ALL first-rate artists can walk the walk, which is their largest measure of success.
The menu has two pages of vodkas, one of food;all first-rate: perfect vodka martinis, caviar, French fries, superb chocolate souffl, apple tart and golden raisin ice cream.
Or indulge in one of the sweet desserts -- all first rate.
Sometimes these connections are pretty tenuous, but the artwork is all first rate.
There are other performers onstage, a dozen of them, and they're all first rate.
The juicy sirloin, the tender filet mignon and the tasty molasses- and soy-marinated skirt were all first rate.
Jared McNeill as the vainly victorious protagonist, Carole Karemera as his guilty mother, Sean O'Callaghan as the blind king and Ery Nzaramba as a succession of victims are all first rate.
The moist, succulent duck slices, flavorful spinach and wild rice, and the tangy chutney that combined sour cherries with cranberries and ginger -- a real zinger with the duck -- were all first rate.
Overall: Given that it's an arts centre, the Phoenix can feel a little dry and middle-class, but the facilities, location, sound, bar, food, plus the diversity and quality of the acts it attracts are all first rate.
Luke Brady as a lyrical sailor, Lucy May Barker as Sweeney's imprisoned daughter, John Bowe as a self-flagellating judge, and Peter Polycarpou as his sadistic henchman are all first rate, and both Nicholas Skilbeck's musical direction and Paul Groothuis's sound design ensure every word is audible.
"I always wanted to be an artist," she says, "but I had never heard of any women artists and when I did hear of them they were all second-rate.
