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THE SINGING NUN
The rise to fame. descent into debt and subsequent suicide of a singing nun — hardly the stuff of comedy. is it’? But then again. a Dominican nun from Belgium isn‘t the most liker candidate to be a 60s pop sensation. So all things considered. the starting point of Richard Talbot's one- man exploration of madness and fame isn’t as outlandish as it first appears.
Based on the true story of Jeanne Decker. whose hit song ‘Dominigue' propelled her from the confines of a Belgian convent into the uncertain world of International fame. The Singing Nun is an eccentric homage by Decker's 'number one fan'. ‘I am looking at the absmdity of life in general and of this exr nun trying to make it in the commercial \.-'~./orld.' explains Talbot. For fans Of the kitsch. camp and chirpily strummed religious pop tunes. this is more than rust your usual nun's night out, (Corrie Millsi I Underbelly. 0870 74:3 3083. (5—28 Aug r/iot IS). (5.40prii.
I :3 0—535). 50 (I: 7. 50—5 530). Prevrews 4—5 Aug. 5‘5.
YOU MIGHT AS WELL LIVE Dramatising the other Dorothy Parker
When Pandora Colin's (who you may recognise from Black Booksi old friend Christian Spurrier (who studied drama with Mark Ravenhilli suggested that she should try a one—person
show at Edinburgh. the performers reaction was: 'l'd rather burn] That's the kind of caustic remark Dorothy Parker might haye made. so it's ‘.'.'lloll\, appropriate that Colin is coming to the Fringe. to perform that one woman show rpenned by Spurrieri about Parker.
‘A lot of people know about her her acerbic Wit. her writing for [he New anker. her being a part of the Algonaurr Hotel circle.’ says Colin. 'So it felt toe cutesy to {l() "an evening witlt Dorothy Parker". But there's another stde to her. She became an i.i‘iike?‘, human rights £t(Il".'lf3i. She i.'.rer‘.t to Spain during the (liyvl War and j()lll(}(l the Communist Party. She was a bleeding heart iibei‘a'. butf Co’ir‘ sans with a laugh. 'f;l‘.(3 did do stuff,‘ 'lVllltI'E; l ielderi I P/e.'is.'zrir,‘e. :3536 (I:'>:':(}'. until 23) Aug root 5). 7(ii. 72.20pm. 5‘7.:'>(l—5‘t‘-§.:'>() rib—57;. Mei—reins .1 (5
Aug. 5‘5.
THE FOREVER WALTZ BY GLYN MAXWELL Classic thriller from award-winning playwright
Ax'rar‘d ‘.'.’l’111llltl \"./t2lf;ll born. Nev." York based plays/right (Tilyn Maxwell's coriteinpoi'arj. take on the myth of Orpheus and [. uiydice has a man caught up in an endless cycle of Violence after he enters the Underworld in search of his lost love. Not least in the image of a man falling rarined with a mobile phone. llllll(li. this forever li/a/t/ of confrontation speaks of our post Si it xii/r )tl( l.
Maxis/ell says he wrote the play since the attack on the twin towers. ‘I didn't think until after I wrote it now haunted
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ISSUE OUT THURSDAY 11 AUGUST
58 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE ~'- ‘ ' I'm; .
