Napoleon's Waterloo (C4)

TODAY'S history lesson is about Waterloo. Not Abba's win in the Eurovision Song Contest but another historic battle that changed the course of Euro-history.

Instead of Terry Wogan commentating, we had Peter Capaldi narrating the story of Napoleon Bonaparte's downfall. "His dreams fell to earth in a field in Belgium," he told us for openers in this latest documentary in The War Against Napoleon season.

As the story opened, we found French emperor Napoleon "balding, fat and frightened", having been given the elbow to Elba. He had all the trappings of state but wasn't allowed to leave the island. He was down but by no means out. His home life was going okay. Wife Josephine, a bit of a party girl in her time but past her prime, hadn't been able to give him a child so he divorced her. It really was a case of "not tonight, or any other night, Josephine". Marie Louise, the young daughter of the Emperor of Austria, was an ideal candidate for Mrs B No 2 and gave him the son he desired.

On Elba, he plotted his return. "All France misses me and wants me," he said, although whether he'd commissioned a Mori poll to confirm this is unknown. But he was one of the first "celebrities" and, as one historian observed, "he certainly knew how to work a crowd".

Napoleon had reckoned without the Duke of Wellington, who'd earned his reputation fighting the French and clearly had little time for them. He was counting on the help of Prussian military man Field Marshal Blucher, a man who was said to live on a diet of gin, onions and coffee when in the field. No wonder nobody ever got near him.

The 90-minute documentary recreated the scene with actors (mostly Napoleon looking worried), budget-conscious battle scenes (recreating the Battle of Waterloo with a couple of dozen extras) and talking heads. With historian David Starkey signed up by the same channel for a big fee last week, this type of history lesson is clearly on the increase.

Toby Jepson: Murray's, Scarborough, and Newcastle University

TOBY Jepson made a triumphant hometown return on the first night of his tour in front of a full house at Murray's in Scarborough.

And his blistering rock'n'roll performance was repeated for a small, but passionate crowd at Newcastle University when he took his new band out on his first tour in seven years. The fans who showed up proved what Jepson knew when he decided to make a fresh start - the fans had been waiting for his return.

About 50 per cent of his set was Little Angels material, arranged without the keyboards but a raw edge that was missing from the polished performances of the past.

Breakdown, from Jepson's new EP, Refresh, opened the show and sounded much better live than the recorded version. And fans were singing along with the second song, All Roads Lead To You, from the Angels' final album, during which "Big" Dave Kemp, formerly of the Big Bad Horns, joined the four regular band members.

Songs from the Toby and the Whole Truth album were also mixed in, among Angels standards such as Young Gods, Womankind and Radical Your Lover, during the 90 minute set, keeping the crowd cheering and clapping along as if he had never been away.

Don't Pray For Me had the 50-odd crowd in Newcastle singing like a packed City Hall and a rough and ready version of Too Much Too Young and Harder All The Time finished the main set in raucous fashion.

Call what they do power pop, or call it straight forward feelgood rock 'n' roll. Whatever tag you apply, it makes for a good evening and anyone in York on Thursday with a penchant for such things should drop into Fibbers when the tour returns to the region.

Lead guitarist Nick Dunne is a find, as is the solid rhythm section of Roger Davis and man mountain Matt Eldridge.

Hyperlink: www.tobyjepson.com

Paul White

The Comedy Store,

Gala Theatre, Durham

MAYBE it was the switch from a traditional theatre set-up to the cabaret-style tables and chairs, but there was a noticeably more relaxed, and exuberant, atmosphere at The Comedy Store's latest appearance at the Gala than in previous weeks. Obviously making it easier to buy more drinks was a factor, but there is something about the relationship between comic and audience which suffers when you are sitting in rows.

A consistently funny line-up always helps - and Sunday's was certainly that - and one advantage for the performers was the sound of whoops and hollers alongside the applause.

First up was compere Dara O'Briain, a laid-back Irishman of immense charm and wit, equally at home cracking sharp one-liners or bantering with the audience. American David Crowe mixed a deadpan delivery, sharp observation and an impressive ear for accents to create a hugely enjoyable set, so that even when one of his routines stalled at the starting gate, he was able to move seamlessly along into another gag.

JoJo Smith was a sort of Jo Brand-lite, in more ways than one. It may be that girls of a certain size really are obsessed with food and sex, but take away the shock value of a woman talking dirty - and after at least ten years of that there isn't much of it - and you're left with something still amusing but not very stretching.

At first sight Addy Brough looks like your history teacher, but his act is more in the mould of Eddie Izzard. While not quite matching Izzard's taste for pushing surrealism to its limit and beyond, his flights of fancy are both utterly preposterous and utterly absorbing, and it was good to see someone so obviously enjoying themselves.

Nick Morrison

The Comedy Store's next appearance at the Gala is on Sunday. March 24, with guests including Micky Hutton. Box office: 0191 332 4041.