4
Theatre
I am the Walrus Intimi-units/1,1,), ‘1 3" lies lI/)1t\ Lit/w lhc c\ccllcnt \abil Shabaii. .i lhcatie \\oi'kshop close associate. wines and pct‘tniins this study ot schi/nphicina. csploimg the mind nt \lark ('hapiiian.
I Have Been Here Before Stu/i (‘entui't Ill/rev. ( too, until :5 lug.
// J {ll/II _l B l’iicstlcy 's drama about the nature nt time
I Know What You Want Ivnnu illti l’lru/Ilt [III/Iv [\‘I‘HH'I/ll/ Kit/Hill] /.i1:_'lt lot/cu: until 3/) .lllif. 5 <.‘—/’III Black comedy ictiirns .iltci sell-nut success and tiv c stat lL'\ icws last year.
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change It \llltll [lieu/II l’.\(‘ (SI. /)Iunmiunt/ ( 'untntunih Ilu'tttn‘. until 35 .Ilue. lit/mi. \liisical that‘s been pnpulai Slalcsttlc.
I Vant to be Alone lllt' Ito/mu (tit/t. until 3" .lue. lIHlt'\ iiirt, ;\lllL' (‘nhcn ilttlttlgcs ltt t‘titlto Ittllltl\lt'\ to [He recorded scnics and with the aid nt puppets
I, Compere /)('IIIIIII 4' RM kt'l
l'lrultlt [lit/H. Rm kt I l” All/A (l l'lt'ltl.
/.\' /.\'.lue. //tllll. Satiiical look at a struggling competes pursuit nt celebrity. Ignorance I'lie .Veiet' .llintl Ilieittre (inn/nun. Knitter/tit .S'outlisitle. until 35 glue. 3.45/mi. 'Ii'iple bill nl nightmarish modern Ian'ytales.
Imaginary Prisons .tuei-l-I; III ‘I'Iieaire. [lie I 'ntlei'ltellv Itlllll 3/) glue. .t'.."lI/tni. l.ccoti tiained ensemble gi\cs the physical theatre treatment In .S'lee/iine Ii’etiuty.
The Importance of Being Earnest /ll\/'ut. It’etl/iini Illt‘tlll't‘. until 35 glue. N/mi. Return ol the highly —rated treatment nt ()scar Wilde's most tainntis play. with men playing women and \ icc \ersa.
The Importance of Being Earnest Ii’elttrus Notional Slut/i nt l'lieutt'e ()n the Hit/rum. Illt'(ltll't1‘c't'. l: /¢\'.lue. Ill/int. It you reckon you’ye heard ()scai‘ \Vilde's cpigi‘ams once too nt'tcn. hcic‘s your chance to hear them in Rtissian.
The Importance of Being Earnest litit I‘lu titre. ()III S! I’Iiul'v ('lturt'li d" Iltt/l. HIIlIl // slug. /3. l5/tm. ()scai‘ Wilde's dual identity comedy.
In Bed With Sue Lawley Rotting/nun .\'en 'I'lietitre. (too. until 35 glue. l/(UII. ('ninedy about a man obsessed with Desert [\llllltl l)l\('\.
In Camera - Exposure Theatre l)ll( ru .ltti‘ttt llt'IH. until ll .lue. .“ I’ll/mi. Jeairl’aul Satrc's e\isteiitial drama that suggests that hell is nt our own making Innocent (when you dream) (it‘it/iitrv l’t'tnltu tinny. (WC. until 3/) .lue. .\'/mi. 'lalcntcd young Irish company ma play about eight people coming to terms with an e\plnsi\c c‘.cttl.
Inside Leg (ientli l’ttlu. (too. until 3’) lug. J..‘-ll/UII. I’assion. tashion and btiildiiig sites are the backdrop to this new musical comedy. 'l'wn stars in /'/u' St otwutn Inventing Max I’Ivmlle lion/ulna llu'ittre (UNI/HUM. Iv'ut At! t” Kirk ()‘l‘ieltl. until lo .lue. /. Ill/tilt. ;\ man disappears and others are lett tn tigure out why.
It was Henry Fonda’s Fault .'l\\(‘IItltl\ Rim/m. /.\' Silue. Kain-pin. layerybndy blames somebody else sometime. btit only ()w en ()‘Neill has the audacity to blame a llolly wood tilinstat‘. llis an age-old story: llettt'} l'iotttlttls \Itlttlttttttt works at your cinema so you produce a play w lnch is successtully tniircd on both sttles ol the Atlantic, Such is the tale twhich I've inassiyely abridged due to space constraints) behind this one-man show. premiered at the 'l‘raycrse 'l‘heati'c last year.
