... Torfaen seeks management aid TORFAEN Council which con trols Cwmbran's Congress Thea tre are inviting suitable organi sations to manage their leisure ser vices for a six-month period from August 1992. The service comprises the integrat ed management of the leisure com plexes at Blaenavon, Pontypool and Cwmbran, as well as several managed parks. Gareth John, Director of Recreation And Leisure ...

... Theatre plan for Flamingo Land JUST hours after he closed the books on one of his most successful sea sons ever, millionaire showman Robert Gibb announced plans for an 8OO-seat theatre at his Flamingo Land Funpark. He claims the project will add an exciting new dimension to his leisure com plex at Kirby Misperton, near Malton, North Yorkshire, one of Britain's top ten attractions. Plans for ...

... First Leisure stays ahead with bumper year of profits LORD Delfont's First Leisure corporation kept its place as a market leader in the light entertainment industry with another year of bumper profits, writes Brian Attwood. Ill Figures for the 12 months to I October 3 1 show the group managed HI a pre-tax profit of almost £10 million III a rise of 16 per cent over the previous year. Commenting ...

... Napier Bell hits out at majors By HELEN GOULD POP management guru, Simon Napier Bell, has lashed out at major record companies for failing to invest enough money in fresh talent. Napier Bell, former manager of Wham!, Japan and The Yard- birds, accused large conglomerate technology and recording compa nies of pouring their profits into re-releasing old and existing artists on new formats such ...

... No go for gay club A LICENCE application for a Cardiff nightclub catering for gays has been turned down by city magistrates. Richard Abbott, the licensee of the Tunnel Club, applied for a provisional licence to open a new mem bers' club called The Exit in Charles Street, Cardiff. He told magistrates he had collected a petition of 1,125 signatures from people waiting to join the club. Abbott ...

... BTA say Tower is the tops BLACKPOOL Tower complex is the tops for visitors to the popular North West seaside resort, according to a British Tourist Association survey. The BTA's new league table of the top 20 admission charging attractions in the country reveals that the Tower now ranks as the sixth favourite site in the country. Last year it drew a total of !,426,000 tourists, with the number ...

... Russ's secret service SHOWBUSINESS gossips have been banned from a Blackpool show. After some of the stage secrets of master illusionist Russ Stevens were revealed before last year's opening night of Blackpool Horseshoe Showbar's Mystique production, tighter security has been imposed this year. We have asked all of the cast and backstage personnel to sign a secrecy agreement and not expose my ...

... Carmen ROH THIS DISAPPOINTING production by Nuria Espert, curiously old- fashioned and burdened with fussy detail, is shown in a cruel light when Maria Ewing is replaced by Kathleen Kuhlmann and her passionate lover is the colourless Sergei Lann. Taking over from Plasson, con ductor Barry Wordsworth drew out the best in Bizet's marvellous score, and provided the best part of an otherwise ...

... Simon Boccanegra ROH THE ROH'S new production of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra restores faith in an institution whose recent record has been appalling. It's not a question of international stars with Sir Georg Solti at the helm. Elijah Moshinsky stages the opera with a conviction bom of faith. The present staging makes light of the plot's complexities; Moshinsky lays out the narrative with a sure ...

... All My Sons CHESTER THE Gateway concludes the Autumn Season with All My Sons by Arthur Miller, a forceful drama for which Ian Forrest is the guest director. This is a masterpiece of stagecraft, well produced, acted and presented. All My sons tells the story of the decline of prosperous Joe Keller and his family haunted by his faulty cylin der-heads causing crashes of American Air Force planes ...

... Reprieve for animal circus By ERIC JOYCE DESPITE mounting local opposition and a vociferous lobby from councillors against alleged cruelty involved in presenting performing animal acts, Worthing Borough Council has agreed that circuses can continue not only in the town but at one of the council's prime venues, the Pavilion Theatre. Permission for the staging of three such events in any one ...

... MOD calls up Bob to Gulf By DIANE MASSEY BOB CAROLGEES never entertained anyone in a quarry before. Nor had he trained in chemical warfare garb as he had to before flying out for a two week CSE tour of the Middle East. Carolgees was one of the first asked by the MOD's entertainment division to bring a smile to the faces of British troops on standby to free Kuwait. He was flown back to Bnze ...