Alexandra Taylor: Writer

A moving tale of love, loss and letting go. Those familiar with the 1990 film will think of ‘Ghost’ as a sad and intimate story which deals with the sensitive emotions around losing a loved one. It’s not an immediately obvious subject for musical theatre, a genre best known for its bold, brash and upbeat song-and-dance routines. However, this production proves that, when done well, stage musicals can be both entertaining and emotional. It’s the visual effects that are the star of this show, most notably the stunning projections which create impact, mood, depth and movement in a variety of innovative ways. They enable the action to move swiftly and smoothly from loft apartment to tube train, rainy street to police station. But it’s not all about the big spectacle - just as much care has been put into the small touches, such as newspapers which fly unaided into the air, characters which walk through walls and some very nice sleight of hand tricks. The lighting is also wonde...

When I was born, Nelson Mandela had already been in prison for eleven years and South Africa was a country in which 80% of the population were excluded from political representation. As I was growing up, that country was increasingly synonymous with inequality and lawlessness, boycotts and embargoes. When I was thirteen, the satirical TV show ‘Spitting Image’ released the record ‘I’ve Never Met A Nice South African’, a song vitriolic in its condemnation of South Africa’s political system. I read Tom Sharpe’s novel ‘Riotous Assembly’ and was shocked at the racism, incompetence and casual violence attributed to the South African police. When I was fifteen years old, I watched the world’s biggest musical stars celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday, while the man himself continued to endure incarceration. It seemed extraordinary to me that South Africa’s politicians could persist with their discriminatory policies in the face of such widespread international outrage. The situation see...

A festive favourite with a contemporary kick and a large slug of rum.  In December 1853, Charles Dickens stood in Birmingham Town Hall and gave his first  dramatic reading of the story that has come to symbolise Christmas more than any other. Since that night, it has been retold in countless ways - for the stage, for radio, on television and in films - each version a different take on the classic tale of ghosts and greed, love and loss, regret and redemption. Just a stone’s throw from where Dickens gave his story its first performance, Birmingham Repertory Theatre are marking the festive season with a musical version of ‘A Christmas Carol’. If you’re fond of the familiar then you won’t be disappointed with this production. There’s ‘humbug’ aplenty, a feast of frock coats and bonnets, foggy London streets and an achingly adorable Tiny Tim. Much of the dialogue is taken from the original novella and the plot plays out as you would expect. But this production is cer...

Pop into ‘People’ on Poplar Road and you’ll find that it’s had a facelift. While the shop still has a distinctly vintage vibe, its new look is more clean and contemporary, with bright white walls, sparser displays and more open space. It also now includes a large craft-making table where owners Christian and Allison Sadler create many of the clothes, accessories and homeware on display. ‘We wanted to incorporate our workshop,’ says Christian, ‘so that people can see us making things when they come in.’ ‘And it’s not just for us.’ explains Allison, ‘We love that customers can have a cup of tea and do a bit of knitting while their friends are trying on clothes.’ The makeover is not the first change that Christian and Allison have faced in their twenty year partnership. They began by selling their handmade crafts on market stalls, but in 2000 they gave up the itinerant life for the stability of their Kings Heath shop. ‘We wanted to bring together what we were doing in th...

Tribal loyalties are strong in south Birmingham, and nowhere more so than Moseley and Kings Heath. But two local businesses have been daring enough to straddle both communities. Winspers Florists was first established in Moseley forty years ago. Owner Charmain Hannaby took it over in 2007, but the building developed structural problems that the landlord wasn’t prepared to fix. Forced to move to new premises, Charmain took the opportunity to look for somewhere bigger and ended up just a few hundred yards down the Alcester Road, opening on Kings Heath High Street in March 2013. She believes business has benefitted from the move. “We get more custom here.” she says. “It’s a bigger store, with more room to mingle. Ironically, I also discovered that most of our customers live in Kings Heath, but were travelling to Moseley to get their flowers. We’ve actually become even more local for them, so we haven’t really noticed a big difference in the people coming in.” Remi Faveau, co...

