Thanks for a great 2014. Here's to this year!

2014 Highlights: Having the chance to talk to and interview Warwick Davis, Joe McGann, Shobna Gulati, John Godber, Brian Conley, Johnny Pusztai, Howard Brenton and Marcus Romer with Roy Williams. Also having great mates in Rick and Janette Martindale , Cibele Ponces Alvarenga, Lena Maier, Thorsten Feldmann, Carsten Thein, Markus Kűnstler, and Paul Johnson and Fariba from Sardines Magazine. You guys at Sardines have made my year with all the opportunities to write and to be professionally published.

 

Thanks to the The Public Reviews for all the chances to review theatre and shows across the East Midlands. Your exacting standards make my writing better and my theatrical eye keener. Many thanks.

Especial thanks to all at the Jakobus Theatre for hosting my first professional show ‪#‎greetingsfromthetrenches‬ and all at the Theater Die Käuze for supporting it. Of course it wouldn't have happened with the fun and professional work of my great friend Emma Brown. Hopefully see you in Leiden again this summer honey.

Some new friends have entered my life in 2014 not least the wonderful Kev Castle. Many thanks to Jo McLeish for your great support likewise to Heidi McKenzie and all at Derby Theatre especially to Sarah Brigham to access to your rehearsals and to witness your directing styles.

For all the hundreds of followers and readers of my two blogs http://philloweactor.blogspot.co.uk and http://mugofstrongtea.blogspot.co.uk I wish you all a wonderful 2015 and can't wait to see what is around the corner to excite you all through my writing.

Finally thanks to all my colleagues at work who are genuinely interested to see me do well. You know who you are and I appreciate it. xx

 

Happy New Year all.

Greetings from the Trenches in performance at Jakobus Theatre

For those of you who have been following the progress of my new play 'Greetings from the Trenches' and weren't able to see the two European Premiere shows at Jakobus Theatre in Karlsruhe I wanted to let you know how it all went.

Emma and I arrived separately in Karlsruhe on Wednesday 3rd December. Emma arrived by train via Cologne and I flew over from Stanstead airport arriving about half past four. We met up at Café Bleu opposite the theatre and Emma's first words were "I am soo glad to see you. I don't think I could have done it on my own!" With this being a two hander it is very unlikely either of could have performed it on our own. During our time there we had a tremendous amount of fun outside of the play as we both have a very silly sense of humour.

On the Wednesday we had an interview with Andreas Juttner of the big regional newspaper the - Badische Neueste Nachrichten and they published a nice big article with picture in the Friday morning edition.

Wednesday evening was spent collecting furniture for the show and working with our German technician Lennart on the few technical light and sound aspects of the show. Luckily his English is very good and he is proficient. Such professionalism is important when there is very little space for error and time for rehearsals.

In the daytime of Thursday Emma and I met up and enjoyed some relaxation at the Karlsruhe Christmas market along with a reasonable amount of mulled wine, flannkuchen and coffees and some very important shopping messing about in Primark.

 

 

The early evening found us back at the Jakobus theatre joining Lennart for a technical rehearsal before the actual show. All seemed in order as we worked through the play out of costume and we were both looking forward to the actual performance - only half an hour away! Just about time to get changed, take a breath and get downstairs into the wings.

Jutta Berendes did a welcoming speech to the audience, there was applause, and suddenly we got the chords of the opening music recorded on piano in Leiden Holland and the play began. It was good to play to an actual paying audience amongst which were some familiar faces from the Jakobus theatre and that of our translator Thorsten Feldmann. Later, in the following few days Thorsten explained why there more laughs on Thursday than on Friday. Apparently there was a much bigger audience membership of English speaking people on the first night and they were appreciating all the subtle humour in the text and the relationship between Frank and his daughter Madeleine. Emma's parents had also made the trip from Nottingham to see the show too!

Whilst I enjoyed all of the performance I guess that the piece I wanted to work the most was the end of the play where it is revealed to the audience that the two people on the stage actually died in a car crash before they had even reached the television studio. Given the reaction during the announcement at the very end I would say that it worked very well and I was glad that we decided to end with our backs to the audience holding hands in a cold blue light while the announcement played and a police light flashed on the stage.

