Th Writers' Guild
After the End
one.
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LIST AWARDS ROUND-UP A strong start to the Fringe leaves our theatre editor Steve Cramer considering many possibilities.
TFestivalAwards
It’s been a good year for the famous father-loses-child-but-retreats- into-the-delusion-she’s-still-alive play. OK, I just made that genre up, but there might be scope for its development if the first few days of a pretty solid Fringe are anything to go by. Tim Crouch’s brilliant An Oak Tree sees a father transpose his dead daughter into the piece of horticulture of the title. In doing so, Crouch’s piece tells us much about self-hypnosis, a much stronger power than the kind practised by the stage hypnotist at the centre of this witty piece of metanarrative. So too, the dead daughter of the character Leonardo in Toby Clarke’s Imogen comes to us with real power, represented as a puppet. There’s also been some tremendous material in the shape of older, quite conventional forms reinvented. East Coast Chicken Supper, Martin J Taylor’s cuddly little farce about Fife drug dealers, is a very long way indeed from Trainspotting, but Richard Wilson’s production liberates some really polished writing. There’s also some sturdy, and very well written claustrophobic naturalism in the shape of After the End, Dennis Kelly’s piece about an obsessive young man and a confused girl trapped in an 805 nuclear fallout shelter. Roxana Silbert extracts tremendous performances from her two young actors in this
There’s less conventional territory explored in the Riot Group’s new piece, Switch Triptych, with Adriano Shaplin’s witty, attenuated poetry coursing through a text about telephone operators threatened with redundancy in the high modernist period. This piece is most definitely in the running, as must be another bit of astute political metaphor, Screwmachine/Eyecandy, in which a game show tells us much about the spectre of multinational capitalism, which intrudes on us on a very personal level, rendering us all alien to what should be our natural environment. John Clancy’s production of OJ Hopkins’ splendid play creates a memorable theatrical ambience. Another piece of political commentary, less metaphorical, but equally effective, is Davey Anderson’s Snuff, which sees two young men engaged in increasingly violent pursuits in a Glasgow council flat. There’s much to say about the war in Iraq and its consequences in Britain in this piece.
There’s almost too much to round up, with such superb pieces of multimedia as The Booth Variations, Nick Phillipou’s production, which sees tremendous writing on the subject of America’s first, and reluctant, superstar Edwin Booth. So too, the unconventional and very personable Trad at the Assembly Rooms, and at least a dozen others are all in the running for our New Writing Prize later this month. I’ll
Carmen Angel .0 Halve the length of (‘atalyst Theatre's sinister piece
and the power and passion may hold your
attention. Chris (‘raddock plays Joe. at man haunted by the murder of his childhood sweetheart. with anger and energy. but brief potent moments are broken by the irritating squeaky voice he adopts for other roles. A good thriller frustratineg stretched out. ((‘latre Piela) Hill Street Theatre. 226 6552. until /6 Aug (not 8), 9.45pm. [/0 t [8).
Coastline O.
Serioius Play! present this political ‘roadtrip' piece with a structure ‘chosen’ by the audience. who meet a range of characters and puppets. incorporating movement. rap. song and electronic media. lixplicit sexual references dominate the show through the physicality and language completely integral to the characters' presentation. btit the impact is hi/arrc rather than hard hitting. Any further thread of interesting
80 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE l ‘48 Aug 200:3
political commentary unfortunately seems smothered in the confusion of the shuffling structure. Some great ‘rap‘. but this show disappoints. lacking the necessary punch and pace to engage or excite. (Michelle Macintyre) .S‘nuI/isule. 667 22I2. until 2‘) Aug. (not 'Iiiestluvx), 5.45pm. £7.50 (£5.00).
Fucking Asylum Seekers O. liscalating the fears of the average Brit and ridiculing our prejudices: it's clear to see how the protagonist's predicament typifies our attitudes to asylum seekers. But the implausible invasion of oversimplified characters from an unspecified 'l'oreign' place into this dumb hloke's house is plain stupid. Forget farcical fun. this is cringe inducing weirdness. ((‘laire Piela) 10(‘e/eetrie. 0870 70/ 5/05. 4-»2‘)Aug (not [4). 2pm. £8.50 ( [7.50).
How to Build a Time Machine .0. Time travel can sometimes seem a tempting concept. Dr Patrick Beer’s ((ireg Mcl.aren) Blue l’eter charm evokes our nostalgia for things made from cardboard. He explains scientific theories with wires and interesting metaphors and as he constructs his makeshift invention there emerges an emotional reasoning behind his seemineg eccentric desire. Worth seeing. ((‘laire Piela)
I ’leusunee ( '(mrtvunl. 556 6550, until 2‘) Aug (nut /0 A" [7). 2.05pm. [7.501850 ([6 [7).
