... Shame of the Shephards Diverse Attractions A pleasant 18th Century Scots cou ple who have risen from tenant farmers to modest comfort take deserved pleasure in their happi ness. In a kind of midsummer panto for grown-ups (help me find the cat, join in the singing) they play host to their gentleman son (he lives in Dundee Street!), who is about to marry a lawyer's daughter. But all is not clear ...

... Second Hand Dance Company Assembly Rooms A pinch of contemporary dance, mixed with lashings of gymnastics, acrobatics and mime makes the heady brew which is New York's Second Hand Dance Company. The strength, physicallity and control of Greg O'Brien, Andy Horowitz and Paul Gordon is amaz ing in their hour long show. Making human pyramids is their forte as barefooted they create shapes, cra ...

... Orange: Madness Is a Movable Feast Out of the Blue Orange is a young writer's obligato ry first play, about the existential angst of being young. Rootless young people lie around, travel, smoke dope, talk about deep truths. One goes mad and kills him self, and another seems bound on the same path. There is no scene longer than two minutes, no character who is not a stereotype. Slides are ...

... Dominic Holland The Honeycomb Outside, before the gig. a female punter turns to her mate, points to Dominic Holland's picture and squeals: Isn't he cute? Inside, the crowd is a very broad mix of ages with even a few middle-aged couples turning up. This man has broad appeal. These folk have come to see the big grin and experience the gen tle charm of an increasingly assured stand-up. There's ...

... Omid Djalili and Ivor Dembina- Arab and the Jew Pleasance Omid Djalili and Ivor Dembina have staged a friendly bickering and ban ter-based show which puts Jewish fact, belief and myth against its Arabic counterpart. The stand-up comics exploit and reveal their more popular and unknown religious traditions without clouding detail for the audience. This strength of keeping the material simple ...

... The Lex McLean Story Gordon Irving Glasgow Billy Jeffrey, an established club- land entertainer, portrays the legendary Scottish music hall comedian, Lex McLean, and, with voice, accent and emphasis on that end-of-sentence drawl, brings the cult figure of Scottish show- business to life in an entertaining bio-dramatic revue. Sustaining a long script, he makes a welcome arrival at the city ...

... Impish tribute to the Master Vaudeville A Talent to Amuse Peter Greenwell, whose impish personality has hitherto been seen mainly in cabaret rooms in London, has now transferred it to a larger stage. But I am not quite sure whether it is as effective in this milieu, particularly as his show concentrated entirely on the works of Noel Coward, whose last accompanist he was. Devoted to a ...

... Belladonna Salford Until I went to The Willows recently the only all-girt band I had heard was the famous Ivy Benson Band and the name Belladonna meant deadly nightshade. The four girls calling themselves Belladonna are as remote from Benson as the Beatles from Tchaikovsky. Comprised of Andi (lead gui tar), Joan (bass guitar), Zoey (drums) and the long-legged Emma on lead vocals, even those ...

... Band of the United States Forces in Europe Worthing/Touring Back in those Swingin' Years of the forties and fifties, report had it that one out of every three coins placed in a juke box was for a Glenn Miller record. Big band music has had its ups and down since then but it has never really lost its overall appeal, a fact borne out when a capacity Worthing Assembly Hall audience welcomed the ...

... 30 Years On Leeds Described as a musical extravaganza, 30 Years On is really a tribute show in two parts - Buddy Holly before the interval and Cliff Richard after. I saw the show at the City Varieties early in the 40-venue tour, where it was very well received, particularly Bootleg Buddy perhaps because Buddy is no longer with us and has become a legend. David Jones makes a good Buddy, ...

... Rendezvous in Britain '96 Daventry This was the third such event to be held in Daventry in four years. To the initiated, Rendezvous is a combined tribute and celebration of Stan Kenton--the man and his music. This year some 300 devotees from the UK, Europe and the USA attended the three-day convention which consisted of panel discussions, recitals and live concerts. A feature of each ...

... Las Vegas Showtime Isle of Wight There was much to enjoy in this ambitious production at the Ryde which has struggled to make any seasonal impact since it was revamped back in 1991. Even star names have failed to draw the crowds. On opening night, however, there was a distinct lack of value. The actual on-stage enter tainment was under two hours and there were apparent reasons for this. One ...