Spotlight on..

YOU wouldn’t believe the random items and emails that arrive on the desk of an entertainment editor. In Spotlight on... I’ll highlight the ones that might otherwise slip under the radar, have some cult value or simply just be worth mentioning again. This week ...

MUSICAL

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM

FANCY a bit of hilarity to raise your spirits as the dark, dreich winter nights close in? Then this could just be the show for you.

Next week at the Church Hill Theatre, Alan Borthwick and Friends present Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway smash hit musical.

Set at the height of the Roman Empire, the success of the original production of A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum inspired the BBC series Up Pompeii with Frankie Howard – he also appeared in the original London production of A Funny Thing Happened...

The story is a familiar one, love and escape. Will Pseudolus, the slave, ever manage to gain his freedom?

Will the aptly named Hero manage to win the lovely Philia - or will she be snapped up by the magnificent (in his own words) Miles Gloriosus, Captain of the Soldiers?

The first successful show in which Sondheim wrote both lyrics and music, A Funny Thing Happened... was a forerunner to Sondheim classics such as Company, A Little Night Music, Into the Woods, Assassins and Sweeney Todd.

For this production, Borthwick has gathered together some of the finest performers the Capital’s am-dram circuit has to offer, all of whom are ready to give it laldy in this hilarious farce that has been described by critics as “a riotous and rowdy romp”.

Church Hill Theatre, Morningside Road, Wednesday-Saturday, 7.30pm (Saturday matinee), £12, 0131-228 1155

CD

SERPENT/ DEMON QUEST

TOM BAKER, remember him. The longest running Doctor, he played the famous Time-Lord on TV from 1974 until 1981... and now he’s back, in a series of audio adventures from AudioGO.

Doctor Who: Demon Quest - The Complete Boxed Set finds the fourth Doctor in a bit of a pickle. With the Tardis not working properly, the Doctor, his housekeeper and Mike Yates embark on a journey through time and across continents where they must face the elusive, demonic being who keeps luring them on in their quest.

It soon becomes clear that a trap has been laid for the Doctor. Can he triumph yet again?

A second series of adventures Serpent Crest, again written by Paul Magrs, and produced for audio with specially composed music and sound design, is currently being released.

Serpent Quest is a sequel to Demon Quest and picks up from its cliffhanger... Baker is as eccentric as ever as the fourth Doctor.

Doctor Who: Demon Quest Series - The Complete Boxed Set is released on CD (£50) by AudioGo

Doctor Who: Serpent Quest - Tsar Wars/The Broken Crown/Aladdin Time/The Hexford Invasion (Download £6.79 each/CD £10.20 each), details www.audiogo.com

Book

CARRY ON ACTORS: THE COMPLETE WHO’S WHO OF THE CARRY ON FILM SERIES

IT was the release of Carry On Sergeant in 1958 that saw the beginning of one of the most iconic film series in British cinema history.

The ensuing 30 films and many TV specials spanned two decades and produced some of the most memorable comedy actors ever to appear on our screens: Kenneth Williams, Barbara Windsor and Sid James.

Carry On Actors brings all the stars together in one book for the first time.

With comprehensive biographies on all the main Carry On stalwarts, the book also reveals those celebrities whose appearances in this classic series never made it into the final films.

Written by Andrew Ross, the book is an essential reference for all fans of Carry On and a must-have read for anyone interested in the history of British comedy.

Published in hardback tomorrow by Apex Publishing, £20, as ebook £9.19