Tag Archives: Derngate

Review – BBC Radio 3’s Friday Night is Music Night, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 17th April 2026

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Friday Night is Music NightHere’s something a little different! The BBC Radio 3 stalwart of a show, Friday Night is Music Night, came to Northampton’s Royal and Derngate, not, as I originally suspected, as a live broadcast, but to record the programme to go out on May 15th 2026. No strangers to the regular appearances by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal and Derngate, I wondered to what extent this would be similar.

At first, the only difference was the appearance of additional microphones scattered around the stage, including some very tall ones – I guess up in the air they register fewer background noises. And it was the BBC Concert Orchestra, under the leadership of Charles Mutter, who played the tunes under the conducting baton of Richard Balcombe, who had conducted the RPO at the Valentine’s Gala at the R&D in 2025.

The show was introduced and hosted by another Radio 3 stalwart, Katie Derham, who comes across as warm, welcoming and genuinely loving her job. With just a few minor explanations as to how the evening would progress, the whole broadcasting element to the show had remarkably few nuts and bolts getting in the way of a straightforward live concert.

I don’t know why we were surprised at this, but we were: the orchestra members, the conductor, Katie Derham, and our two singers, Patrick Smyth and Katie Birtill, were all smartly decked out in traditional evening wear, just as you would expect for a regular classical concert. Indeed, Ms Birtill even brought a change of dress for the second half!

The programme was a celebration of the work of Richard Rodgers, primarily his music composed in partnership with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein; so, we were treated to some beautiful renditions of songs, overtures and instrumental passages from Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The Sound of Music, Carousel and more. Less well-known was his impressive music for the TV documentary Victory at Sea, and the concert concluded with his Slaughter on 10th Avenue from On Your Toes which I hadn’t heard in decades.

Stand out performances (for me at least) came in the form of the glorious Carousel Waltz, the Dream Ballet from Oklahoma! and Katie Birtill’s stunning performance of My Favourite Things. But the whole concert was a joy, and everyone in the audience had a marvellous time by the sound of it. I shall look forward to hearing it again on May 15th!

Review – Frankie Goes to Bollywood, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 16th April 2026

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FGTB

©Richard Lakos

Confession time: I’ve never seen a Bollywood movie and know very little about the genre apart from a few basic facts that everyone knows. Frankie Goes to Bollywood provides an insight into this cultural phenomenon, and as such, is undoubtedly a fascinating experience. I do know that Bollywood movies are sold as a vision of dreams, a melting pot of glamour, and that nearly all are variations on the same theme – a love story of improbable, nay fantastic, proportions. Bollywood takes elaborate musical and visual themes to entrance its audience for several hours; and above all it creates legends, and its stars are like royalty.

FGTB

©Richard Lakos

Who wouldn’t want to be part of it? Frankie, and her best friend (and cousin/sister) Goldy, dream of making the big time somehow, rather than just selling popcorn at the local cinema in Huddersfield. Goldy wants to be in a Bollywood movie, but it’s Frankie who is – almost by accident – propelled into the limelight after a chance encounter with a movie director, a glitteringly successful audition, and an offer to be a big star in Mumbai. In many respects, a typical rags to riches storyline, that’s probably featured in many a Bollywood movie.

She's a warrior

©Richard Lakos

But Frankie is a realist, and although she dreams big, she’s just an ordinary young woman, with no pretence, no arrogance, and a heart of gold. Can she keep it real under the pressures of Bollywood life, or will she succumb to the flashy lifestyle and hardnosed ruthlessness of the film industry? You can probably guess the answer to that. But – spoiler alert – like all good Indian fairytales, everything comes good in the end.

Frankie calls the shots

©Richard Lakos

What Frankie Goes to Bollywood does very successfully is reveal the sham behind the façade of the Bollywood industry. The sexy male star, with whom the audience either wants to be in love or simply to be, is in real life an aging Baldilocks with a Mummy complex. Bollywood is a conveyor belt that pushes out endless dreams but is super ruthless with every element – including its stars – in the process. Whoever has the finance is the king and calls the shots; no other input is of any consequence. It’s a grim place where you can arrange for your rival actor to be on the receiving end of a fatal car accident. You lose your identity as you sell your soul, and it’s all in the name of light entertainment.

