... Quack-Quack! The Ugly Duckling c Ctheatre's production is awash with colour and buzzing with energy. This is an excellent example of story telling with few gimmicks. Basic set and costume are compensated for through voice and physicality, which, in general, keep the story clear and uncluttered. There are times, however, when the double/triple casting becomes a little confusing. This is ...

... This knight wins his spurs Royal Opera House Gawain Now, at the year's dead end, the dream quickens, sings Morgan le Fay at the start of Harrison's Birtwistle's epic Gawain, relishing the prospect of destroying Arthur's smug Camelot as she lures the faithful Gawain into his fateful odyssey of needful knowledge provoked by the Green Knight's challenge. An inspired choice of opera, ...

... Si J'Etais Roi Wexford If I were king the fisherman Zephoris scrawls in the sand, heartbroken that Nemea, the young woman he has saved from drowning and loves, is a princess above his station. As a joke, the Goan King real ises the wish. Thus empowered, Zephoris rights wrongs, unmasks Prince Kadoor's treacherous involvement with invading Portu guese, whose attack he foils, gains advancement ...

... Birmingham's triple thrills Sunderland/Touring Triple Bill A delightful threesome to get the pulses racing, Birmingham Royal Ballet's Triple Bill at the Sunder-land Empire combined the best of classical and modem dance and thrilled an appreciative audience. The first element, Scenes de Ballet, provided a breath of light ness, a gentile offering in the classic style with the movement measured ...

... Summer Cabaret Isle of Man This show at The Villa Marina is, understandably, proving popular. With its well drilled and directed cast, it is eminently suitable for the family room atmosphere at this popular venue. Gareth James is an ideal warm-up man and affable gagster, whose matey line in crowd approach makes the room sit up and take notice. James is a top drawer vocalist with a fresh ...

... Watch them with interest Her Majesty's norman & lyon It was move over Phantom when former bank managers Ken Norman and Tim Lyon put NatWest's money where their mouths could perform, catapulting themselves into showbiz. Having formed their own com pany New Tricks (as in you can't teach an old dog) this comedy duo, whose background includes amateur acting and directing in Essex and Chipping ...

... About as epic as theatre gets Edinburgh International Festival: King's Barbaric Comedies This sprawling play by the rarely performed Spanish playwright Ramon del Valle-lnclan is nothing if not monumental. The conflated text, which com prises three plays Silver Face, Eagle Rampant and Romance of the Wolves weighs in at a back- breaking eight hours. Fortunately, Frank McGuinness' new version for ...

... Puppetry of the Penis Pleasance Word of mouth is the best way to sell out a show here, and judging by the size of the queue that snaked out of the venue when I caught this act, it has worked a treat for Australians Simon Moriey and David Friend. I felt sorry, though, for the com pany that lost out to them on a chance to perform at this year's Fringe but if two men contorting their genitals ...

... Say Nothing Traverse In front of a wall of corrugated iron, Jon Hough and David Woods create a piece that is hard-hitting, intense ly funny and, at times, nothing short of bizarre. Following the Good Friday agreement Ridiculusmus' theatre tackles the effects of the Troubles on a country that has learnt to accept violence as part of day to day life. Hough and Woods tell the story of Kevin, ...

... Inside track He's worked in Glasgow shipyards and kept the toughest audiences at bay. But nothing prepared Nicholas Parsons for Julian Fox, RSC stage doorman turned Fringe performer in The Slacker's Opera. Fox guested on Parsons' popular Happy Hour show, and the Just a Minute stalwart nearly broke into a sweat coaxing Fox out of his shell. It was a real challenge he was just so nice and ...

... An Elephant Called Slowly Dynamic Earth With eyebrow-raising realism, a baby elephant and its parent wander around Africa. But the elder is massacred by hunters and the tot left in a nomadic void until being given to a zoo. The elephant is so called because of the shout of 'poli' meaning 'slowly' by humans, to calm a fast approaching elephant. It is a vivacious, physical piece for children, of ...

... Karen Loftus and Julia Morris Gilded Balloon A split bill, for the first half we are entertained by Loftus, and the second half by Morris. Both are accomplished performers, but it is Morris Loftus is a New Yorto blonde, with teeth to match. She compe tently deals with a lot of female humour; her weight, her blonde- ness, relationships, but It's not really very new. Few other comedi ans ...