... Back to the old routine Apollo, Hammersmith French and Saunders - Live in 2000 To call this performance, the first of French and Saunders' 18 sellout London shows, star-studded would be an understatement. Ben Elton and Lord Lloyd-Webber were spotted and- at the risk of sounding like Jennifer Saunders' AbFab alter-eeo- Lulu was in the building. To up expectations further Theatre de ...

... Harry tickles his darker side Palace Harry Hill--Birdstrike 2000 Championed by his peers as the natural successor to comic luminaries as diverse as Harry Worth and the Goons, Harry Hill has a lot to live up to. Happily his latest show, a back-to-basics return to the dizzying, stream of consciousness up style he had honed before television claimed him, delivers in spades. Where his previous ...

... English Literature--the Musical British Library Shows, films and songs inspired by, or based on the work of, William Shakespeare and many other distinguished authors, were featured in this final event in the British Library's season of Chapter& Verse--1000 Years of English Literature. Nicholas Parsons introduced a programme which began with The Beggar's Opera Prologue and Overture, and blended ...

... Disney On Ice--Jungle Adventures London Arena/Touring Feld Entertainment has cracked the ice spectacular yet again--this time taking us to the vibrant lands of the jungle where we meet some of our favourite Disney characters. Robert Smith's realistic set and LeRoy Bennett's stunning lighting easily draw us into the dense woodland setting where the action never stops. Rafiki, the wise mandrill, ...

... Voice of Musical Theatre 2000 Cardiff Before a packed audience at the New Theatre, a 19-year-old from the Isle of Wight, Laura-Michelle Kelly, beat off the challenge of young professional singers from all over the world to become BBC Radio 2's first Voice of Musical Theatre. Kelly, currently starring in the West End production of Whistle Down the Wind, charmed audi ence and judges alike in ...

... Chaucer comes of age BY JOHN MARTLAND Last week marked the 600th anniversary of the death of poet Geoffrey Chaucer, and Radio 4 launched its contribution to the BBC's Chaucer Season with The Archive Hour: Tales from the Archive (R4, Saturday, October 21). Presented by Barrie Rutter, artistic director of the Northern Broadsides Theatre Company, it traced the special relationship between Chaucer ...

... John Surman Queen Elizabeth Hall Long renowned as one of Britain's most innovative and imaginative jazz musicians, John Surman's mesmerising performance provided further evidence, if any were needed, that his reputation is thoroughly deserved. Whether playing solo on a variety of saxophones, in duet with his own pre-recorded synthe siser accompaniment or backed by the superb Transmission ...

... Wax candid off-camera Tricycle Stressed Laying herself open is not a facet of Ruby Wax's personality we are used to seeing. Though the details she shares are very much on her own terms, the arrival of Wax's one-woman show in London brings with it a vulnerable side to the tenacious presenter more often seen probing the lives of others than talking candidly about herself. Billed as an ...

... Sultry show fails to ignite Roval Festival Hall Fire at Keaton's Bar and Grill Saxophonist and composer Roy Nathanson has drawn on memories of jazz bars he has played in to create this entertaining set of pieces, which meander through the story of one such venue and its assortment of regulars and staff. Nathanson's musical portraits sweep us through life at the fictitious Keaton's Bar and ...

... Good Old Days Leeds Artists who are equally at home on the cabaret circuit, or on cruise liners, were at the City Varieties for the third weekend of this autumn season. Peter John is a complete entertainer with many admirers. His marvellously expressive, character-driven comedy has hilarious punchlines, but it is the gestures and the long, puzzled looks that make him unique. Character comedy ...

... Tim McArthur On-line Jermyn Street Theatre A couple of years ago Tim McArthur tried out his cabaret act at London's Canal Cafe. There was no doubt then that the actor and singer had a great deal to offer, but the show was somewhat formulaic, a string of compositions and a few 'and this song is written by links. How times have changed. The ever versatile McArthur has constantly reinvented ...

... Good Old Days Leeds In the past 30 years nobody has written a song you can sing along to, says Clinton Ford. The splendidly attired audience agrees so he delves back into the past and sings Jolson classics and ballads from the fifties. Ford sings superbly. Everyone sings aiong wnen mvitea ana nostalgia drifts in like white sum mer clouds. For the last in the autumn series of Good Old ...