The second night's audience was a quieter audience in terms of any laughter but very attentive at the same time and a nice big group from Theater Die Käuze came to watch as well as my friend Birgitta who had travelled all the way from Friedrichshafen to see the show with her friend Jutta. We hadn't seen each other for fourteen years to it was great to chat before the show in Café Bleu and catch up.

Overall, it was great to know that all the ideas, text, poems, German translations, songs and rehearsals had paid off and my first professional show was an artistic success. Hopefully we can repeat that success in Nottingham next year. Thank you to everyone who made the Karlsruhe shows a success and big thanks to my co-star Emma Brown for her enthusiasms, talent and relaxed approach and to Thorsten for all the translating work. Thanks too to all of the great people at the Jakobus Theatre, especially Carsten Thein and Markus Kunstler, for all your support along the way and during the weekend! Especial thanks to my hosts Gerd and Herrlich for giving a bed, a lovely breakfast, some beers and a chance to pay with and pat Fricker the friendly Alsatian!

Emma had to return to Leiden early on the Saturday morning and I remained in Karlsruhe until Monday morning. It was nice to be able to have a chance to relax after our performances and I spent some time with my friends Lena and Sacha and with my former hosts - the Corneli family.

See you soon Karlsruhe and Café Bleu!

Greetings from the Trench. Exciting progress on my play.

Over the last few weeks I have been continuing my Skype rehearsals with Emma Brown and starting to put together my show 'Greetings From The Trench' ready for its European premiere in Karlsruhe in early December. As it is mostly a very well rehearsed reading it means that Emma and I need to have the books in the format that we will be using on stage. This is the character Frank Philips' famous book that he and his daughter Madeleine (Emma Brown) use to tell various stories in the play.

Yesterday I reformatted the script so that it is a larger font and readable without squinting and with one small exception no sentence goes over to the next page. Emma and I discussed this as a practical point to make the reading and acting aspects easier for ourselves and to give the piece a natural flow.

They have been ring bound with a card back and a clear acetate cover. The image on the book cover is designed by me and I wanted a 1960s look and type face as this is the period that the action takes place in.

I made up the name of the German publisher and Verlag is what appears on some of the books published in Germany. Verlag means publisher.




I also designed the poster for the show in Germany and plan to get it published through Instaprint in Nottingham as they made a good job of the books and they have a few offers on at the moment. I can't afford to spend a lot on publicity but it does need to sell seats and be promoted the same as any other play. We are hoping for a sell out two days. I have spoken to Carsten Thein at the Jakobus theatre and he has an idea of promoting the work through schools in Karlsruhe. I am currently working on other methods of promotion via the internet. The show is mainly in English with a fair amount of German and a small amount of French. It also has live and recorded music and singing.

I have had help with making sure that the German language in the play is correct and suitable for its often poetic use. My friend Thorsten Feldman has been especially helpful in this. Recently I made a short video in German to encourage my German audience to be interested in the play that I have especially written with the people of Karlsruhe and my friends at the Jakobus theatre in mind. The video can be seen at the bottom of this blog post.

My co-star Emma Brown currently lives in Holland and next week I will be going over to the city of Leiden for a week to rehearse with her and be the director as well as actor/author. Should the play see a life in England and Emma Brown not be able to join me in such a production I have been in touch with another actress also called Emma to act as understudy. Emma Nash and I had read through and discussion at the Broadway Media centre a few weeks ago and I have created a cd for her with the correct pronunciation for the German words and sentences. Both Emma's have been kind enough to send me some feedback on their work with me.

" Working with Phil on his play “Greetings from the Trench” is a real privilege. The play is beautifully constructed, combining different themes ranging from butchery and urban planning to comradeship and creative inspiration. I was allowed to observe Phil's craftmanship as the play came together. He had a clear, organised approach to the structure of the play, and paid attention to small details such as the nuances of each character's speech. The result is a moving and entertaining piece, and I am very much looking forward to help bring it to life in Karlsruhe this December." Emma Brown.

"The horrors of war are touched on in this heart warming and honest story of two butchers from separate sides of Europe who build an unexpected, touching and joyful friendship after meeting in the trenches in World War One. I thoroughly enjoyed an evening of acting and discussion with Phil, the writer, on Thursday; which allowed me an insight into the layers of emotional storytelling in his work.” Emma Nash

Play rehearsal by Skype with Emma Brown

I don't know why I didn't latch on to the benefits of communicating by Skype before but I recently created an account for myself and Emma and I had our first Skype based rehearsal today.

