... New twist for Japanese style Gate Ballad of Yachiyo Hawaii, 1919: Japanese immigrants, looking for work in the cane fields, turn on their American bosses. Alarmed by her boyfriend's involvement in the violent struggles, the young and beautiful Yachiyo (Inika Leigh Wright) packs her bags and makes for a nearby village to work for a Japanese potter, an artist keeping his ancient craft alive ...

... The Letter London International Mime Festival: Purcell Room/Touring Drama students will be familiar with the exercise of repeating a short scenario in a variety of styles to experiment with movement and gesture. Taking this simple premise to extreme lengths, Paolo Nani has produced a polished solo piece. Each vignette shares the same story, but they are preceeded by a sign post informing ...

... Gradiva London International Mime Festival: Purcell Room Total darkness is broken by a severe spotlight illuminating a cocooned figure with a giant, almost featureless head. The droning, monotonous, pulsating music begins and the figure starts to slowly move around the stage, attached to the lighting rig by an elasticated cord. The effect is frightening. Thus begins this exploration of the ...

... Jodie's Body King's Head Aviva jane Carlin exposes opinions as vast as her body in an extraordinary one-woman performance where she holds the stage armed with little more than her voice and a great script. Standing naked, Jodie is an artist's model who strikes a variety of poses, pausing occasionally to stretch or rest. In poking fun at the students drawing her and recounting the minutiae of ...

... Breathtaking wit and verve Bromley/Touring Gasping Get set to catch your breath as writing whiz Ben Elton takes his updated script of this satirical gem on its first ever major UK tour. And there is no better venue to begin the revival than the Churchill, where it emerges victorious. Credit for this must go to the cast of four, whose characters interact more closely than an African plain of ...

... Twelfth Night Musselburgh The fashion house of Belch, circa 1984, is the setting for Illyria in this determinedly entertaining production, directed by David Mark Thomson at the Brunton. And Edward Lipscomb's OTT costumes are highly suitable too: dwelling on the realm of clothing subtly highlights Shakespeare's serious issues of identity and love, while the era gives the comedy, both bass ...

... Dial M for Murder Perth Perth Theatre's spring season opener will certainly strike a chord with its audiences. Michael Winter's production is faithful to the fifties era, although it suffers only slightly from a bit of indecision between whether to go for laughs or build the tension. As a result, one sometimes suffers from the inclusion of the other. But that is a small gripe in what is two ...

... Henderson Management Showcase Blackpool Blackpool agent John Henderson chose an enormous hall at the Norbreck Castle hotel for his annual band showcase, enabling musicians to set up around the arena. Meet and greet artists Ed Weds and Charles Hastett were posing as Basil Fawlty and Manuel in the foyer, and proved to be excellent ice-breakers. Compere Lewis MMdleton kept the announcements ...

... Serving up a dazzling dinner Apollo Fallen Angels Noel Coward's light, tripping comedy about two wives wrestling with the possibility of reviving the premarital affair they both had with the same exotic Frenchman appears to have dated only superficially in this dazzling and sumptuous revival. Felicity Kendal and Frances de la Tour spar quite brilliantly and with wonderful comic timing as the ...

... Dirty Laundry Bradford First seen as a work in progress earlier this year, Square One company's play looks to be heading in the right direction. The company's short stay at the Alhambra Studio will surely attract interest from other theatres. Jean, the play s pivotal character, has breast cancer, but she is not defeated by it. She determines to do something with her life and in retrospect she ...

... Top Gills BAC Caryl Churchill's 1982 examination of sexual politics and class has dated a little, but overall it merits contemporary classic status. The play's penetrating analysis of women in society, sometimes funny, sometimes moving, is well served in this subtle and highly intelligent staging by director Thea Sharrock. In Act I, Marlene hosts a dinner party to celebrate her appointment as ...

... The Duchess of Malfi Starting Gate From the moment Duke Ferdinand enters bellowing and taking up most of the small stage with his flailing arms and violent jerks of his body, you sense that this is going to be a ripely physical and overwrought production. It is loud brash and belligerent, but far too concerned to bully meaning out of the text instead of letting it speak for itself. Brett ...