New Yorkers are." he says. 'lhei‘e is a lot of Violence around us. But ldrdn'f nailed to a time and place. the myth of
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i.t'?.ses ?:;;ir‘:l obi-ects. '.'(l-I?f, and rie't'o'r'ia'ite (;()'ltT-i}".-I'(l. ‘.'.'r:tt<;" and perfoi‘r“.e<l by lied-er. Harder." for,” s intended £le a contemplatmri oi a'r" :Eeefiiral spaces iil’tlill(:ltli:!‘711'(-f3 lll‘.’()l\€'(t lt. tr‘eiri. ll‘.’()li<_l" tl‘e .isr: r,‘ 't'iie stores. :.'irelialié-2 histories {it‘ril _r)l‘.:l<;sopn.t:ai inase'igis on our relationshep tr:- tlie past'. lieder‘ airis to t'lesh :;'.it the cold stones of ore of l dihbur'ghs fine historic buirlirigs. the lllll‘.(:lf3|ly of l'(lllll)ll'§]l‘.33 lvtcl ‘.‘.'ar‘. l lall. ()iiite aside from Heifers lll‘.'(}f3ll{l£ilf()ll of 'rnernoiy anrl l1lf3i()l‘,'. history and heritage'. ll‘lf; is the first time lvlcl x'ran llali has tliio\.'.'n open its doors and let l ringe audiences explore its underground rlassagez'rays. ll\/l|l(:‘; l .elrlei- I Ric! 11%.”: / laii'. ."1’J'i l-i'U-J. titer/{Aug (’8 root (‘3’, 1'5), i'i‘w', g’."i. times "7}"... ',' 1311.3!) l'é-Ii. I’rmriei‘. Aug. {your E‘éz’ot)
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FAUST
Redemption, damnation and love
All of us in Britain have been forced, these past few weeks, to confront matters of life and death. But for Christians, the Faust myth has even weightier implications. If you daily with the Devil - as Faust does, trading his signature in blood for temporal fulfilment - you jeopardise your immortal soul. Even for non-believers, Faust’s perilous situation is an engaging one, but for Janusz Wisniewski, devout Catholic and director of Poland’s Teatr Nowy, the story has deep religious significance. ‘The most important question is whether it is possible to be redeemed by God,’ he says. ‘We don’t have to fear death: it has been overcome through the Resurrection. But we should fear our own denying will, since it may bring about the agony of damnation.’ Based on Goethe’s monumental, two-part version of the legend, Wisniewski’s Faust is unmistakably Polish. If you’ve seen Polish theatre before, you’ll recognise the relentless energy, grotesque visual imagery and vivid symbolism. If you haven’t, this is as good an introduction as any: you may not understand a single word spoken, but much of the dialogue has been pared away, rendering Goethe’s epic down to a relentless, 70- minute danse macabre. Ultimately, Faust is saved by his love for Malgorzata, the woman offered to him by the demon Mefistofeles. ‘He didn’t predict that Faust would fall in love,’ explains Wisniewski. ‘He falls in love and love changes him. The situation is very romantic and very naive. I want to say that love is the most important thing.’ That’s a message anyone can understand, believer or not. (Max Robertson)
I /‘ sse/iib/v Rooms.
1;“.7.” .l‘la’r. Previews 53—6 Aug. 5‘5.
HOW TO BUILD A TIME MACHINE
Mad science on rampage
Science is an exact prof I’f3i;l()ll from hypothesis to results. It is a ‘.'.'oi‘l(l of controlled experiments. graphs. f§tllllt)t)l\ diagrams and six syllable words that the creative mind can only presume have been made up. So it feels orin fitting that this one man exposition on the theory .if time trayel
should carry a title that leaves nothing to the imagination.
In How to Bur/d a 7ime it'i'aclir/ie. Doctor Patrick Beer does Just that. While he erithusiastically lectures the audience on the x'ironders of astrophysics. the boffin inadvertently fashions his own prototype [3/1 re Peter style time machine from cardboard. In Doctor Beer. Writer and performer (‘ireg lvlclaren creates an
2’26 $1235). [—29 Aug (not 5). for. 5.40pm, flirt-4‘15
obsessed eccentric. whose scientific feryour increasingly gives way to reyeal a more emotional reason for quantum leaping. rCor‘rie Mills)
I P/easance Courtyard {5:36 65:30. /'— ()5) Aug (not 70 8 17), 8.05pm. 331- .r‘sso. Prevrews until 6 Aug. 511.
for GLASGOW THEATRE see non-Festival magazine