... Caroline Nin--the Last Show Jermyn Street Theatre Cabaret enthusiasts often wish that London had more rooms suited to the art form, but at least Jermyn Street's David Babani continues to support talents like Caroline Nin. From the moment this rather sophisticated French chanteuse sashays on to the stage, the atmosphere changes. Suddenly, the off-West End theatre becomes an intimate, dark, and ...

... Poignant but lacklustre Canal Cafe Once Is Never Enough Picture the scene. You are just about to leave the house and switch off the light, when you wonder whether you have turned the iron off, so you go and check--once. Well, no, not if you are someone who suffers from Obsessive Combulsive Disorder (OCD). Then it would need check ing again, and again, and again. This kind of obsessive con ...

... Showtime Spectacular Bardon When Barry Young bills a spectacular show at his Stardust Club in Bardon, near Leicester, then a spectacular it most certainly is. As the tabs open, ten attractive dancers, superbly choreographed, exquisitely dressed and totally disciplined, produce a real aura of theatrical excitement. Perfectly synchro nised alongside their tall and highly talented lead dancer ...

... Cultural divide engulfs comic Lyric Issey Ogata Issey Ogata's seven-sketch debut on the West End stage works best as an attempt to reinforce all the thoughtless, Chris Tarrant-y cliches about Japanese humour. Sadistic, inveterately materi alistic, the discomfiting 'comic' material is made unbearably tortuous by the ridiculously unin- volved and wooden translation we have buzzing annoyingly ...

... Ted Heath Band Croydon And the band played on. Almost 30 years after the leader was called to the bandstand-in-the-sky, the Ted Heath Band is still doing the business--as proved by 1,100 people at this Fairfield Hall concert and the fact it was recently voted number one in the world by Big Band International magazine. While trombonist Ted would have been astonished, gratified and proud of ...

... Under the Influence Riverside Studios It was obvious from the opening warrrHjp session, carried out as if there were no onlookers, that the five-strong Australian troupe Legs on the Wall--Lucia Mastrantone, Veronica Neave, Bemadette Regan, Gavin Robins and Brendan Shelper--was extremely well rehearsed and physically very strong. In front of some corrugated metal panels and with a mini mum ...

... Cliff Longhurst Band Ruislip Cliff Longhurst is a seasoned professional, a drummer who has played for Herb Miller and the New Squadronaires, who now fronts a 12-piece ensemble -- heard here as part of the Golf Centre's weekly jazz programme. Clearly a fastidious and ing leader, he had his musicians aligned behind monogrammed stands, all in black ties, with a personable vocalist, and set a ...

... Star turn at Somerset Social David Essex is playing the Westland Sports and Social Club in Yeovil on September 29. You might think it surprising that an artist of this calibre, who is about to embark on a major theatre tour, is playing a social club. But Westland is no ordinary social club it has 10,500 members and a 1 ,800 capacity entertainment room. It also has eight bars, some of which ...

... Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames Jazz Cafe Standing at the Jazz Cafe bar, a young woman claimed that Georgie Fame's stirring mix of jazz and R&B was old hat. Her companion justified it as 'history', adding that it was Fame's own history that he was re-running for this house full of devotees. Of course, he was right, for Fame has continued to work on material first presented decades ago. ...

... Alan Davies Duchess You can measure comic talent in quantity as well as quality, you know. Ken Dodd, an undisputed great, thinks nothing of doing four hours off the cuff on a wet Wednesday night in Lowestoft. And the punters love it. Same with the greatest comedians of the current genera tion. Eddie Izzard and Ben Elton, arguably the best two around, can do live shows in excess of two hours ...

... Tommy Burton and His Sporting House Trio Southport Although based in the Midlands, Tommy Burton is no stranger to the north west. When here, the pianist usually works with a quartet, but on this occasion because of limitations of space in the main lounge of the Hesketh Arms Hotel, he opted for the trio format. However, with Richard Vernon on bass and Spats Langham on banjo, the quality of the ...

... Hurst enters with a burst Backyard Comedy Club Opening Night They queued down Cambridge Heath Road in the rain for the right to be at the opening night of Lee Hurst's new comedy club, a tribute to one of the most popular comics on the circuit. Hurst's new venture is a con verted warehouse and the most immediate quality it displays is the space available. It seats, I estimate, about 350 with ...