Theatre
DR DRE’S THEATRE SURGERY
Yo! Dr Dre here, the man who brought you Eminem and Niggaz with Attitude. I‘m here in Edinburgh to cast an eye over this Fringe thang, which is riddled with hip hop movers and righteous rappers and I ain‘t sure it‘s a good thing. Let me get my hip hop stethoscope out and I‘ll see what kinda beat we be getting.
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BOMB-ITTY OF ERRORS
The pitch Shakespeare? Now he be a rapper — old-skool.
The prognosis Now this is four rappers giving it to ya like only they know how. making that Bill Shakespeare dude sound like he dumped Stratford for Compton. It's da bomb. Geddit? Da bomb? Heeheehee . . . I am one funny motherfucker.
Chances of survival post-fest? They should do fine if they stay off the blunts and Courvoisier; then they could be the next Reduced Shakespeare Company.
Where it at? Pleasance. 556 6550, until 26 Aug, 9.30pm.
BOUNCE
The pitch Gumboofs meets Stomp in da hood. The prognosis En-masse breakers and body peppers. This is a non-stop New York block party transported to the stage.
Chances of survival post-fest? Healthy as a motherfucker. This baby is gonna go all the way. You'll being checkin' their asses on Broadway. Where it at? Assembly Rooms. 226 2428. until 26 Aug. times vary.
ODC . . . AFTER HOMER
The pitch Greek gods getting jiggy in da club. The prognosis Now this ain't strictly hip hop but it ain't no Homer Simpson neither. Here the DJ is k;ng and he's casting up some seriously heavy cats: the cyclops. the ram and all the while Odysseus is JUSl trying get back to his crib. Chances of survival post-fest? Now this is a li'l bit crazy but worth the ride.
Where it at? C. 0870 7015105. until 25 Aug. 5.30pm.
FROM SCRATCH
The pitch The original hip hop dance moves in glorious technicolour.
The prognosis A whole crew of breakers get in a throv.’ down, bustin' moves to some fine solinds. New show ‘em how you spin on yo head boy . . .
Chances of survival post-test? These brothers are the real deal. True hip hop goes on forever, homie.
Where it at? Underbelly, 0870 7453083. until 25 Aug. 6pm.
I WONDER IF HEAVEN OOTTA GHETTO The pitch Shakespeare doing some serious gangsta shit.
The prognosis This is some brave shit, man. 2- Pac AKA Tupac Shakur was the biggest rapper in the world when he was popped in cold blood in 95 by an assassin that was never caught. A dark tale about a brother dead long before his time. Chances of survival post-fest? If this is as good as ma homies say, it'll be the hit of this damn festival.
Where it at? Gilded Balloon, 226 .2151. until 25 Aug. 845mm.
The Doctor's verdict Hey. they is some good shit here so pull on ya Timberlands. grab ya ho and get down to see some of this theatre shit; it's dope.
I For more on Bounce see Dance page 30.
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It’s been 15 years since ALAN DAVIES last acted on stage, so what brings him back to the theatre now? Words: Mark Fisher
h the glamour. I'm sitting with Alan Davies in an organic cafe near London’s Barbican when the text message comes through. He‘s won an award for best actor for Bob uml Raw at the Monte Carlo television festival. The creative team have been named as liuropean producers of the year and his co-star Lesley Sharp has won best actress. ‘So we‘re a better programme than The West Wing and 24 and Six Feet Umlerf he laughs to his producer when he calls him back. ‘l‘m sitting here with a journalist. It looks like it‘s been staged.‘ Will he fly out to Monte Carlo tomorrow. I ask. ‘I think I might.‘ he says with impish glee. 'What a good laugh.’ It's good to see Davies getting good news. There‘s something about his hang—dog. everyman. demeanour that doesn't suit a slagging off. Not that he deserves it either. It’s just that his is a level of fame — thanks mainly to his Abbey National adverts — that attracts it. And when he gets a drubbing it hits him hard. Last year in lidinburgh he was miserable. He'd been
asked at the last minute to bring his comedy routine out of
cold storage for a run at the Assembly Rooms. He duly obliged and. though he had a happy time on stage and the audiences appeared to be enjoying themselves. he got a critical pasting that took him quite by surprise. No longer was he Alan Davies the genial and accomplished stand—up. as he had been for several years before Jonathan ('rr'r'k came along: now he was Alan Davies the famous bloke off the telly who was fair game for every sharp-penned hack in town. Davies. who takes pride in being your ordinary Joe. didn't know what had hit hint. still less why.
But here he is all cheer again. And it suits him. His hair is cut shorter than in his wildest Jonathan ('rer'k days. but on top it‘s still a thicket of curly chaos with a fetching kiss curl hanging over one of his hazel eyes. His casual clothes suggest nothing of his millionaire bank balance: for the Abbey National alone he picked tip £1.3m and. although half of that went to the Inland Revenue and his agent. he says he need never work again. When he says this. he is not boasting. but highlighting the mad iniquity of it all.
‘There have been a lot of comics who have been doing it IS years who didn‘t get a series on Channel 4. who didn’t get paid by the Abbey National. despite being half a percent less funny than other people who did.‘ he says. ‘And they’re just working to feed their children. It's hard work. There but for the grace of God . . . .‘ he lets out his big cackling laugh. ‘Absolutely. that‘s what you think. You feel like the guy who went to the trial for Arsenal when he was 16 and the guy next to you didn't get picked and you did. And he's now playing for Brentford and you‘re earning a grand a week.‘
So what has his enormous wealth bought him apart from his “incredibly expensive’ house in lslington and the option not to work for months on end (he‘s just completed an eight—month stint without working and before Bob and Rose he went for eleven jobless months)? Has it given him more freedom? ‘As far as the freedom to choose. the freedom to do things. the hardest thing to achieve is to continue being creative. expressing yourself and feeling fulfilled and satisfied because if you‘re not. you‘re an