This month spades hit the ground in the latest ambitious construction project at Mosley School. It’s the final stage of what has been a long and expensive plan to drag time-worn buildings up to modern educational standards. Three years ago, the school facilities were quite different - a beautiful, well used, listed grammar school building from 1856 and a dilapidated 1960s secondary modern that were united as one school, but whose separate buildings gave children a great excuse to be late for class as they dawdled on the walk between the two. With the help of £20 million from the government’s ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme, the crumbling 1960s construction was finally replaced by a new state-of-the-art school with up-to-date IT facilities, big, bright classrooms and with a much shorter walk to the listed part, which also received a facelift and some interior re-design. It opened for business in October 2012 and staff and pupils alike have been delighted with t...

Like its characters, this production is rather stuck in the past. ‘Go Back For Murder’ is a 1960 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1942 novel ‘Five Little Pigs’. It tells the story of Carla Le Marchant (Sophie Ward) whose mother was convicted of her father’s murder. Twenty years after the crime, and convinced her mother was innocent, Carla enlists the help of lawyer Justin Fogg (Ben Nealon) to revisit the five other suspects in order to discover what really happened. In the original novel Agatha Christie took a stylistic risk, telling the same story several times, each from the perspective of a different character. While this technique worked in the book, it doesn’t translate well to the stage. There is far too much ‘tell’ and not enough ‘show’, particularly in the first act, which consists almost entirely of a series of static dialogues in which the characters do little but reminisce. In the second half we finally get some action, as the events of the fateful day are playe...

Moseley band Big Tent and the Gypsy Lantern are preparing a Christmas gift with a twist this December. Fresh from their UK tour, the boys will be back in Brum to round off the year with a special festive gig. It will be a Big Tent event like no other. Many of their original foot-stomping folk-inspired songs will be left at home in favour of a host of traditional Christmas classics. “One of our friends suggested it as a joke,” says percussionist George, “but we took the idea and ran with it.” “We’ve never done covers before,” explains guitarist Paul, “but we loved the idea of taking all those cheesy Christmas songs that you hear in the supermarket and making them our own.” On the provisional set list are favourites such as Band Aid’s charity anthem ‘Let Them Know It’s Christmas’, Wham’s cheesy pop ballad ‘Last Christmas’ and ‘Christmas Time’ by rock band The Darkness. The group will also be taking requests from fans via Twitter and Facebook. “It’s going to be a cha...

Queensbridge School has just been declared ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. It’s an achievement, that Head Teacher Tim Boyes is rightly very proud of, particularly given the challenging situation that he faced when he first arrived at the school ten years ago. “If we’d been inspected in 2003,” he explains, “we would have failed and gone into special measures. As it was, we were inspected in 2004, a term after I arrived, and just scraped through as ‘satisfactory’.”  Despite it’s location, nestled comfortably between the cosy, middle class boroughs of Moseley and Kings Heath, Queensbridge School is surprisingly mixed. It has a large proportion of students from minority ethnic backgrounds, many of whom speak English as a second language. A high number of the students qualify for free school meals, and there are an above average number of students with disabilities and special educational needs. Taking the school from a C- to an A+ has been a long process involving radical change acros...

This musical melodrama takes its audience on a riotous journey through the criminal exploits of real life Victorian villain Charlie Peace. A travelling company of performers has pitched up in the town square and the theatre audience are the townsfolk, gathering to witness the spectacle. Norman Pace is a commanding Showman, presenting the performance with confidence and engaging the audience with jovial humour. Peter Duncan puts in a powerful performance as Charlie Peace, imbuing the character with enough charismatic charm to make up for his womanising, thieving and murderous ways. The rest of the talented cast bring a range of Victorian archetypes to life - a vicar, policemen, a brothel madam, a music hall singer - moving seemlessly between the various roles. Projection is cleverly used to transform the stage from street scene to interior, shabby terrace to elegant mansion, court room to train carriage. The action takes place across a dizzying range of cities and settings, pa...

White House Down is an ebullient romp which takes great delight in destroying the iconic capitol building and its contents in an imaginative variety of ways. But those who write it off as just another action movie are missing a trick. Woven into this seemingly cliched and patriotic tale of protecting the president and saving the world, is another story - that of the shift in western politics from feudal system to cult of youth and celebrity.  The White House, symbol of American government, is a museum, a historic monument for tourists. The baddies are old, white men, who come from within its staff and exploit its rigid systems to achieve their own aims. Our hero too is trapped by his own past, his future constrained by established patterns of behaviour in both his career and his personal life.  Blasting through this tired, stuffy world comes a President with a new vision, going off-plan in his boy racer jet plane. He’s young, black, loves his branded trainers, a...