Frankie leads the dance

©Richard Lakos

The show also highlights the essential misogyny of the whole Bollywood industry. The women, on and off screen, are there to look good and to make the men look even better. What they think doesn’t matter, and any additional contributions they make are ignored. As a natural consequence, Frankie and the other women are frustrated and feel abused by the whole circus. The show culminates not so much with a natural conclusion to its storyline but more of a mission statement for the future.

A fluttering scarf

©Richard Lakos

Clearly, there’s no depth or meaning to your average Bollywood movie, and it’s this essential shallowness that is the problem with Frankie Goes to Bollywood. The system produces a never-ending sequence of shallow stories with shallow characters, and FGTB comes across as equally shallow. There’s a fine line between exposing its subject matter and resembling its subject matter, and the show doesn’t always get that balance right. They’re clearly a hugely talented cast but somehow it radiates an amateur vibe; revealing all Bollywood’s unsubtleties, not in a tongue-in-cheek or knowing way, but itself in an unsubtle way. The staging is frequently clumsy; for example, how many times do they have to (unnecessarily) move those spotlights around?! Often leaving uncomfortable gaps between scenes, it needs to be smarter and slicker. Occasional looks of uncertainty on the faces of some of the dancers suggest they’re a little unsure about where to stand or move, but that could also be because the stage of the Royal theatre is way too small to accommodate everything that this show is trying to achieve. I’m sure it would look more accomplished on a larger stage.

Timmy Anand

©Richard Lakos

That said, there is much to be appreciated in the vision and creativity of this production. Josh Sood’s musicians give us a gloriously authentic Indian music experience, Andy Kumar’s choreography – with Anna Maria Barber as assistant choreographer and dance captain – is bang on the nose and his costumes are as sumptuous as you would wish, and Philip Gladwell’s lighting is often set to brash mode, although there were a few moments on Press Night when gremlins got in the works.

Goldy getting ready

©Richard Lakos

The acting is of a very high standard. Sarah Pearson gives a great central performance as Frankie; she’s a tremendous singer with a winning stage persona. I wasn’t totally convinced of how Frankie loses her kindness and charity as her fame grows, but I think that’s more a failure of the script than the performance. I particularly enjoyed Katie Stasi’s Goldy, a warm-hearted and spirited young woman, not afraid to fail and always remaining faithful to her friend – and also with a great singing voice. Luke Suri, as flamboyant choreographer Shona, steals all his scenes with his camp charisma and wittily written bitchiness. Ankur Sabharwal amusingly portrays the spoilt vanity of the star Raju, and Meher Pavri captures the resentment of star-and-girlfriend-on-the-decline Malika, and the pure love and support given by Frankie’s mother.

Shona's in charge

©Richard Lakos

Akshay Datta’s surprisingly gentle characterisation of the principled film director Prem makes a slightly curious comparison with the rest of the Bollywood rat race, giving all his dreams up to become a guru. There’s excellent support from Neelam Rajni as Frankie’s assistant Mandy, and a very hard-working ensemble including an entertaining portrayal of Timmy Anand by Kiran Kaanan, all himbo, glittery chest and not much up top.

One of those shows where it doesn’t quite add up to the sum of all its parts, which must be due to the writing and direction. However, there’s no doubt that it’s a lively, colourful and musical spectacle that tackles an uncomfortable problem at the heart of Indian culture. After Northampton, the tour continues to Leeds, Peterborough, Derby, Windsor, Hornchurch, Oxford, Birmingham and finishing at the Bristol Old Vic at the end of June.

3-starsThree-sy Does It!

Review – Screaming Blue Murder, Underground at the Derngate, Northampton, 10th April 2026

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Great to see another sold out house at this month’s Screaming Blue Murder in Northampton, another sign that our local comedy scene is in the rudest of health. Our host was, as usual, the effervescent Dan Evans, spinning his bon mots left right and centre as he got to know the people in the front rows, which included the staff from the Pytchley pub in West Haddon who were much better behaved than they were two years ago (!) and a never ending range of engineers – consultant, building, mechanical, sustainability… you name it, there was an engineer for it somewhere in the front rows.

