Nelle Cross

A STAR is born. She bounces on to the stage, performs cartwheels, does the splits, and sings and dances like a seasoned professional. Little Charlotte Knights plays the precocious Baby June in the much-acclaimed showbusiness musical – and commands the theatre in this terrific opening section. She’ll be sharing the part with Beth Woolley for the show’s run, both hopefully winning hearts as Leamington’s answer to Shirley Temple. It’s a great start but, strangely, there’s a long

10 years ago, the team of Nell Benjamin, Laurence O’Keefe and Heather Hach collaborated together to adapt the 2001 film, Legally Blonde into an all-singing, all-dancing musical extravaganza. Having enjoyed extended time on Broadway and the West End, the show is now doing the rounds in the amateur circuit. However, LWMS’s production of this brilliant show was far from amateur. The vast stage at the Royal Spa Centre was filled with an exuberant cast, in a performance packed f

If further proof were needed that Warwickshire local theatre has its own stage musical superstar, this is it. Her name is Nikki Claire Cross

Omigod you guys, Legally Blonde is a dazzling and effervescent triumph on Leamington stage Omigod you guys – you’ve only gone and set an extraordinarily high new standard for local musical theatre. This is a show that explodes onto the stage and rarely lets up. It’s a remarkably ambitious production – but rather than being daunted, the cast reach hitherto unscaled heights. I’ve not seen a better show at the Spa Centre in my 15 years of reviewing. Legally Blonde tells the stor

Nick Le Mesurier, Leamington Courier (Source: Leamington Courier) #SweeneyTodd #TheLoftTheatre #MusicalTheatre

HAND on heart, you can readily call this a full-blooded production. The throat-slitting antics of the Demon Barber and the gruesome pie-filling by his woman associate are legend and the challenge is to create their grim Victorian environment with panache. In a mood reflecting Sweeney’s obsessive revenge mission, back-street London comes alive. Dark buildings, hidden hideyholes and shadowy stairways pinpoint a world of poverty and social injustice which is cleverly accentuated

There is no doubt that Singin’ in the Rain is one of the most memorable movie musical classics and it’s no wonder that it is rarely seen on the amateur circuit, because - blimey - it’s a monumental challenge! However, whatever challenges LWMS may have faced in staging this classic, they were long gone as the utterly fantastic cast took to the stage tonight. In an explosion of cinematic Technicolor before the audience’s eyes, the familiar music, dancing and iconic scenes wer