The compelling story of a truly remarkable relationship

In previous years, no doubt many of you would have seen the superb film starring Colin Firth and Helena Bonham-Carter, The King’s Speech.

Well from February 25 – March 2, you can catch the stage adaptation at The Rose Theatre in Kidderminster, presented by the resident group there, The Nonentities. Their version is one of the first ever amateur productions of this compelling, iconic tale.

In 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne causing scandal and controversy throughout the Commonwealth, but no one was affected as deeply as his brother, Albert the Duke of York, who found himself facing the thing he dreaded most of all – becoming the King of England.

The King’s Speech, adapted for the stage from his own Oscar-winning screenplay by David Seidler, is the story of the remarkable relationship between Albert and his speech therapist and friend, Lionel Logue.

Living with the despair of her husband’s chronic stammering and the fear that it would never improve, Elizabeth approaches Logue for help. Logue, an Australian living in London and a man of ‘humour, patience and superhuman sympathy’ agrees to treat Albert and with constant positive reassurances, he helps Albert overcome the hurt of past speech therapy failures and the looming shadows of his family and childhood.

For tickets call the box office on 01562 743745 or go online www.rosetheatre.co.uk

Meanwhile there’s drama and mystery in the provinces courtesy of Tettenhall Amateur Players.

The group will present Dave Payne’s murder thriller, The Killer Question at Perton Golf Club from March 5-8.

Former game show champion Walter Crump lives for murder, but did this obsession with death ultimately lead to his own? That is certainly what Inspector Black believes and now it is Crump’s dopey widow, Margaret, who finds herself accused of her husband’s murder.

But what starts out as an open and shut case soon turns into something else altogether.

As you can tell, there is plenty of room for amusement and mayhem in this particular play and it promises to be highly entertaining and stimulating.

For tickets priced at £10 each, visit www.ticketsource.co.uk or visit the Tettenhall Amateur Players Facebook page.

On March 1, you are invited to join Stourbridge Theatre Company, as they present two short plays at Stourbridge Town Hall in the Wollaston Room at 7.30pm.

The first is called A Small Family by Simon Brett.

Valerie Trevelyan is murdered in her nursing home and naturally, her two sons are prime suspects. As detectives interview them and their senile father, the distinctive characters each tell a different tale however. Deep secrets from the past are uncovered and the clues begin to mount up.

A somewhat disturbing watch for anyone with elderly relatives I suspect, but then theatre is meant to provoke thought and emotion, not simply entertain.

The group’s second offering is a play entitled The Bundle, written and performed by Lynn and David Morris. Based on the true story of a young woman called Adilah and her three young children, The Bundle follows her persecution in Chechnya.

Removed from her homeland by her father, abducted into a forced marriage and subjected to a live of servitude, Adilah takes the ultimate risk, plotting to escape to England where she hopes to find a home. However, it isn’t long before she encounters the Home Office’s hostile attitude towards refugees and asylum seekers. This play is serious stuff and will require the very best acting skills amateur performers can muster.

All proceeds from the evening are going to charitable organisations working closely with asylum seeks are refugees in the UK.

Tickets are just £5 each and available at www.stourbridgetheatrecompany.co.uk or by calling 0333 666 3366.

With Valentine’s Day just behind us, love is still in the air.

There is just time to catch a production of Patrick Hayes’s love story, Les Vaches Dans Le Champ (The Cows in the Field) at The Blue Orange Theatre in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham on February 15-16.

A middle-aged couple, Bernie and Martin, spend their first holiday together without the children in rural Brittany where they stay in an old charming stone cottage. They soon settle in and make friends with their elderly French neighbour, Marie. However, strange things begin to take place since the discovery of a mysterious music box. This is time-spanning romantic mystery written by Patrick Hayes and directed by Marcus Fernando.

l For tickets visit www.blueorangetheatre.co.uk or call 0121 212 2643.

The very popular Bilston Operatic Company, who perform at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre each November, is seeking a new Musical Director to join them for their 2019 production, My Fair Lady.

From November 12-16 audiences can delight in the wonderful score written by Lerner and Loewe and follow the captivating tale of Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney guttersnipe who becomes the project of Henry Higgins a professor or phonetics, based on the novel by George Bernard Shaw. But there is a lot of hard work to do before November! If you would like the opportunity to be part of this paragon of musical theatre, email bilstonoperatic@hotmail.co.uk

The group is also seeking new members for the show, so feel free to email and request an audition.

Visit www.bilstonoperatic.co.uk for more information.

Finally this week, it’s audition time for Jodie Richards and her team at Pink Productions in Wolverhampton.

On February 24, Jodie will be auditioning for their next show, which is entitled Musicality and will be staged at Colton Hills Theatre in June. Anyone aged between 4 and 49 years old is welcome.

This show will include numbers from We Will Rock You, Everyone’s Talking About Jamie, Ghost and Pretty Woman to name but a new.

Interested? Contact Jodie on 01902 682087 or 07763847811 or visit www.pinkperformingarts.co.uk

That’s all for this week. Send me all your news and photographs to a.norton@expressandstar.co.uk, call me on 01902 319662 or follow me on Twitter @AlisonNorton

Break a leg!