Emma currently lives in Holland and I live in Nottingham in England so our regular rehearsals for 'Greetings from the Trenches' need to be actualised somehow. The Skype system turned out to be brilliant. With good web links the aural and visual communication were as clear as if we were sitting in the same room. Plus it is free and a great way to rehearse. Shame I couldn't make her a cup of tea online though and Emma, if the interruptive telesales woman selling Italian olive oil and sausages calls again please give her my number. Her sixty-two euro deal sounds a bargain.

We managed to go through the last twelve pages of script that have been written recently and in the practicing of reading aloud we agreed that two of her concerns about certain scenes do actually work theatrically. There may be a few other small things that need rephrasing or tweaking still plus considerations over songs and music. All in good time.

Rehearsal by Skype

Otherwise, Emma said that she thought the play was 'gorgeous' and would be a pleasure to do. I was thrilled to hear that good news and look forward to further rehearsals and what we can achieve from the piece destined for its premiere in early December at the Jakobus Theatre in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Poster for 'Greetings From The Trenches' designed by Phil Lowe

 

My one act play 'Greetings from the Trenches' completed

A couple of weeks ago I had eight pages of text out of a possible twenty completed and a synopsis and an ending in the bag. I wanted the piece to be just over an hour with no interval.

In order to complete the rest I went through all my research notes that I had unhelpfully filed in several notebooks and scraps of paper. To get a bigger picture of how the play would look I got a large sheet of paper about three foot by four foot and roughly marked it out with a good amount of squares. Each square counted as one page. This meant I could instantly fill in the first eight squares with rough plot notes. As I progressed I circled the squares where I believed there was a change in the dramatic journey. I don't know if this common practice as I just went on instinct and wanted a visual resource to work from. Plus, it is good to see you are actually getting somewhere in the writing.

 

 

So, up to page eight the script established the characters on stage and spoke of them and their relationships with a slight edge of mystery and quirkiness. Pages nine and ten continue luxuriously in letters about the two men's love of meat and then we get a supernatural event where Frank is compelled to write his famous poem - The Two Butchers. The tone changes and we start to delve into notions of exchange not just of letters but of creative ideas and Frank dreaming about famous people, historically and contemporarily to them in the 1920s, offering him and Hans creative advice in a dream café. By page twelve Hans has written about his rescue of a drowning dog and he includes a poem in German about a trench dog called Wolf. All the German language translations were done by my German friend Thorsten Feldman. My co- star Emma Brown has been kind enough to offer some advice on presenting various aspects of dramatic text mirroring the way of a musical composer. In particular she suggested talking about the ideas of The Two Butchers poem ie 'anti war - creation vs destruction' rather than trying to write Frank's fictional famous poem itself. All the poems in the piece are written by me other than Arthur Rimbaud's poetic work - Sensation.

Three more poems are included in the next three pages including a key poem Am Durlacher Tor written by Hans after falling from the tram. He sees this event as a near death experience in peace time and hopes it is not premonition. Am Durlacher Tor is spoken creatively both in English and German by Frank and his daughter.

Frank writes back with the first of two confidential letters about his feelings of melancholia and possible suicidal thoughts including the poem Falling In Melancholia.

Pages sixteen and seventeen give us a comical insight into what turns out to be Hans' obsession with the Karlsruhe tram system and its history. I have tried to write this to be shared between Frank and his daughter and read with amusement and I guess enjoyment at some cheery news from Hans without them encouraging his obsession too much.

By page eighteen we start to really understand how these two former combatants are finding their creative feet with ideas of inspiring themselves in their writing of poetry and in developing ideas.

In the case of the German Hans he imagines cabinets of curiosity - the Wunder Kammer - as his motivator and (at a much later date) I introduced a song into the following pages sung by Frank. I have called it 'If I had a Door'. This is based on a question I was asked at the entrance interview by professor John Newling. He actually gave me the idea of a brick and asked me, in a creative sense, what I would do with it to create something artistic or thought provoking. As there are several times during the play that Frank hears whispered requests to 'Open The Doors' I have chosen a door as the motivator.

