... Cuban National Folk Ballet BATTERSEA PARK IN ITS dying days the GLC took the initiative of presenting the Cuban National Folk Ballet in a circus tent in Battersea Park, catching the company between dates in Switzerland and Holland. A tent in the park in March sounded like a crazy idea from the start, and on the evening that I went it turned into an occasion where bitter cold often got the ...

... Here's a funny one FRANK BRUCKSHAW on the quiet side of Max Miller MANCHESTER The Cheeky Chappie DAVE SIMPSONS new play, The Cheeky Chappie, based on the life of comedian Max Miller, which was given its premiere by Manchester Library Theatre Company, arouses some extremely interesting speculations. 1 According to the author, who ack nowledges his debt to John East's biography of Miller, the ...

... Accidental Death of an Anarchist FROME TWO MEMBERS of the Tickled Pink Company were late for the show. During the 20 minute delay we were given ample opportunity to contemplate their set for Accidental Death of an Anarchist. In performance, one's expectations were fully confirmed. Doors opened against will, and when forcibly closed sent violent shudders through the fra gile construction, ...

... Jesus Christ Superstar HORNCHURCH THE STAGING of the resurrection is a rare occurrence in Lloyd Webber and Rice's rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, showing that directors Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright have worked thoughtfully on the dramatic interpretation of this new major touring production. Following the harrowing crucifixion, the curtain call is preceded by the mourning apostles slowly ...

... Nabucco EPSOM VERDI'S Nabucco is essentially the type of opera to be heard at its best in arenas where there is ample ventilation for sound. For Nonsuch Opera to attempt it in Epsom Playhouse was an invitation for structural damage. Chorus-wise it was a din from start to finish. Even with deaf aids switched off, there was no possibility of missing anything. Production-wise it was like Oxford ...

... Peter Grimes DARLINGTON BRITTEN'S famous opera is always a challenge, not least for a local amateur company, but Opera Nova's production was a notable achievement. John Harris, from Welsh National Opera, was the centrepiece. A credibly young and virile Grimes, more practical fisherman than dreamer, his hopes lor socially acceptaoie success in Dusiness ana marriage were strongly portrayed. ...

... No More Sitting On The Old School Bench HORNCHURCH A LONDON comprehensive school is author Alan Bleasdale's talking point in this latest production at the Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch. No More Sitting on the Old School Bench gives him a vehicle with which to drive home his radical politics, discussing the teachers' union's policies and fallacies, their strike action and the redeployment of ...

... The Duchess of Malfi SALISBURY AFTER the levities of Noel Coward, Salisbury Playhouse's second offering for 1986 is a really substantial piece-John Webster's Italianate tragedy of political intrigue and personal conflicts, The Duchess of Malfi. Director David Horlock makes no concessions to the play's toughness or the amoral world it depicts, and he is right, for despite the dignity of the ...

... Happy Days SALISBURY THERE IS nothing dated about Beckett's Happy Days, first given in 1961 and now being offered in a bold revival in Salisbury's Salberg auditorium, under the direction of Lynn Wyfe. The issues it raises the role even the possibility of language, the existential status of humanity in an absurd and negligent world, whether it is reason able to be cheerful, and so on haven't ...

... Can't Pay? Won't Pay! FROME IT IS easy to be sceptical when a new theatre company establishes itself in an area with few resources. One questions the motivation, the experience, and the intentions of the company. These questions were more than satisfactorily answered in the new Somerset and Dorset Theatre Company's touring sentation of Can't Pay? Won't Fay! by Dario Fo. Supported by ...

... Jamie Fleeman-the Laird of Udny's Fool ABERDEEN IT IS no mean achievement to create and perform a one-man play which holds the audience spellbound throughout its near two-hour duration. Full credit, then, to young Scots actor Kenneth McRae, who has been doing just that with his first writing venture, Jamie Fleeman the Laird of Udny's Fool. It is a bold undertaking, using strong dialect and a ...

... Romeo and Juliet ORCHARD THEATRE CLEAR diction and crisp handling of the text are major attributes of the Orchard Theatre Company's Romeo And Juliet, which opened its tour at the Plough Theatre, Torrington. Nigel Bryant, who directs, has achieved a fast-moving performance, calculated to bring excitement to the srory of Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers. A major innovation is the casting of ...