Entertainment News

Shoppers will be treated to a performance of Motionhouse’s WILD production at Bullring & Grand Central today (April 13).

WILD, the daring new performance by Leamington Spa-based leading UK dance-circus company, Motionhouse, explores the disconnect with the natural environment. Performers will use powerful physicality and daring feats to move through a forest of tall poles. The performance is part of a year-long partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome, which will see many more theatrical pop-up performances to come.

There will be two performances at 1pm and 4pm on Level 0 at Bullring & Grand Central outside of Disney Store and H&M.

Danielle Bozward, Marketing Manager at Bullring & Grand Central, commented: “Having worked with Motionhouse during the launch of our Spiceal Street development a few years ago we know that their performances are exceptional and prove popular with our shoppers. We look forward to welcoming them back to entertain our customers with this new production.”

The performance comes as part of Bullring & Grand Central’s partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome. Throughout the year the partnership will deliver a range of events and activities in-centre.    

One of the most unique concert experiences of recent years is set to return for 2019 having won the hearts of critics and fans a-like, as Elvis is set once again to be back, in a building near you!

The six-date arena tour will begin at the Manchester Arena on November 25th, before taking in Cardiff Motorpoint Arena (November 26th), Birmingham Resorts Arena (November 27th), Sheffield Arena (November 28th), Glasgow Hydro (November 29th), before a huge finale at London’s The O2 on December 1st.

The show will see the King once again up close on screen alongside the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra live on stage, with this year being extra special as they will also be joined by The TCB Band – Elvis’ original and longtime backing band. This is the only chance to experience the man who changed the course of popular music, selling an unparalleled 1 billion records worldwide.

Marking 50 years since Elvis’ triumphant return to live performing - as he took up his infamous Las Vegas residency in 1969 - the 2019 tour will feature very special personal appearances from Priscilla Presley and long term Elvis associate Jerry Schilling, who will be sharing intimate stories, personal photos plus rare home movies.

On the tour, Priscilla Presley said: “We’re BACK and better than ever! I am thrilled and honoured to be returning to the UK. Please join me live on stage to present this brand new show backed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra , Elvis’s TCB Band, never before seen new footage of Elvis, and  more surprises, including, Jerry Schilling and myself on stage sharing our stories. This will be a once in a lifetime show... you won’t want to miss.”

The collaboration between the music of Elvis and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has spearheaded an incredible current phenomenon, with new orchestral arrangements of the music of the most legendary artists of all time being presented with the original recordings of the artists’ own voice which led to three huge-selling and critically acclaimed albums (If I Can Dream, The Wonder of You, and Christmas with Elvis and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra).

With Elvis never having toured the UK, or performing with a full sized orchestra as were two of his dreams, these shows are a chance to both honor the legacy of an icon who has defined popular culture for over half a century, and for fans to see ‘The King’ live, who never had the chance to before.

Westlife are well and truly back with their biggest tour to date coupled with their two new singles ‘Hello My Love’ and ‘Better Man’ going straight to the top of the iTunes charts around the world, it’s like pop icons Westlife have never been away!

Celebrating 20 years since their debut single hit the No.1 spot, ‘The Twenty Tour’ will see the band perform together for the first time since 2012. Now, cinema goers across the UK and Ireland will be able to join Shane, Nicky, Mark, and Kian and the sold-out crowd at Dublin’s Croke Park Stadium on Saturday 6th July, direct from their local cinemas.

‘The Twenty Tour' is Westlife's fastest selling tour of all time. The band sold an incredible 400,000 tickets in just 48 hours. The live broadcast will see the global pop kings perform brand new songs, alongside their greatest hits and all 14 of their UK No.1 hits including as 'Swear It Again', ‘Flying Without Wings', ‘You Raise Me Up’ and 'Unbreakable'.

Westlife said: “We have been overwhelmed with the incredible reaction to the tour and we’re so happy that our fans will now have the chance to enjoy the show in cinemas across the world. Croke Park has always been a special place for us and we can’t wait to be back there.  It’s going to be a phenomenal night!”

