Black Sheep is a beautifully written and perfectly crafted observation of modern farming life. Brought to us by Curious Directive - a Norwich based, internationally renowned theatre company - it’s not a great surprise that Black Sheep is set on a windswept North Norfolk farmstead. However, it’s fair to say that it could, in truth, be set upon almost any farm within the country; as it portrays the passions, frustrations and day to day traumas and tribulations of maintaining a working livestock farm.
We first meet the Carter family on a wet Good Friday morning, Easter 2025. They are gathered around the old family farmhouse kitchen table and discussing the issues they have faced - and continue to face - in the running of their tenancy farm.
Climate change, flooding, and overfarming have stripped the soil of it’s nutrients. Livestock aren’t thriving as they should, their rent keeps rising and tha family cannot seem to fathom a positive way forward without bickering and resentment.
Bonnie and Maggie inherited the tenancy when their father passed away, and with Bonnie’s health failing, her elder son Peter has stepped up to the role of head of the farm. Peter likes to do things in a methodical and traditional way, working tirelessly in all weathers. In a bid to attempt to improve the quality of their land, he has employed a young female student who specialises in the study of the soil - and while Peter can be a hot headed, even sometimes brusque character, he clearly has a softer inclination towards Afsaneh and we see their relationship slowly deepen.
His brother, Elias, plays less of a role as much of his time is taken up as pastor of the local church and he tends to mediate between Peter and his cousin Hannah - a strong willed and fiesty young woman - who has more modern plans for the farm, going forward. Hannah’s mother, Maggie, feels quite torn between the traditional and the modern and she clearly struggles to maintain peace between the whole family. She obviously wants to support her ailing sister, but also feels the motherly nature to encourage and nurture Hannah’s plans.
Much against Peter’s wishes, the family have already diversified the business by providing an Airbnb style home within the windmill on the farm, and an American mother and son have come to stay over the wet Easter weekend. Rachel and Bart are quite taken with the farm and can also see the potential for the stricken soil as the perfect ground to grow vines, and so they make their offer to take the tenancy over and set up their aspiring business…. with considerable consequences that will need to be faced in the coming years.
Directed by Jack Lowe and Craig Hamilton, Black Sheep brilliantly portrays a realistic, slow - and sometimes painful - unravelling of this small farmstead and is an enlightening example of how deeply the emotions of sharing your work, history, identity and life so closely with your family can affect the future.
As with all family sagas, there are also moments of warmth, love and happiness and huge credit should be given to the six actors whose performances are exceptional, displaying truthful emotions and giving their characters real substance and strength.
Black Sheep is running at The New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, from 5th - 8th November.
Danusia Iwaszko is an amazing and inspirational person who is CEO of the charity The Hal Company which was formed in 2023 after delivering writing and drama workshops with a whole host of different groups.
She has inspired women in refuge, the homeless, folks recovering from substance abuse, the elderly and adults with special needs.
But possibly her biggest achievement has been working with prisoners for 17 years to challenge them to create characters and dialogue - instead of misery and mayhem - and ask the question - Could putting pen to paper be their ‘Great Escape’?
Danusia started to write Penned Up back in 2022 and clearly she has drawn on her own personal experience with the inmates that she worked with to produce this earthy, witty and thought-provoking play which is full of emotion and expression - and yes there is swearing and mild violence - but overall it’s a wonderful celebration of what channeling energies creatively can achieve.
Rebecca Peyton is the actress cast to play the real life Danusia on stage (her character is called Dorota) and I can only imagine it was as close to the real person as one could get. She has a strong, encouraging and quietly influential presence on stage and her class of six clearly enjoys their time with her.
That’s not to say that the class doesn’t have its issues. With six men from different backgrounds and religions, faith and ethnicities - there are bound to be clashes.
But with the strong guidance of Dorota as their mentor they all find themselves able to use their voice and their words to express themselves - a far cry from the fists, guns, drugs and violence of their previous lives.
We first learn the story of Ed (played by Liam Watson who was involved from the very start of the development of Penned Up) a young scouse lad who dreams of becoming a professional boxer, who bases his play on his personal aspirations yet still struggles inside with his violent relationship with his father.
Then there is Franky (Heydn McCabe) a highly likeable character straight out of the East End and who writes a beguiling and witty tale of a botched bank robbery and also reflects on the conflicting relationship he also had with his father.
There are two gay guys within the group - Mo (Shelley McDonald) a strict Muslim who has ended up behind bars for the killing of a pedestrian because he was text messaging while driving - and not, as Ed had assumed, because he was a terrorist. Mo is full of remorse and wants to write about child trafficking and Ed is clearly surprised that his preconceived notions of Mo are totally unfounded.
