Although this show at The Marlowe‘s Studio is ‘just’ a reading, not a performance – the stage lights are up, there’s no scenery – it’s engaging, atmospheric and compelling. Honest and compassionate, he reveals his soul, and in the process, reveals some of the truths about family.

For, as he explains, family is a collection of people sharing disputed memories, all confirming that one another exists. Lemn didn’t have that, and in the play explores the themes of identity and self that arose as a result. We hear stories from his early days in Lancashire, before visiting the bright lights of big city Manchester. He tells us of his social workers and carers, one of whom named him Norman. We are there for the first meeting with his mother. There may be just one man on stage, but we’re privy to voices and stories of the people in the cities, care homes and communities that Lemn grew up in.

Something Dark was published by Oberon Books in September 2017, was adapted for BBC radio in 2005, and has been performed around the world. Lemn is the current Canterbury Poet Laureate, and involved in creativity and community ventures in the city. Canterbury will be hosting a Christmas Dinner for care leavers this year.

Directed by Marianne Elliot and Tom Morris, Nick Stafford’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s book is one of courage, strength and loyalty. Set during the First World War, a much loved horse, Joey, is taken to fight – and his owner and friend Arthur (William Ilkley) follows him.

Eerily realistic, the puppets, by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, are characters in themselves. Clever small movements such as the gentle wisp of the tail, flex of the ears or an angry breath (the horses are played by Joelle Brabban, Chris Charles, Anna Chessher, Nicky Cross, Sebastian Charles and Lucas Button) add to the characterization of Joey and Topthorn. They are never anthropomorphized but exist in their own right.

The stage is adorned by a ripped sheet of paper from Lieutenant Nicholls sketchpad, the doodles on them changing with the seasons and the location. The idea was not for documentary realism but ‘poetic’ visuals, something they’ve achieved and added heaps of emotion to. The brutality of war is never shied away from, and the shellshock of Arthur’s comrades on the front tenderly portrayed. These were boys, and they were scared. A centenary on, we must not forget that.

The soundscape is as impressive as the scenery, with the buzz of the flies, twitter of birds and braying horses just as impressive as the clatter of artillery and ominous music of the accordion player (Bob Fox).

Sat just a couple of rows in front of me was Michael Morpurgo himself. His parents met in 1983 at the old Marlowe theatre whilst part of an amateur dramatics society, and he taught in the city for a number of years. Judging by the number of hugs happening, he’s still well loved by local people.

War Horse will return to the Marlowe from February 27 – March 16 2019. If you can wait that long.

 Photo credit Brinkhoff/Mogenburg.

We move through the shadowed streets through the restless and changing world where religious creeds are changing and tumult raging. But what are ‘the strangers’ who share the new creed doing here? What have they fled? A boy’s fate is sealed as a cold hand of history hauls him down into the darkness. It’s our job to unlock the secrets that that conspired to shape the life and death of Canterbury’s Christopher Marlowe.

We move across and through the city and through its space, visiting iconic heritage sites including Westgate Towers, Eastbridge Hospital, Poor Priests’ Hospital, Conquest House, Old Weavers Cottage and St George’s Tower. The acting is brilliant, with articulate and engaging performances from those playing Marlowe in particular. (Seeing hooding grey friars jump and flip over bridges in front of pubs and drinkers or cars having to wait for parkouring monks to finish their performance means that bringing the show to the modern streets adds some humour as well reality and drama.)

Not a lot is known about Christopher Marlowe, and I can’t say that after Creed of Spies I was much wiser. But I did leave with renewed enthusiasm for storytelling and storyhunting, and a desire to learn more about this intriguing man and the long shadow he has left over the city. It’s a brave and bold undertaking that has paid off.

For anyone who doesn’t know the story, we’re at Donna’s Taverna on the Greek island of Kalokairi. Donna (Helen Hobson) has been here for twenty one years, the set of white walls and blue doors under clear skies and olive trees having been her business and home since she came to Greece as a teenager. Here we see her daughter Sophie (Lucy May Barker) on the eve of her wedding to Sky (Fia Houston-Hamilton), and she wants to have her dad there to give her away. Trouble is, she doesn’t know who he is.