Presented by CinemaLive, leading producers and distributors of event cinema, Westlife: The Twenty Tour Live from Croke Park will be broadcast direct via satellite to over 600 cinemas in the UK and Ireland, including major multiplexes and many independent cinemas and arts centres.

Westlife have sold over 55 million records worldwide and are the only band to have their first 7 singles enter the UK chart at No.1. They also have the most singles of any artist to debut at No.1 in the UK. Overall the band have had an incredible 14 No.1 singles, behind only Elvis Presley and The Beatles. They have had 33 No.1 albums worldwide and as a live act have sold 5 million concert tickets worldwide.

Westlife: The Twenty Tour Live from Croke Park, distributed by CinemaLive, will be broadcast at 8pm on Saturday July 6.

Cast members from ‘Madagascar The Musical,’ including X Factor winner Matt Terry took some time out from touring to visit Dudley Zoo ahead of their performances at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.

Matt Terry, joined by puppeteer cast members Darren John, Brandon Gale, Shane McDaidand Victoria Boden came face-to-face with the zoo’s colony of Humboldt Penguins. They were joined by the Penguins of Madagascar Skipper, Rico, Private and Kowalski.

Terry said; “I’m having such an amazing time touring in Madagascar The Musical. The show brings together everything you will know and love from the Dreamworks film with an immense score and amazing sets, costumes and puppets.  It’s an awesome night out for the whole family and I hope to see you there!”

Dudley Zoological Gardens Marketing Manager Andrea Hales, said: “It was our pleasure to welcome Matt Terry and the cast from Madagascar the Musical to DZG to hear about our ongoing conservation work with the threatened penguin species. Our 74-strong colony were particularly fascinated in coming face-to-face with their fabulous penguin puppets. We’re sure the show will be a great success when it arrives in Wolverhampton.”

Press & PR Manager at the Grand Theatre Scott Bird added; “the opportunity to take the cast of Madagascar was both fun and very informative - the resident penguins at the zoo seemed to really like their Madagascar counterparts. The cast got to learn lots about the animals that they puppeteer in the show and we very much look forward to welcoming them to the Grand Theatre.”

Since winning The X Factor, Matt has been non-stop. He’s been recording music all over the world including Miami, LA and Scandinavia. After a top 3 hit with the Ed Sheeran-penned winner’s single When Christmas Comes Around, he released his debut album Trouble in November 2017. His first single from the album, Sucker For You has had nearly 60 million streams on Spotify. After Sucker For You, Matt went back to his Spanish childhood by featuring on Enrique Iglesias’s smash single, Subeme La Radio alongside Sean Paul.  Matt’s role in Madagascar The Musical has been hailed as a triumphant debut theatre performance. Receiving 5 star reviews across the tour.

One of the most influential and controversial novels in English literary history will get a bold new staging at the Belgrade Theatre this spring as trailblazing theatre company imitating the dog present a radical new take on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.

Fusing live performance with cutting edge digital technology, this innovative production turns Conrad’s classic on its head, retelling the story through the eyes of a Congolese detective making the perilous journey into a war-torn Europe. Drawing inspiration from cinema and global politics today, this new version offers a searing parable for our own polarised and unpredictable times, the drama unfolding on stage “like a giant graphic novel”.

Sent by the government in Kinshasa to find and investigate a European military leader named Kurtz, Private Detective Charlie Marlow ventures into a continent ravaged by decades of war and famine. In this dystopian landscape, there are no countries, only fiefdoms run by military leaders, the most successful of whom is the mysterious Kurtz.

But just what shocking secrets lie behind his success? And will Charlie complete her mission successfully and make it out of Europe safely, or will she give in to the darkness at its heart?

Written over 100 years ago amidst the optimism at the turn of a new century and at the height of the British Empire, Conrad’s 1902 novel follows Charles Marlow’s journey along the river Congo and into the heart of Africa. Today, its exploration of how easily the mask of “civilisation” can slip to reveal greed and brutality beneath seems to prefigure the horrors of war and genocide that would dominate early 20^th century history.

