... good deal sharper before I tune in again. Amused was also about as excited as I could get about the return of literary quiz Speaking Volumes (R2. from, Friday, January 24), although I did find myself concentrating hard on answering all the questions. Sarah ...

... service, no one can say, but in Much Ado About Shakespeare (Sunday, March 30), there was at least a rare opportunity to hear him speak about his own experi ences of transferring Henry V, Hamlet and Richard III to the big screen. This was thanks to film historian ...

... presenter Michael Kitstow as a theatre of the air a sort of classic Greek drama with the poet as the pro tagonist (only speaking in verse), and friends, family and col leagues acting as the chorus. Kustow has enjoyed a long asso ciation with Harrison ...

... sounds like a pre tentious premise to an evening's theatre, but never once did I doubt the truth of this explana tion. Harrison speaks about his subject with such passion a characteristic of Brel he greatly admires that when he cries merci Jacques! at the ...

... their identity as, first and fore most, genuine entertainers. This four-handed outfit know what their fans like, musically speaking, but they give it to them without the pretence of taking themselves awfully seriously, as many bands seem to do. Their set ...

... initial sketch with Alistair Kerr (who also wrote the revue) and Mark Katz as English gentlemen dressed in 'jungle' garb and speak ing a hip-hop patois sets a standard only certain pieces live up to. The performance of the National Falsetto Theatre Company ...

... dialogue, critics and actors hurt insults which are all the more comic for being near the bone. The gamut of well-worn critic-speak is run and used brilliantly in what becomes an hilarious mock trial of the critic 'for being a critic. The cast fully exploits ...

... Man and Woman, Girt i and Boy. They are dressed in robes i and coats, and their suitcases sug- 1 gest exodus, or exile. They speak i mostly in Belarussian. And they do not get along. The Girt is no innocent she attaches a black, studded leather collar to ...

... Glamorgan, with the lone character Alex reminiscing of his childhood. It is the day of the Royal Wedding in 1981 but for a Welsh- speaking boy in an Anglophone community, there is little for Alex to Illlllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllll celebrate. And there ...

... Bye, Bye Blues is unfortunately a little more heavy, focusing on three disintegrating relationships. It examines the way we speak, reveal ing so much among the lifelong play of words, but the production really needs an input of more emotion to involve the ...

... success. The sets, direction, acting, costumes and concept are kitsch to the point of parody. For a non-Spanish (or Catalan) speaking audience, however, the political ele ment is less obvious. Thom Dibdin Picture: Toni Riera Action--(left to right) Rossy ...

... dancing and aim less monologues delivered in impenetrable accents. The one exception is Fringe perennial Andrew Dallmeyer, who speaks his nonsense with some style and the clear awareness that it is non sense. On the other hand, several of the participants ...