Theatre
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ISSUE OUT THURSDAY 11 AUGUST
PETROGRAD BY VAN BADHAM History, ideology and passion
‘The West seems to be having this collective amnesia about terrorism.‘ sa rs i_)lay.vright Van Badham. never one to shy away from political debate. Her latest show Pet/egrad is a sharp reminder of the time when our occidental fears of safety weren't focussed on a minority of radical Muslims. but the Reds under the Bed. ‘The memory of the Cold War is fading and With the passing of the Soviet era there's a whole story of the West. And I wanted to talk about telling stones] adds Badham. As a writer tries to piece together the different pasts of one city with
three names. iPetrograd.
Leningrad and the St Petersburg of todayi. Badham investigates artistic and political ideals as they falter in the harsh constraints of reality.
And if Badham's past writing is anything to go by. this first production by Prospekt Theatre will be unruly. uncensored and not afraid to make us laugh. iCorrie Millsi I P/easance Courtyard 53:36 (55:30. 7—29 Aug mot 76/. 2.2:3pm.
5‘9—5‘ 70 «5760—5760;. Prey/ews until (5 Aug. 5,.‘5.
LINDA MARLOWE - MORTAL LADIES POSSESSED
Birds on a hot tin roof
There is something intense and stifling about the work of Tennessee Williams. A kind of hot under the collar edginess synonymous With broken taboos and the overbearing humidity of the Deep South. It is in this pressure cooker environment that Williams created his leading ladies —— from the world famous Blanche duBois to the lesser known women of his many short stories. And it was among these stories that writer
Matthew Hurt found the characters for Linda Marlowe's solo show Morta/ Lad/es Possessed. which gives their passionate tales a new lease of life. At the end of her years. Widow Holly sits in her boarding house recounting the women and histories that have traipsed through her door. ‘They're all ladies on the edge. all demented] says Marlowe. ‘A myriad of different kinds of damaged women.‘ Marlowe's very real obsession with these fren/ied fictions promises to make this a memorable show. iCorrie MlllSl
I Assemb/y Rooms. 226 2-428. 7—29 Aug met 77/. 2. 10pm. .‘flO—f‘ll rifl—f‘lui. Preweitvs :3—(5 Aug. 5 ‘5.
KEVIN TOMLINSON: SEVEN AGES Playing out what really matters
Last year Kevin Tomlinson brought comic impro to the Fringe based on Shakespeare's notion of the seven ages of man. This year. he returns with his show Seven Ages. So what's changed? ‘The tone. hopefully.‘ says Tomlinson. ‘There's more pathos and I'm concentrating more on emotions. I have loved taking off the label of comedy. I have become less bothered about laughter and thinking that's the best way to entertain people'
With this mood shift. Tomlinson looks into the archetypal relationships that define us. the highs and lows that often come hand in hand. while raising guestioi is about what really matters in our lives. As
Online Booking Book Festival www.edbookfest.co.uk
Fringe www.edfringe.co.uk
he uses masks and impro to play out key lll()ll‘.(}lllS from his own past and that of the audience. each new show is likely to be as unpredictable as life itself. (Corrie Millsi
I Pleasance Courtyard. (3:36 (55:30. 7—27 Aug. 3.20pm. 5‘7.:3()—.“<‘>’.:3() «To-5‘71. Previews. 345
Aug. 5‘5. HITTING FUNNY
Too serious to joke about?
The artists eternal
dilemma: how iar can you push the creatite boundaries before you
lose your funding? \.‘~.’riter
and performer Philip Ralph blurs the definition between theatre and stand—up in a one-man show that questions the acceptable limits of comedy. ‘lt's xery much about what stand-up is or could be. The best make you chuckle. then whoompf. the; drop the "ooh" factor and force you to look at things you wouldn't iioi'inallyf he says.
‘Stand—ups must make the choice between going down the edgier route or the comiiiei'ciai one. Do you please everyone oi just a fey. '2' And '.'.Iho's Ralph out to please? ‘Myself. It's something I want to communicate that isn't being communicatori. There's a lot of sexual material which could be misconstrued as misogynist. there's paedophilia and a ven, iii—depth description of coprophilia but I'm not going “look at me. aren't don't want to go up my ()‘.'.’l‘. arse.‘ IClaiie Pielai I Assembly Rooms. 226 2488‘, (5 ~ 25-} Aug. apart/(L517 rf‘S)»-.“l()i.
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International Festival www.eif.co.uk Film Festival www.edfilmfest.co.uk
CHRISTINE JORGENSON REVEALS
The story of America's first transsexual
So what was that last election in the USA fought on? A trebled deficit? The inextricable quagmire of a pointless war conducted for the . ake of some greedy multinationals? Nope, according to the pollsters. most Ainerimiis who voted for George Dubya were mainly worried that there might he .i lesbian living next door. How on earth did they get an empire?
It might well put us in mind of the fact that there‘s still a lot of anxiety out there about questions of gender and sexuality. Timely then. that noted New York lip synch artist Bradford Louryk should be taking on the SLl'DJOtTl oi the eponymous transsexual, America‘s first, and a cause celebre of the ls'iSos. now forgotten. His piece is a 52 minute synch of the only survwing recording of this woman in 1958, mimed against a 50s suited intervimw-r appearing on a black and white TV screen.
‘She forced a nation to confront issues of identity, gender and sexuality that they’d never had to confront before.‘ says Louryk. But is it still a relevant piece? Louryk maintains it is. 'Many of the questions might be chilling to us now. Things like “how do you feel about the problem of homosexuality?" But some of it is increasingly significant. l i‘emeiiibei' thinking if Bush is re-elected this will be irrelevant, but . . . We tend to think that the 19505 seems a long way away. But actually that world of anti» communist purges and the purges of homosexuals in Washington is not .is much the dim distant past as we think. It‘s really frightening how llttlt‘ we've grown.’ (Steve Cramer) IAsserrrft't li’oiv'xu, . .‘ti. --'. '
/)’(?‘.'l(".'. fixta}. .‘ 3‘.
THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 57