THE WEEK IN REVIEW David Benedict

THE PLAY

SPLENDID'S: The British premiere of the police thriller Genet claimed to have destroyed, which Edmund White re-discovered in a safe while writing his biography. Neil Bartlett directs his own translation of this cross between a gangster movie and a meditation on love, pain and the whole damn thing. The production also marks Julian Clary's return to what could possibly be termed the legitimate stage

Pretty poor all round. "Nothing quite as dreamily bizarre as this dance of death for seven fatalistic hoodlums ... has been seen on the London stage these last two years" said the Evening Standard.

Lyric Theatre Hammersmith: 0181-741 2311

Maybe Genet should have burnt this one after all. Bartlett certainly shouldn't have cast Clary in the central role. See Paul Taylor's review above

THE FILM

TANK GIRL: One half of Hollywood is writing films with all the depth and complexity of a cartoon, while the other half is turning cartoons into live-action films. Tank Girl leads the latter field with its recreation of the cult lesbian comic strip set in Australia in 2033. Re-edited at the insistence of the studio executives

Derek Malcolm in the Guardian damns the film, saying "it takes on the flaccid exuberance of an MTV video", but then he describes the original material as degenerate. "Don't for one second imagine that this $25m stiff is so bad it's good" says London's Time Out

On general release

The first half is little more than Mad Maxine, but the rather endearing second half features some of the quirkiest masculine imagery in recent cinema

THE RADIO PLAY

THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER SCRIABIN: After endless films, TV and a few operas, Ken Russell presented his first radio play in which Scriabin, the composer of the Black Mass, and occultist Aleister Crowley meet up in Moscow. Unsurprisingly, the play starred Oliver Reed. There is an unsubstantiated rumour that Glenda Jackson would have been in it were she not busy in Westminster

The Times considered it splendid: "Most of the audience will have clung on throughout, not least for the texture of the writing and Reed's superb delivery." The Daily Telegraph disagreed: "A ripe packet of tosh"

Masochists should scour the Radio Times for a repeat. For a better guide to Ken Russell, rent the video of Women in Love or the ludicrously wonderful The Boyfriend

A mercilessly accurate parody of all of Russell's worst excesses. A whistle- stop tour of music, sex, orthodox religion, over-the-top acting and cannibalism

THE MUSIC AWARDS

CARDIFF SINGER OF THE WORLD: This biennial competition has quickly established itself as one of the world's most prestigious showcases for singers launching Bryn Terfel (above) and Dmitri Hvorostovsky into international careers. Excerpts from the heats and the entire final were broadcast on BBC2 and Radio 3, and the winner was the Swedish-born London-based mezzo Katarina Karneus

It was agreed that for once prize jurors had made the right choice. The Guardian described her as "a singer of superior intelligence and engaging charm". The Financial Times complained that the TV coverage "contained enough chat to make one forget there was actually any singing going on"

Karneus will sing Rosina in The Barber of Seville for Welsh National Opera next season. Watch out for details of her recital which comes as part of the prize

A rarity. A successful attempt to present classical music to a broad audience. And the judges were right