... The Gimmick Traverse Sitting on the stoop of her house in sixties Harlem, Alex watches the world go by and in their apartment her mother, holding her glass and her cigarette in the same hand, gets increasingly drunk. While Alex writes a secret diary, her best pal, Jimmi, is a talented painter. Together, they are a misunderstood force, ready to take on the world. Except that Jimmi grows up, ...

... Robert Newman-- Resistance is Fertile Assembly Rooms Robert Newman must be one of the rare stand-up comedians who has-- judging by his large and diverse audience-- made it into the mainstream, in spite of, or thanks to his uncompromisingly left-wing politics. He may look like a cuddly pet you want to have around, completely devoid of the arro gance characteristic of so many of his colleagues ...

... Cooking the Catholic Way c This one-woman show is heavily influenced by Dario Fb's satire-cum-circus theatre style. Elizabeth Wort is the author and performer of the piece and she has all the grace of movement of the child ballet star that she once was. Her use of space and transition from one character to another is remarkably clear and smooth; however the numerous characters, often conceived ...

... A Little Bit of French Cafe Royal Once there was a kind of intimate, personal music performed in supper clubs, smoky bars and other such surroundings, which spoke of transient love, loss and regret, broken hearts and spirits, or instead projected a devil may care insouciance cocking a snook at life. In her late-night show in a somewhat charmless room which belies the venue's name, Monique ...

... Something Wonderful Wimbledon Theatre/ Touring Conceived by Walter Bobbie, director of the Broadway and West End revivals of Chicago, this classy musical celebration of Rodgers and Hammerstein was entitled A Grand Night for Singing when it played Off-Broadway in 1993. Its current tour is headed by Liz Robertson and Dave Willetts, supported by Geoffrey Abbott, Louise Davidson and Shona ...

... Traditionally shipshape Savoy HMS Pinafore Gilbert and Sullivan operas seem better when staged in their original home in the Strand, possibly because audiences are more receptive there. This is certainly the case with Martin Duncan's production, beginning with the arrival of the tap-dancing crew, a blow to the traditionalists, perhaps, but well to the liking of the majority of the audience. ...

... Madama Butterfly Manchester How refreshing it is to see a production of this opera that is not bound by convention, even though it is flawed in parts. Opera North has given director Dalia Ibelhauptaite a completely free hand at the Opera House, and her naturalistic direction tandem with the innovative designs of Oleg Cheintsis and enhanced by Peter Mumford's dramatic lighting, has given a ...

... Les Contes d'Hoffman Antwerp Offenbach, who always revised his work in the light of public performance, left this piece unfinished at his death. No one knows what form it may eventually have taken, but that has not discouraged musical meddling nor the mandarin pronouncements of musicologists, especially as autograph fragments pop up. Offenbach originally intended to use sung recit but, just ...

... New life story is just the tonic Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House Mary Seacole The self-taught Jamaican Mary Seacole was a remarkable woman. Though skilled in the mixing of herbs to relieve and cure sickness, the War Office turned down her offer to nurse in the Crimea. She went nonetheless, earning the undying tude of the soldiery and achieving legendary status. Richard Chew's delightful ...

... La Rondine Leeds/Touring The revival of Francesca Zambello's staging of Puccini's late 'operetta' makes for a delightful evening at the Grand Theatre, the tale of a cultured courtesan's unsuccessful bid for true love with a younger man going with a real swing. Opera North plays the composer's final revision, in which an anonymous letter to Ruggero about Magda's past blights the idyll. Bruno ...

... Dennis Locorriere Brentwood/Touring Billed as 'The Voice of Dr Hook'-the band split up in 1985 after securing a string of hits in the seventies and early eighties-Dennis Locorriere has jus1 released his first solo album. An engaging performer, his humorous and informative anec dotes between numbers kept the crowd at the Leisure Centre enraptured. Opening with only his guitar to accompany him, ...

... Singing on a Star Hornchurch/Touring It was disconcerting to find musical instruments on the set of Don't Dress for Dinner, but Nick Dawson benefited from Leigh Mulpeter's effective lighting, enhancing his music's different moods. This fresh-faced, at times endearingly gauche 25-year-old is already something of a local hero. Classically trained and multi-talented, his track record includes ...