Our opening act was Justin Panks, fifty years old (allegedly) but distinctly a lad at heart. Hailing from Norwich, although his accent suggested otherwise, he has a confident, assertive presence on stage. His routines included how different things are today in comparison with the 1980s – particularly for the fellas, the intricacies of managing step-kids, and the pros and cons of shaving one’s balls. Occasionally taking us where angels fear to tread, some of his material might have alienated certain sectors of the audience, but he certainly provided a lot of laughs, and that’s what it’s all about.

Next up was Louise Leigh, a lively lady packed with impish spirit, who regaled us with stories of how she’s coping with moving into middle age, if not disgracefully then at least creatively. She’s acquired the colourful hair, she’s in love with her campervan, she’s started going to festivals and she’s devoted to her dog. She also has a husband and teenage kids, so there’s a lot of life-juggling going on. It’s all recognisable and relatable material, delivered with expert timing and a winning way.

Our headliner, and the only act we’d seen before, was Jon Long, a very funny chap whose seemingly mild and gentle character belies a wicked grasp of devilish humour. His opening routine about attending church as a youngster has a brilliantly unexpected punchline and he has the audience in the palm of his hands from then on. He has great material about having a wife who’s much tougher than he is and intersperses his set with a few comic numbers on the guitar, that always pack a punch. A most unassuming comedy star, but a star nonetheless.

Will there be another sold out show at the next Screaming Blue Murder on 30th May? You should come along and find out!

Review – Top Gs Like Me, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 26th February 2026

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Aidan

©Manuel Harlan

Nothing beats the biting relevance of a powerfully executed, raw slice of contemporary theatre to examine the darkest problems of the age. Top Gs Like Me explores the part that the Internet plays in damaging ordinary folk, allowing them to fall prey to others with evil intent. Every week we hear of a new online scam where people have been tricked into giving away their money – or indeed their heart and soul. The Andrew Tates and – in this play – Hugo Bangs of this world are skilled, sophisticated operators, people scammers who know exactly the strings to pull to achieve what they want (which is, secondarily, your admiration and primarily, your money.)

Mia and Aidan

©Manuel Harlan

Samson Hawkins’ Top Gs Like Me, set firmly in Northampton, tells the story of the likeable, impressionable and naive Aidan, a classic underachiever like most of us, who whiles away his free time at Radlands skate park, accompanied by his daily peanut butter and jam sandwiches, trying to master a trick on his scooter that is just too skilful for him to get right. Earning minimum wage at Morrisons and Deliveroo, with a frustrating homelife and no love life, there must be more that he can do to gain a foothold in the world. Best friend Mia is off to Bristol to study photography, and she’s got a new boyfriend, Charlie, who’s a pukka product of the Boys’ School, naturally confident with his charming bonhomie. There’s nothing quite like finding out that the girl, who you hope could be your girlfriend, is introducing you to her new boyfriend, to make you realise quite how much you’re missing out.

Hugo

©Manuel Harlan

In amongst the ever-changing noise and messages that he observes as he doomscrolls, Hugo Bang comes into insidious focus on his phone, all sharp red suit, successful aura, and magnetic charisma. If he can do it, how come I can’t, thinks Aidan (precisely as Hugo Bang intends him to think). His mantra is simple: get the cash first, then you’ll get the girls. And once you get the girls, you get more girls. Happy days, as long as you remember never to treat the girls as human. As Aidan starts to fall under Hugo’s spell, Grace wanders into his life, attempting to give off streetwise vibes, and willing to be his friend, maybe more. Aidan sees how he can use Grace as part of his new business – his plan to get the cash first. Thus starts a chain of events that ends up disastrously for everyone involved.

A convincing Hugo

©Manuel Harlan

It gave me great satisfaction to realise I had to Google what a Top G is. It’s a Top Gangster, one of those terms that Andrew Tate and his ilk have created, to lure unsuspecting young men, Pied Piper like, into their way of thinking. Being a Top G may sound tempting, but it’s no way of life for a decent human being. It’s a gateway into misogyny, prejudice and blaming everyone else for the situation you find yourself in – except yourself. Take responsibility for your own actions and situation, and you need never fear falling into this pernicious trap.

