... Cohen The Barbarian CHAPLAINCY CENTRE A MAN with his guitar standing by a micro phone might be innocent enough but here the targets are far from innocent. Failure and disappointment, recent political events and that goes for world events as well as domestic trivia smack at the audience. That the British delight in their own ignorance might have been the dedicatee of this apparently formless ...

... Play Me False THEATRE WORKSOP CUSTARD Factory return to the Fringe, in their adaptation of The Tempest, with intimations of the circus ring and their usual originality and aplomb. I nis time, however, I found the show a little disappointing. There was a lack of the fire and driving intensity I had seen in their Measure For Measure adaptation and, partic ularly important for The Tempest, no ...

... Quijote TRAVERSE THEATRE BAMBALINA Tilclles, a young Valcncian company present Cervantes' immortal hero as you have never seen him before only two feet tall, for a start. The two young pup peteers who make up this company are not the anonymous men in black that we expect from puppet companies. TTicy are central to the action: frequently, in villainous mood, battling with Quijote or fooling the ...

... Play, Boy THEATRE WORKSHOP Boilerhouse, the new appellation for the highly acclaimed Mandela theatre com pany have set their stall out from the very beginning. Play, Boy is not trivial theatre. Three women (Elcctra, Chamclea and Medusa) languish on step ladders; a fourth (Ariel) hangs from a wire far above their heads. Gradually, the latter is lowered and invited to join the merry-go-round. ...

... Star Rock: The Movie OVERSEAS HOUSE IN this fast paced musical, a large and very young cast make up for their lack of years with exuberance, comic talent and decibels. Set in Mid-Western Dragsville the name says everything it is a delightful fan tasy, lampooning small town America and all the space fiction you have ever seen, with right minded attacks on militarism and promptings towards ...

... II Seraglio GLASGOW WHEN the boy scout appears round the desert tent, complete with toggle and back pack, you know that, with luck, you are due for some juvenile humour. Scottish Opera Go Round's new production of II Seraglio lives up to this early promise, in that it is youth ful, enthusiastic and jokey. This is the small scale touring arm of Scottish Opera which takes opera to those parts of ...

... Rambert Choreographic Workshops 1992 RIVERSIDE STUDIOS IT WAS quality of movement, more than conceptual originality, that stood out from the evening of new work by six nascent choreographers from the Rambert Dance Company. What they showed collectively was a sensitive approach towards weight, shape and rhythmic pulse, and the skills to graft their ideas on to bodies that were never less ...

... Agents go on Euro offensive By HELEN GOULD BRITISH agents are hoping to ward off a welter of restrictive red tape from Brussels with a new six-point charter which will bring the rest of the European Community in line with UK regulations. The proposals will be presented at next month's Paris assembly of the European Federation of Professionals in the Performing Arts (EFPPA), set up two years ...

... Blackpool won't Come Dancing any more BLACKPOOL has lost its prestigious dance showcase following a surprise move by the BBC. l tie world s longest running musical television show, Cornel Dancing, is leaving the ornate^B trappings of the Tower Ballroom H for the ultra-modern Bourne-H mouth International Centre. H The BBC says the move is^| intended to change the ovcrall^B look of the programme ...

... Sony manages the changes in venue takeover By STAGE REPORTER RECORDING giant Sony Music Entertainment (UK) is moving into the field of venue management by taking on the Milton Keynes Bowl. Sony, formerly CBS and now part of the Japanese-owned music and technology con glomerate, has linked up with US leisure firm, the Pace Entertainment Corporation, to take over the bowl from the now defunct ...

... Frankie's 'on the mend' CULT comedian Frankie Howerd was off the danger list, as The Stage went to press, after being moved from the intensive care unit at the Harley Street hospital where he has been treated for a mystery chest virus for the past week. Relieved agent Tessa le Bars said she expected the comedian to remain in his exclusive clinic for at least another week before being signed ...

... Castle's big band shows to continue By HELEN GOULD DEDICATED entertainer Roy Castle this week vowed that his series of Spring shows with military big bands would go on, despite his fight against lung cancer. The spirited tap dancer and trum peter, former presenter of BBC televi sion show Record Breakers, is due to play a series of one-night stands around the country with May dates in ...