Teleplmeflook’nq
Book Festival 0131 624 5050
Fringe 0131 226 0000
International Festival 0131 473 2000 Military Tattoo 0131 225 1188 Film Festival 0131 623 8030
THEATRE SLAVA - EXILE
Acrobatic Greek tragedy
Hailing from Sweden. Theatre Slava aims to break through the boundaries of convention that pigeon- hole many artists. Refusing to be categorised. the company counts dancing singers. singing actors and acrobatic dancers among its members. With body and voice working together.
The versatility of lheatre Slava's performers will be showcased in the world premiere of Dale. Written and directed by company director, Erik Norlin, the piece follows the fateful Journey of Medea, drawuig comparisons to the Journeys women make today.
Quite a heavy subject for song, dance and acrobatics. you might think. Norlin explains: “Dramatic singing can express fear. terror and cruelty. We transform this expression into a theatrical language. Songs are not used as entertainment but to tell stories in a way the spoken word alone can't achieve.'
The piece is the second in a trilogy — Cassandra Now was acclaimed during the 2001 Fringe. and the company hopes to bring the final part, The Rat
Trap to Edinburgh in a couple of years,
iDiew Tosh,
I EXl/O, Theatre S/ava. Gateway Theatre. 3 7 7 3939, l¢1~23Allg {i/tief; vary, f8 156/.
BIRD’S EYE VIEW
Russian flight of fancy 0”
Thousands of feathers; litter the stage. Arched backwards over a chair, a dancer Jerks like a bird With a broken wing. While overhead. a vast white ball projects film footage of Busby Berkeleystyle dancing girls. balancing precarioust on a light aircraft.
Throughout this 7()-- minute show. RusSIa's Do Theatre offers up countless memorable images. each one focusing on a different aspect of aViation. At turns humorous and disturbing. Bird's Eye View is a Visual feast worth snacking on — although a little less fulfilling than preVious works by this acclaimed company. (Kelly Apter)
I St Stephens, 558 3853, until 25 Aug, times vary, £7 70 (£7.50).
STAIRWAY OF FIRE
A dance with the devil .0.
Italy's Corte Sconta Dance Company keeps its dancers incrediny fit. And in the ceaseless soaring and
/
DEJA DONNE
Eat, love, be loved, have sex
Déja Donne ‘s 1999 hit, Aria Spinta was a post-modern screwball comedy which lucky Fringe audiences lapped up a few years ago. This European dance company is back with its latest work, a trio that delivers the goods on both physical and psycho-emotional fronts. There Where we Were features lone male Simone Sandroni, in slyly ambiguous power plays with Masako Noguchi and Teodora Popova. All three are breathtakingly good performers, capable of both subtle expression and
flat-out visceral danger.
The performance is masterminded by company co-founders Lenka Flory and Sandroni, who met while they were members of Wim Vendekeybus’ troupe, Ultima Vez. Since establishing Déj‘a Donne (from the French as ‘already given') in 1996, the pair have produced just a handful of pieces, with their intuitive working method relying on close collaboration with dancers. ‘They are considered interesting people more for their lives than for their professional attributes,‘ says Sandroni. ‘Their human baggage is the basis on which their onstage characters are constructed.’ The dancers he and Flory employ need to know at least the basics of dramatic intention. ‘l have a lot of confrontations with dancers. They might protest, “I am not an actor!” But for me there is no difference.’
At heart, he and Flory use movement and character to expose that huge abstraction, the human condition. ‘We make performances more or less about the same things: death, the need to eat, to feel and give love, to have sex. The arguments are very limited. But because the number of concerns are small, we can go very deep.’ (Donald I-lutera) I De/a Donne, St Stephens, 558 38:33, 72—25 Aug, times vary, 5‘70 47.50;.
tumbling of Stain/my of Fire. they have their work cut out for them. The piece follows a familiar heaven/hell, deVil seduces nymph theme. the flowmg white and black costumes matching
CAMUTEMI‘D
this overcooked idea. And at times. the movement is as dated as the concept. creating pretty photo opportunities but dev0id of intent. Choreographers Laura Balis and CenZia
Romiti have chosen carefully, however, and the seven skilled
for GLASGOW DANCE see non-festival magazine
dancers move beautifully and softly. with engaging presence. The four women appear as flighty’ sprites. slicing through dust, white shafts of light as the men cavort between
box offices: ASSEMBLY. 226 2428 ~ ST GEORGES 225 7048 ~ FRINGE 226 0000
40 THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE T—f-l Aug 2003