Updated 11:57pm 25 May 2013

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Diane Parkes

Diane Parkes

Spamalot sees Eric Idle still having fun with Monty Python

Monty Python wit Eric Idle brings his wildly successful musical comedy Spamalot to Birmingham.Read

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater comes to Birmingham

Judith Jamison is bringing her internationally renowned group to Birmingham. Diane Parkes gets a rare audience.Read

Novelist Maureen Carter has the write stuff

Diane Parkes meets a Birmingham crime novelist plotting to become a household name.Read

Review: RSC's Morte d'Arthur, at the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Sir Thomas Malory’s saga of the creation and destruction of Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table is an ambitious project for any theatre director to tackle. Read

Review: RSC's Morte d'Arthur, at the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Sir Thomas Malory’s saga of the creation and destruction of Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table is an ambitious project for any theatre director to tackle. Read

Birmingham Rep’s final flourish before redevelopment

Diane Parkes looks at Birmingham Rep’s swansong before its redevelopment.Read

The shape of things to come in silversmithing

Diane Parkes meets a purveyor of the ancient art of silversmithing...with a modern twist.Read

Review: Cruel, by Deborah Colker, at the Birmingham Hippodrome

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Review: Antony and Cleopatra, Royal Shakespeare Company, at The Courtyard, Stratford-On-Avon

Maybe it is the elections which formed the inspiration for this modern day telling of Shakespeare’s Roman play. There is certainly a sense of wheeler dealing as the various leaders jockey for position.Read

Whatever happened to Brigit Forsyth?

Diane Parkes speaks to a star of stage and screen.Read

Review: Strictly Come Dancing - The Professionals, at Birmingham Hippodrome

Too often hidden behind the celebrities on the television talent show Strictly Come Dancing, this show is the chance for those who can actually dance to have their moment. Read

Review: Outspoken, at the Birmingham Hippodrome

Kicking off a weekend of dance, workshops and discussions with Arabic dancers, this triple bill was a good introduction. Read

Review: Respect, The Door, at Birmingham Repertory Theatre

This thought-provoking drama was banned from theatres in Germany because its story echoed a real-life killing. And yet, despite the fact the play arrives in Birmingham surrounded by this controversy, Respect is not in itself particularly controversial.Read

Review: Rosie Kay's 5 Soldiers, at the Hippodrome, Birmingham

Review: Rosie Kay's 5 Soldiers, at the Patrick Centre, Birmingham HippodromeRead

Children get into gardening

Diane Parkes flicks through a new magazine designed to keep children healthy and activeRead

Rosie Kay puts herself in a soldier’s shoes

Rosie Kay spent two weeks with the army to create her latest dance interpreting the battlefield. Diane Parkes spoke to her.Read

Dance festival keeps Birmingham on the move

Stuart Griffiths is a happy man. The co-artistic director of Birmingham’s biggest dance festival, is looking forward to so many shows over the next few weeks even he will be unable to see them all.Read

Review: Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune, at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Kelly McGillis may have been a Hollywood star but she certainly scrubs down well for this role as dowdy middle-aged New York waitress Frankie.Read

Akram Khan's global language of dance

Acclaimed dancer Akram Khan believes a cultural exchange of ideas is vital for his art. Diane Parkes spoke to him.Read

Annabel enters the man's world of beer testing

Diane Parkes talks to one of the few female beer testers in the country.Read

Author Profile

Diane Parkes has worked in journalism for 14 years and has been with the Birmingham Mail for ten. She is Women's Editor covering health, fitness, education, fashion and beauty features. As Dance and Theatre Editor she is also responsible for professional arts coverage across the region.