... Babes OXFORD BEHIND the seemingly sweet and perennial success of Judy Garland (and many others like her) lay a horrifying story of manipulation and abuse by the high-ranking employees of MGM. Perhaps the ultimate responsibili ty lay with the director, Louis B Mayer. Whoever we care to blame, however, the devastating results of this prolonged mistreatment served to bring Garland's life to a ...

... The Silent Tramp THE POLISH THEATRE I CONSIDER myself fortunate to have seen Charlie Chaplin's classic silent film, City Lights, accompanied by a live orchestra. This makes it difficult to appreciate an equally silent stage version of the same, deprived of Chaplin's genius, humour sphere and captions. The story is simple; Chaplin falls in love with a blind flower girl, who is unaware he is ...

... Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf LEEDS THE latest presentation at the Quarry Theatre of the West Yorkshire Playhouse is an excellent production of Edward Albees caustic play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. This is a very cruel play to watch as it relates how a middle-aged couple, whose marriage is childless and long since empty of any real affection, deliberately set about destroying the ...

... Entertainment at the Double DUBLIN The Double Dealer THE Gate Theatre's new production of William Congreve's The Double Dealer gives us just what expect from its director, the redoubtable Jonathan Miller; it is urban, stylish, perfectly executed and distinctly cerebral. But it also reveals something we do not associate with the human Dr Miller a dark and cynical heart utterly immune to such ...

... East Lynne BIRMINGHAM FROM Mrs Henry Wood's novel of Victorian rectitude, Lisa Evans has created a play which is both a gripping drama of emotional conflict and a perceptive commentary on the original, and the values which shaped it. Following the story of I^dy Isabel from sheltered, naive young girl get ting her first taste of of society life to the middle-aged woman who lives in the disguise ...

... The Devils MOLD HELENA Kaut-Howson, who succeeded Toby Robertson as Theatr Clwyd's artistic director earlier this year, presented her first Mold production on November 27th at the Emlyn Williams theatre with John Whiting's celebrated psycho-drama The Devils. Whiting wrote the play at Peter Hall's request in 1961, and it received a definitive production at the Aldwych dur ing that year. It ...

... My Fair Lady MANCHESTER 'WIV a little bit of luck' Simon Callow's production of Lerner and Loewe's popular musical My Fair Lady could well be a success by the time it reaches the West End after a 30 week regional tour. The main flaws apparent on its first night at the Opera House in Manchester, most noticeably a couple of lacklustre opening num bers and under-rehearsed lighting cues, could ...

... International Opera Gala ROH FUNNY old things, galas. I'm not entirely sure what purpose they serve now adays, unless it be to raise funds for a worthy cause. So it seems wholly appropriate that the ROH should host a junket to benefit British Youth Opera (BYO), many of whose alumni currently grace our operatic stages. The first half of the evening was a showcase for a clutch of BYO singers ...

... Billy Budd SCOTTISH OPERA WHAT a curious piece of work Billy Budd is. about a young seaman who murders an officer, yet it's not about him, and it wasn't murder. It's about good versus evil, but the beauty is flawed and the depraved one is also beautiful. l lien lucre is me siiaugc iauhuuiu- tion of period effects 1 9th century short story about an 1 8th century inci dent, adapted in the 20th ...

... An enjoyable evening and it's no accident MOLD Murder By Misadventure THEATR Clwyd Mold, in conjunction with Excalibur Productions Ltd, is currently offering Edward Taylor's cleverly contrived thriller/mystery play Murder by Misadventure at the Emlyn Williams Theatre. The production has all the ingredients required for a hiehlv successful run. namely a hugely experienced and talented cast, ...

... The Heiress BROMLEY I'VE HEARD it said, often, that a bad dress rehearsal means a good first mght,and vice versa. If we're to believe that, then the opening night of The Heiress at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley last Tuesday clearly followed an excellent dress rehearsal. Thank goodness for Nicola McAuliffe as Catherine. She alone gave us an exemplary performance, with The Marriage Of Figaro. ...

... Bourke and Blake DUBLIN THIS TWO-HANDER performed by Dublin's Portrait Theatre Company is the story of the spy George Blake and the man who helped him to escape from Wormwood Scrubs Prison, Sean Bourke. In Act One, Blake and Bourke are in the Scrubs looking back over their lives and discussing their escape plan. In the second half.the pair seem no more free as they live in exile under the ...