WITH a brand spanking new studio to prepare in Phoenix Dance say from now on the only limit to their work will be their imaginations so this charismatic programme of four diverse pieces includes one centred around aerial movement, something the Leeds-based company has never done before.

Melt, by Phoenix's artistic director Sharon Watson, draws on the visual effect of elements colliding - the dancers shape-shifting to the primeval-meets-pop sounds of Mercury-nominated Wild Beasts as fire comes into contact with ice.

WHAT pressure Matthew Bourne must have felt devising a new version of Prokofiev's Cinderella ballet with the composer's son in the room sketching the dancers at work.

But he needn't have worried for while there are muses a plenty in this thrilling take on the rags to riches tale - 1940s films and real-life bombing raids among them - the original score remains the choreographer's most deeply felt inspiration.

Set during the London Blitz, the piece draws on the themes of loss, isolation and hurried romance to create an interpretation that enhances the fairytale qualities of the Cinderella story while embedding it in reality.

I SAW Tiny Volcanoes at Latitude last year when it was still a bit rough around the edges but showed real potential. It was a delight to see it polished and even more energetic at the Everyman tonight.

My review:

THOSE with a sensitive ear to strong language, an aversion to dodgy David Cameron impressions or with BNP membership should probably avoid Liverpool writer Laurence Wilson's latest concoction.

But if you're not flustered by swearing or adult themes and like to question your own beliefs as well as those of others then this Marmite play could be your show of the year.

TODAY's news that Jemma Redgrave will not be playing Lady Macbeth at the Everyman next month is a double whammy of disappointment for LDP Arts. Firstly because I will no longer get to see a Redgrave on the Liverpool stage and secondly because it means pulling my interview with the actor, which was due to run in tomorrow's paper.

She was a lovely person to meet and I wish her every luck in dealing with the "personal problems" she cited as her reason for quitting the play.

It may not be that relevant now but so it doesn't go to waste, here is the interview which should have run in tomorrow's Daily Post

TODAY's Daily Post includes a feature on the second annual Write Now festival of one-act plays with a synopsis of each of the eight productions featured and a bit from each playwright. They each had so much to say that I couldn't fit it all in the double-page spread so here are the interviews in full.

EXCESS BAGGAGE: David Griffiths, 28, works at Liverpool Passport Office and helps run an amateur drama group the Wavertree Garden Suburb Institute Music & Drama Group

What drew you to the subject matter in your play?
I am interested in what makes people react the way that they do. How do people take an innocent scenario like an old man leaving his bag behind at an airport and twist it? Why do people see the sinister side? I think airports are naturally a funny place to be. Everybody has a story about something silly that's happened to them at an airport - be that detained by security, leaving something you shouldn't have in your hand luggage or a mad dash across the terminal, kids in tow. It seemed a naturally farcical setting to examine societies fears and phobias.

WE'VE all been awaiting Gemma Bodinetz's Macbeth, starring David Morrissey and Jemma Redgrave, at the Everyman but there's another Macbeth in town starring a third Jemma.

Jemma Volp-Fletcher shares her experience...