Alter winning a l‘ringc I‘ii'st tor a play about alcoholism iii 1007. ()'.\'eill's initial attempts to work in llolly wood were 'a complete nightmare trom beginning to end'. Btit. crucially. he learnt the truth about the si/c ot I’nnda's hands and now he wants to tell you all about it. t(iareth
l)a\ iest
Jack the Ripper Diverse .-lttrui'tton\. until 35 Aug. l..“ll/’HI. l’atrick l’rioi‘ digs at the truth.
Jagged Little Spill lIL'lIIll.\lt'tl I’rmliu‘tionv. :lueuvtine'v. until I3 glue. RAVI/int. .-\ small South Atrican girl heads for \merica.
Jerome K. Jerome’s Novel Notes lfeyet 'l‘liettlre ('ont/uinv. (,‘mtrtms Kirk llouye. lJ 2,";lue. Huh-pm. .\ talc oI‘sex. death and turnips.
I am Star Trek
Only die-hard Trekkies might not see the funny side
Jesus Hopped The A Train (nit/tit littlltuin Il- 'letiot. until 3‘.lue. J Jfi'lnn High-protile IS actors in a play abotit an articulate serial killer and a rough l’neito Rican kid aw aitmg trail tor the shooting tilt the arsei nt the leader ot a religious cult. Joan l.'ntlurtint e Illl'lll’i. ('too. until 3/) glue. .i‘pin. Iznergetic New York ensemble reiinagines Joan ot .-\rc tor the new century. John Hegley: Hegley’s Journals and Playlet with Simon Munnery C... It‘ttverve [lieu/re. until I: slue. tunes iitt'v John llegley began by rearranging his audience. asking those at the hack to sit nearer the Iront. l)nmg thus he established an unpretentious ‘all triends together' rappoit with those who had paid good money to watch him.
With the aid of Simon league .‘lL’tIl/Hl letliuni Munnery. the show comprises poetic musings on the loose theme ot tray el. l-'reqtieiitly tunny. and more t'requently t'uniner. the pair read. recite. act out. improvise. sing and dance through all manner nt doggerel and like-minded nonsense. There are glimmerings ot more meaningful undertones hither and you throughout. but any such seriousness nc\ er threatens the entirely inot’l‘ensiye humour. You will laugh. even it you‘ve never fully understood the joys ot~ bamboo.
((iat'eth Davies)
Journeys and Memories Ktmtt'tlltt Si Step/tens. [5 27.-lue. times I‘(II‘\'. As much music as theatre. (ilasgow 's Theatre (‘ry ptic brings together performances of Steve Reich's ‘I)il't'erent Trains'. lstun Maria's ‘l)oom - .-\ Sigh' and .-\lleyin's choral .\Iiserere and puts them in a highly v isual setting.
Justified Sinners COO (ii/(led Balloon II - 'Iet'iot. until 37xlue. 5pm. Alan Millar's double hill ot‘ short plays by Tony Thompson and Mark Kelly is patchin successful. It] the lirst piece. Seerets. Sarah .\Ic(iuinne.s.s gives a suitably restrained performance as a w'ell-to-do housewife. whose previous career as a prostitute is rudely brought back to haunt her at a dinner party. 'l'hompson‘s play is sad and
Midden Rough Magic. Traverse Theatre. 15—25 Aug. times vary. Being in demand has its shortcomings. As an actor. Moma Regan is doing a lengthy Irish and European tour in Brian Friel‘s Translations. Nice work if you can get it. but it does mean that as a playwright. her debut will be going on without her. ‘I think there’s a Sunday performance in Edinburgh and I‘m not on stage here. so I’ll be on a plane.‘ she says when I meet her in Dublin. ‘I‘ve done too much work not to see it.‘
More difficult still will be when the play tours to her native Derry where Midden is set. ‘I don‘t know how I‘m going to feel.‘ she says. The play is. after all. about family. about home. about going away and wanting to come back. In it. a successful businesswoman. returns from the USA believing she can pick up where she left off. only to find everything has changed.
