... the arts. ...

... PETER HEPPLE previews Glasgow's prestigious new venue Glasgow International Concert Hall-opening next week with Jason Donovan ...

... ...

... Vocalist David McLaine celebrated this week after Pontin's named him as their Carberet Act of the Year. McLaine (centre) received his award at Pontin's Sandbay resort from the company's entertainment executive Jim Kennedy (second left). Also pictured are Sandbay's assistant entertainment manager Adey Ramsel (right) and bluecoats Lynsey Palmer and Tracey Mullins. ...

... At the Equity conference this year the Clarence Derwent Awards for Best Supporting Actor and Actress on a British stage were awarded to David Yelland for his role as Buckingham in Richard III at the Savoy Theatre, and Faith Brook for her portrayal of the Mother in Good at the Donmar Warehouse ...

... STAGE COLUMNIST'S STARDUST MEMORIES Critic Clive Barnes received a warm welcome at a New York reception for fellow Brit Elizabeth Sharland's new book The British on Broadway. The US-based Stage columnist (pictured right with Sharland left) spoke about his early years covering the theatre ...

... IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND Peter Egan will be playing alongside the little people of Lilliput when he takes on the lead role in Simon Eastwood's dramatisation of Gulliver's Travels for Radio 3. The play is broadcast at 9pm on November 13, 250 years after the death of author Jonathan Swift. ...

... ARCHERS' BIRTHDAY COLOURS Cast members and celebrity fans mingled at the English Speaking Union last week to celebrate the 44th birthday of long running radio soap. The Archers. Here actress Margot Boyd, who plays Mrs Antrobus, takes a few fashion hints from the colourful Zandra Rhodes. ...

... PAINTINGS ON VIEW Theatrical paintings collected by Somerset Maugham go on display at the Theatre Museum in London's Tavistock Street from February 7. Samuel De Wilde's portrait of Charles Farley (1771-1859) as Fransisco in Thomas Holcroft's A Tale of Mystery is pictured above. ...

... Picture: Tristram Kenton Helen Atkinson Wood, David Cardy and Liza Hayden in Penny Blue at the Greenwich Theatre ...

... EYE EYE, WE'VE REACHED THE 500 MARK! Photo: Mike Kwasniak. Eye Theatre in Suffolk celebrated Its 500th performance this week, four years after it first opened its doors. It will be hosting a production of Much Ado About Nothing directed by Tom Scott. And this Saturday, the company will be performing an open air version of the show at Eye Castle, the first ever production to be staged there. ...

... the British Red Cross celebrate its 125th birthday at Highbury football ground. ...