On TV

Love In A Foreign Climate (ITV1)

ANYONE who's ever experienced a terrible job interview would have watched Selling Yourself with glee as five would-be estate agents were ritually humiliated.

This is Dragon's Den crossed with The Apprentice in which hopefuls have to sell not an invention but themselves in order to get a job.

On offer in the first programme was a job as a sales negotiator at Barnard Marcus, a top London estate agents where you can earn up to £100,000 a year.

The five "contestants" were put through a series of tests so the interviewing panel could assess them. Rod Cornwell, an expert in body language and human behaviour, seemed a reasonable chap. So did Vito Rausa, the divisional MD of Barnard Marcus.

But no show like this is complete without a Simon Cowell hate figure. This role is ably filled by the very scary Samantha Landes, a professional job interviewer. Her manner, which makes Cruella de Ville look like Mother Teresa, suggests she was probably a public executioner in a former life. Contestants withered under her interrogation. "How much of a quality presentation do you think that was?," she demanded of Philip after his 60-second pitch.

"That was in bad taste," she told Tammy for using the guilt factor - saying the money was going to charity - when selling an item.

In the final interview, Sam pushed unconfident Susannah over the edge and reduced her to tears. Surprising then, in the light of that, that Vita gave her job because he liked her enthusiasm.

He could hardly award the job to Tammy. Even before using the guilt factor, she's offended him by saying that estate agents were crooks. Not the best way to endear yourself to your prospective boss.

The conflict expected in Love In A Foreign Climate never materialised. The three couples featured had their problems but nothing like the traumas usually witnessed in documentaries like this.

It followed three women whose holiday romances continued long after the holiday. Tax accountant Kate's three week trip to India led to marriage to Sri Lankan tour leader Amit. Suzanne, who ran a diving company in Thailand, took a fancy to 24-year-old boat boy Chyklang. And in Zanzibar, 40-year-old tour guide Sue fell for local lad Shadrack.

What was interesting was seeing how they overcome the problems of language and culture to settle down with their new partners. Sue had an emotional time meeting the family when Shadrack took her and baby daughter Melody to his village.

Meanwhile, Suzanne and Chyklang were living in the luxury house her parents had bought them. While he stayed at home "taking care of the monkey and watching Thai boxing on TV", she went out drinking with friends.

She did go along with the Thai way of marriage counselling - visiting the local monk. He was also called up to bless their car to avoid accidents, although she noted that judging by the number of car wrecks, many people didn't bothered with a blessing.

Mack & Mabel, Darlington Civic Theatre

SHEER bravery is the expression that springs to mind during this slick show because it's quickly obvious that 62-year-old star David Soul can hardly move his right arm due to an operation at the end of last year. While masking this difficulty he's also attempting to roll back the years and hit the high notes again for songs like I Won't Send Roses and I Promise You A Happy Ending.

It's almost like he's become Mack Sennett, shuffling through the cutting room floor clips of loving and losing his silent movie star Mabel Normand, a delicately judged performance from Scarborough's favourite leading lady Janie Dee. The spring-autumn love scenes are convincing enough, not to say poignant, as the king of economic directing, John Doyle, delivers this show in two hours on the dot. He also disguises the second half's lack of showstoppers by launching it with the overture.

Just like Sennett's make-do-and-mend movies, Doyle solves the problem of this musical requiring a large cast by using singer-dancer-actor-musicians capable of playing more than one character. It's hard to imagine this show flopping on Broadway in the 1970s and not reaching the UK until 1995.

This version is grittier and less opulent but may be the answer to a few prayers when it goes into the West End in April after a short regional tour. You just hope that heart, Soul and full fitness remain an item.

Runs until Saturday. Box Office: (01325) 486555

Viv Hardwick

Opera North, Sage Gateshead

THE dramatised story of how Salome got John the Baptist's head brought to her on a silver platter was delivered to an audience at the Sage Gateshead in a musical feast of fitting style. Opera North's account of Richard Strauss's sensual opera Salome held the audience transfixed from the opening bars.

Soprano Susan Bullock's Salome radiated flirty charm and coyness, as she completely immersed herself in the score which charted the teenager's frustrated yearning for Jokanaan (John the Baptist). One of the highlights of the evening was her encounter with the jailed Jokanaan, where she longs to touch his body and kiss his lips, but is met with bitter scorn. The psychological tension between the two was palpable. Leonardo Capalbo's Narraboth was delivered with razor-sharp diction and penetrating voice, while Peter Hoare gave a powerful rendition of Herod.

The orchestra laid bare every detail of the sumptuous score, with a spellbinding rendition of Salome's Dance. The build-up to the decapitation and condemnation left the audience breathless. Blood-stirring stuff.

* Opera North return to the Sage Gateshead with a production of Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel at 6pm on Sunday. Box Office 0191-443 4661.

Gavin Engelbrecht