... Drama in both story and song New End Weill and Lenya This is not just a collection of songs but an examination, superficial by necessity, of the relationship between the serious-minded, work-obsessed German Jewish composer and the Vienna-bom singer, nominally a Catholic, who was a prostitute by the time she was ten and whose stage career was foundering at the time she met the man she was to ...

... The Old Curiosity Shop Southwark Playhouse Capturing the magic of Charles Dickens' vividly-realised world on stage is difficult enough at the best of times, so condensing this weighty 600-page favourite into a two-hour show must have seemed the literary equivalent of conquering Everest. That adaptor Stephen Sharkey not only manages this feat, but also does it with some finesse, deserves ...

... The Steamie Edinburgh Tony Roper's well-loved play, set in a Glasgow washing house in 1957, is just the sort of antidote needed on a freezing winter evening. It has a feel good factor thicker than mince and the sort of robust script that allows the Scottish Actors Initiative to make the most of its cast. This production at the Netherbow, under the direction of Anna Newell, ambles along ...

... The Tempest Dublin Director Conall Morrison, composer Conor Linehan and choreographer David Bolger have previously brought us an adventurous production of Tarry Flynn, and the trio now move to Shakespeare at the Abbey Linehan and musician Ellen Cranitch, seated at one comer of the stage, offer accompaniment to Prospero's orchestrated actions, which include exacting revenge upon his brother ...

... Lyrical tale takes flight Royal Festival Hall Peter Pan What makes a great family ballet, one that will please the kids and keep them quiet for an hour or two? Well, a familiar story helps, with clear-cut goodies and baddies and a happy ending (no unrequited love, if you don't mind). There should be pantomime and play-acting, cheery music you can sing or at least hum along to, ice cream in the ...

... Polished show fits the bill Poole John Mills Associates With the sell-out crowd already in convivial mood at the Woodlands Court cabaret room at Sandford Holiday Park, genial compere Simon Jason immediately had them responding to his amusing banter and thereafter maintained the pace of this programme with bnsk linking chat. In a glamorous black glitter dress, assured vocalist Maria Holliday ...

... JUST CLOWNING AROUND on Picture: Tristram Kenton. Nickolas Grace in Dick Wittington, London's Musical at Sadler's Wells. Short of the magic touch Sadler's Wells Dick Whittington, London's Musical Pre-publicity for this Christmas entertainment suggested that it would reinvent the artform [pantomime] for the third millennium, but as its award-winning director and choreographer Gillian Lynne ...

... The Kissing-Dance Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House How appropriate that the National Youth Music Theatre has been selected to present the first full-scale production in this new space. Its staging of Howard Goodall and Charles Hart's musical, based on Oliver Goldsmith's genial 18th century comedy She Stoops to Conquer, has been widely acclaimed and is more polished and assured than ever. ...

... Barry Dye Showcase Copdock The County Hotel, fully decked out in starcloth for the occasion, played host to this annual showcase. It provided a reasonably accurate snapshot of light entertainment on the mainstream live circuit at the end of the century. Ken the Pretentious Juggler has grown enormously in confi dence. He has developed a much more endearing arrogance and the audience warmed to ...

... On a Clear Day You Can See Forever Bridewell When a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane takes 35 years to arrive in London, and then in a small-scale production, you can bet there is something wrong with it. And it does not take long to see what it is. Lerner's book reflected his interest in psychiatry, hypnotism and extra sensory perception, a subject that had been tackled 25 years ...

... The Wrestling/ The Nation's Favourite: The True Adventures of Radio 1 Jermyn Street Theatre/Touring Art imitates life in this ingenious double bill, adapted and performed with admirable skill by Alex Lowe, which takes its inspiration from two books by Simon Garfield. exploring two very different British institutions. The Wrestling recalls the glory days of a sport that at its peak had a nation ...

... Hedda Gabler Starting Gate This strong, big-boned production may miss some of the ambiguities of Henrik Ibsen's study of alienation and manipulation, but it is certainly clear-sighted and effective. Director Amanda Ling focuses her attention on the characters' actions, developing the plot cleanly and methodically, building slowly and gravely to its suicidal climax. The production is carefully ...