... Disarming entertainment Chester/Tourine Geoffrey Durham A cheerful, balding man in a suit and tie greets the Gateway audience, tears up a newspaper that doesn't stay torn up, reminisces, and does conjuring tricks. It doesn't sound like much of a magic show. But the man is the utterly dis arming Geoffrey Durham who can tune into an audience's shared memory and lob a throwaway joke into their ...

... Bigger Than Bassey Earlsdon Despite the title, this is not a tribute show. The name came about when its voluptuous star Dawn Carmichael, on being told that Shirley Bassey had previously used a venue's tiny dressing room, said: But I'm bigger than Bassey. The show's quartet, led by musical director Tony Whittaker, set the mood at the Criterion Theatre with a jazz-based over ture before ...

... A long shot in the dark London Coliseum Figaro's Wedding Graham vick's once interesting staging of Mozart's work, back at the Coliseum for a fourth run, is beginning to look tatty and tired. Act IV remains an abomination, the unlucky cast stumbling around like zombies, arms out stretched, simulating darkness. Still, there is much to enjoy, not least Jeremy Sams' wonder fully witty translation, ...

... Plenty of high quality talent Malta's first showcase featured 15 acts, all keen to make their mark on the overseas light entertainment scene. the event, held over two nights at the Palazzo Pescatore in St Paul's Bay, was organised by the Maltese M&E Mana gement Group in association with west London agent Derek Cobbing. There was plenty of high quality talent, much of it suitable for ...

... True master of the anecdote Hornchurch/Touring Richard Digance--The Final Tour Richard Digance's half-apologetic initial appearance on stage is typical of this unpretentious master of the rambling anecdote. Explaining his reasons for giving up touring quite simply, I'm fed up he launches into a combination of old and new material, asking the 4pm Sunday afternoon Queen's Theatre audi ence: ...

... Sanchari Dance/Caustic Soda/Catherine Seymour Company Resolution!: The Place Affording rather embarrassing Indian dance, effected by two performers who would be advised to restrict their dancing to their living rooms, Sanchari Dance's Body Electric did not open the evening very rewardingly. Then Caustic Soda's Perimeters (including 'stench of Death got off to a bad start when a technician, ...

... Oktana Dance Company Resolution!: The Place Invited to perform at Resolution! as one of this year's Aerowaves, the Oktana Dance Company from Greece offered two short pieces inspired by relationships and choreographed by Konstantinos Rigos. Opening with Orpheus and him jumping up and down, cutting curves and turning manically, while Elena Topalidou, keeping her distance on the other side of ...

... John Dowie-Brummie Canal Cafe Known for his stand-up and as a stalwart of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, John Dowie has taken up brief residency at this west London pub theatre armed only with a pair of specs and a book of his poems. The first half of the evening is filled with these quirky verses, many of which have been penned for children, the second is devoted to a poetic trawl through ...

... Sweeney and Steen in Danny's Wake Gilded Balloon Theatre This year marks the 25th anniversary of Jim Sweeney and Steve Steen's first appearance at the Fringe. If then they were described as Morecambe and Wise sleepwalking, their new show Sweeney's playwrttirg debut Danny's Wake, is more of a Pinter and Godber having a good time together. Patrick and Billy meet for the first time since ...

... Hunn Huun Tu, Angelite, Moscow Art Duo--Fly, Fly My Sadness Graffiti Quite a spectacle, 20 Bulgarians, four Tuvans and two Russians giv ing it their all in Graffiti 's haunting church ambience. The idea evolved as an ongoing musical collaboration after an incident on a train involving pianist Misha Alperton, hornman Sergei Starotsin (aka Moscow Art Duo) and two tapes of music on their Walkmans ...

... Sex Games and Matching Suits/Politica Erotica Roman Eagle Lodge Despite a distracting front row manned by the dirty mac brigade and the noisy prat who bragged about a residency in Manchester before taking his seat, the casts of this double-bill carried off difficult roles with admirable pluck. Sex Games and Matching Suits unveils a couple played by Bethan Thorpe and Anthony Budd who only get ...

... Taking Sides Theatre Workshop Actor John Graham Davies contin ues his compelling onfrman guided tour of life and strife in war-torn Bosnia, lent fresh impetus by the upheavals in Kosova. In the guise of Aziz, the unoffi cial cultural ambassador for what was left of Bosnia in the early nineties, Davies leads us to Tuzla via an aid convoy, taking in the colourful characters along the way. Using ...