... A crisis-ridden Christmas SHEFFIELD Jokers II EEEH, says Arthur's mam as the doorbell rings. Who do we know who comes to the front door? It s that son of quietly understated insight into Northern working class life (no condescension intended) that makes Jokers II the Sheffield Crucible Studio's Christmas show-for-the-folks such a telling success. Authors Paul Allen and Rony Robin son ...

... The Owlglass and the Pig-Headed Giant MILFORD HAVEN THE FIRST night of Owlglass and the Pig-Headed Giant at the Torch Theatre, Milford Haven, provided a versatile mixture of song, dance, classic panto, and adventure for a capacity audience of children and accompanying adults. Ingredients included heroes and bad dies, with a sprinkling of The Emperor's New Clothes, and Jack and the ...

... Sprightly play dedicated to the gaiety of actors OLD VIC Trela wny of the Wells THERE IS still a lot of sprightliness and charm about Pinero's Trelawny of the Wells, a play dedicated to the proposition that actors are just like children really but we need them because of their gaiety and indomitability. It is not perhaps a concept that will commend itself to the serious-minded modern actor, ...

... Shadow Play KING'S HEAD ALMOST 45 years ago when it was first produced in To-Night at 8.30 at the Phoenix, with Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence in the lead, Shadow Play was wonderfully fresh, original, witty and touching. And it is so today, in a revival at the King's Head, with John Standing and Estelle Kohler. The funny, wry sometimes pathetic story of the marriage of Simon and ...

... Massive petition to save Gaumont A BIG campaign has been launched to save the Gaumont in Ipswich as one of East Anglia's largest live theatres. The Rank organisation, owners of the 1,600- seat theatre, have applied for a gaming licence and planning permission to use the Gaumont for bingo. News of Rank's plans has sparked a storm of protest from local people who see the move as a threat to live ...

... Spiralling artists' fees scare a top Midlands showman away from presenting live artists MOIRA PETTY reports BIRMINGHAM'S longestestablished club operator has resigned himself to dropping all live entertainment by the end of January. Eddie Fewtrell's chain of clubs, built up in the city since the early sixties, is currently reduced to two venues. Now Fewtrell has placed the Cedar Club on the ...

... Man with a mission at Watford Palace MICHAEL ATTENBOROUGH removed two tangerines from his brief case and snapped shut the lid. Do you mind if I eat them while we talk--I don't smoke. He neatly removed the skin from the fruit. AUDREY HENDERSON talks to Michael Attenborough the self-confessed calculated experimenter in charge of the Watford Palace Theatre He is a neat man. Very friendly, but ...

... Militants call for clamp-down on unlicensed agents THE DEPARTMENT of Employment has come under fire from militant agents who are considering action which has been vetoed by their own official representative body. Epping-based agent Tony Baxtei claims that the DOE is con spicuously failing to clamp down on unlicensed agents and he added thai the Department expected agents tc do all the ...

... Cabaret 'risk' at new Filey venue MOIRA PETTY reports A MAJOR LIVE entertainment development in the small Yorkshire town of Filey marks the most important venture to date for a new local agency. More than £20,000 is being ploughed into a former cinema at Filey to turn it into a mini version of the Wakefield Theatre Club, with a year-long policy of cabaret attractions. When the Brig Theatre Bar ...

... Recession bites in Southampton SOUTHAMPTON'S leading cabaret room nightclub, Sextons, has drawn the curtains on live entertainment because of the economic recession. The club has been presenting cabaret acts on Thursdays, Fridays and Satur days and has built up a reputation in the local entertainment scene. But new proprietor June Sexton said the club has to axe cabaret for at least a few ...

... New era as Wakefield renamed the Pussycat THE NEW OWNERS of the Wakefield Theatre Club hope to maintain it as a prestige venue--but with none of the star name big splashers of its heyday. When the club which has hosted names such as Jack Jones and Johnny Mathis reopens next month, it will join a group of Yorkshire venues which pro vide a thriving mini-circuit for MOR cabaret acts. The three ...

... Virgin boss Branson buys his way into Heaven VIRGIN RECORDS boss Richard Branson has bought himself a slice of Heaven for a cool half a million pounds. And although the West End disco will continue to operate as a meeting place for the capital's gays, Branson is cur-, rently engaged in discussions with one of the leading figures on the London alternative cabaret scene. He is Richard Strange, ...