Ben (Ashton Owen) is our completely unabashed gay young man who is inside for drug dealing but has a huge passion for musicals and animals and deftly combines the two to make his own script come to life, and is the most engaging and entertaining of the group - so the joy among his friends when he gets his parole notice is palpable.
The final two inmates are Finlay (Geir Madland) an older Scottish chap who likes to challenge and make confrontation and clearly struggles with his own demons, and Jermaine (Ntabiso Bhebhe) a young black guy who has committed knife crimes but through writing about love has acknowledged the error of his ways and now just wants to write and put his past behind him.
One last important character is Mike, the prison guard, played brilliantly by Chris Clarkson.
Initially, Mike is extremely sceptical about the writing group and is very unsupportive, suggesting that most of the men are only there to escape their cells for a couple of hours and have no intention of writing anything worthwhile.
But when Mike is forced to sit in on the group (due to tensions fraying and a fight breaking out during one highly emotional session) he starts to learn that writing CAN be therapeutic and even pens his own play of UFOs and paranormal phenomena which he is unashamedly proud of.
This play is exceptional. It takes us metaphorically from Brazilian rainforests to the East End of London and then onto a remote Scottish island.
It takes our preconceived ideas of prisoners ability to use anything other than force and violence to get their point across.
But most of all it demonstrates how being part of a group that can share thoughts and emotions openly and honestly can also help to heal each other’s pasts and make their futures a better place.
A truly inspiring story, brilliantly written and beautifully acted - Penned Up definitely got the thumbs up from me.
There was a real buzz of excitement and anticipation in Ipswich Regent Theatre last night, as a full house awaited the onstage arrival of two of the best dancers ever to have graced our stages and screens – Anton du Beke and Giovanni Pernice.
Hot on the heels of their solo sell out tours – and following the recent BBC TV series ‘Anton & Giovanni’s Adventures in Spain’ – the packed auditorium was a clear indication of just how popular these two performers have become.
‘Together’ is their new spectacular which takes up the reins after three seasons of their previous theatre show, ‘Him and Me’. It’s never easy to improve on what’s been done before but with ‘Together’ – a glorious mix of dancing, singing, chat, fun and laughter – the boys have hit the proverbial nail on the head once again.
As with Giovanni’s solo tour, he and Anton have chosen to use a live band again this time around and it really does take the whole performance to the next level. As Anton says, ‘dancing to live music just hits you differently and gives the extra spring in your step’.
That extra spring was certainly evident last night as the show was fast paced from the get-go, with Michelle Andrews’ (female lead vocals) belting out the opening dance number ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing’ – while the dance cast performed a dazzling quick step and Michelle was joined by the male lead vocaist (and musical supervisor) Alex Turney to recreate the Shirley Bassey classic ‘Hey Big Spender’.
The next section of the show focussed on one of the decades that I feel isn’t always represented by shows that are primarily based around Latin and ballroom – the 1950s. I imagine it’s quite possibly because the 1950s was mostly about the jive, but Anton and Giovanni gave us a great introduction to this fantastic era by performing a medley of the two Elvis classics, ‘Teddy Bear’ and ‘Hound Dog’, while kicking and flicking their way around the stage with their fellow dance partners. Dancing at such a fast pace you may think that their vocals could have suffered but that certainly wasn’t the case, and this just underlines what professional performers these guys have become.
Things slowed down a few clicks when Anton and his leading lady Grace Cinque-White enchanted us with a beautiful Viennese Waltz to another Elvis tune, ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ and the fabulous 50s were rounded up to a group jive to the quintessential ‘Blue Suede Shoes’.
As anyone who is a fan of Anton and Giovanni knows, they really are the best of friends and the chatter and banter between them throughout the show made this very evident. The audience clearly enjoyed this thoroughly too, and also gave the duo a chance to catch their breath in between the spectacular dancing. While the guys took a small break from the stage, this enabled Giovanni’s leading lady – the professional Strictly Come Dancing star Lauren Oakley – her own opportunity to show us that’s she’s not just one of the best dancers on the show, but she’s also got a great voice too. She sang a very Charleston inspired song that took us right back to the 1920s.
The first half of the show came to a close with a brilliant rendition by the band of Avici’s ‘Wake Me Up’ interspersed with Rednex’s ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ – and a full on flurry of legs in some foot stomping line dancing and fast paced polka from the rest of the cast.
The second half opened on a serious note with a passionate paso doble to ‘Cry Me River’ which was delivered effortlessly by Michelle, and saw the whole supporting cast perform with both strength and conviction. Throughout the whole show the atmosphere came back to moments of calm between the faster paced moments – and a super contemporary dance by Giovanni and Lauren to ‘Moondance’ was just spectacular.