Aidan

©Manuel Harlan

The cunning twist in Hawkins’ writing is that, whilst exposing the harm and indeed criminality that the likes of Hugo Bang can induce, Aidan doesn’t suffer all the consequences of his actions that he might. Hawkins recognises that Aidan is a victim too. In a programme note, director Jesse Jones writes “I don’t believe we can live in a world where mistakes made at eighteen define someone forever”, and the end of the play allows for both an optimistic and pessimistic future, with both a hint at redemption and the likelihood that the Internet will continue to do its worst.

Traverse staging

©Manuel Harlan

Anyone familiar with the usual configuration of the Derngate auditorium will be astounded when they see how it has been transformed to incorporate a skatepark as the centrepiece of traverse staging. It becomes a huge, thrilling acting space, which can comfortably host the full cast of 31 actors, which includes 25 third year Acting students from the University of Northampton who perform the vital, and hugely effective, role of Internet Ensemble – the constant cacophony of disconnected voices and images that appear for seconds on our phones until you swipe them away. It’s a fascinating concept which they deliver seamlessly with great humour and insight.

Lighting

©Manuel Harlan

Technically, the production is also an outstanding achievement. Rebecca Brower’s set totally nails the graffiti-covered functional but comfortless space, and I lost count of the number of positions from where a cast member can enter the stage – there are at least ten, giving it a truly immersive feel. Rory Beaton’s creative lighting and Benjamin Grant’s sound designs work together in a mosaic of intricacy and enviable slickness. Hats off too, to Monica Nicolaides’ outstanding movement direction and Kiel O’Shea’s fight direction, which gives us some superbly believable stage combat.

Aidan and Grace

©Manuel Harlan

On top of it all are six main performances of outstanding quality. Daniel Rainford convinces us that Aidan is a true Everyman character; restless, guileless, and without a plan for the future. He also shows us that the manosphere version of himself is an unnatural warping of his character; artificial and without the necessary charisma to become the next Hugo. He’s never off stage in a physically demanding and powerful performance. Encouraging his descent, Danny Hatchard is perfect as Hugo, constantly reinforcing the simplicity of getting what you want, appearing heroic, dishing out his diktats in bite size chunks; and, when everything ends in disaster, he simply slinks off quietly, unnoticed, without saying a word – until his next victim comes along.

Dave

©Manuel Harlan

Fanta Barrie gives a terrific performance as Mia; eloquent, insightful, and delivering probably the best speech of the play, that examines the consequences of Aidan’s actions on other people. Finn Samuels is also excellent as the effortlessly urbane Charlie, Emily Coates gives a superb performance as Grace and David Schaal brings the character of Dave, the alcoholic who spends this time drinking at the skate park, to life with a remarkable speech about how one must always take responsibility for one’s own actions.

Hugo Bang

©Manuel Harlan

If you know decent people who have been radicalised, and have no idea how this happened, this play may help you understand why. It offers no easy answers or solutions and no happy ever afters. But it does make you think, and talk; it challenges you to find a way out and dares you to judge those who ought to do better. A tremendous achievement by writer Samson Hawkins, director Jesse Jones and the entire cast. A must-see!

Five Alive, Let Theatre Thrive!

Review – Russell Hicks, This Time It’s Personal, Underground at the Royal and Derngate Theatre, Northampton, 21st February 2026

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Expect the unexpected when you see a Russell Hicks show and you won’t be disappointed. Many’s the time when we’ve seen him and any pre-prepared material goes right out of the window as he riffs off whatever the audience chuck at him – his ability to think on his feet is off the scale. Through his conversations with the crowd at yesterday’s show, we met the guy from Bugbrooke who gets fired loads of times, the accountant from Bedford who only likes the river there, the two couples sitting separately who’d seen Russell’s show in Luton where he was almost assaulted, the lady whose doorbell alarm on her phone wouldn’t stop, and the man who was only there for the accents.

Plenty of elements of his new show didn’t go entirely to plan last night in the Underground – thanks to David in the tech box – but that’s pure grist to his mill and creates even more hilarious chaos. All human life is here, as they say; and it’s comedy gold for Russell to mine whenever he wants.

