... Honky Tonk Nights Lytham St Annes Think rhythm and you think blues, think country and you would normally assume western-but at Europe's biggest custom built C&W venue the invitation is now to also add on comedy. In a bold move Fort San Antone at Great Birchwood Leisure Park is staging its own version of a summer season with a five week Tuesday to Thursday run of the country's (and country ...

... Solo show gets laughs rolling Riverside Studios Issey Ogata The comic monologue appears to have stepped off the nation's laughter merry-go-round, and so the fact that Japan's Issey Ogata has made it into something of an artform comes as a welcome reminder of what we are missing. Like a more accessible yet far crueller Rowan Atkinson, Ogata prowls through seven hideously familiar human ...

... Evocative and well designed Royal Albert Hall Madam Butterfly David Freeman's staging of Puccini's Madam Butterfly, first seen at this venue in 1998, has made a welcome return. David Roger's design still pleases, a dwelling wreathed in greenery and blossom at the centre of a water garden which, drained of water, becomes a Zen stone one for the second half. Having learned from last year's ...

... Falstaff Guildford Verdi never intended that his final opera should be performed, but mercifully a reprieve gave the world an elegant masterpiece so different from his usual boisterous showstopping arias and ensemble. London Opera Players premieres a delightful production at the Yvonne Amaud Theatre, directed without gimmickry by John Ramster and accompanied by Charles Farncombe, who ...

... Cabaret with class Pizza on the Park KT Sullivan and Steve Ross Barry J Mishon's style of slick and well constructed cabaret shows has never been better demonstrated than by this joint recital from two luminaries of the New York scene, the already familiar Steve Ross and the more recently garlanded diva KT Sullivan, known to aficionados in this country only through her recordings. The ...

... Conchita Wexford Wexford Festival uniquely features operatic rarities. Inevitably, therefore, some may turn out to be ropier than expected, and Ric- cardo Zandonai's excursion into Spanish territory is about as dire as it gets. Puccini, no fool, turned down the libretto based upon a Pierre Louys novel which was thought steamy in its day. Handsome young nobleman Mateo falls for free-spirited ...

... Divertissements/ The Two Pigeons Sunderland/Touring The second section of the Birm ingham Royal Ballet's offering at the Empire was simply stunning. Divertissements threw up four short works emphasising Fred erick Ashton's imagination and range of styles. Voices of Spring was quiet, moving and full of passion. Five Brahms Waltzes in the manner of Isadora Duncan was sensual, evocative and at ...

... Scottish Dance Theatre Edinburgh In these two newly-commissioned works at the Traverse, Dundee Rep's associated dance company has stepped away from the narrative linearity of recent works, while retaining a strong sense Of the theatrical. Plunge, choreographed by Janice Garrett to a score by Chris topher Bernstead, was the easi est on the eye. The slinky costume design by Craig Givens ...

... Krazy Spirit Manchester Congratulations to the Contact Theatre on its first anniversary and to RJC Dance, the popular black contemporary group who helped with the theatre's launch and returned to perform at the new celebrations. RJC s individual blend of con temporary dance mixed with jazz, reggae and club culture brought a packed house to see the specially commissioned Krazy Spirit. This ...

... Bass Northern Star Trail Wakefield Unlike last year, when there was a superbly varied variety bill, the 2000 final consisted of five solo singers and a female duo, all of whom opted to use tracks rather than live accompaniment. Consequently, preference for style rather than voice and presentation must have come into the judges' deliberation, though they coincided in the case of the winner, ...

... 51st Annual Blackpool Command Performance Blackpool Packed to capacity, a Horsehoe Bar audience consisting mainly of prominent northern clubland figures gathered for a show which has become a key date in the clubland calendar. Backing musicians Steve Cox and Tony Lea could have been a much more substantial asset to the event had their sound been better balanced. They were not loud enough to ...

... Rising stars raising laughs Hackney Empire New Act of the Year 2000 Walking into the foyer of this famous venue, it is easy to imagine the ghosts of audiences past roaring with laughter at the great comics who have trodden its boards. The fresh-faced comedians on trial at this year's final had battled their way through heats held in an adjacent pub over the past few months. Arthur Smith ...