... Unfinished Melody of a Couple Pentameters Briefly, she's twentysomething and he's fortysomething. He's a mass of insecurities, while she gives all the support she's got to give. He's afraid that older men are boring. And it appears (to us, not her) that in this particular case he's absolutely right. That this relationship could have lasted for five and a half years, given the frustration of ...

... Generations of the Dead in the Abyss of Coney Island Madness Manchester Written by Michael HenryBrown, this is a terrifying picture of life in the notorious American ghetto of Coney Island. Kay Purcell gives a powerful performance as the mother who appears to be looking after the best interests of her family but who will use sex and drugs to manipulate and control, and Ray Emmet Brown is ...

... Rookery Nook Colchester At the end of a largely unconventional Mercury Theatre season from Pat Trueman comes a play of reassuring familiarity. The well loved Rookery Nook, from the old farcemaster Ben Travers, will keep a lot of people happy. It's a simple tale of a holi day home in Somerset and the attempts of the newly wed but currently solo incumbent, Gerald Popkiss, to avoid scandal when a ...

... Tales from the Jungle Book Yeovil Loads of action and spectacular scenery are the main ingredients of Barrie Stacey's colourful production of this fascinating tale of the adventures of Mowgli, his life with the animals, and his final escape from the dangers of Shere Khan. Although it contains traces of panto humour, family audiences will find the show every bit as enjoyable as the kids, any ...

... Confusion that's difficult to ignore Sadler's Wells Petit essai sur le temps qui passe/Noces One thing that those not in the know should know is that Ballet Preljocaj is not a traditional ballet company. Indeed, the decidedly gloomy setting of the first work, and its spirit of symbolism and ambiguity, was evidently intended for intellectual more than tional consumption. And what an odd ...

... Great Moments of Purcell-And Blow Hackney Empire In tune with the current Purcell fervour which has even managed to bring about the cancellation of a ballet performance at Covent Garden, Matthew Hawkins has turned to the late 17th Century composer, the tercentenary of whose death the world is getting terribly excited about, for his new piece. Great Moments of Purcell and Blow. Commissioned ...

... I'm So Big BAC Appearing for the first time under their new Told by an Idiot moniker, the former John Wright Company is in quite magnificent form here. This show starts like another predictable exercise in well tuned physical theatre. But by the end. it has evolved into something unexpected and entirety different, a bit like Beckett with fart gags. Initially we find ourselves watching two ...

... As You Like It Dudley Tamara Theatre Company has launched Dudley's first Shate speare Festival with a stylish production of this popular comedy, performed on the lawns fronting Dudley Castle. Using a natural walkway beneath high Tudor windows, designer Diana Duncan has creat ed a two level playing area. The lords and ladies of Duke Frederick's court dance and prom enade elegantly under the ...

... Just Dorothy Glasgow Once a member of the controversial and much criticised One O'Clock Gang of Scottish Television's pioneering days, Dorothy Paul, a singer/actress with lots of panache, attack and aplomb, has emerged from struggling times to be the biggest current female draw on the Scottish stage. Her latest one woman revue Just Dorothy, which has played to sellout audiences, is a ...

... A Going Concern Southampton It is 1966, London is swinging, the economy is booming and the family firm of Chapel and Sons, makers of bar billiard tables, is about to be convulsed by a bitter power struggle. Middle-aged brothers Jack and Gordon are steeling them selves to fire the firm's patriarch, 75-year-old John, but the younger generation is preparing to stab them in the back. As the plot ...

... Pelleas and Melisande Leeds Debussy's Pelleas and Melisande is a terrifying work, never more so than in Richard Jones' harrowing, yet moving, staging for Opera North. An appreciative and discerning Leeds audience vociferously acknowledged this landmark production. The opera's meaning shifts with every attempt at definition. Yet Antony McDonald's allusive settings, echoing Munch and Odilon ...

... Sound Bites Glasgow Scottish Opera has found a new, and thoroughly commendable way of launching its forthcoming season. Instead of posing around in some exclusive reception room with invited worthies, the press was invited to the old Harland and Wolff shed in Govan to see the orchestra bashing away with great enthusiasm through selected highlights from said forthcoming season. Richard ...