This Time It’s Personal delves – as the title suggests – a little deeper into what makes Russell tick, how he got to where he is, how his somewhat unusual childhood upbringing motivated him to work in comedy and the lessons learned along the way. It could be rather serious material – but not the way Russell Hicks tells it! His main thread in the show is his part-disastrous, part-life changing experience of working as a comedian on a cruise ship. I think he’d be the first to admit that he’s not the most obvious choice of cruise comedian – and his account of dealing with the entertainment director, his rivalry with a magician too intelligent for his years and the audience (largely too old to notice) makes for a series of terrific anecdotes. Naturally, I’m not going to tell you how his experience resolved itself, you’ll have to see his show to find out!

Always a delight to see Mr H – his tour continues into June so don’t miss out on this opportunity to see a master at work!

Review – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Valentine’s Opera Gala, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 15th February 2026

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RPO before the Valentine's GalaThe Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Valentine’s gift this year was an Opera Gala played to a busy and enthusiastic audience in the Derngate auditorium. A Sunday matinee, it was a relatively informal affair, totally lacking in Classical Concert Stuffiness and simply designed for everyone to have a good time.

Our conductor was Jordan de Souza, currently Music Director of Theater Dortmund and Chief Conductor of the Dortmund Philharmoniker. It was, he confessed, his first visit to Northampton, and we trust it won’t be his last. He’s one of those very involved conductors, full of excitable facial expressions designed to get the best out of the orchestra and a playful, almost mischievous mentality that shows just how much he has fun up on the podium.

The programme was a chocolate box selection of opera highlights, with four purely orchestral pieces and twelve arias. We started with the orchestra on fine form with a superb rendition of Strauss’ Die Fledermaus Overture, full of lush strings, arresting percussion and terrific expression. The orchestra were particularly daring with those slight pauses during the famous waltz; you could truly visualise the voluminous swirling dresses of those Viennese ladies. A fantastic start.

Then we met our two opera soloists. First up, tenor Nicky Spence OBE, a relaxed, light-hearted presence who grew cheekier as the concert progressed, and who sported an enviably glittering pair of slippers as his footwear. He started off with possibly the most serious aria of the programme, Vainement, ma bien-aimée from Lalo’s Le roi d’Ys, all of which was new to me. Then soprano Anne-Marie MacIntosh sang Ah! je ris de me voir si belle from Gounod’s Faust, better known as The Jewel Song.

Mr Spence returned for En fermant les yeux from Massenet’s Manon, a piece I had not heard before, and which was stunningly beautiful. Then it was Ms MacIntosh’s turn again with Micaela’s aria Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante from Bizet’s Carmen. Hats off to the RPO for giving us one of Micaela’s arias rather than Carmen’s for a change! This led into a performance of the first three parts of the Carmen Suite No 1, the Prelude, Aragonaise and Intermezzo. The powerful emphasis on those opening strings of the Prelude gave it a truly menacing impact. The audience was enjoying the performance so much that we broke etiquette and applauded after the Aragonaise. In some concerts, a conductor might have held his gaze towards the orchestra and made the applause freeze away; but on this occasion Mr de Souza turned to us and welcomed it, which confirmed the informality of the event and the fact that we were all there just to enjoy ourselves.

Mr Spence returned with a short entertaining introduction to his next piece, Tosti’s L’ultima canzone, explaining that it didn’t mean The Last Pizza. And then he was joined by Ms MacIntosh for O soave fanciulla, the aria that wraps up Act 1 of Puccini’s La Bohème, and it was with searing emotion that we went into the interval.

The second half started with the Prelude to Act 1 of Verdi’s La Traviata, followed by Ms MacIntosh singing Ah, fors’è lui… Sempre libera from the same opera. She has a wonderful way of acting out her singing so that you really understand the character behind the aria. Then Mr Spence sang Lensky’s Aria from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, another immensely powerful and affecting performance. This was followed by the orchestra once again in full swing with the Polonaise from Eugene Onegin, a marvellously stirring and invigorating piece of music.

Into the home straight, Ms MacIntosh sang Caro nome from Verdi’s Rigoletto, a delightfully simple and plaintive aria that really touched everyone’s heart; and then Mr Spence gave us the rousing Dein ist mein ganzes Herz from Lehar’s Das Land des Lächelns – one of those pieces of music that you know you know, yet you can’t quite place; definitely it should have its place in Classical Music’s top 50 tunes. Ms MacIntosh joined him for Lippen schweigen from Lehar’s Merry Widow, sung in English, and the whole concert concluded with the celebratory Brindisi from La Traviata. Mr de Souza carefully regulated our clapping along so that we could join in without ruining the music, and it was a superb way to end an afternoon of pure joy. The RPO are next in town in June for another Sunday matinee performance of Beethoven’s Fifth – see you there!