Vibrant and fun, it’s a feel good tale of the highest degree. Even those who don’t do musicals find themselves getting pulled in – no doubt due to some of the finest pop songs ever written. Donna’s old friend Rosie (Gillian Hardie) is hilarious with her scouse wit, playing off the third friend glamorous Tanya (Emma Clifford) with quick comedy. The three ‘dads’ – Sam, Bill and Harry (Jon Boydon, Christopher Hollis and Jamie Hargath) each have their own fully formed characters and shine in their solo spots as well as plot drivers.

Dancing in wetsuits and slippers makes for some fun slapstick and skill, and deadpan humour drives some of the best jokes. There’s some poignant moments, such as Donna helping Sophie get ready for the wedding, singing Slipping Through My Fingers as she does. The banter bouncing between Sky and his friends is realistic, and the deep friendships that have lasted many years between the girls touching. By the time it culminates in an Abba medley that finally gets the audience up and dancing, there’s plenty of smiles both on and off the stage.

Running at Canterbury’s Marlowe Theatre until Tuesday 29th July.

Directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood, the singing and dancing is generally understated, with sporadic and overt set jokes put in place. A highlight was the slow motion battle between gangster and nuns in one of the final sequences, clever lighting slowing it down and heightening the comedic effect.The lit church arches of the stage are evocative (Matthew Wright, Set Designer and Richard G Jones, Light Designer) and even more so once Sister Mary Clarence has brought glitter and disco to the cloisters.

The cast of sisters (Karen Mann as Mother Superior, Susanna Van Der Berg as Sister Mary Patrick and Alice Stokoe playing Sister Mary Robert in particular) are charismatic and lively, working best as a collective rather than stereotyped individuals. But there’s little emotion in the audience, and it’s unclear whether this is impacted by or impacting on a lacklustre performance. Alongside some of the dated jokes is a lovely sense of sisterly solidarity and the beauty of compassion and friendship that can overcome anything.

Although overall a little average, and with some dated jokes, Sister Act is a lovely sense of sisterly solidarity and the beauty of compassion and friendship that can overcome anything. A story of music, friendship and the uplifting power of soul in all its forms.

It might have been thirty years since Willy Russell introduced us to Shirley Valentine, played in the Oscar winning film by Pauline Collins, but the themes of social expectations, emotional stagnation, ageing and loneliness still remain relevant, as the UK will see on this new tour.

The age of 42 isn’t even half way through the average British woman’s life expectancy, but when the monotony of housework and tedium of daily life set in, it’s easy to wonder whether life has anything more to offer. But, with some hope, things change. You can’t avoid reality, and you know you’re never ‘gonna be a girl again–because you can never be that; but instead of sayin’ ‘Christ, I’m forty-two’. I’m gonna say – ‘Shirley, you’re only forty-two, isn’t that marvellous’.’

That’s what Liverpool housewife Shirley Valentine found, played in this one-woman show by the vivacious and charismatic Jodie Prenger. Escaping from her claustrophobic world to the sunny climes of Greece, courtesy of a sudden offer from a friend, the story may well be a cliché of mid-life crisis and holiday romance, but the familiar and witty script keeps it fresh. So much is similar that it’s only really through Amy Yardley’s stage that audiences are aware that the action is set in the 1980s, not 2017. Power dressing and blonde highlights, novelty Milk Tray and wine, the suburban northern kitchen – all of it enhances the chattering and musing, everything combining in a kind of merry hum that perfectly reflects the story and moral. And, marriage still is ‘just like the Middle East. There’s no solution.’

From the opening scene with Shirley making chips and egg for husband Joe while she drinks wine and talks to the wall, to the white walls of Greece, there’s a warm humour and natural vulnerability permeating throughout the monologue. This latest production of Shirley Valentine may not revolutionise either our ideas of womanhood, but neither will it rock the pleasure of the story. Nostalgic yes, cliched, a little – but still highly resonant and enjoyable.

Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury

‘Ain’t nothin’ more fun than rock’n’roll.’ A line said once, but a sentiment repeated throughout Million Dollar Quartet, the ninety minute jukebox stage show that tells the story of a night in December 1956 at Sun Records, Memphis. Four stars, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis gathered and improvised music together in the studios owned by Sam Phillips, the man behind Sun Records and the guy who had given each their break.

