Jumprov | Press Preview Night

Last week I was invited along to experience Jumprov, an improv troupe based in Birmingham, from Birmingham, who are the first all black and ethnic minority improv group in the UK. Now I'm not the most familiar with improv - I had to take part in some back in my theatre studies days and I saw an improv show at the Edinburgh Fringe last year - so I was really looking forward to learning a bit more about it and having a good laugh too.

The Sound of Musicals | UK Tour | Symphony Hall

Last night my Mum and I took our annual visit over to Symphony Hall in Birmingham to see The Sound of Musicals, a concert with the Manchester Concert Orchestra and four West End singers featuring songs from a variety of shows. I've lost count of how many times we've been to see this particular show but I do know that this is Kerry Ellis' (star of Wicked and Murder Ballad) third year performing the show, while Graham Bickley (Les Mis, Miss Saigon etc) has done even more than this. This year they were joined by the superb Joanna Ampil who has played a variety of roles worldwide including Kim in Miss Saigon, along with Oliver Tompsett who I actually saw as Sky Masterson in the West End production of Guys and Dolls this summer. As usual, the program was packed with wonderful show tunes and as always I really enjoyed the show.

Sunny Afternoon UK Tour | New Alexandra Theatre

Back in January I was lucky enough to be invited to see the West End show Sunny Afternoon by Box Office UK (you can read my full review here) but before then it wasn't a really show that was on my radar. I knew that it had won multiple Olivier Awards and even though I only knew a few Kinks songs  it exceeded all my expectations. I was excited to hear it was launching a UK Tour and managed to snap up some incredible seats last minute - directly at the end of the catwalk that juts out from the centre of the stage. I took my parents along and they enjoyed the show just as much as I did. I'd genuinely forgotten what a lively and fun-filled show it was and it gave us all an excellent  afternoon at the theatre.

Great Expectations | The Crescent Theatre Birmingham

The Crescent Theatre in Birmingham is one of my favourite theatre venues- the range of productions they put on is amazing and the fact that they have their own in-house company that act in and direct the shows as well as run front of house really impresses me. On Saturday night I went to see Great Expectations. Admittedly it's not a play I would have chosen to see but one of my close friends was in it and I really wanted to support her and give it a go. Despite it being a classic piece of literature I didn't know the story so I really had no expectations (prepare yourself for a lot of puns) but it's fair to say I was pleasantly surprised.

In The Heights | Crescent Theatre Birmingham

Photo Credit: Impulse Productions and Katie Olivia Astbury

I remember mentioning in a previous post that I was hoping to see Impulse Production's In The Heights, a show that I hadn't seen previously but I adore the soundtrack so I was really looking forward to finally seeing it on stage. Impulse is a Wolverhampton based theatre company yet I've never seen one of their shows before so I really didn't know what to expect but I'm pleased to say I was blown away by the whole show.

Sexual Perversity in Chicago | Crescent Theatre Birmingham

Image Credit: Crescent Theatre

As a little post-exams treat, my friends and I trotted off to the Crescent Theatre in Birmingham to see Sexual Perversity in Chicago. We knew one of the actors in it but nothing about the play itself so I went into it with a completely open mind and ended up really enjoying myself. The play took place in the Studio, which is a really small intimate space which I think was perfect for this play. Every line was heard and not only did I feel connected to the actors because of this small space but also to the other audience members as we were all having this shared experience, like we were intruding on people's personal lives. Without going into too much detail about the plot, two of the cast members fall in love while their friends are (intentionally or not, we don't quite know) interfering and pulling them apart.