THEATRE

from NN Pulse magazine April 22

by PulseGroupMedia

MUSIC

Victoria Miles and Kate Billingham star in Bette & Joan

Strictly cha-cha-chat with judge Craig

The ‘fab-u-lous’ Craig Revel Horwood

Eyes down for your monthly look at the great and the good in theatre land with Pulse’s Sammy Jones.

Laughter is the best medicine, and by ‘eck could we all do with a little uplift, a fact not lost on Northampton’s Underground, which has booked Matt Forde (April 1) with his show, Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right.

Matt will lash out right, left and centre and bring some funny voices to the performance too – well, he does work on that Spitting Image programme, after all.

The last time we saw Bette & Joan (April 1 & 2) it was on stage in Brighton with Anita Dobson as Joan Crawford and Greta Scacchi as her rival Bette Davis. It was a sublime piece of theatrical weight, and more than a decade on still rates as one of our most favourite deliveries.

Bette and Joan were arch-rivals, and A-list stars who shared the limelight, and sometimes lovers.

The show places them in their dressing rooms on the set of their new film, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

The script was delightful, and despite the scathing bitchiness the audience was able to peer through the cracks at fragility and regret.

This production is by Northamptonshire theatre company White Cobra, which is marking its decade anniversary in 2022.

Victoria Miles is Bette, and Kate Billingham stars as Joan when the curtain rises at The Royal.

Tommy Tiernan (April 4) has hit his half century now, but age hasn’t dulled him, and he will wonder aloud about God, sex and family in a way that seems equally sacred and profane when he visits the Derngate.

Lord of The Dance (April 5-9) has spent the past 25 years kicking perfectly choreographed legs and celebrating Irish dancing.

To mark the special milestone, this tour is going to the next level, with cutting edge technology, special effects and remarkable lighting. Michael Flatley will direct.

Deborah Frances-White brings The Guilty Feminist to the Derngate (April 10), and this is part comedy, part deep-dive discussion and part activism, with a number of world class guests joining to keep the conversation flowing.

Over the last six years the podcast it’s based on has accumulated more than 95 million downloads.

A simply fab-u-lous night for fans of Strictly is ahead when Craig Revel Horwood (April 11) arrives. He’ll cha-chachat about his journey from life Down Under to the West End, and of course there will be a side portion of gossip to go alongside.

There’s more Strictly flavoured fun when Aljaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara (April 16) get down to Remembering The Oscars and the songs that soundtracked some of our favourite movies. Presumably, the couple will be putting on an award-winning performance.

Cbeebies star Justin Fletcher (April 17) will deliver an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza before Diversity (April 18-20) present Connected; a new show choreographed by Ashley Banjo which is centred around social media, the internet and the digital era we all live in – and how it unites us all.

Northampton Gilbert & Sullivan Group do justice to The Gondoliers (April 25-30) at The Royal, with the mix-up to end them all. Just who is heir to the throne of Barataria? Marco? Or Giuseppe?

Also upcoming this month, Strictly winner Giovanni Pernice (April 27), Sally-Anne Hayward (April 28) and Dylan Moran (April 29).

Some of you will have enjoyed the hit comedies Hormonal Housewives and Girls Just Wanna have Fun, and Soul Sisters: The Musical (April 5) is the latest delivery from the producers responsible.

The Fabulettes are out to reclaim the elusive closeness they shared as teens in this journey of success, survival and sisterhood – catch it at The Core in Corby.

Back in Northampton, a highlight at The Deco will be Blokes of a Feather, an evening in the company of Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran (April 26). Over the past 40 years this pair of ace comedy writers have delivered one hit show after another; Shine on Harvey Moon, The New Statesman, Goodnight Sweetheart and Birds of a Feather among them. ‘There will be anecdotes, revelations, indiscretions, insights and lots of laughter,’ is the promise.