It‘s partly inspired by Regan's brother who moved to the States for work but always talked of coming home. Suddenly after five years. he stopped talking about it. ‘He said at some stage you have to decide where to live.‘ says Regan. ‘He said. “It was doing my nut in. living in San Francisco and thinking about Ireland".‘ Thus. added to the many Irish plays about leaving. a play about coming back. (Mark Fisher)
60 THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 9- ‘ Aug EOC‘.
occasionally funny. but a lack of urgency hampers its impact and our attention is often lead astray by .i distracting slide—show. w Inch is played nut aboy e the heroine's head. Kelly 's ‘.-\ngels’ is tnore consistently engaging. with .\lc(itnnness utterly conv incmg as a be-w inged bag lady with a colourful past in a stripped down production. l'ltimately. however. both pieces could me more \ariety Ill terms ol pacing. i.-\llan Radclittei
The Kaos Volpone Ram Illt'u'll't'. llII‘tIlI‘i' liitl'ldlltt/t, l.“ :5 slum f) J‘Ulini :\tter tackling I‘lie litiportttnt'e ()7 Being littrneyt and [lie .llttyter .lnil .llttretirittt. among others. Kaos 'l‘heatre now turns its attentions to another classic literary work lit/pone. Ben Jonson's |7th century comedy about greed. deceit and lust. is as pertinent in today ‘s capitalist society as it was when II was w ritten. :\ brutal satire that lends Itselt well to Kaos~ intinyatoe approach. Iii/pone combines riotous comedy with social commentary. and proiinses to be a good solid hour»and-a-halt' nt~ haw dy entertainment. Kaos ha\e added an original soundtrack In the pi‘mluction. utilising the talents ot acclaimed opera singer Marta Jagus/ and. as always. the visual aspects ot the show should be remarkable, I.et Kaos reign? iKii‘sty Kiiaggsi
Kassandra Now! 0000 lv'umeilm .y‘t Step/tens. until [3 :lug, times l'tIl'\. :\ working know ledge oI Swedish would be handy for a lull appreciation. but this stirring and emotional piece ot~ physical theatre I\ \o ell'ectively \lttgetl that! you really only need to know the gist to get drawn in.
Swedish group Slaya draws parallels
betw een the (ireeks' treatment ol the Trojans in classical times atid more recent Balkan atrocities to create a parable of the resilience of the human spirit. By turns eerie and energetic. it's at its most moving when the group tises the beautit'ul \ocal harmonies oI' liastern littt‘ope to reassert Its identity in the face of the forces ranged against it. And yet a Name near-naked musical interlude shows that Slava isn't without a sense ot‘ humour either. tAlastair Mahhottt
The King is Dead and Other Tales (ii/(led Balloon II - li'i'iol. until 37xlutz. 2..i’()pni. Three short plays about the birth. flowering and death of the old Scotland. King of Scotland 0000 .‘l\\t‘lttl)l\ Roomy, until 3/ slug. Illtt(’\ I‘tll'\'. Welcome return run for lain lleggie's rude and ribald take on (iogol's Diary 0/ .-l .lluilnuin starring the excellent (ierard Kelly. It never becomes the political allegory it portends. but as the story of a self-deluding hampot. it‘s highly entertaining. See also Iii/ting My .thtltet‘w .‘l I'\(’.
Knots Shifting lit/ex Tlll’UI/I‘ I’I‘Ujet'l. Old St I’uul'v ('liureli A” Hull, [3’ 25:1ug. times I'tII'V. I)i\ ised drama inspired by the work ol RI). I.aing.
Kpundeh (problem) ()ju Performing Arts (iui/tl I()I’.Il(it. until H xlue. times I‘(II"\'. Anti-war analysis oI the arms trade. Lady Chatterley’s Lover .00 .llulltttulxlt‘tm'y llteult’e. (. t'etttte. until 2/) :lug. 9pm. The immediate appearance oi a naked woman might add to the bankability oi David ('alcutt's adaptation of Lawrence‘s noyel. but it has some other merits. This interesting adaptation distils the narration down to tour siihjectivised voices, those of the adulterous couple at the centre. along with Sir ('lil‘t‘ord. the war disabled hUsband. and Mn Bolton. the housekeeper. In addition. a third person narrator appears in dark dress and brooding countenance. The quality of performances though. varied across the young cast.
Fans of Lawrence might find this worth a watch. and (‘alcutt's adaptation tells its story well. given the limitations ot‘one hour and forty-live minute running time. (Steve ('ramert
Lady Luck Demureo Roe/vet Productions. Rocket (0 South Bridge Resource ('entre. l3_IH/Iug. H.30an Vitebsk Belarusian Dramatic Theatre in a tale of sex. creativity and depravity in a bawdy Paris artistic community where Soutine meets Modigliani.