Tuesday Night Live

Another trip to the Playhouse tonight with my dear wifey. We've just been to see the world premiere of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning - The Musical.

Yes that classic tale of Nottingham bred Raleigh worker, Jack the Lad and hard drinker Arthur Seaton has been turned into an all singing, all dancing theatre production. Well not singing and dancing all the time, but a fair bit of it from the opening scenes at the White 'Oss, to the closing scene of Arthur getting ready to settle down with his now girlfriend Doreen.

The songs were well sung and for a first night there were no forgotten words or obvious mishaps. There was a small sound problem with the casts' microphones; a bit of buzzing, but nothing too distracting.

The stage set was well conceived and thought out, with one side being a bedroom, and the other a kitchen/living room which also doubled up as Arthur's local boozer. In the middle was an area for the rest of the action to take place, and behind were the gates to the old bike factory, which were hidden by a screen. Joining the two halves was a sort of bridge which the actors used for different reasons throughout the show.

All in all it was a very professional production. Maybe not one of the polished Andrew Lloyd Webber spectacles that everybody has seen these days. But then Nottingham isn't the West End. I'm not sure if it has the panache to transfer to the London stage. But it will be good to see what the future brings for Arthur, Brenda, Jack and Doreen.

Alas I have no photos of the evening to share with you, instead here's a shot of a window display of a local gift shop, which includes the famous Alan Sillitoe novel waiting to be picked up and read by someone who can relax on this chair, with its sausage dog cushion.