Hall, Netherton. For tickets, visit https://www.dudleylittletheatre.org
At the Crescent Theatre in Birmingham, the resident group there is presenting “Nora: A Doll’s House.”
Nora is the perfect wife and mother. She is dutiful, beautiful and everything is always in its right place. But when a secret from her past comes back to haunt her, her life rapidly unravels. Over the course of three days, Nora must fight to protect herself and her family or risk losing everything.
Henrik Ibsen's brutal portrayal of womanhood caused outrage when it was first performed in 1879. This bold new version by Stef Smith reframes the drama in three different time periods. The fight for women's suffrage, the Swinging Sixties and the modern day intertwine in this urgent, poetic play that asks how far have we really come in the past hundred years?
For tickets, visit https://www.crescent-theatre.co.uk or call 0121 643 5858.
Finally this week, here in Wolverhampton at the Arena Theatre, you can catch a production of “Murder on the Dancefloor,” a collaborative production presented by the Grand Arena Youth Theatre.
The mysterious Frankie Dupin is throwing the party of the year at her family mansion, everyone at Selkirk Road Academy is invited even though nobody has ever met her before.
Frankie’s mystique crosses the school’s social groups: goths are mixing with geeks, popular kids with gamers, even the hipsters have shown up! But when a party game goes horribly wrong and a classmate is found murdered, everyone becomes a detective and a suspect.
Before the night is over, there will be twists, turns and revelations, as Murder of the Dancefloor is a fun and exciting murder mystery play co-created with the young people of Wolverhampton Grand Arena Youth Theatre.
Author Matthew Gabrielli is an award-winning writer for stage, screen and funding applications. He describes his work as telling tales and having adventures. He’s interested in speculative fiction, weird tales and folklore. Matthew is also a facilitator and writer for young people and community groups
For tickets, visit https://www.wlv.ac.uk/arena-theatre or call 01902 321321.
That’s all for this time. Please email me at a.norton@expressandstar.co.uk with all your news and good quality colour photos. You can also follow me on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram.
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