I made a short video of the tune to demonstrate what it should sound like. And to be sung better too! I had a cold and didn't want to freak out the neighbours!



This song was only introduced after I thought I had finished the play and then I got the tune in my head and developed the lyrics over a couple of days to the point where I felt they conveyed what I wanted to convey. That being the creative doors of his mind being utterly inspired and his letting in all these influences.

If I had a door: final written draft

There is another piece of piano music I have called The Missing (visited in a previous blog post) and I have decided to keep it just the piano with no lyrics and it may get extended.

For the remainder of the play we hear that Hans is getting inspired and healed by new anti war poetry and books like All Quiet On The Western Front and the poetry of Gerrit Engelke. Frank and Winifred share good news about the new baby Madeleine and Hans gets new work in the city library. Frank writes to Hans with a new confession - the true reason why his daughter is called Madeleine and Hans writes back. Emma Brown sings Sensation by Arthur Rimbaud at the piano in connection with the Madeleine back story. Is that the end? No, but I suggest you get out the hankies because things get decidedly weird in the last two pages and there is a huge surprise for the audience in the last few seconds of the play.

For a blogpost about the first read through click HERE

Greetings From The Trenches - work in progress

For a while now I have been working on a theatre piece that will be shown in early December at the Jakobus Theatre in Karlsruhe - Germany. I have strong connections with this theatre space and the people who run it and the piece suits the themes of post war Germany and England after The Great War. 'Greeting From The Trenches' is about factual events and a fictionalised notion of two opposing soldiers (one English, one German) meeting at the Christmas Truce and realising the potential in their friendship.

So much has been read about such fraternisation and the promise to write 'after the war is over' and as far as I know there is little evidence that any such discourse happened. My theatre piece examines a poetic notion of the possibility that it did and what the correspondents may talk/write about and how long the writing practise would exist for. Plus what would be subjects? Commonalities? Politics? Normal; life? Poverty? The future? Deep regret? Food?

Emma Brown, an actress based in Holland and a Mezzo/Alt singer joins me for this extraordinary theatre piece and I was delighted to meet up with her last week for a read through of the script so far and a rehearsal. Emma is a superb singer and a fine actress.

Alongside the research ( boy can you research too much about WW1!) and the writing, the script has been developed to the point of  great promise and I have sent off a copy of the play's synopsis to Nottingham Playhouse's Time & Memory new writing initiative. Towards the end of this month I shall know if anything has become of my application.

A couple of weeks ago I had a short tune go through my head that seemed fitting for this piece and rather than assume that I might remember it later in the evening I recorded it on my Dictaphone. Today I have created a short video that shows the development of such an idea. My instinct is to use the tune as a prelude to a poem played on a piano or sung by Emma.

Lace Market Theatre twinning. Fond memories.

After a very successful Theatre Exchange week in April this year I decided to give members from all three groups an opportunity to share their thoughts on the week and without further ado here are a selection of some of them. I was very touched by the often emotional responses. Phil Lowe.

Viktor & Stephanie Mueller ( Die Käuze)

The week before Easter the Karlsruhe theatre “Die Käuze” visited its friends at the Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham. The theatre exchange is a 32-year-old tradition. As two of the youngest members of this exchange program, we experienced an extraordinarily heart-warming welcome and enjoyed the Lace Market’s hospitality throughout our stay. The journey to Nottingham consisted of a few hours of driving, a nice night on a ferry and a few close calls in the left-handed traffic. We can imagine we arrived at Lace Market Theatre looking worn out but also excited to be there. The first tears started to run when the long-term members of both theatres fell into each others’ arms. It was a very moving moment to see them meet again.

Those of us visiting for the first time didn’t feel any less welcomed. Our particular host, Steve Parry, was great, and we had a few nice evenings with him, chatting over this and that. When the time came to set up our play for the performance, we had some difficulties to overcome which is normal when putting on a play in a new place. But even then, our friends from LMT were extremely helpful and worked overtime to finish the stage so we would have enough time to rehearse. The performance went well, and we had a great audience.

On the last day of our stay, we went to Stratford to pay homage to the Bard of Avon. Once again the LMT team proved themselves to be excellent guides. It was a real treat to see not only the beautiful city and the historical sites, but also take part in a special backstage tour of The Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

On departing, everyone gave each other hugs with tears in their eyes. New friendships were made and old ones strengthened. We are already looking forward to seeing the LMT members when they come over here to Germany, and we hope we can return the wonderful hospitality we experienced in Nottingham.