From the Jug of Ale to jugs of lassi, it’s hard to imagine a transformation more complete than the one that has taken place at the top of Park Road. The former bar and live music venue has been reborn as Tipu Sultan, home of Indian fine dining, and the differences are stark. Firstly, and perhaps most bravely, Tipu Sultan is dry - there is no alcohol served and you cannot bring your own. Clearly aimed at the Muslim community, this is not the place to go for a late night beer-and-balti. As a result, there is a more serene atmosphere than your average curry house, and a drinks menu which boasts an impressive range of juices, lassis and tasty mocktails. Secondly, the decor. The opulent splendour that greets you is a very far cry from the Jug’s dingy rooms and sticky floors. Stone lions guard the entrance to a waiting area lined with bejewelled sofas, beyond which is a vast dining area hung with glittering chandeliers, where smart, attentive waiters glide effortlessly amongst the or...

This event showcases three audience favourites from July's Birmingham European Festival, and it's easy to see why these particular pieces proved so popular. First, French trio Betti Combo demonstrate the astonishing range of feats that can be performed using just a pole and fifteen white plastic buckets. The performers are dexterous, precise and fluid in their movements, transitioning seamlessly from slow and cautious to frantic and energetic. What they do with the buckets is ingenious - from juggling to tennis, circus tricks to pole dancing. There are some genuinely breathtaking moments and a lot of laughs along the way. This is followed by Hungarian choreographer Ferenc Fehérʼs dark and intense  Tao Te . Using harsh spotlights to create ominous shadows, one minute the performers are fighting aggressively against each other, the next moving smoothly together like an industrial machine. The electronic soundscape, with its metallic droning, pulsating dance beats, melodic cho...

Universal Music comes to Birmingham Conservatoire in search of the next big thing Forget X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent. Birmingham’s prestigious Conservatoire is where the hunt is on for the UK’s best performers. Birmingham singer-songwriter Laura Mvula recently shot to fame after completing a Music degree at the illustrious institution, prompting her record company, Universal, to contact tutors to seek out more potential stars.  Joe Cutler, Head of Composition, was only too happy to help them in their quest. “Song writing is a strong part of what the Conservatoire does, but a lot of our students are also involved in other things outside their formal training. This event is a great opportunity for them to show their classmates what they do, with the potential to catch the eye of a record company.” Undergraduate Thom Bevan-Jones, was asked by his tutors to oversee the event. Although he has experience of organising more traditional concerts, there’s been extra ...

Plenty of beauty, lots of ice - and definitely no sleeping! From the dark and stormy opening to the romantic finale, this is a production full of drama, grace and technical excellence. The show is an impressive blend of ice dance, ballet, circus skills and storytelling which is captivating throughout. The lighting, costumes and choreography all work well with Tchaikovsky’s classic music to create a range of moods from menacing and dramatic to joyful and dreamlike. The scene changes are slick and the performers are accomplished, carrying off a dizzying range of lifts and spins, throws and wire work on a relatively small stage. By far the most dramatic scenes are those set in the shadowy, cobwebbed cave of the black fairy. She gnashes her teeth clad in leather, fishnet and feathers, while the crowlike members of her evil gang play, quite literally, with fire. There is no narration and the story is conveyed entirely through the music and choreography. If it’s been a whil...

Photographs are how we remember important events, long after the memories fade. If you’re having trouble choosing someone to capture your big day, Charles Davis from Professional Photography has five top tips. 1. Get the picture. Take time looking through photographers’ portfolios and think about what you want from your own pictures. If you’re after informal, reportage-style snaps, then choose a photographer whose work shows their ability to capture those spontaneous, one-off moments.  2. Know what you want.  The more a photographer understands what you like, the more chance they have of meeting, and exceeding, your expectations. What balance of formal and informal pictures do you want? Will one photographer be enough? What about a temporary studio for more formal shots? Which part of the event is most important? Be as specific as possible. 3. Time is of the essence. Ask the photographer about their planning and preparation. A good photogra...