Five Alive, Let Music Thrive!

Review – The Eternal Shame of Sue Perkins, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 29th January 2026

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Which Sue Perkins are you here to see tonight? asks Ms P at the beginning of her new touring show – and it’s a fair question. We’ve all got our own ideas on who she is, whether it’s part of the Bake-Off team, or on Taskmaster, or presenter of Just a Minute. For me, none of those apply; my impressions of Sue Perkins are still anchored to the good old days of Light/Late Lunch, and I remain truly impressed with her conducting skills in Maestro. Of course, many of Sue’s broadcasting adventures are tied up with her partnership with Mel Giedroyc, and there are plenty of funny references to how many people can’t tell them apart.

However, The Eternal Shame of Sue Perkins is exclusively about Sue and her exploits. Specifically, those exploits that have caused her shame – not all of which are her fault. This isn’t a typical stand-up comedy show; it’s more of An Evening with Sue Perkins where she responds to a few well-planned questions from which she can bounce off into some entertaining anecdotes. But she asks the questions of herself; think Parkinson without Parkinson. It’s a very effective structure because she’s a terrific raconteur who seemingly has no fear about presenting herself in her truest light, warts and all.

Informally dressed – until the final moment – she strikes up an easy rapport with the audience, instantly adopting a let’s all be friends together vibe, which nevertheless doesn’t detract from her genuinely commanding presence on stage. It’s a strangely powerful mix of self-deprecation and vulnerability with a super-confident delivery. She’s one of those performers who like to keep moving on stage; not as freely maniacally as some, but purposefully choreographed – which she attributes to the fact that she has a benign brain tumour.

The tumour plays quite a big part in the show actually, as it’s the source of a number of those shame moments that are beyond her control, sending her down some mental alleyways that are truly ghastly, but which Ms P manages to twist into very funny stories. There are some instances of shame that are completely her fault, however; none more so than her account of an injured stray dog (Sue Perkins clearly loves dogs) that she met in Bolivia and whom she rescued from certain death (hurrah!) – but at what cost? She also tells us of three encounters with shamans (three? Surely one is enough!) with – shall we say – varying levels of success.

The perils of a brief visit to Cornwall, the effects of having your phone hacked, cloned number plates and the residual value of collectable Wedgwood items, it’s all here. Sue Perkins’ comedy speciality is to go in-depth in lengthy detail on a fewer number of subjects rather than touching lightly on several topics. The show positively drips with honesty, and you come away from it with a much stronger insight into the woman behind the name. It’s also – of course – very funny! Sue Perkins is touring her Eternal Shame around the country until April – just make sure you’re not expecting to see Mel.

Review – Screaming Blue Murder, Underground at the Derngate, Northampton, 24th January 2026

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Hurrah for the return of Screaming Blue Murder at the Royal and Derngate, and a swinging start to the year with a full house crowded into the Underground Studio. There was a considerable change to the line-up, but I reckon we got a much better threesome than had been advertised (don’t tell anyone I said that). We also welcomed the return of the ever-engaging, always delightful Dan Evans to host us through the melange, getting to know the types of people who risk all by sitting in the front two rows. That included Nathan from the National Grid, and the genuinely fascinating actor based in Hanoi who plays action heroes in video games. Who knew?

However, we must first address the elephant in the room. Or rather, about eight elephants, who were out on a belated Christmas celebration night, fully loaded with alcohol but having forgotten to eat. Teachers, apparently; p*ssed as ar*eholes, definitely. Thank heavens they never revealed the name of the school! They weren’t aggressive but they were disruptive and made it difficult for everyone – the acts and the rest of the audience – to tune into the evening. Fortunately, they made the wise decision to leave in the first interval and carry on drinking in the Mailcoach. Hey Hallelujah!