It’s a true story. There’s photos of the foursome together, Sun Records released the recording, and a next day newspaper report in the Memphis Press-Scimitar – the headline from which the play takes its title. But it’s also the stuff of myth and legend, blurring the lines of fact and fable, and that kind of magic creates a good night out.

All the music is played live, and you can feel the quiver through the streets from the off as a there’s a quiffs and riffs explosion on stage as they break out Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog, Walk the Line and Great Balls of Fire. Casting Ian Talbot’s production must have been tough, requiring musicians, actors and entertainers, but it’s a success.

No one artist is celebrated more than another. Jason Donovan has changed since I last saw him as Scott in Neighbours, but his powerful performance as Sam Phillips reinforces that he is far from being a one strand soap star. Ashley Carruthers as Jerry Lee Lewis is incredible, a real piano virtuoso with fingers that flicker with rhythm. Robbie Durham performs as an authentic Johnny Cash, his voice and demeanour reportedly emoting the man himself, and the voice of Katie Ray as Elvis’ girlfriend Dyanne a breathy revelation.

In his quest to ‘find the boy beneath the hit’ (Carl Perkins, played by Matt Wycliffe) or help the ‘hillbilly turn Hollywood’ (Elvis Presley, played by Ross William Wild) Sam had fun – but also challenges. Banter flies across the stage, whisky hits the throat, and the songs are played with gusto and skill. But as the business and pleasure of Sun records merged, friendships and loyalties were tested, and the ‘father of rock’n’roll’ lost out to RCA and Columbia when his boys went onto bigger things.

But were they better? The lives of the four are well known. Drugs, depression and industry manipulation cast a damp light on the musical careers that they had once adored. Career wise things were great ‘but I wish those boys had a little more happiness’ he implores to the audience. The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing, and knowing nods and sighs from the audience replaces their glee for a few moments. The social and political context struck me, a millennial living in the south east. The youth may well have been listening to rhythm and blues, but ‘Negro music wouldn’t sell’ and so the face of it all had to be handsome white men. Beneath the bravado of them all was vulnerability and romance that was carefully portrayed.

As we’re called to ‘have some fun tonight’ Elvis Presley’s hips aren’t the only ones shaking.  Jerry Lee Lewis, legs on the piano as he played a tune cries out in challenge to all the naysayers: ‘Rock’n’roll’ ain’t a fad, it’s a damn revolution.’

And one that has lasted.  As the entire crowd is on their feet, voices singing out and there’s a Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On, this is a celebration of good times indeed.

Running at Canterbury Marlowe Theatre until Saturday 4^th 2017.

Read more at WOWKent.

The set design is impressive, and we’re treated to more with 3D glasses and a sense of immersion in the fairytale world. Some magic took place, or at least some very speedy movement and clever set loopholes. And as always the songs and choreography were a blast, led by , and featuring tunes such as Sit Down You’re Rocking The Boat from Guys & Dolls, as well as more up to date .

Gymnast Vladimir Georgievsky as Alderman Fitzwarren was a real highlight, bringing his training and skill from the Moscow State Circus to an impressive slapstick acrobatics routine. Ben Roddy, panto stawlwart, was Dolly the Cook, and as the pantomime dame witty, sharp and managed to keep the adults entertained with his quick engagement and the kids with his hyperbolic exaggeration. He and Stephen Mulhern, playing Billy, seemed to have a great connection, ad-libbing through scenes and having a damn good time doing so. And I loved the sassy fairy played by Lisa Divina Phillip, delivering deadpan lines in her patois accent.

The final routine on why Britain is Great (thing 1966, Shakespeare, and other nostalgia and history) veered on a bit too political and patriotic for my liking, especially in this year of all years. Parts could have been shortened, as they were funny the first time, but dragged on and veered on filler – specifically the sweet shop scene and signs gag – but generally it was pretty well balanced.

Panto is all about fun and frivolity. With their exemplary theatre prowess and skill, the Marlowe and Evolution manage to raise it from slapstick pretence to engaging performance that thrills the whole family. You have got to smile at Christmas. And it starts at the Marlowe.