TV review

Fame, Set And Match (BBC2)

Think of desert and you think of sand. Lots of sand and not much else. So the possibility of intrepid traveller Michael Palin finding enough in the Sahara desert to keep us interested over four episodes looks unlikely.

The Sahara doesn't even seem that far away as he gazes at Africa across the straits of Gibraltar. "What terrors can it hold, only 300 miles from British Home Stores, bobbies and a pint of warm beer?" he asks as Gibraltar's famous apes steal his lunch from his pocket.

When the Monty Python funny man made his first TV journey, attempting to go around the world in 80 days, there was a genuine sense of, if not exactly danger, then a feeling that things might go wrong. In these days of been there and done that, either personally or through TV, you know his trip will have been planned down to the last detail. The likelihood of something unexpected happening is remoter than Alaska.

Camels play a large role in his journey, so he tried out his riding skills on the beach at Tangier. He didn't fall off but admits to a slight feeling of vertigo astride these ships of the desert. He'll also be eating a lot of them. The menu on the first three days consisted of nothing but camel. You can buy a camel's head for £4, although this is not the best bit of the animal for cooking. Palin makes a note to pass on this information to Delia Smith. Camels are also involved in a game, similar to draughts, played by the locals. All you need are some sticks and camel droppings.

At last, he reaches the desert and "the sort of sand dunes you only see on date packets". Only it's not all that peaceful as dozens of noisy vehicles competing in the Paris to Dakar rally come hurtling past him. The Sahara seems as busy as the life of the Rolling Stones featured in Fame, Set And Match, which followed the ups and downs of five women in their lives - Marianne Faithfull, Bianca Jagger, Anita Pallenberg, Jerry Hall and Mandy Smith.

"Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone?," they used to say in the Sixties. On the evidence here, the answer is no, unless it's Charlie Watts, married since 1964 to the same woman. The narration was enjoyably bitchy, distasteful even. Guitarist Brian Jones was said to have "gone off the deep end" - a reference to being found dead in a swimming pool.

Those interviewed didn't hold back. Kenny Lynch thought Faithfull was "a real nutter" and Bianca Jagger "a bit of a gold-digger". No wonder she was upset when Mick, who makes Scrooge look like the last of the big spenders, presented her with a pre-nuptial agreement on their wedding day.

Bianca did not endear herself to the Stones entourage. As one says: "British pop stars tend to have girlfriends who serve on the sweet counter at Woolworths, they were not fabulous exotic creatures from Latin America."

Frankie And Johnny In The Clair De Lune, York Theatre Royal Studio

A man and a woman, naked beneath the sheets, are having noisy sex in a dingy New York apartment as the lights go up on Terrence McNally's play.

The intimacy of the Studio space, where you can virtually reach out and touch the performers, makes the audience feel like intruders on a very personal moment.

It's a feeling that remains during the rest of the play as waitress Frankie and short order cook Johnny bare their souls after the physical exposure of the opening scene.

The play, with its nudity and four-letter words, may be a shock to some after the rather sweet and gentle Alan Bennett and John Godber plays that have filled the Studio so far. It's a stark reminder that life isn't just a series of funny lines, although Frankie And Johnny has its fair share of humour.

Damien Cruden's superb production pulls no punches as the pair, both old enough to know that life can be cruel, tentatively stumble from one-night stand to the possibility of a more long-term relationship.

Both show reluctance to embrace this course of action despite the fact that as one of them points out: "Frankie and Johnny - we're already a couple".

Mark White and Paris Jefferson are both outstanding, giving the sort of performances that don't seem like acting. They're comfortable with each other, so we really do imagine we're eavesdropping on a "courtship" where both sides are hesitant about making a commitment.

I fear this won't draw audiences as readily as a Bennett or Godber. But the production certainly deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.

Steve Pratt

* Until October 26. Tickets (01904) 523568.