THE SIEGE OF CALAIS, THE WILD MAN OF THE WEST INDIES and LA BOHEME. “If you thought The Siege of Calais was obscure, wait till you see The Wild Man of the West Indies (Il furioso all’isola di San Domingo). English Touring Opera is clearly carrying a flag for Donizetti – and why not. First performed in 1833 Wild Man was, apparently, very successful in its day but by 1889 it had disappeared not to be seen again until 1958. This production claims to be the first in Britain in modern times . . . this was a fine production . . . ”

” . . . This production certainly conjured up the chalky feel of the school room and all the boys were excellent. I liked Richard Hope as Hector although he lacked the seedy edge of Richard Griffiths. Alan Bennett, the older he gets, is taking on the mantel of Oscar Wilde with a quotable quote for all occasions. For example, history dismissed by one of the boys as being just one thing after another. There are moments of hilarity – the best being near the beginning when the class re-enact, in French, a scene in a French brothel . . .”

“King Lear is arguably Shakespeare’s most moral play, dealing with themes of domestic frictions, sibling rivalry, loyalty and greed with which we are all very familiar – at least we are down our way. In spite of being part of what appears a close-knit group and having our kith and kin around us, ultimately we are all alone. As Hamlet, Shakespeare’s other great troubled hero, beset with family problems says, they can be more than kin but less than kind. . . Jonathan Miller’s current production for Northern Broadsides takes pride in being what it describes as being “traditional” . . .”

” . . . The bulk of the second half was taken up by Peter Clifford whose warm, engaging and self-effacing performance created such a relaxed and happy atmosphere that audience members who would normally dread being called up on stage were almost clammering to be selected. Nearly all of Peter’s tricks were familiar – the interlocking steel rings, the restoring the cut-up rope – in fact all the things I had in my boyhood conjuring set. But Peter brought to each illusion a new and exciting twist. . . “