... Coppelia Glasgow There is a sequence in Act I of Coppelia as presented by Scottish Ballet, a pseudo-folk dance in prettily embroidered pseudo-peasant costumes, which is performed with such verve and precision that one's spirit lifts. The feeling doesn't last. There are other moments, namely those occupied by the astonishingly gifted Campbell McKenzie and the tragically under used Robert ...

... Strike Up the Band--Gary Williams Beacholme After seeing Gary Williams in action, the question arises how much longer before he has to for sake the club scene for theatre and television? Very capably backed by the Pat McCarthy Jazz Quartet, Williams stormed through a set that included Stepping Out, Night and Day, Let There Be Love, Mona Lisa and Strike Up the Band, the title song of his show. ...

... Magic in the spectacle Wembley Arena Aladdin on Ice Putting a narrative element in an ice show goes back to the Empress Hall days of the fifties, when the voices came from clubbers in a box high above the ice surface. Now, of course, all the voices and music are on tape, hugely amplified, and I cannot say it is much of an improvement. Some of the dialogue, spoken by r ...

... Please Stay Glasgow Time was, in pre-discotheque fever nights, when every dance hall in Glasgow housed cheeky wee Glasgow lassies, full of fun, cutely garbed, and with a memorable, usually humorous riposte to every male comment and advance. That culture is revived in this new musical play at the Pavilion, written and directed by Russel Lane, which so pleased the cus tomers, many female in ...

... La Vie Parisienne Birmingham D'Oyly Carte has opened its 1995-96 tour at the Alexander, with Offenbach's operetta in a new, English version by Alistair Beaton. His wizardry with words sounds as fresh as it did for Die Fledermaus last year and he contrives witty dialogue and lyrics which further delineate the char acter singing them. Particularly memorable is the English milord with a lot ...

... Sex seemed to be the thing Scottish Ballet A Midsummer Night's Dream Robert Cohan took a few leaves out of Shakespeare's book when he turned to A Midsummer Night's Dream for inspiration. Like the Bard, he selected themes and characters to his taste and combined traditional and contemporary techniques in order to express something of his own. Presented by Scottish Ballet in 1993 and revived ...

... 2000 Talent Contest Skegness The Skegness 2000 Talent Contest, though now locked into the British Resorts Association event, was inaugurated in 1988 and is billed as the Final of Finals, because those taking part have won through other talent contests which have been staged at al of the holiday centres in the area. This year's event was unusual in that the winner, Tim Goodacre, will be ...

... Thirty and thriving Peter Vacher celebrates the National Youth Jazz Orchestra's 30th anniversary Bill Ashton's extraordinary brainchild has survived and prospered for 30 years. Like many other institu tions of enduring sig nificance, its beginnings were modest. Started as the London Schools Jazz Orchestra, it blossomed into the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and today is fully professional, ...

... Dig jazz Michael Dynan believes Digby Fairweather is one of the best ambassadors jazz could have People had already told me that Digby Fairweather was one of the busiest people in the jazz world. And so it came as no great surprise to me that my lunchtime interview with him had to be sandwiched in between his morning spent at the BBC and a recording session for Britannia Airways in the ...

... Empire Nights Croydon That title refers not to the British Empire, on which the sun has set, but the Empire, Croydon, which was closed down around 35 years ago, along with all those other Empire theatres up and down the land. This tribute to variety and the missing Empires played before a sparse 'God's waiting room' audi ence in the Ashcroft, and illustrat ed just why the old twice-nightly ...

... Golden Showstoppers Scarborough Variety has been the stock-in-trade for generations at the delightful old Spa Theatre, but while the ingredients haven't changed much over the years, the end product is a very sophisticated show. Tony Peers, now firmly estab lished as one of the east coast's top comics and set for a role in the new Walt Disney film with Jerry Lewis has an amazing abil ity to ...

... Memorable night of talent Hull Hull Daily Mail's Clubspot Spectacular Oh what a night it was--to quote a golden otdie. Comedians Cannon and Ball were the only star names on the bill, but every performer was a star in his or her own right. The occasion was the Hull Daily Mail's Clubspot Spectacular, held in the City Hail and attended by well over 1,000 people. Organised by deputy editor Stan ...