There then followed a whole section of total decadence and fun as the cast and band took us through the decades of the inimitable Eurovision – which included the classics ‘Kisses for Me’, ‘Puppet on a String’, ‘Waterloo’ and ‘Making Your Mind Up’. And yes the boys did rip off the girls skirts – only for the same to be done to them and revealed Anton in some very fetching Union Jack shorts!
The pace slowed again as we were beguiled by some magnificent Argentine tango footwork from both Anton and Giovanni with their respective leading ladies to a beautiful and moving rendition of Coldplay’s ‘When I Ruled the World’. As with all great things, the show did have to come to and end and what an end it was! For me, there is no greater dance era than the disco of the 1970s and this spectacular finalé had all the components to make the whole audience get up and dance. Gold lamé, spangles, big hair, flares, Cuban heels – it was all there and the band sailed their way through disco dynamics such as ‘Le Freak’, ‘Boogie Wonderland’ and ‘September’.
The crowd were already on their feet and were clearly bowled over by such an amazing crescendo to end our night. A full on standing ovation for what really was a night to remember and on a hot summer’s night, was the best ‘Disco Inferno’ ever.
Giovanni Pernice’s 2024 sensational dance tour is aptly subtitled ‘Let Me Entertain You’ – and (be it a merely a suggestion or a full on invitation!) – this charming Strictly Come Dancing champion certainly delivered on all counts last night at Ipswich Regent Theatre.
Backed by an incredible cast of dancers, musicians and a BSL interpreter, this consummate all rounder had the audience captured from the get-go and we were treated to a fabulous evening of dance, theatre, singing and laughter.
The show opened to the iconic song of the title and was a huge energetic high – with some incredibly fast cha cha footwork – which then moved smoothly into a Chicago style set where the ladies (led by Giovanni’s professional dance partner, Lauren Oakley) showed us all ‘How to Burlesque’. New to the show this year (and a huge delight to me personally, as I feel that music played live just brings a whole performance together) the band – led by musical director Alex Turney – then played a very jazz inspired version of Gloria Estefan’s ‘The Rhythm is Gonna Get You’ which saw Giovanni and Lauren turn out a super swift quickstep which left the audience almost as breathless as the cast!
I’ve been fortunate enough to see Giovanni several times over the years, and it’s wonderful to see how much he has elevated himself – from not only being a formidable dancer – but is now also a fantastic all round showman. He clearly thrives on delivering live theatre, stating at the start of the show that ‘the more we (the audience) give, the more they (Giovanni and Co) will give back’. With this statement in mind, it seems that neither party were disappointed!
Several times during the performance, he took time out to chat to the audience about his past, his present, his future dreams, and there was lots of interaction with the band throughout. This was much to the amusement of us in the audience – Giovanni clearly has great rapport with all of his team that work tirelessly together and just cements their passion and commitment to deliver a show which is certainly West End worthy.
Coincidentally, the next section of the show paid tribute to many of the big shows that have graced the West End (and Broadway) – in their hugely amusing rendition of ‘A Musical’ from the show Something Rotten – which features songs from ‘Phantom of the Opera’, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ and ‘Oliver’ to name a few.
From iconic musicals, we shifted to the 80’s, with a glittering playlist which kicked off with New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ followed up by The Eurythmics ‘Sweet Dreams’, Blondie’s ‘Call Me’ (where Giovanni used an enormous old-fashioned mobile phone as a comedy prop) and the section ended with Toni Basil’s pom-pom waving ‘Hey Mickey’, where the titular name had been cheekily swapped for Gio. This final song gave dancer Katie Dunsden the chance to shine with her own great vocal ability while whimsically paying tribute to the leading man himself. This section was also a highlight for the talented Stacey Green, the BSL interpreter as she kept up with such a fast-paced medley of music and dance.
Perhaps for me the highlight of the first half was Lauren’s sultry rumba to Heart’s ‘Alone’. Her talent really is world-class, she has the most exquisite feet and legs which were really sensational in this dance where Giovanni was clearly happy to showcase his leading lady in all her glory.
After a brief interlude, Giovanni and his cast were back with a very theatrical paso doble to Destiny Child’s ‘Survivor’. It was a very earthy dance, with lots posturing and intent – especially so when Giovanni danced with Pasquale La Rocca (his dance captain) and when the song swapped to ‘Believer’ by Imagine Dragons, it also gave Jacob Booth the opportunity to demonstrate his fantastic drum skills.
After such a serious and dramatic performance, things were lightened up by some good old fashioned audience participation – where ‘Alan’ was the chosen one to join the cast on stage and play their stooge during a very amusing rendition of ‘Beauty School Dropout’ which was originally performed by Frankie Avalon in the 1978 classic film, ‘Grease’.