Now imitating the dog’s unique adaptation explores what Europe might have looked like had history turned out differently (or might still look in a possible future), negotiating themes of race, gender, violence, nationalism, exploitation and the potential for darkness that lies within us all.

While Francis Ford Coppola’s cinematic reworking Apocalypse Now has acquired its own towering reputation, stage adaptations of Heart of Darkness remain rare – and not without reason. Often considered the first modern novel, its structure and imagery are as restless as its protagonist, and as wild and mysterious as the jungle he explores.

Through their signature blend of traditional theatre and dynamic new storytelling techniques, imitating the dog have developed a multilayered, multimedia language that feels as fresh and potent as Conrad’s literary inventiveness must have done his own time.

Heart of Darkness is adapted and directed by imitating the dog founder members Pete Brooks and Andrew Quick. Projection and video design are by fellow founder member Simon Wainwright. Casting for the show includes Keicha Greenidge (In The Club, Three Girls and From Darkness, BBC), Laura Atherton, Msimisi Dlamini, Morven Macbeth and Matt Prendergast.

Director Pete Brooks said: “As a result of recent political events, we felt that the UK had become gripped with a nostalgia for our colonial past without really acknowledging what that past was… In Conrad’s novel he anticipated the horrors of twentieth century genocide and the problem of globalised capitalism. He also understood that their roots were in European colonialism.

For imitating the dog, it was important that we retold Conrad’s story for audiences today, and from a new perspective… Heart of Darkness is simply too important a work to be avoided because it’s a political minefield and when you take on a text as tricky as Conrad’s novel, you have to tread carefully.”

imitating the dog have been creating groundbreaking theatre for 20 years. Recent acclaimed productions have included The Zero Hour, Six Degrees Below the Horizon, Hotel Methuselah and A Farewell to Arms. The company created the sited work Arrivals and Departures for the launch of Hull City of Culture 2017.

Heart of Darkness is co-produced by imitating the dog with Italy’s Marche Teatro and Cast Doncaster. It is supported by Arts Council England, Lancaster Arts at Lancaster University and Theatre by the Lake.

Heart of Darkness shows at the Belgrade Theatre Coventry from Wednesday 8 until Saturday 11 May.

International multi-platinum-selling artist Khalid has today announced four UK dates as part of his headline ‘Khalid Free Spirit World Tour’. The news follows the release of his highly anticipated new album ‘Free Spirit’, which is out now via Columbia Records and Right Hand Music Group.

An AEG Presents event, the five-time Grammy Award nominee is set to take the stage at Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena on 21 September.

Since releasing his debut hit single ‘Location’ in 2016 which went on to go quadruple platinum, Khalid has continued to cement his global status as one of music’s most promising breakout stars. Already accumulating a stellar array of awards and wins from the likes of MTV, Billboard and BET, his UK tour offers his legion of loyal fans a chance to experience his latest musical offering.

Khalid recently released his new single ‘Talk’ along with the music video, self-written and produced by Disclosure, ‘Talk’ is the lead single off ‘Free Spirit’.

Following its successful debut at Ovalhouse in 2017, Urbain Hayo’s Custody heads out on a UK tour this Spring, kicking off at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry.

Inspired by Migrant Media’s banned cult documentary films Injustice and Who Polices the Police, Custody draws on real-life experiences to interrogate the impact of widespread prejudice and police brutality on BAME communities.

When another young Black man dies in police custody and apparently no one is to blame, it sends shock waves rippling across the community. Reeling from his death, his grieving family struggle to make sense of their loss, while pursuing a lengthy court battle in search of justice and concrete answers.

Weaving together his own experiences of the police’s controversial “Stop and Search” procedure with the stories of families who have suffered grave injustices, Urbain Hayo (aka Urban Wolf) creates a contemporary fictional narrative built on difficult truths about young Black men slipping through the cracks in our society – something often naively assumed to be an American issue.

In January this year, it emerged that there had been a 400% rise in police use of “Stop and Search” powers. Amidst reports of Black people being disproportionately targeted for searches, the Assistant Commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police also called for the policy to be introduced in schools.