Norbert Wingender (Die Käuze)

Two things I learned in Nottingham

1. There's the left side and there's the wrong side.
2. Two yellow lines are not street decorations.

Didn't drive this time, wasn't towed away this time. But was carried away by the hospitality we received at the LMT. It's anyone's guess how much time and effort was spent to prepare things for us, cook for us (thanks, Max and all your little helpers) and support us, and how many wives/husbands suffered from their husbands/wives working long hours for us.  My guess is: a lot.

We were second to play so we were in a hurry, but it's nice - and comforting - to always see someone rushing up and down the ladder who really knows what he's doing, so the play went smoothly three times at last. Although half of the play is getting changed and providing proof that two bodies actually can take the same space at the same time. Since this is not perceivable to the public, I hope the audience enjoyed the visible part as much as we did.

My special thanks to Joy and Gordon who gave three of us a home for a week, fed us, transported us and endured all our mistreatments of their mother tongue. My special apology to the lady who checked the safety precautions at the theatre - I would have been pleased to give her my full attention but am a little shy when I'm busy changing my trousers.

Two things I learned this time in Nottingham:
1. Not all English buses are red.
2. English food is good.

Oh, and LMT has great people. But I knew that already.


Carsten Thein (Jakobus)

Performing a show in our German language on the stage of a theatre of Karlsruhe's twinning city Nottingham, is always a great pleasure to me. It's the best evidence that I can imagine that shows how small the distances between countries have become today. The people of the Lace Market Theatre have become very good friends for us at Jakobus and during the week in Nottingham we've even had the feeling of being part of a big theatre-family. We can't wait for the next meeting in Karlsruhe in the Spring of 2016.

Larissa Kaufmann (Die Käuze)

Ey up me ducks! It was this year around Easter when we, the Theatre die Käuze, came from Karlsruhe to the Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham again, like every four years. For me it was now the 7th time. I have always taken part in the twinning of the three theatres; from the time I was planned (in 1982) after I was born in 1985. The warm welcome of people that where there from the beginning makes you feel like you never had been away and of course it is very nice to meet new people too.

When I walk up the stairs to the theatre club  I feel like I have just been there just the day before. The rooms and corridors behind the stage and below the audience, where we get ready for the show, feel very familiar. There are the stickers of the two theatres from Karlsruhe on the dressing rooms´ mirrors and there are the pictures and everything from our long years of twinning the theatre club. There is the "last order" call from the bar at half past eleven.....the mingle-mangle of paints in front of the actors´ toilets... the conglomeration of technical stuff in the lighting corner. All join to create good memories.

Of course we also have much to do with rehearsals and setting up the stage, but this is a task we like very much. Especially finding solutions with the help of our friends. It is always exciting to see how things are arranged on a different stage, how everything will work out. And it is done in a way that is similar to ours.

But there is one sad aspect: after all the effort that was put in from our friends we have to leave after one week and again I could not speak to all the people we know from the years before. There is just too little time we have with our hosts.... What was going on during the years we were absent? What´s going on in Notts?..... I hope the time will not be too long until The Lace Market theatre will come to Karlsruhe again in two years time.

Gordon Parsons (LMT)

This was our first experience of hosting guests from Karlsruhe and Joy and I found it a most rewarding one. Personally, I think I had the best and healthiest breakfasts ever! We even coped with the early starts. We were impressed with our guests' punctuality and with their willingness to help and to speak English. As Joy said, I knew plenty of German nouns but had trouble stringing them into a coherent sentence.

We were also most impressed by the LMT's catering standards, a great credit to all involved. What we found especially heart-warming was the support our members and guests gave to the productions. We scored highly here. Boeing Boeing was an absolute delight. The ingenious way of narrating the story for non-German speakers was particularly impressive as were the musical interludes, costumes, acting and set. The charming Til Eulenspiegel formed an excellent contrast and both must make us feel that we should give considerable consideration in the future to exactly what we take on our return visit in two years time. The theatre was buzzing all week. A triumph."

