REVIEW: Walking with Dinosaurs, NIA Birmingham

Huge and incredibly lifelike dinosaurs, including this T-Rex, took to the stage at the NIA Birmingham.

We headed out to the NIA in Birmingham to catch  the “arena spectacular” Walking with Dinosaurs.  That’s a huge claim, but then we are dealing with huge animals, and I’d heard really good things. 

We were greeted with a Palaeontologist who acted at the narrator for the show, introducing the individual dinosaurs through easy-to-digest information or sometimes comical interaction. 

REVIEW: Alfie Boe and Emilia Mitiku, The NIA

Alfie Boe performs to a sold out venue at The NIA in Birmingham. (Photograph: Jack Kirby)

Braving the cold and snow last night was no easy challenge for the fans of Alfie Boe, who kicked off his Storyteller tour with a sold out show at the Birmingham NIA last night, but with the queue stretching around the building, there was no denying the eagerness to watch the Les Misérables star in action.

The Storyteller tour will be his first UK arena tour, however with three platinum albums under his belt, a score of shows and the fact that he has sang for the Queen herself, Alfie is no small fish.

REVIEW: Inspiral Carpets, Birmingham O2 Academy

Inspiral Carpets perform at the Birmingham O2 Academy. (Photo by Jake Mackinnon)

Alternative rock band Inspiral Carpets housed the fifth night of their Back To Life UK tour at the O2 Academy 2 in Birmingham.

The band’s main aspirations for this of the tour were to play their first studio album Life back to front along with selected hits from other albums. Despite Life being released in 1990, there was a very diverse range of ages amongst the audience; with fans as young as sixteen in attendance.

REVIEW: Phantom of the Opera, Birmingham Hippodrome

Earl Carpenter plays The Phantom alongside Katie Hall as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera at the Birmingham Hippodrome (Photograph: Alistair Muir)

Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of The Opera has arrived at the Birmingham Hippodrome for a three week run.

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The sold out performance has a lot to live up to if it is going to compete with Webber’s original from more than twenty five years ago.

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REVIEW: NME Awards Tour, Birmingham O2 Academy

Birmingham band Peace performed at the O2 Academy in their home city as part of the NME Award Tour line-up

When you get the opportunity to review a performance at the O2 Academy you’re rarely disappointed and this night was no exception. In fact, in many ways it surpassed expectations.

As you can probably guess the evening was dedicated to showcasing the best new British music talent, soon to be officially voted in by the readers of NME magazine. It is quite easy to say that the guys at NME picked one tasty line-up, with Birmingham’s very own indie newcomers Peace and Palma Violets, followed by the northern star Miles Kane and headlined by the Scottish techno-rock group Django Django.

Review: Madagascar Live at the LG Arena, Birmingham

Madagascar Live! impressed audiences as it took to the stage at the Birmingham LG Arena

With the UK falling foul to snowy weather, I braved the equivalent of a mini Ice Age in order to check out the film-to-stage live adaptation of Dreamworks’ blockbuster movie Madagascar.  

While there may have been panic in the supermarkets and on the roads due to adverse weather conditions, the LG staff and Madagascar Live team did their best to honour the show,  keeping the public aware it was still going ahead via social networking platforms and ensuring that no matter how cold it seemed outside the venue, the cast was determined to create a beautiful sandy beach inside drenched in the light (if not heat) of a tropical sunshine.

Maxi Priest adds reggae flavour to Flyover Show

Reggae star Maxi Priest at the Flyover Show this weekend. Photo by Rob Gilbert.

International reggae star Maxi Priest headlined Birmingham’s Flyover Show this weekend as revellers headed to Hockley to enjoy sunshine, Caribbean food and hits from music stars including Janet Kay and Soweto Kinch alongside performances by the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Despite producing global hits including Wild World, Some Girls Have All the Luck and Close To You, Maxi Priest was more than happy to perform under the Hockley Circus roundabout on the A41 in what has become one of the city’s annual open air musical highlights.

REVIEW: One Beat Sunday @the mac

One Beat Sunday was held outdoors at the mac venue in Birmingham

After one of the wettest beginnings to summer on record there were fears that One Beat Sunday would be a wash out, but that was not to be.

Amazingly the sun came out making it a beautiful day and so the sunny stage was set for the massive line-up of bands, and they did not disappoint!

REVIEW: Dirty Dancing at Birmingham Hippodrome

Musical Dirty Dancing is on at the Birmingham Hippodrome

When I heard Dirty Dancing was coming to the Birmingham Hippodrome I couldn’t quite contain my excitement, after all it’s one of my all-time favourite chick-flicks.

It’s a movie that every young girl watches and dreams of falling in love… but would a stage play have the same sort of impact? Well, I was about to find out!

REVIEW: Cirque du Soleil’s Alegria at the NIA, Birmingham

Cirque du Soleil Alegria is showing at the Birmingham NIA this week

This week, the Birmingham NIA is playing host to one of the most dynamic, awe-inspiring, and downright spectacular circus troupes in the world of the performing arts.

Cirque Du Soleil, the world-renowned entertainment giant, brings you Alegría, arguably their most successful and popular show.