... The Meteoric Rise and Dramatic Demise of Edmund Kean King's Head Its an actor's life for me, said Edmund Kean, pre-Victorian claimant to the title 'King of the English stage', when still a child. Here he lives and breathes his obsession for the boards with a violent passion, taking us on a rollercoaster ride of fame, fortune and ultimately misfortune. It is a classic pre-tabloid 'build ...

... More Adventures of Noddy Wimbledon Following West End success for David Wood's adaptations of Roald Dahl, Clarion Promotions strikes gold again with this follow- up to its 1993 version of Noddy, again with excellent dialogue and exciting plot developments. Karen Briffett, whose Nodd-. Live has made her a television star, returns to drive the colourful little car in dizzying circles arouno ...

... Lucky Sods Hampstead Continual success has brought John Godber a dilemma. Should he continue to produce his tried and trusted formula of bittersweet tales from the working class north? Is it not about time that he tried something completely ent? Or could he not pitch for something between the two? Not on this occasion. Lucky Sods is Godber's commentary on the National Lottery, and moder ...

... The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe anley Hanley's Theatre Royal saw the launch of a nationwide tour of Glyn Robbins' adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which is destined to entertain nany lucky children in the months to come. Sets are simple but striking, combining with atmospheric Rghting and effects to create a believable land of Namta. Costumes and make-up have been ...

... The Caretaker Huddersfield Compass Theatre's The Caretaker, at the Lawrence Batley Theatre, has sufficient merit to be recommended for anyone wishing to access Pinter's work. The three cast members nave worked together on many previ ous Compass Theatre produc tions and their experience is apparent They interact with fine timing and give Pinter's brittle, raw dia logue the necessary shades of ...

... Monsieur Amilcar Chichester Director Tim Luscombe has assembled an extremely well-balanced cast for the new production of Yves Jamiaque's Monsieur Amilcar at the Minerva. This is the story of an appar ently wealthy man who finds itdM- ficuR to believe what he is toU and who tares three unknowns to play out his family fife drama for him from 6pm each evening until 9am Monday-Friday. fulHime and ...

... Too busy Lear direction eds Lear Kelly's King Lear, an stage the West Yorkshire Playhouse. a disturbingly incomplete look out it She has given her production an epic quality. with some visual effects, and she tried to unravel the rent/child machinauons. but it an untidy whole, lacking a cerv il spark and spoiled by s#y. irri- Srg fittte delate such as the ngof France ...

... Don't Dress for Dinner Bournemouth With his pained smile accompanying ever-desperate explanations. Barry Howard set a vigorous pace in scoring laughs as Bernard in Robin Hawdon's adaptation of this Camoletti farce at Bournemouth Pier. His arrangements for a spot of mistress-entertaining during his wife's proposed absence, soon go wildly awry. Why Bernard should risk extra-marital hassle ...

... Blue Remembered Hills Sheffield Deborah Paige's choice to mark her debut as artistic director at the Crucible may be short on length and on intellectual depth (a sort of Lord of the Fleas), but this naunting production makes up for that by steering a fine line between sentiment and archness. It presents us with a poignant pic ture of childhood in all its sponta neous savagery. Dennis Potter's ...

... Keely & Du Northampton Royal Theatre artistic director Michael Napier Brown's staging of Jane Martin's Keely and Du, winner of the American Theatre Critics Award for Best New Play, marks its British premiere. Set in the basement of a house in Providence, Rhode Island. USA, Keely is a young I pregnant woman who has been i attacked by her partner and i is seeking release from her dilemma. Du is ...

... Our Country's Good Edinburgh In the scrabble for populist entertainment, the civilising power of the theatre is all too often over- looked. Timberlake Wertenbaker's play takes a long, hard and liberal look at the latter while, in this intelligent production by Caroline Hall at the Royal Lyceum, providing an accessible drama. The play is based on a real incident in 1789 when the gover nor of ...

... Waiting Room Germany Royal Court Theatre Nothing could be more of a play for today than Klaus Pohl's simple but powerful piece of theatre. He has interviewed more than 20 German citizens over the last year, seeking their views on the five years since reunification. The result is a verbatim series of monologues, briskly linked for, as the title suggests, each speaker is a passenger in a waiting ...