... Cheryl Robinson Blackpool Birmingharrvbased singing star Cheryl Robinson has been working through the summer season in various Pontin's Holiday Centres. Here in Blackpool, she looked elegant and stylish in a superbly tailored purple trouser suit. A most natural entertainer, she has only just turned pro, after years of plodding around the talent contest circuit. Her choice of opening num ber, ...

... Stars dig up their roots BY JOHN MARTLAND Some performers and writers who make millions from popular music often seem embarrassed by their early efforts, and have even been known to sue the record company which gave them their first break when it has the temerity to re-release those embryonic tracks. Not so with Pete Atkln and Cflve James: Smash Flops (Howlett Media Productions for R2, ...

... Darling Bea Gilded Balloon Richard Vergette's salute to the legendary Bea Lillie follows a familiar format. On the set of her last film. Thoroughly Modem Millie, the veteran performer is haunted by fading mental powers and growing insecurity. Alternately comforted and bullied by her companion/ agent, she escapes into memories of her life and career. As she relives the journey from would-be ...

... Rum and Vodka/ The Good Thief Assembly Rooms These two monologues by Conor McPherson share his signature capacity for creating fully dimensional characters and for capturing the telling detail or psychological quirk that gives reality to a moment. Unfortunately, they also share a desperate need for an editor's scissors, since each is twice as long as it should be, losing its momentum and ...

... Are You Dave Gorman? Pleasance It all started- as these things often do- in a pub. There he was, finishing off a pint, waiting for his cab to arrive, when someone at the bar shouted: Taxi for Dave Gorman, and two people stood up. What began as a coincidence, developed into a hobby and descended into something far more fanatical that has ended up as a show on the Fringe. Gorman is the man on ...

... My Life Has Stood, the Journey of a Portrayal Komedia @ Southside Actress Edie Campbell has spent the last 14 years with a quiet obsession for Emily Dickinson, America's finest female poet, mythical recluse and prolific correspondent. And for most of that time, Campbell has been striving to bring a play about Dickinson to the stage. Unable to separate her own character from that of her subject ...

... Mark Maier Assembly Rooms You cannot help liking a comic who provides his own opening act and then gets involved in offstage arguments with himself before coming on in his own persona. Mark Maier opens in the guise of an Israeli minicab driver turned comedian, with jokes on peace talks and airport security, and an engaging grudge against John Lennon. As himself, Maier takes us on a seamless ...

... Jeffrey Cobb's Stress Management Roadshow Komedia @ Southside Do not be misled by the title of the show, the actual star here is a certain Moose a cross between young Barbara Windsor and a minia ture Spice Girl. Moose (Zoe Bywater) is Jeffrey Cobb's (Tim Kane) extra-efficient assistant, in spite of which he is still 'one of the world's most stressed out individuals' posing as a stress ...

... Bob Goody's Bite of the Dog Pleasance Bob Goody reads his poetry. Not, it must be said, a fantastic premise for a show. Particularly when it is the sort of punk poetry that sounds like Patrick Fitzgerald crossed with Jilted John and performed in a posh thespian accent from down London way. But somehow Goody manages to pull it off. Yes. a lot of it is naff. Yes, it will appeal to middle-aged ...

... Simon Bligh- Zips, Whips and the Bloody Chains of Christ Assembly Rooms It s a funny old world, isn t it? I saw Jackie Mason the other day and the house was packed with Jews and Gentiles alike roaring at his dissection of all things kosher, and I found myself lamenting the fact that we Catholics don't have our own Brit version to rip the bells out of the smells. Until I saw Simon Bligh, that ...

... Billy Smart's Circus Battersea Park/Touring Most people agree that director Tony Hopkins always puts on a good show, and this is no exception. Some of the faces may be familiar, but that does not detract from the overall effect of a very attractive presentation which combines fun, skill and tnnns. Linking the acts is Italian clown David Vassallo who, with his wonderful facial expressions, ...

... Viva Las Vegas Blackpool There are bigger shows in Blackpool this summer, there are more lavish shows -- but it is questionable whether there is one with harder working performers to be found than at this year's summer-long production at the Trades Club on Chadwick Street. Last year's triple whammy of headlining Scottish vocalist Christian, locally based Gina Johnson and the perennial whirl ...