From fun we switched to a little more serious and sombre, and Giovanni spoke of his gratitude and appreciation for where he is today – and referenced the film ‘Sliding Doors’ which is an interesting exploration of the ‘what ifs’ that we encounter thoughout our lives. With the opening scenes of the film being set on a train platform, Giovanni clearly wanted to bring the story to life through dance and Lauren and he shared a beautiful contemporary rumba mixed with Viennese waltz to Freya Ridings’ haunting ‘Lost Without You’. Liberty Stotter (lead female vocalist) did this beautiful ballad huge justice and the whole performance was just spine tingling.
I know I’ve mentioned before how Giovanni has progressed to being a great all round entertainer and he loves to sing! In the following act, he, Conor Mellor (vocalist and guitarist) and Alex Turney gave their all when they performed ’Somewhere’ from West Side Story, beautifully accompanied by Liberty and Katie with their female harmonies. Another moment for the goose bumps to return, and Emily Layden-Fritz whirled her way through some wonderful classical ballet steps.
As with all good things, this exceptional show had to come to an end, and the penultimate performance was a mix of disco and cha cha to Robyn’s ‘Show Me Love’, Chaka Khan’s ‘Ain’t Nobody’ and J-Lo’s hip thrusting and hand clapping ‘Let’s Get Loud’. Seriously, if you weren’t up and dancing by now, then you never would be!
The fabulous finale featured two of the greatest songs from Tina Turner, ‘Nutbush City Limits’ and ‘Proud Mary’ which had the whole auditorium on their feet, totally caught up in the sheer energy and passion of this wonderful work of entertainment.
Glorious, glitzy and glamorous Giovanni – thank you for being such a great entertainer!
The Glenn Miller Orchestra – A Nostalgic Trip Down Memory Lane
If you like a little bit of history, then you’ll no doubt be aware that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the WWII D-Day landings. And if like a little bit of nostalgia, you may also be aware this would have been the 120th birthday of the legendary big band leader, Glenn Miller.
Born in Iowa, in March 1904, Glenn Miller began to play the trombone from an early age, and set up the infamous big band/swing outfit, The Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1938. They enjoyed huge success with massive wartime hits such as ‘Chatenooga Choo Choo’ and ‘Pennsylvania 6-5000’ but unfortunately, Miller went missing in action at the end of 1944, just as the war was starting to come to a close.
Fast forward a few decades, and through an arrangement with Glenn Miller Productions in the USA, veteran band leader Ray McVay has put together an incredible UK line up of musicians and singers (and guest dancers) that really bring the iconic sounds of the original band back to life.
Born in the late 1930s in Glasgow, Ray is clearly still enjoying being the kingpin in this hugely talented line up, and he takes great pride in what they all bring to our senses. He entered the stage to the Glenn Miller’s ‘signature’ tune – ‘Moonlight Serenade’ – and then went on to announce (and conduct) hit after hit.
‘Little Brown Jug’, ‘Tuxedo Junction’ and ‘String of Pearls’ all had the crowd toe-tapping and quietly joining in, and they were thrilled when female vocalist, Catherine Sykes, joined the band onstage and took the mic to deliver an emotional tribute to Dame Vera Lynn. ‘I’ll be Seeing You’, ‘White Cliffs of Dover’ and of course, ‘We’ll Meet Again’ were all delightful and it was clear that many of the audience were moved by this beautiful moment.
Two other guest singers, Mark Porter and John James soon joined the band onstage to perform yet more hits. Mark delivered an impeccable version of the classic Vera Lynn hit – ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’ and John followed up with an equally poignant rendition of the old Nat King Cole melody ‘Almost Like Being in Love’.
I must also mention the quartet of swing dancers that added some extra sparkle with their excellent mix of Lindy hop, jive, tap and boogie woogie. They really lit up the stage to ‘Sing Sing Sing’ with a fast and acrobatic display of their talents, hitting each drumbeat with perfect timing.
Perhaps the finest part of the show was a tribute to the wonderful ‘Rat Pack’ of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Junior. The hits all stacked up after each other – ‘That’s Amoré’, ‘My Way’, ‘That’s Life’ and my personal favourite, ‘Mr Bojangles’.
It would be impossible to pick out a single band member that didn’t give their all through the entire performance but I must just mention the impeccable time-keeping and backbone of this band, who for me, was drummer Bob Cleall. His outstanding rendition of ‘Sing Sing Sing’ was quite hypnotic . If you think you don’t know the tune, please ask your friend ‘Alexa’ to play it (or look on YouTube) and I defy you not to start tapping your feet!
This wonderful trip down memory lane came to a rousing conclusion with the whole ensemble taking to the stage to jive us home to the big band classic ‘In the Mood’. After almost two and a half hours of being hugely entertained – I’m quite sure that we all left Ipswich Regent in a very good one!