Lisa Bossert (Jakobus)

It was my first time in Nottingham. My first time in England at all! I was totally " over the moon " - even the weather was much better than expected - who would have thought that you can get sunburned in England? ? To play Boeing Boeing in Germany , was great and we actors were very excited. But also – playing the same play for a foreign audience , who apparently really understood almost everything from the plot - at least they laughed in the right places - was sensational and memorable!

The mere fact that the stage looked almost like at home  when we arrived,  made it quite easy to prepare for the performances ... Thanks again to the many volunteers who have made this possible! I found the exchange between the three theaters and of course the people from all different ages and mentalities especially valuable. I am very glad not to have slept at a hotel because I could really " immerse " and have an English experience . What is the everyday life, they really only eat fish and chips ? ( No!) I have taken my hosts to my heart and cannot wait for it to be next time in Germany . This exchange was an incredibly beautiful experience . To meet so many people who are interested and have shown syphathy (Thanks Phil ! ) It was heart-warming and appreciated! Thanks and see you all soon. Lisa.

Karsten Stephan (LMT)

I would like to express my appreciation on behalf of the students studying German at Alderman White School and Bramcote College for the superb week of German theatre which you have just organised. All our sixth-formers studying German together with a large number of adult learners of German (Alderman White has a community-based language programme for adult language learners) came to see one of the two productions , 'Boeing, Boeing' and 'Till Eulenspiegel' - and it some cases both!
To quote one student ' It is great to have this opportunity to experience live German theatre'. ' My sixth-formers were still talking about the plays days afterwards, even the discussing the language they had learned and understood. One student raised some points of grammar which he had remembered from one of the plays.

This has been such a valuable educational experience for everyone and for those interested in theatre itself (and we have many students who are actively involved in extra-curricular drama) there was also a fascinating discussion with regard to stagecraft in 'Till Eulenspiegel'

Long may this wonderful international educational experience continue.

Simon Carter (LMT)

As a 'newcomer' to the Theatre Exchange, I thoroughly enjoyed the week. It was lovely to meet everyone and to assist both groups technically with their productions. Thanks for bringing two very different but equally brilliant shows to the theatre, and for making them so enjoyable even for those like me who's German is lacking. I hope to see everyone again in the future."

Cora Krukhof ( Die Käuze)

It was the first time I came to Nottingham and the Lace Market Theatre. I was impressed by the possibilities and equipment of your theatre, but even more so by the affectionate reception and the support all of you gave us.

Special thanks to Gill for organizing so well, to Max who provided us with such delicious food during the days of rehearsal, and of course to the whole team (technicians, "stage-rebuilder",...) who helped to keep everything going so smooth. In one phrase: It was a wonderful experience being with you. THANKS TO YOU ALL!

Gill Scott (LMT)

Organising and co-ordinating a week's visit from Jakobus and Die Käuze to our theatre may seem a daunting prospect, but there are two things I can always rely on.  The first is the unfailing good humour, adaptability and friendliness of our German guests and secondly, the generosity, flexibility, expertise and determination to make a success of everything of our own members.  It does, of course, mean a great deal of advance planning on both sides.  

An important element is identifying hosts and then trying to match up hosts, guests and parking requirements of transport to ensure a smooth transfer after long journeys.  Pet and food allergies  play a part in the matching up!  And this is one area where flexibility and unflappability of the person in charge, in this case Hilary Evans, is key.  There are often last minute changes to deal with.  

One other aspect also needs early planning - the day's outing.   The planned visit to Stratford Shakespeare theatre involved two reccies - to suss out the backstage tour of the theatre and the proposed restaurant for lunch.  Here Doreen Sheard's expertise as a courier is invaluable in ensuring an enjoyable day for everyone.

Building a set for a play not seen and at a distance as well as setting up the sound and light is a big ask, but Hugh, Philip H, Philip A, Simon and Peter did a fantastic job as did Rose in sourcing last minute requests for props.

