THEATRE

Bugsy Malone brings a bit of Fat Sam’s Grand Slam to MK Theatre

A little bit of what you Shanty!

Custard pies, a Cornish buoy band and a Corrie bad boy in The Commitments... just some of the variety on offer in theatre-land this month. Sammy Jones takes you through what’s on, when.

The evening’s are drawing in, and things are all a bit grim at the moment, aren’t they? But here comes a glowing new musical to warm the cockles!

Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical (October 4-8, MK Theatre) is based on the true story of the chart-topping Cornish singing sensations and the smash-hit film from 2019.

You’ve had the boy bands, now check in with the buoy band as they take you on a feel-good voyage about friendship, community and music.

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and this story is absolutely one of those times – re-telling the tale of how a group of Cornish fishermen united to sing the traditional songs they had sung for generations...and how they ended up performing on the famed Pyramid Stage at the hallowed Glastonbury Festival!

Dare we say you’ll fall hook, line and sinker for this delight?

Marvellous musical Bugsy Malone (October 11-15) is out on tour with a truly terrific cast of youngsters taking care of business – it’s going to be splurge-tastic!

We caught a little peek of the production and you’ll be wowed by the prohibition era piece. New York is bubbling with mobsters, showgirls and dreamers, and rival gangster bosses Fat Sam and Dandy Dan are at loggerheads.

You know what that means; splurge guns are being fired and custard pies are making a mess all over the city. Since obtaining that splurge-r Dandy Dan and his crew have the upper hand, and Fat Sam and his bumbling buffoons are in trouble.

Penniless ex-boxer Bugsy Malone just wants to spend time with his new love Blousey, but what of seductive songstress Tallulah? Will he be able to resist her and help Fat Sam defend his business?

October is a particularly strong month for the theatre, with The Shawshank Redemption (October 17-22) arriving to examine the desperation, injustice, friendship and hope behind the claustrophobic bars of a maximum security facility.

Andy Dufresne has been given a double life sentence for the brutal murder of his wife and her lover, a crime he says he didn’t commit. He strikes up an unlikely friendship with the prison fixer, but when the Warden Stammas bullies him and exploits his talents for accountancy, a plot is hatched...

Joe Absolom and Ben Onwukwe lead the way in this must-see.

If it’s soul classics you are after, The Commitments has all you can handle, and more.

Thirty-five decades since The Commitments first left the pages of Roddy Doyle’s bestselling novel, the soul band are back in this new production, which will tour through to July 2023. Thankfully we don’t have to wait that long – it will be with us for a six-day stay beginning on October 24.

Corrie bad boy Nigel Pivaro who gave Jack and Vera Duckworth wrinkles for his exploits as their son Terry is heading back to the stage, performing as ‘Da’.

“It’s an iconic story that resonates across the years, about people who though distant from the music’s origins find communion and expression in the Motown style,” Nigel said, “A musical genre which was borne out

Nigel Pivaro

of oppression and which the characters embrace as their own. The Motown Sound is as vibrant today as it was when it first burst through in the sixties.”

At The Stables, Henry Normal presents Sit Down Poetry (October 8) in the snug of Stage 2, and here’s a fella who knows what he’s on about; Henry is a writer, poet, TV and film producer and the founder of the Manchester Poetry Festival, now known as the Literature Festival.

Making use of stories, jokes and poetry he will use his time to take on the world in search of a win-win situation...

We can’t let the month pass by without giving a mention to Company MK who will deliver performances of the Lloyd-Webber classic Evita (October 19-22) at Stantonbury Theatre.

Explore the life of Eva Peron as the Argentinian first lady goes from poverty to celebrity to immortality.

The production is airing in a celebratory year for Company MK – in 2022 they are marking 30 years of musical productions; from standards to the more obscure. That’s dedication to the arts – on behalf of our readers, Pulse sends our thanks for all their efforts so far. Here’s to a future every bit as productive and creative as their past.

> Book in: MK Theatre: atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes Stantonbury Theatre: stantonburytheatre.co.uk The Stables: stables.org