... Billy Bragg Cecil Sharp House Billy Bragg's introduction to Woody Guthrie was an event in more ways than one. Any show that fuses these two great political troubadours is enticing, but it also forms part of a season of shows marking the relaunch of Cecil Sharp House as a regular venue on the mainstream circuit. The place was packed. Complementing his recent TV documentary and radio appear ...

... Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci Cardiff 'By popular demand' may be an overworked cliche, but it is justified in this Welsh National Opera revival, with Dennis O'Neill again heading the cast of both works. When WNO marked its 50th anniversary by staging new pro ductions of these operas which launched the semnpro company in 1946 the response at the New Theatre headquarters and subsequently on ...

... Memorable magic moments Weston-Super-Mare Bristol Day of Magic This popular one-day convention has gradually increased in stature, but this year despite international acts, it failed to reach the expected high--maybe because the evening show at the Playhouse lacked the spectacle and pace of an illusion act. But there were some memo rable moments, especially in the close-up field. Such as the ...

... Players party with quick wit Comedy Store The Comedy Store Players Gala Show Having for 20 years offered talent of all kinds a platform with the legendary power to reward and inspire (or at times viciously beat down), this important venue deserves its week of celebration. And boy, what a party it was. If this particular night (Wednesday) featuring its strong improv team of Paul Merton, Josie ...

... Fifth Anniversary Show Hampstead Comedy Club This fifth birthday celebration was stand-up in the most literal sense. So packed was the basement of the Washington pub in north London's Belsize Park that I had to stand for more than two hours which, eventually, proved worth it. It was understandable that Jewishness featured strongly in what was a celebration of the endeavours of a venue at the ...

... Shakin' Stevens/ Linda Gail Lewis Brentwood/Touring Being the younger sister of one of the most infamous rock'n'rollers of them all has proved to be both a blessing and a curse to the professional aspirations of Jerry Lee Lewis' sibling. After years spent as a backup singer, show opener and occasional duettist, Linda Gail Lewis is now ploughing her own musical furrow with the release of ...

... Piccadilly Dance Orchestra Liverpool On any occasion, the art deco splendour of the Philharmonic Hall would have been the perfect setting in which to enjoy the Jazz Age dance music re-creations of the Piccadilly Dance Orchestra, but this concert was particularly special. Compered by Sheridan Morley, it celebrated the cente nary of Noel Coward's birth with a programme of melody and wit from ...

... Visual path to remember Brighton Festival Absolute Zero A sell-out at the Corn Exchange, this specially commissioned premiere supported by SouthEast Arts created a really exciting festive feeling. It was a show that set people talking and fired the imagination with its innovation and accessibility. Walter Bailey's evocative ice and scorched wood sculptures sited in and around a shallow lake, ...

... Arid Land Jacksons Lane Proffering a theme about people, places, about misplaced people and people being misplaced, Arid Land sets out to explore everyday life when relocated to an unknown enviropment Created by Sylvia Bazzarelli, one of the Passo a Passo Dance Company's directors, the piece employs two orvstage musicians guitarist Paulo de Oliveira and percussionist Bosco de Oliveira ...

... Nightlight Spring Loaded: The Place Based in Amsterdam, Gary Carter is an executive director for an independent television company. He also trained as an actor, has made works for the ICA and Chisenhale and appeared in Neil Bartlett's Splendid at the Lyric, Hammersmith in 1995. But quite what he is doing in Spring Loaded which I always thought was meant to present dance by British-based ...

... Election 99 Glasgow/Touring Two days into Scotland's brave new world, and someone was taking the mickey out of it. God, what a great evening this was. 7:84 Theatre Company's bright boys and girls landed in the Tron Bar and left the audience ill with laughter. Election 99 proved a winner after the real thing, swamping us with smart-ass cyni cism, throwing quick-fire sketches our way and ...

... The Golden Years Eastbourne Summer shows at the Royal Hippodrome have been in song-sheet style for several years--but not this time. From curtain up on sharp rockin' fifties routines, the pace quickly settles into a controlled speed. Although voices rise for several irresistible melodies, there is otherwise no pressure for the audience to do the bulk of the work, and there is not much time ...