Your Midlands and Shropshire am dram guide

With everything from a Samba band to classical music courtesy of the local church choir, to a piano recital to a saxophone quartet, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

As part of the festival, from March 18 to 21, Codsall Dramatic Society will present the Alan Ayckbourn comedy, Joking Apart at Codsall village hall, with performances at 7.30pm nightly and a 2.30pm matinee on Saturday.

The idea for the plot of the play is an interesting one. Ayckbourn was accused of only writing about unhappy couples and so in response, he decided to turn things completely upside down and write about the perfect pair, Richard and Anthea.

The action take place over a period of 12 years and comprises of four scenes, which all take place in the back garden of the annoyingly happy couple.

Their less fortunate friends, who regularly attend a variety of get togethers, parties and barbecues at Richard and Anthea’s house, gradually become increasingly bitter and twisted over the years, but continue to smile through the pain.

For tickets call into Ian Rigby Jewellers at Birches Bridge, Village Crafts in The Square, or visit www.codsallartsfestival.org.uk or www.codsalldramaticsociety.co.uk.

Stourbridge Writers and Actors Group is another company who has entered the Worcester Theatre Festival this year and will be performing this coming weekend.

This group is presenting two original pieces. On March 7, they will perform a playlet version of Downside Abbey, a cynical and amusing parody of the hit ITV series Downton Abbey and on March 8, a new play written by David Robertson called Minus Two Seven Two.

The director is Hollie Christian-Brookes.

The Worcester Theatre Festival is part of the All England Theatre Festival, which includes regional events, that will culminate in a grand finale, in which the four regional winners will compete to be English Champions.

For further details about The Norbury Theatre, visit https://www.norburytheatre.co.uk/. For tickets visit https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/norburytheatre.

Kidderminster Operatic and Dramatic Society will present the Madness musical, Our House from March 9 to 14 at the Rose Theatre.

Based on 1980’s Camden Town in London, Our House is the story of London lad, Joe Casey, who on the night of his 16th birthday, takes Sarah, the girl of his dreams, on their first date.

In an effort to impress her, Joe breaks into a building which is owned by Mr. Pressman, a high-end property developer. When the police arrive, Joe’s life splits in two; will he become the Good Joe who stays, or the Bad Joe who flees the scene.

The score of this lively, high-energy show includes the Madness classics Baggy Trousers, My Girl’s Mad at Me, Driving in My Car, It Must be Love, On the Wings of a Dove and of course the title song.

Christian-Brookes, the show’s director, said, “Our House is a technically challenging, complex show that has a great mix of comedy and dramatic moments. The show is for both Madness fans and anyone looking to escape the outside world with some light-hearted entertainment.”

For tickets, visit www. http://rosetheatre.co.uk/Shows/OUR-HOUSE or call 01562 743745.

The Mint Theatre Society is embarking on a mini tour of the Staffordshire and the West Midlands with their latest offering, Dying for a Drink by Ian McCutcheon.

With performances between March 13 to 28 at Lichfield, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, Stonnall and Daventry, they certainly have their work cut out.

Life was perfect for Emma Royde until her husband Andy was killed by a hit-and-run driver. Andy was a multi-millionaire businessman and his wife inherited everything, but she found life unbearable without her husband and took to drink.

Confronted with her own mortality, Emma made a will leaving her entire fortune equally divided between the five people who helped her through the ordeal of losing her husband.

But then she received an anonymous letter informing her that one of the five is planning to kill her to get their hands on their share of the fortune.

Visit https://www.minttheatresociety.com for details of venues and individual show dates and times. For tickets call 07783823390 or email ticketsthemint@hotmail.com.

And finally this week, there’s more comedy over at The Lamp Centre in Brownhills as the resident group there is presenting the stage adaptation of the hit BBC comedy, ‘Allo, ‘Allo from March 13 to 14.

Follow the adventures of René Artois, a hapless café owner in Nazi-occupied France and his wife, Edith as they stumble their way through World War Two.

René has to keep many secrets; he has concealed a priceless portrait in a knockwurst sausage on behalf of the Nazis, and he is also reluctantly hiding two British Airmen for The French Resistance, as well as having amorous affairs with his young waitresses!

Matters come to a head with the news that the Führer is to visit the town, and the café becomes filled with tricksters intending to impersonate or assassinate Hitler.

For tickets for an evening of completely crazy entertainment, visit the group’s Facebook page or http://www.thelamparts.co.uk/allo-allo. Tickets are £8 each, but it’s for over 16-year olds only.

That’s all for this week. Please send me details of your shows together with good quality photos to a.norton@expressandstar.co.uk, call me on 01902 319662 or follow me on Twitter @AlisonNorton or on Facebook.

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