Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story 23-28 June

Back to celebrate 25 years on the stage Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story has embarked on a UK tour. Over the 25 years there have been 20,500 performances seeing 185,000 guitar strings replaced and over 203,00 plectrums used. Most importantly 40 pairs of Buddy's defining glasses. 

The cast rocks some of Buddy Holly's most well known hits such as That'll Be The Day, Peggy Sue, Oh Boy and Rave On. 

Buddy follows the short yet memorable career of Buddy Holly who paved the way for the future of Rock 'n' Roll. The audience follows his unsteady rise to fame all the way to his famous final performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa before his tragic death at the young age of 22. Although his career only lasted 18 months, it has been continuously echoed and been paid tribute to by huge stars ever since. 

 The role of Buddy is shared between Glen Joseph and Roger Rowley. Glen Joseph is such a rock star, commanding the attention of the audience even once the show has finished. A flawless Buddy highlighting the unconventional youthful geekiness of Holly with the larger than life talent.

Buddy is joined by two other iconic Rock 'n' Roll musicians The Big Bopper played by Jason Blackwater and Ritiche Valens played by Will Pearce both have such powerful stage presence and despite having been born about 40 years later I was easily whisked back to 1959. 

 Maria Elena, Buddy's wife played by Viviene Smith is the sweet young bride who despite only knowing her husband for a matter of hours shows her utmost loyalty to him. Even today the real Maria Elena stands behind this production. 

The Crickets Joe played by Scott Haining and Jerry played by Adam Flynn nicely complemented Buddy as they matched his lovable geekiness but tremendous musical talent.

The Two Apollo performers Lydia Fraser and Miguel Angel give an extraordinary rendition of the famous song Shout. I definitely spotted audience members dancing along.

The two managers we meet in the show  Hipockets Duncan played by Shaun Hennessy and Norman Petty played by Peter Kenworthy contrasted each other quite nicely. Hipockets plays by the rules and gives his listeners good clean country music. Petty on the other hand, gives Buddy the creative freedom that paved the way for his stardom.

Vi Petty played by Sarah Mahony is the perfect wife. She's always got the coffee ready but also steps in to add an extra little touch to The Crickets' music.

Equally Jackdaw played by Alex Marshall was a great addition to The Crickets, helping make their music even greater.

The upbeat atmosphere on stage seeped into the audience as memories appeared to flood back and audience members were joining in with the well known songs and dancing and clapping the whole way through. It really gives a show credit when the audience feels they can join in and be part of the show rather than sat quietly and clap politely after each song. 

Even though my knowledge of 50s Rock 'n' Roll is quite limited I was on my feet at the end too. 

Buddy is only on at the Hippodrome for a limited period so click here to get your tickets now!

Alternatively if you are not in Birmingham click here to find out when Buddy is coming to your city!


Check out the trailer!

Hippodrome Plus - Summer in Southside Sat 9th, 16, 23rd & Sun 24th August

Living in Britain we should take every opportunity to enjoy the unfamiliar summer sun. This summer, apart from the special shows coming to the Hippodrome's main stage, there are plenty of other events (dance, circus, music & many others) taking place along the streets and in the squares in the city. Not convinced yet? Well it's FREE... 

Hippodrome Plus is looking for volunteers for Summer in Southside this summer:

"We are now looking for enthusiastic volunteers to join the team making Summer in Southside 2014 a truly memorable experience. If you would like to meet new people, make a difference in the community, or are looking for something to add to your C.V - join our team!"

 Take your pick of a range of roles needed for this festival team, including:

• Event promotion 
• Stewarding
• Assisting the artists directly.

You will receive compulsory World Class Service training in Outdoor Arts and certification of your volunteering hours. You will also recieve training prior to the event, to ensure that full supervision is given throughout the volunteering period.

If you would like to be involved you must be free to volunteer on at least two of these days: Sat 9 Aug, Sat 16 Aug, Sat 23 Aug and Sun 24 Aug 2014

If you enjoy being part of the team for this event, there is a chance to be involved in other events with other arts organisations as part of Birmingham Arts Bank Volunteer Scheme. 

If you want to apply CLICK HERE it will only take about five minutes to fill out!

Applicants must be over 18 on July 1st 2014 to volunteer. 

Applications close July 18th 2014