... Beef and Lamb in a Stew Preston If it is true that the new wave of comedians are the rock stars of their day, then perhaps it is only fair that sporting figures are encouraged to step into the vacuum and become comedians. Heaven knows, some of them have attempted to become pantomime stars, so why not go the whole hog. hire a string of theatres and extend the long lucrative after dinner speech ...

... Leah Bells' Fabulous Fifties and Swinging Sixties Torquay Leah Bell may be only four foot ten inches but she explodes on stage and into the hearts of the audience with her dynamic personality. This lady sings, dances, chatters and creates, within moments, a rapport with her audience. By the second number the clapping and arm waving of the audience confirmed that this show was going to be a ...

... Fats Waller Tribute Purcell Room This is an annual event, conceived as a tribute to Waller's melodic longevity and as an opportunity to celebrate St Valentine's Day. Quite why romance and tuneful bonhomie should be aligned is obscure, suffice it to say that it does make for a pleasurable concert format. Instrumentation replicated the Waller rhythm line-up of trum pet plus tenor sax/clarinet ...

... Driving ambition LOOK WHO'S TALKING BY LISA VANOLI At the moment, Julie Graham is probably best known as the bubbly brunette in the Peugeot car adverts a la Thelma and Louise. Although these ads have made her a household face Graham, 28, has been in the business for ten years splitting her time between TV and stage work. Last year she spent six months on location in the north east filming the ...

... Soggy steps to uninspired end Turtle Key X/Albatross/Axis Any choreographer who elects to use a score by Alfred Schnittke has his or her work cut out since the composer's music is not particularly dance friendly. Certainly the dramatic intensi ty of Liv Lorent's choice of music, Concerto Grosso No 1/ Quasi una Sonata, with its perilously high screechings (seriously over amplified in the ...

... Les Sylphides Royal Festival Hall Italian choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti was virtually unknown in this country until he was invited to create X.N. Tricities with English National Ballet last year. The invitation to create another work was issued this year, and as a result we have a vibrant new ballet, Symphonic Dances. Set to Rachmaninov's score of the same name, the work con sists of a ...

... Minimalist driving forces South Bank Car Advertising-wise it was smart of Saab to aliow the Cholmondeleys to use one of their cars as the main prop in Car. But it was unfortunate that the driver's wing had sustained a small dent, suggesting that even a Saab is not Cholmondeley proof. Car comprised three parts totalling 50 minutes (padded out to 90 minutes by two intervals), which were ...

... Brecon Jazz '95 Brecon Some old hands took the view that Brecon '95 contained fewer 'must-see' events than its predecessors. Others knew better, for the programme was wide-ranging enough to satisfy everyone's taste, whether narrowly defined or broadly based, with its now lished spread of impromptu ses sions, organised 'stroller' events and top name concerts shoe- horned into this appealing ...

... Stunning acts defy belief Wallington Chinese State Circus Chosen from the gold medal-winning Changchun acrobatic troupe, the artists of the Chinese State Circus are presenting a brand new show for its 1995-96 tour. In a Big Top decorated with paper lanterns, innovative rou tines are mixed with traditional ones and linked by characters from Chinese legends. This, com bined with colourful ...

... Stars of Tomorrow Northampton After seeing the Chaplins Stage School in its Stars of Tomorrow show at Derngate, one can be left in little doubt that not only is variety alive and kicking, but that this stage school has a frightening amount of talent among its natural, young performers. Their versatility and profes sionalism was outstanding. In fact, at times, you had to shake yourself to ...

... Julie Rogers Green Room, Cafe Royal Julie Rogers received a warm and enthusiastic response to her set at the Cafe Royal's Green Room, and, as a result, it comes as no surprise to hear on the grapevine that there is a good chance of seeing her return to the venue next year. There is no doubting the extent of her singing range and, of course, the power of her voice, which can be rather ...

... Caecilie Norby and Nils Van Doky Trio Purcell Room Jazz vocalist Caecilie Norby is something of an unknown quantity over here although she enjoys great acclaim in her native Denmark. Her London debut, while under-attended, confirmed her as a significant talent, adding to the excellent impression made by her new album on Olue Note. Norby was supported by a stellar trio of fellow Danes led by ...