Described by The Reviews Hub as “a vital play… emotionally raw and stylistically bold,” this urgent and compelling drama sets out to highlight and provoke debate around one of the most pressing issues of our time.

Creator and actor Urbain Hayo said: “We’re bringing back Custody not only because of its success in London, but also after seeing how effective it was with audience members. Deaths in police custody is an issue that is ongoing and while we’re doing this to share amazing stories, we’re also raising awareness of this.

“There are many regions in the UK where this has happened, and is still happening, but people aren’t always aware of these cases. We’re passionate about keeping up the momentum and sharing these stories beyond London.”

Custody,  showing at the Belgrade Theatre Coventry 1-4 May, is created by Urban Wolf (The Art Machine), written by Tom Wainwright (Banksy: The Room in the Elephant) and directed by Gbemisola Ikumelo (FAITH Drama Productions), with design by Fran Horler, movement direction by Sara Dos Santos and lighting by Will Burgher. The assistant director is Austin Staton, and the producer is Sarah Wrixon for Prime Theatre. Casting for the show includes Muna Otaru as Mother, Rochelle James as Lover, Ewa Dina as Sister and Urban Wolf as Brother.

With The Voice live finals in full swing, fashion brand Curvissa used their ‘Winning Formula’ piece to predict who will be the first to leave, and who will win The Voice 2019. These have been the common traits that we have calculated in our formula based on historic seasons of The Voice. Overall, we analysed seven competitive TV shows, across 75 series, over 18 years to identify what names, ages, professions and birthplaces are most likely to win (or be first to leave) each of the shows.

Winners

The formula suggests that one of two girls could win it this year. Nicole Raquel Dennis (24) could be crowned the winner, due to the past winners having an average of six letters in their first name, and the winning age being in their mid-20’s. She is also from London, and after the North West, the South East is the second luckiest location.

The second potential winner could be Deana Walmsley (23), as she is also close to the winning age of 26 and is from Liverpool, which matches a third of the previous winners who were also from the North West.

First Out

The ‘first out’ formula suggests that Emmanuel Smith could be one of the first to leave, as he matches the age to get kicked off first (29).

The other person who may be one of the first to leave, is Jimmy Balito (23) due to the letter ‘J’ being unlucky for past contestants.

Stage and screen star Andy Abraham is to pay tribute to one of the world’s greatest performers, Nat King Cole, in the year that the jazz icon would have celebrated his 100th birthday.

Andy, who achieved fame on ITV’s The X Factor, will take his Nat King Cole Songbook tour to theatres throughout the UK from April, including a date at Solihull’s The Core Theatre on April 26.

Jazz legend Nat sold more than 50 million records during a glittering career, which was recognised with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

The centenary of his birth, on March 17, has been celebrated by jazz fans worldwide and Andy, himself a Platinum-selling artist, is delighted to have an opportunity to perform Nat’s music in such a significant year.

Andy cites Nat as one of his greatest inspirations, saying: “I feel extremely honoured that I get to celebrate a true legend in this way. This show really targets people who share my enjoyment of Nat’s music. His legacy, which has lived long in the industry, is something I really admire, and I think the fact that his music is still widely regarded as some of the best the industry, demonstrates the sheer impact he had on the world.”

The show will be a mix of the pianist and vocalist’s most-loved songs, and, will also include thought-provoking commentary from Andy throughout.

Andy has performed on both UK and international theatre stages, including the Royal Albert Hall, and wowed West End audiences in the musical Respect La Diva. He first tasted success as runner-up on X Factor 2005 and has since released four albums. His most successful release, Remember When, sold in excess of half a million copies.

Following on from the success of 2018’s arena tour of Star Wars: A New Hope Live with Orchestra, promoter Senbla will present the next installment of the Star Wars: Film Concert Series. The second film released in the franchise, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, will be performed live in UK arenas in 2019, featuring Osca-winning composer John Williams’ musical score performed live to the film.

Since the release of Star Wars: A New Hope over 40 years ago, the Star Wars saga has had a seismic impact on both cinema and culture, inspiring audiences around the world with its mythic storytelling, captivating characters, groundbreaking special effects and iconic musical scores composed by Williams.

Fans will be able to experience the scope and grandeur of the beloved Star Wars films in a live symphonic concert experience, as the Star Wars: Film Concert Series continues with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, with a date at Arena Birmingham on 1 October 2019.

The battle for the galaxy intensifies in this thrilling fifth episode of the unfolding saga. As Imperial Forces launch an all-out attack on the Rebel Alliance, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) flee to Cloud City where they are captured by Darth Vader.

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) journeys to the mysterious, marshy planet of Dagobah, where the wise Jedi Master Yoda teaches the young hero the ways of the Force. Little does Luke know that all his Jedi training will be called upon so soon. A stunning revelation-- and a life-or-death battle with Darth Vader—awaits.

Legendary composer Williams is well known for scoring all eight of the Star Wars saga films, beginning with 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope for which he earned an Academy Award® for Best Original Score. His scores for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens were also nominated for Best Original Score. Star Wars: The Last Jedi was released on December 15, 2017, and was the UK & Ireland’s biggest film of 2017.

Williams has won five Academy Awards®, four Golden Globe Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards, and 22 Grammy Awards. With 50 Academy Award nominations, Williams is the Academy’s most nominated living person and the second most-nominated individual in history, after Walt Disney.  In 2005, the American Film Institute selected Williams' score to 1977's Star Wars: A New Hope as the greatest American film score of all time. The soundtrack to Star Wars: A New Hope also was preserved by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry, for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."  Williams was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame in 2000, and he received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004, the National Medal of Arts in 2009, and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016.  Williams has composed the scores for eight of the top 20 highest-grossing films at the U.S. box office (adjusted for inflation).

A documentary exploring gender inequality in the music genre of Grime airs on BBC Radio 4 next week, which was produced by Birmingham City University Journalism lecturer Marverine Duffy.

‘Where are all the black women in Grime?’ airs on Monday 1 April at 4pm and includes interviews with women who are making waves on the Grime scene, whilst investigating the lack of representation of black women in comparison to their male counterparts.

In the past 15 years, stars such as Stormyz, Dizzee Rascal, Wiley and Skepta have become mainstream names as the Grime genre has grown exponentially.

Marverine was the Executive Producer of the programme for Boom Shakalaka Productions, a company led by BBC 6 Music Presenter, Gemma Cairney. Journalist and broadcaster, Marverine recently joined BCU as the director of four new undergraduate Journalism courses at the Birmingham School of Media. She's best known as a former Newsreader for the BBC, 5 News and Sky News, and has produced several documentaries for BBC 5 Live, 1Xtra and BBC Radio 4.

“This was a great opportunity to work on a documentary about a subject which is close to my heart: Grime music. Back in 2012, I raised the issue of up-and-coming black female MCs in my Radio 1 Xtra documentary, Ladies with Lyrics. The exciting thing is that the breakout star of those young women, who's now arguably the single most successful woman on the scene, is a Brummie: Lady Leshurr.

“I think it's a real shame there's still a reluctance to give women of African and Caribbean heritage their due. They are making huge moves in the scene, and this programme recognises that, and looks for solutions.”

The documentary is presented by Guardian columnist, award-winning author and Grime fan, Yomi Adegoke.

The festival - Holi - mainly celebrated in India and Nepal, marks the beginning of spring - It also symbolises new beginnings.

Falling on the last full moon of the lunar month, on the day of Holi, people throw liquid and powdered colour over each other - the night before, people light bonfires to signify good triumphing over evil.

The colours of the powders each have a different meaning. Red is meant to represent love and fertility, yellow is the colour of turmeric, blue is for the Hindu god Krishna and green symbolises new beginnings.

Water based pigments are now being used in the creation of the coloured powder instead of traditional plant based colours including turmeric.

Aside from India, Holi is also celebrated in Nepal, which has a large Hindu population. A celebration is held in Kathmandu and it has also become popular in other countries around the world including the UK.

Born Roger Charlery in Birmingham of St Lucian dissent, he was a member of 1980s two-tone band The Beat then, later, General Public (made up with former members of Dexys Midnight Runners and Horace Panter and The Specials).

With The Beat they released three albums: the critically acclaimed and seminal ‘I Just Can't Stop It’ in 1980, ‘Wha'ppen?’ in 1981 and ‘Special Beat Service,’ in 1982.  In the early 1990s, he joined members of The Specials to form the new band Special Beat.

He also collaborated with Pato Banton in 1987 on the song ‘Pato and Roger Come Again’. Included on Banton's album Never Give In, the song was a follow-up to their earlier collaboration on ‘Pato and Roger a Go Talk’, which appeared on ‘Special Beat Service’. He joined Pato again in 1995 on ‘Bubbling Hot’, which reached number 15 on the UK single charts. He also sang on stage with The Police on their 2007 world tour.

He undergone surgery for two brain tumours and had treatment for lung cancer. He was 56.

Reality star Josie Gibson has revealed how she dropped three dress sizes in just 12 weeks following the birth of her baby boy Reggie-James.

The Big Brother winner has lost two stone and gone from a size 18-20 to a size 12 using musclefood.com’s ‘Do the Unthinkable’ diet and exercise programme.

The new mum gained four and a half stone during her pregnancy, tipping the scales at 16 stone.

But after starting to suffer from achy joints and sore knees, Josie decided to get back into shape and is now a much trimmer 14 stone.

Big portions of hearty meals like pie and mash caused her to balloon to a size 18-20 whilst pregnant, but the Bristolian has struggled with her weight most of her life.

She had to regularly visit the school nurse as a child because of her size, and was around 18 stone when she was 18.

Having tried a number of diet plans throughout her life, Josie turned to ‘Do the Unthinkable; due to the ease and convenience of the programme – particularly with having a young baby.

The plan allows you to order all the meals and snacks you need each week, and they’re delivered fresh to your door.

It also comes with a complete exercise and workout programme, as well as access to an exclusive online community and round-the-clock help and advice from a team of qualified personal trainers.

Josie, who is a qualified personal trainer, once weighed just 9 and a half stone and was a size 8 after her dramatic weight loss in 2013, but admits she feels just as good at a comfortable size 12.

Commenting on her weight loss, Josie said: “I constantly have to watch what I eat – I just have one of those bodies. If I’m eating the wrong things, then I just balloon.

“Bread is really not my friend and so what did I crave while pregnant? Marmite and cheese sandwiches!

“I’d eat quite a bit of bread and then cook big, hearty meals in the evening and my portion control really wasn’t great, but because I was pregnant, I kept kidding myself that it was ok because I was growing another human.

“I then just lost control which is why I needed my meals delivered and no naughties in the house to get me back on track. The thought of getting any bigger was so scary.

“Most of my weight goes to my bottom half, so I was finding that I was getting aches and pains in my joints especially my knees and legs which made moving about day to day – particularly with a young baby – quite hard.

“I was also in the danger of slipping back into type 2 diabetic territory which can be quite common in pregnancy, but I really didn’t want to go there again.”

Talking about her weight history, she said: “Over the years, I’ve tried pretty much every diet on the planet. Whilst the majority work to a degree, they’re not maintainable and some are actually quite unhealthy.

“I felt great when I was a size 8, but it to was so hard to maintain. Since becoming a mum my priorities have changed so rather than wanting to be really slim, I just want to feel healthy, so I’ll be able to keep up with my little boy as he gets older.

“The thing that attracted me to musclefood’s Do the Unthinkable plan the most was the ease of it. All of your food – breakfast, lunch, dinner plus three snacks each day – is pre-portioned and delivered to you at the start of the week, and all you have to do is cook the meals in a microwave, oven or on the hob.

“There are over 60 different meal choices, so you can have a completely different menu every week which makes it really easy to stick to in the long term.

“You can choose to do the plan for 5, 6, or 7 days too, so if you like having your weekends free or need a bit more flexibility, it’s perfect. There’s also guidance on what to do on your days off as well.”

Speaking about being a first-time mum, she said: “I was under the impression that I was going to be one of those coffee mums that just look like they’ve got everything together and sit in coffee shops with the pram sipping vanilla lattes and feeling great – I’ve had a sharp shock to say the least!

“Reggie-James only sleeps for a couple of hours at a time so being able to chuck all your ingredients into one pan and cook them in ten or fifteen minutes has been a God send, especially when I’m running on just a few hours’ sleep.

“The meals are all made with proper food and are super balanced and healthy, so you don’t have to worry about whether you’re getting all your vitamins and nutrients each day – but you can still enjoy favourites like pizza and curry. Again, this is really helpful as a new mum.

“You get three meals and three snacks per day, but as time went on, I actually felt like I didn’t need the snacks as I was so full up from breakfast, lunch and dinner!

“The exercises are all really effective and easy to follow too. I’ll admit I didn’t do them perhaps as much as I should, but I’ve still achieved cracking results.”

Fans of The Prodigy star Keith Flint have been invited to line the funeral procession route ahead of a service celebrating his life.

Flint, lead vocals on the band's number one singles Breathe and Firestarter, was found dead at his Essex home on March 4.

A church service for family and close friends will be held on Friday.

On Twitter, the band asked fans to line the route to the church near Braintree and "'raise the roof' for Keef".

The band tweeted a map of the procession route through Braintree, starting from Courtauld Road at the roundabout linking Railway Street and Coggeshall Road.

It will head along Courthauld Road, right on to Bradford Street and then left on to Church Lane as it heads to St Mary's Church in Bocking.

The band said fans were invited to line the route from 15:00 GMT, to "pay their final respects & 'raise the roof' for Keef!"

It said if anyone wished to lay flowers or tributes, they should be sent to the church no later than 14:00 GMT on Friday.

"The church service will just be for family and close friends, but there will be speakers relaying the ceremony outside the church for everyone to hear," the tweet said.

An inquest into the 49-year-old singer's death at his Dunmow home heard the provisional cause of death was from hanging.

Flint was born in Redbridge, north-east London, and later moved to Braintree, where he co-founded The Prodigy in 1990 with Liam Howlett and Leeroy Thornhill.

The band, who had been due to tour the United States in May, released their latest album in November and had recently been on tour in Australia.

The National Theatre’s production of Macbeth broke multiple records at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre last week. Not only was there record attendance amongst young people, a total of 6502 audience members attended during the week - the largest audience for a Shakespeare title in the theatre’s recorded history.

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre was selected to be one of six venues involved in the National Theatre’s Theatre Nation Partnership, a three-year scheme designed to increase attendees of Drama. In order to fulfil this, a large-scale audience development project was also launched, focusing on school engagement, converting musical attendees into drama bookers and a drive on increasing the theatre’s South Asian Audience.

Across the week, the Grand Theatre achieved:

• 53% of the overall audience were first time attendees to the theatre.
• 3302 students saw Macbeth, totalling 50.7% of the total audience.
• Total of 90 visits from educational establishments.
• 12 out of the 19 Wolverhampton schools, colleges and the University attended bringing 859 students.
• 240 students took part in the Grand Theatre’s first Student Conference learning about Shakespearean performance conditions, understanding the text and directing professional actors in their own interpretations of key scenes.
• 341 booked the Page To Stage event.
• 20 teachers took part in the Macbeth CPD project, continuing personal development.
• Traditional musical attendees made up 6.7% of the Macbeth
• A Teachers Networking event arranged in collaboration with the Wolverhampton Cultural Educational Partnership (WCEP) attracted over 50 people.
• Over 100 under 26-year-olds attended which coincided with the theatre’s relaunched youth scheme sixteen25.

The Grand commissioned Audience Development Consultant Hardish Virk to further engage with the South Asian Community which makes up 30% of the Wolverhampton Community. On 1 February the total of South Asian bookers represented 1.5% of the Macbeth audience. By the end of the run of Macbeththis figure was 10.5%.

Vicky Price, Associate Director of Development and Communications, “The collaboration with the National Theatre has, and continues to be a thrilling experience for everyone at The Grand the actual show week for Macbeth was fantastic. The team here have worked so hard and their efforts have come to fruition.”