... William Bottrell's Amazing Tales of West Cornwall Penzance As its title suggests, David Shaw's one-man show, at the Acorn, is centred around the stories collected by the 19th century antiquarian and folklorist William Bottrell. Devised and adapted for the stage by Kelvin I Jones and directed by Steve Jacobs of Kneehigh Theatre Ensemble, it takes one back in time to a pre- railway, radio and ...

... Remembering the brilliance of Berlin By LISA MARTLAND As all the trees and tinsel are packed away for another year, a whole host of new programmes is due to grace the radio schedules- but there is still time to also take a look at what the networks had to offer during the recent festivities. For instance, I suppose it was an appropriate time to hon our the memory of legendary songwriter Irving ...

... Everyone is okay at Emkay South Queensferry Emkay Entertainments Hewlett Packard Social Club wa; the venue for West Lothian-baser, agency Emkay Entertainments showcase. Tuesday afternoon began with children's entertainment. The Little Rascals puppet show is an act which bookers thought was very traditional and well presented. Father and daughter act Hotline came over from Ireland, and left ...

... Eclipse Blackpool Having proved all summer that there is more to choreography than dancing, more to season shows than stand-up comedy and more to circus than sawdust, Eclipse is back for a winter run at the Pleasure Beach Globe. Along the way it has received rave reviews, notched up a highly successful Royal Variety Performance appearance and ironed out any initial rough spots to settle into a ...

... Feast of song I Just Want To Sing By following the example of Los Angeles-based artist DC Anderson, Paul Hull and manager/publicist Matt Tullah presented this Christmas cabaret, and audience members were encouraged to bring along a present which would then be Jermyn Street Theatre donated to the National Chil dren's Home. In return for their generosity, everyone was treated to a ...

... Feats of skill and perfection Royal Albert Hall Alegria Such excellence has its admirers, its imitators- step forward Eclipse- and its enviers. Unquestionably, Cirque du Soleil's Alegria- back at the Royal Albert Hall for a second time- has engendered all these responses. For me, it is sheer heaven to watch this extraordinarily beauti ful rococo-style confection. Every single detail is ...

... Johann Strauss Gala Harrogate/Touring Gaiety and good humour have always marked the New Year series of Johann Strauss Gala concerts. They have a delighful informality about them and the packed audience at the cav ernous International Centre was soon clapping out the rhythm. Christopher Warren-Green, who directs the Johann Strauss Orchestra from the violin, has a pleasantly engaging personal ...

... Georgie Fame/ BBC Big Band Queen Elizabeth Hall Georgie Fame's roller-coaster career kicked off 40 years ago and has encompassed rhythm and blues, tributes to Gershwin and Carmichael, and a lengthy stint as musical director for vocalist Van Morrison. Now, he is back to his roots, either leadinc his revived Blue Flames or guesting, as here, with the best big bands around. Directed by ...

... Holiday on Ice Brighton/Touring It is as popular and predictable as traditional Christmas cake- crammed full of rich goodies, topped off with the ultimate decorative icing. This lavishly-produced show holds its annual appeal, and the Brighton Centre was packed for the UK premiere. Rightly so, because it is all about glitzy, frothy, feel-good escapism. After all, everyone can dream about ...

... Colour Code Hemsworth New Northern clubland attraction Colour Code took the stage at Hemsworth Miners Social Club in West Yorkshire in front of a surprisingly busy post-Christmas house. This three-piece band, com prising John, Pete and Karen, has been around in various line-ups over the years, but it now seems to have struck clubland oil with a strong, self-contained sound and bags of ...

... The good, the bad and the ugly BY LISA MARTLAND It has hardly been the toughest job in the world during the last four years--to review the good, the bad and the ugly in radio light entertainment and, hopefully, offer some informed comments along the way. Alongside Moira Petty's views on the network's drama output and news stories covering the latest ratings wars and commissioning crises, The ...

... Moving from Les Mis Now Jeff Leyton has plans to musically adapt another French classic himself COMPILED BY PETER HEPPLE For eight years, on and off. Edinburgh-born singer Jeff Leyton has been playing Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, in both the West End and on tour. He is, in fact, currently playing in the touring i j o c i tion until the end of February. But, like many other per formers ...