... Suffering from being a mite old-fashioned VAUDEVILLE Dial M for Murder THERE IS no doubting the phenomenal success since 1950 of Frederick Knott's thriller. It ran a year at the Westminster Theatre and two on Broad way. It has subsequently been produced in over 30 countries and translated into 25 languages. It now comes back to the West End. Apparently Knott had made some revisions but it is ...

... Slipstreaming OVAL HOUSE THIS IS a play which attempts to discuss the lesbian world and its political implications. It is not an entertaining play, although it tries to be, and without that element it has little power. Jt concerns an older woman, younger woman relationship which runs aground when the younger woman becomes involved in lesbian politics (and with another woman). Any attempt to ...

... Boris blend COVENT GARDEN Boris Godunov COVENT GARDEN'S new production of Boris Godunov by the Soviet film director Andrei Tarkovsky, his first opera venture, generally does excellent service to the work, reflecting the unique blend of objective chronicling and subtle dramatic colouring of .Mussorgsky s original version. There is some perhaps pardonable ar tificiality in the relief of the ...

... Tame and shapeless CRAMER DANCE COMPANY Do you know Fia Jansson? ALAS, THK opening performance by the Cramer Dance Company at the Bloomsbury Theatre provided many members of the audience with one of their worst evenings of 1983, the sort that can make you run from the theatre and never return. It was all the more distressing since this Swedish company tours throughout its land, taking ...

... The Tales of Hoffmann ENO THE TALES of Hoffmann retains its haunting musical beauty and livelinrss, and any performance is bound to send ears home ringing with it. English National Opera's revival at the Coliseum certainly did that, the new Danish conductor Michael Schonwand taking expert and devoted care of it. It was a generally excellent performance of the edition by Colin Graham and ...

... Almeida strikes blow in protest THE FIRST blow in what could become a massive arts protest over the abolition of the Greater London Council has been struck by a new North London venue which will be killed at birth if the plan goes ahead. The Almeida Theatre in Islington, which is currently undergoing £200,000 worth of building works before reopening full time in the spring, has organised a ...

... Speaking for itself with a serious social comment HAMMERSMITH LYRIC The Relapse I THINK that serious social comment in Vanbrugh's The Relapse can very well speak for itself, without being stressed or singled out The selfish, anti-social characters are plain enough, the vulgarity of a Sir Tunbelly is instantly apparent, Foppington proclaims himself by his name. In his production at ...

... CHEEK BY JOWL COMPANY Vanity Fair THE NARRATIVE style enables unwieldy pieces like Vanity Fair to be adapted for the stage, but the burden of carrying the story like a series of announcements needs careful planning and rehearsal. Cheek By Jowl have an inspired director in Declan Donnellan and an ingenious designer in Nick Ormerod, but their combined talents cannot keep this piece on the ...

... CONCERT ARTISTES ASSOCIATION A Sting In The Tail HERALDED AS a format for a projected series of revue evenings, this type of entertainment is very weak beer. One yearned for a Nazi salute or a row of workers in flat caps to kick against. As it is, David Scheel's script and music is of a minor key and, almost looking like David Steel himself, his work is a very liberal piece of entertainment. ...

... Making history in aura of dull respectability CHESHAM Menace by Moonlight IT IS not often that one attends a world premiere of a play by a deceased author. In Chesham, however, a little piece of theatrical history was made by the presentation of a play called Menace by Moonlight, originally written by Patrick Hamilton, best known for his often-reDeated blood -curdler Gaslight, several ...

... TOM ALLEN CENTRE Night Shift THEATRE VENTURE has chosen a play by John Derbyshire to open its new season. The playwright's experience is of pipefitting and building site work and much of this specialised knowledge has gone into the piece. It centres on a disused site where the shop stewards and leading union workers have been despatched in an effort by the management to quell the possibility ...

... A cross between absurdsm and pantomime CHIPPING NORTON Quack Quack THE ONLY real criticism I have of this play is the title. Quack Quack, sounding a cross between pantomime and absurdism, is quite appropriate but unendearing. The Chipping Norton Theatre Company certainly deserved better attendance than they attracted at the Merlin Theatre, Frome, during their first touring production. ...