Sadly, it was up to our opening act, the always hilarious Meryl O’Rourke, to take one for the team and manage these problematic ladies. Wisely she decided not to do any challenging material and instead stuck to the tried and tested Menopausal Meryl stuff. She has some brilliant observations on surviving those testing years; it’s very skilful to make menopause humour equally funny to men as it is to women, and she’s great at it. She confessed that she didn’t really know how to handle those women – but clever wordplay and a roundabout approach resulted in her being able to call them out for what they were (and I won’t say the word here!) but it resonated with us all and she got a massive round of applause for saying it. I’m sure it was the prime reason most of them left to carry on drinking.

Next up, and with peace and stability in the room regained, we had the inimitable Dave Chawner, a regular comedy star at the Edinburgh Fringe, who often likes to come at his comedy from a mental health direction. He told us of his lovely partner Oonagh from Northern Ireland – and the best way to distinguish the two types of people who live there. As an alternative to comedians who talk about their kids, he talks about all the reasons why he doesn’t have kids, which makes a nice change. He’s effortlessly gifted in crafting lovely turns of phrase throughout his act, sets up a good rapport with the audience, and has some wonderfully creative insights into life. I particularly liked his immensely sound reasoning for why some people put up unwanted St George’s flags in inappropriate locations. Top stuff, and he definitely steered the show back into the positive zone!

Our headliner, and another change to the advertised programme, was the irrepressibly mischievous Dan Antopolski, unashamedly one of my favourite comedians. The thing with Mr A is that you can never tell in which direction he’s going to take you. Hitting the ground running with a brilliant – and so appropriate for that evening – opening line about bunches, no subject is out of bounds as he adopts his slightly surreal take on everything. Among his best bits were great reasoning for why you might put socks on before pants, the definition of “a character”, and what constitutes grounds for divorce. Clever and intelligent material, elegantly crafted and phrased, and delivered with wicked style and a knowing look.

Next Screaming Blue Murder night is on Valentine’s Day! If you’re free, why not come? Just don’t pre-load for hours first.

Review – Stephen K Amos, Now We’re Talking, Underground at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 10th January 2026

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One of our favourite funny men, Stephen K Amos is midway through his UK tour of his latest show Now We’re Talking, and it was a delight to see the Underground in Northampton sold out to greet him. Would he have a support act? He addressed the issue in his opening moments when he candidly confessed, he normally would but decided he couldn’t afford one this week. Consequently, we had a good two hours or more of undiluted Mr Amos, and I for one am not complaining.

His message in his latest show is that, in these awful days where everything seems to be going what my father used to call arse-uppards, we need to talk but moreover we really need to listen. It is still possible to “find the funny” in the most unusual or indeed impossible situations – and Mr A is a master of that art. Everyone says you can’t say anything nowadays, which anyone with an ounce of understanding realises is not true; you can, but you just have to be more skilled at it. As Mr A says, if you think and if you listen, you can say what you like; just don’t imitate your Nigerian doctor – as he gamely demonstrated.

Stephen K Amos has always incorporated his brilliant fluidity with accents and attitude in his act, to tremendous comic effect. He wastes no time getting to know the people in the front rows – beware if you sit close to the stage when he’s on, as you will get involved! We met Andrew and Jo from posh Market Harborough, baker Megan and Police officer Georgie; others who remained nameless included a relentless scoffer of Maltesers and someone who chucked him a caveat which Mr A rightly interpreted as a masked heckle, and as a result he regretted his words for the rest of the evening. For all that he’s a hilarious comic, Mr A can get quite ruthless with the audience, so you’d better have your wits about you if you engage unwisely!

At the end of the act, his astute mind and rigorous memory let loose a terrific final routine where he creates a story populated with all the characters in the audience with whom he’s spoken, imitating their manner using their words back at them. It’s incredibly clever and shows just what a smart cookie he is. Mr Amos’ comedy is always intelligent and thoughtful; his observations are well-reasoned and hit the nail on the head. And despite all the problems with the world, you come away from the show feeling uplifted; his is a very optimistic act, and we definitely need more of that!

Hilarious comic observations? For sure. Wordplay? You got it. Instant comic reactions to anything the audience throws at him? Absolutely! The Now We’re Talking tour continues throughout the UK until 7th February; he’s then touring in Australia from March to May with a couple of dates in New Zealand at the end.

