Theatre
act
MEN? Director Guy Masterson reveals all.
actors struggle l‘or.
(letting l2 comedians l‘or II Angry .llcn was neyer a problem. We had our pick ol‘ about St). The dil'l‘iculty was ayailability and a general undereinmation ol' the commitment being in a play wottld take. These guys are ol‘l' arottnd the country gigging. sometimes tnaking three appearances in dil‘l‘et‘ent \enues a night. This is their bread and butter. ll they are lucky. they might eotnpound that with some telly: game shows. sitcoms and commercials. So. when laced with a theatrical rehearsal schedule (four weeks. Monday to liriday. ltlam to 5pm) in an outer-London theatre (Barnett. on an liquity minimum wage. the enthusiasm to act was. I'm sure. sot‘c‘l) IL‘SIL‘LI.
Our main problem was gradually losing some of the guys that had originally committed: Rich llall got a million dollar moyie. as did ()mid l)jallili; Boothby (iral‘l‘oe's new show was too demanding. Nicholas l’tlt'solis is doing two other shows. (it'eg I’t‘oops’ radio show time in lidinburgh was schedttled at the same time as ours and lid Byrne tottr linal casualty) was already committed to another show and our rehearsals clashed.
So we lost some big names. btit others rushed to till the roles: Bill Bailey. who's been constant from the
start. is incredibly busy with lilming the new series ol‘
Black Books and putting together his new comedy show for the l-‘ringe; Stephen Frost is in another l-'ringe play with his wile: .lel'l' (ireen is writing a book. the deadline for which is smack in the middle ol~ the rehearsals: ()wen O‘Neill is learning poetry; Steye l‘urst (aka Lenny Beigel rehearses in the eyenings for his new .longleurs show; Phil Nichol joins rehearsals two weeks late haying been \y‘ot‘ksltopping with Simon (‘allowz Andy Smart. l)a\e Johns and Ian (‘oppinger hay e dropped eyerything to be in the show and will do stand-up in the eyenings to make ends meet. Actors
‘The public, used to these guys in stand-up mode, will be startled‘
(iayin Robertson (iii/tuni/cr/rrn/s lit/fl. l)a\id ('alyitto (Horse ("Hunt/y. (iom'rl and Scotland's own Rtissell llunter anchor the cast.
Many of the boys haye ney er been in a play before so normal theatrical protocol is not merely unobsery ed. it is unknown (although they do sometimes rel'er to each other as blister" l. Rehearsals generally start 30 minutes late either lX‘Cttllsc ol‘ delay ed tll'l'l\tlls or simply because the stories ol' the night lk‘lol'c haye to be related. bettered and topped. 'l‘he kettle is constantly on. eyen dttring run-throughs. Breaks are often hilariously e\tended and oyerestended. :\nd rehearsal titne itsell‘ is not
TOPPED' always Used to pure adyantage: the boys could
help each other run lines it they w eren't so l'earl’ul ol the ridicule not knowing one's lines in\ ites.
.-\nd the public. tised to these guys in stand-up mode. will be startled. Bill Bailey is playing the most conseryatiye guy on the jury. .lell(ireen. blue-ey ed and clean-cut. plays a guy ‘l'rom the slums' who's handled switchblades. ()'.\'cill plays down to earth and egalitarian: .-\ndy Smart. an es—(Vech resistance lighter. Bttt they are. each and ex ery one ol' them. superb actors. (iil‘ted communicators. ('oinmitted. Workmanlike. Serious. 'l'hey loyc the play. They loye being in it. It’s easy. It shows.
To my mind. it‘s gonna be great.
THE NIGHT BEFORE HAVE TO BE RELATED, BETTERED
Assembly Rooms, 226 2428, 1-25 Aug (not 1 1), 12.30pm, £12-£13(£10—£11).
‘STORIES OF
STAND-UP DELIVER
More comics crossing the theatrical divide
Paul Tonklnson By night you'll find him spreading mirth around the main hall of the Pleasance. but of an afternoon the popular funny man is testing his skills in Playing for Reward. a play about the joys of busking on the underground. Gilded Balloon Teviot, 226 5151, 1—25 Aug, 2. 75pm, £8. 50—29. 50 (£7-C8).
Q 0
Ian Macpherson Always a pioneer. straddling a line somewhere between stand-up comedy and performance art. the Irish master has created his own ‘personal Bloomsday' in Macpherson's Lament. Back after acclaim last year. it is ‘the story of one man's lonely fight against the debasement of cultural and spiritual values by the false god of materialism.“ The Stand. 558 7272, 2—25 (not 71), 4.10pm, £6.
Jo Brand Busy evenings for the Celebrity Fame .l, Academy star: she's doing late night stand- up as well n as Mental. a play about madness and sanity. drawing on her experience as a nurse. Note: it's not the same Mental that fellow comic Lynn Ferguson wrote and performed a couple of years ago. Assembly Rooms, 226 2428, 1—25 Aug, 6.40pm. £1 1-872 ($70—$11).
Ed Byrne The exceptionally
- busy lrish stand-up turns up in more theatrical mode in Kings of the Road. the stow of three generations of Belfast busmen having a laugh while the Troubles rumble on. Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, 2—25 Aug (not 12). 7.20pm, 2950—21150 (28-210).
- THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 53