Emma Cann - Page 3

The Birmingham Rep present another exciting Shakespearean production to celebrate 400 years since the great writers' death; this time it was King Lear. Directed by Michael Buffong, this production has the audience gripped from the start.

The Birmingham Repertory Theatre is transported back to Oxford in the 1950s for Birdsong Productions' new adaptation of Shadowlands. Written by William Nicholson, Shadowlands is based on the unlikely romance between C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham, and follows their first meeting, developing relationship and the untimely end of their marriage.

We took a trip back to Planet Seventies at the New Alexandra Theatre as Jackie the Musical swept into town. Based on the book by Mike James, Jackie the Musical follows a forty-something divorcee as she stumbles across her old collection of Jackie magazines and once more seeks their advice about fashion, boys and love.

International Dance Festival Birmingham has always strived to open up the world of dance to new and diverse audiences, and no show tackles this mission more directly than Dance: Sampled. Curated by Sadler's Wells, Dance: Sampled is designed to introduce different audiences to dance styles they might not usually have the chance to see, with a high quality mixed bill featuring artists from all over the world.

One of the most intriguing items on the programme of the International Dance Festival Birmingham 2016 is the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan with Songs of the Wanderers. Founded in 1973 by choreographer Lin Hwai-Win, Cloud Gate was the very first contemporary dance company in the greater Chinese-speaking community. Trained in meditation, ancient breathing exercises, internal martial arts, modern dance, ballet and calligraphy, Cloud Gate has created a discipline that is entirely their own; far removed from the classical traditions of Western dance.

The International Dance Festival Birmingham (IDFB) 2016 at the Hippodrome opened with a progressive programme of works from NDT2 – the junior division of Netherlands Dans Theater which focuses specifically on talent development for dancers aged 18-23. The IDFB puts Birmingham in the unique position of being the only city in the UK to have a dance festival as its biggest festival. It seems fitting therefore that, rather than opening with a more commercial piece, the Birmingham Hippodrome would begin their IDFB celebrations with the progressive NDT2.

Devised at breakneck speed in just ten days by a company renowned for anarchic, divisive work, Filter's Twelfth Night was always destined to be a curious beast. Indeed, from the second the audience steps into the Birmingham Rep, it is clear this is going to be no ordinary Shakespeare. We appear to have arrived at the early stages of a rock gig; the stage is littered with cables, amps, and instruments, the stage manager's desk lies in plain sight of the audience, and the cast test microphones, check lines and chat casually to their spectators.

Wolves Are People Too is an exciting new collaboration between the jazz group Hansu-Tori, Birmingham Royal Ballet choreographer Kit Holder and artist-illustrator Trou. Based on the 2012 cult anime film Wolf Children, the production follows two part human, part wolf children as they mature into society.

Everyone's favourite magical nanny, Mary Poppins, is back in this award-winning musical adaptation of the P.L.Travers novel and beloved Disney film. Featuring many of the most popular songs composed by the Sherman brothers, this blockbuster musical is, for many, a wonderfully nostalgic trip down memory to see a favourite childhood movie in the flesh.

This season, the Royal Shakespeare Company celebrates not only the 400th anniversary of the death of their namesake, but also that of Miguel de Cervantes, with a brand new adaptation of Don Quixote. After a lifetime of reading books on chivalry, Don Quixote decides to embark on a quest of his own. Taking up a lance and sword, he sets out to become a wandering knight, defending the helpless and vanquishing the wicked. Hopelessly unprepared and increasingly losing his grip on reality, he travels across Spain accompanied by his faithful and equally ill-suited squire. With each calamitous adventure they experience, the romantic ideal of Quixote's books seems further away than ever.

The jewel in the crown of the Birmingham Royal Ballet's Shakespeare season (perhaps aside from David Bintley's new Tempest), this production of Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo & Juliet has been a hotly anticipated production for many months. Although many choreographers have tackled Prokoviev's delicious, sweeping score, few, if any, others have achieved the dramatic sublimity of Macmillan's work.

Following the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company's successful collaboration with Chichester Festival Theatre in 2015, producing The King's Speech, the two companies have worked together once more to present Alan Bennett's award-winning double-bill. First performed in 1988, Single Spies consists of two plays, An Englishman Abroad and A Question of Attribution; both portrayals of two of the best-known members of the 'Cambridge Five' - the spy ring recruited at Cambridge University in the 1930s.

The Birmingham Royal Ballet's Shakespeare season opened with Frederick Ashton's The Dream, originally choreographed to celebrate the 250th anniversary of The Bard's birth, and now restaged to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. The bill is completed by A Month in the Country, an Ashtonian adaptation of Ivan Turgenev's 1855 play, and widely regarded as one of the choreographer's masterpieces.

Completing his trio of Tchaikovsky's great ballets, Sir Matthew Bourne has turned his choreographic hand to Sleeping Beauty, with the added surtitle 'a gothic romance.' After reportedly experiencing divine inspiration whilst staying in the former bedroom of the renowned Russian composer, Bourne has re-worked the notoriously difficult narrative of this famous fairy tale, injecting new life into a story where the protagonist usually spends much of the time asleep.

One of Noel Coward's most enduring comedies, Private Lives follows the improbable tale of divorced couple Elyot and Amanda, both now re-married to Sybil and Victor respectively, who manage to honeymoon at the same hotel in the South of France, at the same time, and in adjacent rooms. Following a chance and excruciatingly awkward meeting on their neighbouring balconies, old passions are reignited and Elyot and Amanda take the impulsive decision to elope to Paris together.

As 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, we will be treated to a year of exciting and innovative programming inspired by the Bard. Macbeth, directed by Carrie Cracknell and Lucy Guerin, is the first of three Shakespearean productions at The Birmingham Rep this year. Explored using a combination of the original text and dance, this adaptation focuses on Macbeth's breakdown, the supernatural forces behind it, and the ensuing chaos.

The world premiere of David Walliams' Gangsta Granny, brilliantly adapted by the Birmingham Stage Company, turned out to be a star-studded event indeed; the Britain's Got Talent judge was there in person, creating quite a stir amongst the children in the audience. It's small wonder really - his books have sold 4 million copies worldwide and are simply adored by kids.

Sir Peter Wright's production of The Nutcracker for the Birmingham Royal Ballet is widely regarded as the best production in country, if not the world, and it is not hard to see why. John McFarlane's lavish storybook designs create a magical world in which Clara takes centre stage. We follow Clara as she defeats King Rat, travels to the Land of Snow and is transformed into the Sugar Plum Fairy, the ballerina of her dreams. Whilst other interpretations of The Nutcracker struggle to maintain a compelling narrative, we share Clara's fear, delight and amazement at every turn.

Rambert's eagerly awaited return to Birmingham showcases their reputation as Britain's national dance company, extending the reach of their world class dance to the Midlands with an accessible triple bill of works, Frames, Transfigured Night and Rooster, performed at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

Meera Syal's debut novel, Anita & Me, receives its world stage premiere at the Birmingham Rep this month. Famously autobiographical, this coming of age tale follows Meena, a 13 year old 'naff and uncool' daughter of the only Punjabi family in the mining village of Tollington. As the summer holidays begin, Meena becomes friends with the feisty Anita, envying her long blonde hair, her popularity and her freedom. However, as two cultures collide, Meena's world turns upside down and her outlook on life changes forever.