Reviews

It’s a Wonderful Life was a fun and well-produced piece of theatre, presented with enthusiasm and a high level of skill by the nineteen youngsters in the cast.

These young actors had been working on the play for an intense six days before the performance and they deserve congratulations on their finished effort, as do the directors Michelle Nightingale and Alicia Zorkovic.

The Australian singer Alison Jiear has lived in Britain for over 30 years and has made a splash there in musicals like Jerry Springer: The Opera and a particularly rousing appearance on Britain’s Got Talent. She’s also a remarkable cabaret performer and commands the stage, here in a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.

God, art and the human mind are huge themes alone, but they’re combined here in this outstanding play by the Theatre Guild, originally an Ingmar Bergman film, adapted by Jenny Worton.

Karin, the daughter is recovering from a mental illness episode, brought by her adoring but boring husband, Martin. Her father David is there physically but is really writing another book; the son Max craves his father’s attention.

Darlington Theatre Players’ backstage comedy, A Chorus of Disapproval, is garnering firm approval from its audiences. Alan Ayckbourn’s play is centred around the adventures of recently widowed Guy Jones, as he joins Pendon Light Operatic Society (PLOS), in the lead-up to their production of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera.