A Grand Night Out

 When Wolverhampton Grand invited me to attend the Red Carpet Glamour themed opening night of High Society I didn't hesitate, not that I'm a fan of musicals but because, like the rest of my classmates, I fancied the pants of Michael Praed in the 1980s (Robin in Robin of Sherwood and Prince Michael of Moldavia in Dynasty) and he was playing the lead.

...and who wouldn't?

I must admit I was dubious when I saw the publicity shots, more naff 1980s light entertainment show than classy 1930s-based stage play but it's a night out in gloomy old February and an opportunity to frock up and therefore a perfect cause for celebration.

Talking of frocks I had a plethora to choose from. The final three being a crepe 1950s Young Mayfair number inherited from my mum, a cheeky Bernshaw maxi courtesy of the divine Curtise and my eventual choice, a 1970s Grecian-style cruise dress I bought in 2011 from a local chazza for less than a tenner.

I considered digging out my heated rollers for some red carpet waves but with a 20 minute walk & a bus ride along with drizzly sub-Arctic temperatures it would have been a futile exercise. Luckily, Liz being the fabulous friend she is, created a killer beehive battered into submission with enough hair spray to finish off the ozone layer. 

The vintage Siamese dancer pendant was a Xmas present from my darling friend, Dee.

With my trademark bling and matching Barry M eyes and nails I was red carpet ready.

Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre opened in 1894 and has barely changed.

Posh, innit?

Not too snooty to let us in, though. Jon looked rather dapper in his charity shopped threads. He's particularly proud of his 1950s wool trousers which he altered himself.

Necking a swift one before the show started.

Schmoozing with a couple of our gorgeous friends, Sharon & Jodie, the mother and daughter duo who organise several of the local vintage fairs. Sharon's slinky "That Peggy Page Look" lurex maxi came from the Kinky Melon shop.

A full house. As you can see everyone wasn't dressed to the nines, I even spotted a wolf fleece in the audience. Clearly my idea of "red carpet glamour" is at odds with a large percentage of Black Country residents.

Curtain up! Sadly we weren't allowed to take photos during the show but my initial misgivings about the costumes were unfounded, they were glorious, oozing '30s authenticity from head to toe and worth the ticket price alone. Mr Praed looked rather fine, too!

It's been years since I watched High Society but I recognised loads of the songs including Who wants To Be A Millionaire? and True Love. We had to giggle at the old boy behind us singing along at the top of his voice.

Despite not being a fan of musicals or costume dramas I must say that I absolutely loved High Society and would happily go back and watch it all over again.

High Society at The Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton runs until Saturday night, touring throughout the UK until 13th July, 2013(full details HERE).

In the words of this old punk, "It wouldn't be my first choice of a night out but I was surprised how much I enjoyed myself".

...and so the glamour ended. Jon has a quick fag & turns his phone back on before dashing to the chip shop and catching the last bus home.... bet Daniel Day Lewis never has to do that.

No Wednesday glitz and glam for us, we're off to the church to get the hall set up for tomorrow's jumble sale. Hopefully I'll have a few gems to show you on my next post.

See you soon!