Theatre
High frequency
For half a decade 78th Street Theatre’s intellect, humour and artistic wizardry have left their mark on the Fringe. Victoria Hammett unveils the forefathers of reality- inspired theatre.
eople think were this huge institution. Really. we‘re
just this little Mom and Pop theatre company.‘ As
781h Street Theatre I.ah artistic director liric Nightengale conl‘esses all. just eight days hel‘ore his l‘ringe show previews in New York. it seems to prove that the best things do indeed come in small packages. Boy Sim/s 'I'ruin. the surprise hit of last year‘s liringe. epitomised the phrase ‘ster is suhstance'. Sure. lesser pieces such as ll'lru/c and The Water Engine haven‘t left the resonance they might have. But that's simply a minor glitch on an otherwise carel‘ully constructed canvas. The company‘s previous cult growers are legion. Boy. . . (the real-Iil‘e story ol' Big Apple I‘olk legend Darius .\'1c('ollum). 'l'lii'n Il'u/ls' and .llun in the l’ly‘ing Lawn ('liuir are all impressive examples ol the troupe‘s ability to take real me stories and knead them into intelligent. stimulating theatre. And this year's ol‘l‘ering is no exception.
RliM fans might imagine that l‘ront man Michael Stipe dreamt tip the band's pop-rock classic. ‘\\'hat's the lirequency. Kenneth'. The reality is very dil‘l‘erent. Stipe was inspired by“ the true story ol' anchorman. Dan Rather. Ruthlessly attacked on the streets ol’ New York in NW). Rather's assailants qtioted from the works oi misanthropic writer. Donald Barthelme. as they heat him. repeating the enigmatic words. ‘Kenneth. what is the frequency"? The identities ol‘ Rather's assailants remain unknown. and the whole incident. including the circumstances leading tip to it. have taken on the status of urban myth.
Part of 78th Street Theatre's lirom Page to Stage series an ever-evolving cycle of work inspired by real news events - Nightengale‘s 200—1 l’ringc ol'l'ering. Kennel/i Him! is l/Ir' l"rcq1mrc_\'." is inspired by a ll(ll‘/)('I".\' maga/ine essay written recently about the Rather incident. Its writer. I’aul Allman. takes writing credits on the Kennel/i . . . script. ‘.'\s a company. and certainly as a director. we‘re interested in the page six stories in the news.’ says Nightengale. ‘\\'e want to examine what’s going on beneath the hig headlines. It speaks more to the general xeitgeist.‘
But why this particular story"? In mediating a response from the past. what is the director trying to suggest about the present'.’ "Theatre is becoming more marginalised in
today‘s society: a speciality item. It’s not at the centre of
our culture any more. liven hel’ore ‘)/I I things had changed. lirom the (ireeks to Shakespeare. we used to respond more
I I
want to try and respond to what’s happening in the world and react to it in a highly theatrical. humane way: hring a real electricity to it all il‘ we can.‘
And what ol‘ the war weary undertones hig and small. the unanswered questions ahoul RatherK attackers. ol ‘)/I I or present day Iraq'.’ How do they communicate to a l'ls' audience‘.’ ‘British audiences are simultaneoust more low hrow and high hrow than Americans. We want to have a resonance outside our own lrame ol‘ rel'ercncc; that's made easier hecause so much ol‘ \\'I1;ll is going on in the world is universal. We just take each piece we produce with our hearts in our hands and luckily every year. w e'ye had a
great and genei‘otis response.‘
Assembly Rooms, 226 2428, 6—30 Aug (not Tue),
Kenneth, What is the Frequency? tQIIs the story
of an assault on TV anchor man Dan Rather
‘AS A COMPANY WE'RE INTERESTED IN THE PAGE SIX STORIES IN THE NEWS'
7 engage. People don‘t do that now. With Kt‘llllt’I/I . . . we 7.30pm. BOMBSHELLS Aussie theatre queen with magic monologues " l~ ' ' v ,. t'i-p
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