And don't forget the commissariat - lunches for over thirty people plus tea and cakes for five days was amply provided by Max Bromley and Bar Fisher. And the party! Wow! what a send off Linda provided on the Friday evening. There are of course other elements, such as publicity, FOH, staff, bar staff, often taken for granted, but certainly not by me. I hope this has given people an idea of what is involved in this project. It is something of which all members can be proud. Gill

Phil Lowe (LMT)

What more can I add except to say what a wonderful week we all had! Alongside the plays and our 'official' events I enjoyed the pleasure of seeing our smiling guests in and around the theatre and out and about as we all enjoyed the fabulous weather, the beer at The Trip and the theatre bar and the pleasures of various restaurants in Nottingham and the fun morning at Batman's House with our friends from Jakobus. I will always remember the exciting challenge of creating the Friday party speech with help from Michael Darmola (keep it light hearted Phil!) and Carsten Thein and Markus who helped make sure the spoken German was good and funny. Doing that speech in German with Michael was one of the proudest moments of my life as a member of the Lace Market Theatre and just proved to me that our friendship with our beautiful friends from Karlsruhe is ever blossoming. Here's to the next time in Karlsruhe!

Boeing Boeing at the Lace Market Theatre -a review.

Boeing Boeing by Marc Carmoletti and performed by the Jakobus Theatre from Karlsruhe rocked the Lace Market Theatre stage last night. It is a joyous romp!

Any concerns that it would all be in German were quickly thrown out of the window by the arrival on stage of the main character Bernard seen as an older man (an appealing performance in English by Bernd Hefer). Hefer talks retrospectively about events that happened twenty years ago and in doing so cleverly introduces the characters and briefly gives us a flavour of the comic events about to unfold from his memories. He returns three times to continue the retrospective.

In the first scene we discover a younger Bernard, a wealthy architect, at breakfast with Janet an air steward from the USA. The handsome Bernard is played with great charm and devilish wit by Carsten Thein and he is happily enjoying his passionate relationship with Janet until the arrival of Robert – an old school friend. Almost immediately Robert is smitten by the lovely and sexily confident Janet performed beautifully by Magdalena Meier and thus begins one of the many songs in English that carry the story along, gives variety, and enhances the play for the English audience.

After Janet leaves for her next flight Bernard tells the gullible Robert - played to comic perfection by Markus Künstler – of his love triangle of three air stewardesses, Janet from the USA, Jacqueline from Air France and Nadja from the Russian Aeroflot. Initially Robert believes this deception to be amoral but his head is quickly turned when he finds himself involved with the three beautiful women himself and is often out of his lustful depth. But true love never does run smooth, especially in this popular farce.

Added to the crazy mix is Bernard's housekeeper Bertie - a wonderfully controlled and realistic performance by Ute Wilde. Complicit with Bernard's philandering ways Wilde tries to set the stage with new props giving the illusion that Bernard only has one lady in his life. With the stress of the various air stewards comings and goings, now speeded up and out of Bernard's control with the advent of the faster Boeing 747s, she takes to drink and flirts with the hapless Robert. And so continues the hilarious chaos as yet another stunning girl enters in the shape of Air France stewardess, Jacqueline. Jacqueline is performed by Hannah Schwall with stylish sang-froid.

The main cast of six from Jakobus theatre are very talented actors and their love of this show shines through every madcap second they are on stage. The half dozen songs such as “That's Why The Lady Is A Tramp”, “Come Fly With Me” and “Someone To Watch Over Me” are competently done and work very well within the structure of the play. The choreography, be it through dance or movement is spot on. If one were to single out the performance of the evening it would have to be Lisa Bossert's Nadja. Bossert makes her character – uniformed in fiery red – a dynamo of lust and Russian temperament and does so with great comic effect!

In true farcical style the characters are flying in and out of doors with perfect timing and the brave German company are supremely confident in handling the amorous clinches as well entertaining the audience with their high quality acting and great theatrical physicality. It is spoken in German but the mainly English audience at Nottingham's Lace Market Theatre laughed throughout and lapped up the farcical antics. On leaving the theatre I over heard one member of the audience asking if the group were professionally paid actors. Boeing Boeing is directed with panache by Andreas Rüdenauer.This is part of an amateur twinning event between the Lace Market Theatre and two amateur theatre's in Karlsruhe and their standards are extremely high. They should be very proud of this show at the Lace Market Theatre and I look forward to Till Eulenspiegel by the Theater Die Käuze, later in the week

Boeing Boeing performs Monday 14^th April and twice on Tuesday 15^th April.

Till Euelnspeigel performs Wednesday 16^th April and twice on Thursday 17^th April.