As with all Pinter’s plays, we are never quite sure what is going on, who is doing what to whom, and why. The Birthday Party takes place in a drab and dreary sea-side boarding house (or is it?), run by deck-chair-man Petey and his mousey, compliant wife Meg whose sole purpose in life seems to be the providing of an nice breakfast. . . If you like Pinter you should grab this chance while you can, the next one may not be along for a while.

. . . I would feel pretty sure that Madame Butterfly would be considered the world’s favourite opera. It is the most tuneful with some of the prettiest songs in the whole opera canon and has the most tear-jerking ending . . . From the moment Olga Giorgieva entered over the little wooden bridge she held the stage. She sang beautifully and had an innocence and a coquettishness that made her heart-breaking downfall all the sadder.

So how does Beatlemania measure up? Can you, with half-closed eyes, imagine you are at a concert of the Fab Four? Well, to be perfectly honest, if you concentrate on the right of the stage, you can. Visually John Lennon is incredibly believable and George Harrison is quite acceptable and so is Ringo. Paul McCartney less so although his voice is absolutely convincing. They recreate the Beatles’ sound to perfection using the same guitars and amplifiers . . .