Review – The All New Adventures of Peter Pan, Royal and Derngate, Northampton 7th December 2025

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©Pamela Raith

Yes, I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas either. But as sure as night follows day, the pantomime season swings into action, bringing its delightful formula of bad jokes, audience interaction, ghosts lurking behind benches and wheelbarrows heaving with puns. Evolution Pantomimes’ offering for Northampton this year is Peter Pan – The All New Adventures of, because we’ve moved on from Wendy Darling (who everyone agrees was SO BORING) to Poppy Sunshine, and Never Never Land has become Forever Land; go figure. But some things just don’t change: the mischievous Tinkerbell, the villainous Captain Hook and Peter Pan, of course; he’s no longer a child as Hook points out, but an actor with Botox and Mounjaro (don’t sue me, I’m only quoting what he said). And we mustn’t forget the Lost Boys and Girls, and the crocodile – this year, chummily known as Colin.

©Pamela Raith

Evolution are masters at pantomime and this year’s show is no exception. They have a great understanding of which panto traditions are sacrosanct, and which ones you can play with a little. The ghost bench is always a winning combination – but in a nice nod to Peter Pan this year, the ghost comes down from the sky on a wire. The musical numbers consist of a few classic pop songs – the Tina Turner double-bill that sends us into the interval is fabulous – mixed with several songs from musical theatre. Sweeney Todd’s Not While I’m Around has its scary subplot removed and becomes a sweet lullaby in the orphanage, Stick it to the Man from Rock of Ages works very well and, best of all, the mermaids using Welcome to the Rock from Come from Away as their theme for Mermaid Cove – it makes absolute sense that mermaids would affirm their identity with the chant I Am an Islander.

©Pamela Raith

There’s also one of those water pistol moments. Foolish me; as it had been raining, I brought a bag with me so that my programme would stay pristine whilst walking home. However, by the time Gordon Cooper’s Mrs Sweet had soaked the central stalls with her bazookas it had wilted into a soggy mess. But it’s all part of the Essence of Pantomime, which just so happens to be precisely that intangible substance that Captain Hook is trying to steal and destroy, so that he can eradicate laughter, music, dancing, and, above all, booing. What a bad fellow he is. You’ll be pleased to discover he fails in his quest.

©Pamela Raith

There’s energetic song and dance from the boys and girls of the chorus, amusing interruptions from Ethel the Overacting Pirate and Trevor the Pirate who can’t be Bothered, and the super-messy but very funny ice-cream making interlude. Musically, this is a particularly strong pantomime with two outstanding musical performances, from Millie Davies as Poppy and Simone Robinson as Miss Doodle/Myrtle. Neal Parsons and Emily Walder’s media videography is extremely effective, with the walls and door of Poppy’s orphanage bedroom shimmering into a dream sequence and a glorious projection of Poppy and Tink’s flight over London and beyond into orbit. This is the magic of pantomime; and there’s nothing quite like it.

©Pamela Raith

John Thomson leads the cast as the baddie Captain Hook; he has a fine and imposing stage presence and is appropriately malign, so that he fully deserves his boos. There’s a hilarious brief sequence where he attempts to deliver a powerful soliloquy in an ever-diminishing follow spot – it’s a lovely piece of physical comedy. And he can play the drums too! Oliver Scott plays our gang leader Charlie with immense and addictive enthusiasm and forms a fun double act with CBeebies favourite George Webster, whom the children in the audience absolutely adored.

©Pamela Raith

Gordon Cooper relishes all the opportunities that being the pantomime dame can offer. As Mrs Sweet, she nicely plays up to her new boyfriend of the afternoon, the unfortunate front-row Chris (who was a very good sport indeed) and drives the show on with pace and power and a lot of splendidly outrageous costumes. I mustn’t forget the impishly cheeky Tink in the form of Georgia Brierley-Smith, and a big shout-out to Uncle Joe Church and his Royal and Derngate Philharmonic, playing their instruments from the side boxes, who create a bigger band sound than is decent from just four musicians.

©Pamela Raith

I must be honest; Sunday afternoon’s show was occasionally a little chaotic, but I have no doubt that any tiny niggles will sort themselves out admirably over the next couple of performances. And anyway, when things do go a little awry, that just adds to the Essence of Pantomime! Above all, the kids loved it, and that’s what really counts.

4-starsFour They’re Jolly Good Fellows!