... Me and My Friend SOHO POLY THIS IS a beautifully balanced play, interestingly enough, since it deals with people who have lost their balance in life. Gillian Plowman chooses not to include any unnecessary social or political criticism of the rights and wrongs of care in the community, but states her concerns bv showing us the weaving lives of four people who are helping themselves and each ...

... Galaxy of Welsh talent PREPARATIONS are well under way for Llandrindod Wells' tenth Victorian Festival, which takes place throughout the spa town between August 18 and 26. A galaxy of events to suit all tastes will include a carnival procession, (Caribbean Evening, bandstand con certs, Old Tyme Music Hall, puppet theatre, jugglers, lire caters, a Gilbert and Sullivan night, Viennese gala ball ...

... Cottle shrugs off petition By Stage Reporter A PETITION signed by 5,000 local people opposed to the use of live animals in circuses was handed into Cardiff Qty Council to coincide with the arrival of Gerry Cottle's Circus in the city's Sophia Gardens. Leading the delegation of concerned residents was Labour Councillor Ian Brown, accompa nied by representatives of the newly-formed Animal ...

... Proposal for Welsh leisure DETAILS OF a proposed £4m leisure centre for Welshpool have been unveiled by Montgomery shire District Council. General purposes committee chair man John Corfield said he hoped Common Market money would be available to help get the scheme off the ground. The council expects to hear within a month if its application for a 50 per cent grant from the European ...

... Get street-wise WHERE can you catch a glimpse of jugglers on seven foot unicycles; caged Frenchmen buried in foam; Arctic explorers bivouacked in the streets; green, blue, orange and purple and pitched battles be tween insects on stilts and fire people? Not surprisingly this year, the answer is Glasgow to which the tag European City of Culture has meant a vast invasion by many of the wierder ...

... In search of the King sized entertainer AUDITIONS are now under way to find the 1990 Entertainer of the Year, which is staged annually at the New Kings Cabaret Theatre in Birmingham. 1 he last three years tne snows were flown under the banner of the Daily News Talent Contest, but this year the management have decided to stage the competition under their own steam. Since the talent shows were ...

... Palladium gets star treatment for hospital CAROL CHANNING, the ori ginal and most enduring of all the Dolly Levis, is coming to London again to appear in Barry J. Mis- hon's concert presentation of Hel lo Dolly at the London Palladium on June 10, in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hos pital. Other American visitors taking part are the composer, Jerry Herman, Kaye Ballard, Lee Roy Reams, ...

... Cheaper, but cheerful new opera set-up DESPERATE young musicians, forced out of work by arts cuts, are dodging the dole queue by forming their own professional opera company, writes Helen Gould. New London Opera, set up by nine music school graduates aged between 24 and 30, aims to provide the capital with low budget versions of the most popular shows, for less than £5 a seat. Among the cast ...

... Win a pair of tickets in our ice competition FANS OF champion Olympic skating duo Torvill and Dean have the chance to scoop a pair of free tickets to their ice dance show at London Earls Court before it sells out. The twosome, appearing with Soviet skating troupe, the Russian Allstars, have already outsold the Rolling Stones during their Glas gow season and are well on the way to breaking the ...

... Clampdown on 'fake' Drifters DERBY-based venue The Top Hat In Spennymore has agreed to withdraw its booking this month for a group billed as The Great Sound of the Original Drifters, following complaints from interna tional manager Faye Tread well. Tread well, who holds the rights to the hit group's name, threatened legal action if the rival band appeared as scheduled on May 26. The club has ...

... Time please CHANGES in Britain's lunchtime drinking laws could spell good news for thousands of variety entertainers. Working men's clubs throughout the country have reported a substantial drop in turnover since the Government agreed to allow all-day drinking in pubs. The change, introduced two years ago, has robbed many small scale venues of much needed lunchtime and evening trade, claims the ...

... Coriolanus BARBICAN DIRECTED by Terry Hands with John Barton, Shakespeare's ruthless study of power and self-deception is dominated by an appropriately strong performance from Charles Dance as the great warrior. Tall, golden-haired, and martial in aspect, he looks the living proof of the praise bestowed upon him by the consul Comimus (Frank Moorey), That valour is the chiefest virtue ...