First Call, Last Call

First Call

IT'S BEEN TWO years since Ash (right) undertook a major UK tour and these 17 dates coincide with the release of Nu-Clear Sounds, the follow-up to the successful 1977 album. Now a non-teenage four-piece (this will be guitarist Charlotte Hatherley's first full UK tour), they will be keen to win over new fans with fresh material.

Guildford 12 Oct; Folkestone 13 Oct; Portsmouth 14 Oct; Cambridge 15 Oct; Norwich 16 Oct; Leeds 18 Oct; Middlesbrough 19 Oct; Glasgow 20 Oct; Hull 22 Oct; Llangollen 23 Oct; Manchester 24 Oct; Sheffield 25 Oct; Wolverhampton 27 Oct; Hereford 28 Oct; Leicester 29 Oct; London 31 Oct, 1 Nov and 2 Nov (Hotline: 0115-912 9126), tickets pounds 10 (pounds 11 in London)

Last Call

WHEN A MUSICAL has been adapted from a novel and bears the hammy title No Way To Treat a Lady, it would be hard not to have doubts. But with Rent's Douglas J Cohen as the writer, this Seventies thriller just might be given a modern edge. The raw material is a gift: an actor with a sideline in serial killing and a cop with a mother fixation. Directed by Neil Marcus and starring Tim Flavin.

Arts Theatre, Great Newport Street, London WC2 (0171-836 3334) to 23 Aug, pounds 12.50-pounds 20