Kevin Tomlinson - Seven Ages 0.. From the moment the audience arrives at this one-man show, each contributes objects and questions to add to its spontaneity. 'l'omlinson's keen to demonstrate that his characters are rooted in ‘truth'. be it personal experience or stimuli from the audience. but his actual representations feel forced and not as funny as they're trying to be. It’s all inspired by Shakespeare’s notion of the seven ages of man. but the structure becomes increasingly blurred by style. Nonetheless. there's a natural. engaging quality to the improvisation. ((‘laire Piela) I’leuvunr‘e ('nurlvunl. 556 6550, until 2/ Aug. 3.20pm. £7.50- [850 ([6 [7). Laurel and Laurel: Bob Kingdom 0.. If all comedians are tortured souls. then it should come as no surprise that jolly simpleton Start Laurel was both intelligent and a little downcast. Playing celluloid Laurel. real life Stan and best pal ()llie. Bob Kingdom's sehimphrenic soliloquy rambles at times but never strays too far from this thoroughly interesting life story. ((‘orrie Mills) .rlvs'entlfly Rooms. 0/3/ 226 2428. until 29Aug. /I.25um. [l0—tl/ (f‘)~[l0). Lilith O In the beginning there was Adam and Lilith. ()nly she was too feisty and. as Queen of the Demons. was condemned to dance forever in a fishnet hody stocking. ()r so Act Prtivocateur International would have us believe. l’rom liden to a modern nightclub. this stilted battle of the sexes is little more than a glorified striptease. ((‘orrie Mills) (' electric. 08.70 70/ 5/05, until 2‘) Aug (not l6). [0.40pm. [850 (£7.50).
Linda Marlowe - Mortal Ladies Possessed 0.. lidinhurgh veteran Linda Marlowe this year returns to the stage with a one-woman show based on the short stories of Tennessee Williams. .Wrn'tul l.(ltll(‘.\' I’vxvevserl pulls \Villiztttts' stories together under a single roof. as it were. Widow Holly. an old dame (and
something of a muse to Williams) runs a boarding house in the Deep South recalling the various women who have slept in her beds. Marlowe switches between characters faster than you could cook a catfish. and her delivery is never less than perfect. But the show feels somewhat compromised. being primarily a showcase for Marlowe's admittedly considerable talent. (Miles Fielder) Assembly erlnx. 226 2428, until 2‘) Aug (not I7). 2.10pm. [Hit/I It“) [10), Minor lrritations 000 Friends meets Hill and (iruee meets all the other sitcoms about fucked tip folk bogged down with their neuroses. (‘entred around Ben (Sam Peter Jackson). a failed actor, who‘s gay. insecure and inclined to whipping out his emotional diary. various characters played by four actors criticise. advise and psychoanalyse one another. Witty. cheesy and likeahle. ((‘laire Piela)
Plt'(l.\'(ll1('(' Home. 556 6550. until 2‘) Aug (nut [5.17. 22). 5.40pm. [650-1750 ([5— [6).
Phone Play 0.. liight performers dispel the myth that ‘it's good to talk'. as a famous telecoms company once said. with this quirky comedy. Using I’Iuvst'luml-type oversized phones. the energetic cast demonstrate the complexities and frustrations of call waiting. phone sex and cell phone addiction in this slick. well observed. light-hearted production. (Michelle .Vlacintyre) (ii/(led lid/[mm 'Ieviut, 668 I633. until 28.2lug. (Hut /6. 25’). 55/5/11". [8’ [9M7 £8).
The Singing Nun .0.
The Singing Nun checks off each audience member to work out her fee for the night. It's a negative figure. She illllks worried - the Belgian authorities are chasing her for tax bills. Richard Talbot‘s show revisits the life and death of holy ()(ls pop sensation. Jeanine Deckers. and revels in the ludicrous. ((‘orrie Mills) Under/Jelly. 0870 745 3085’. until 2‘) Aug (nut [5). 6.40pm. [8.5()~t").5()
l [7. 50-» [8. 50 l.
Sisters 0.. As lirst Martha and then Mary. Anna .‘vlanahan is a compelling presence as she recounts these couple of lost lives in rural Ireland. Far from a couple of frail old dears. the (‘looney sisters are as tough as old boots with their emhittered tales of abuse. mistrust and the sibling rivalry that will go with them to the grave. ((‘orrie Mills) .vlvsemh/v Rooms. 226 2428. until 2‘) .lug (not /5. 22). 3.50pm. [101/] It“) [/0). We Love You Arthur 0..
Scargill's name is not one that would be expected to roll off the tongue of a lovesick l5-year-old girl. Btit this is a north-east of lingland pit village during the miners‘ strike. where teenagers Julie and Lisa find the usual turmoil of puberty offset by the social struggle of their parents. In her Fringe debut. writer liiona livans gently pokes fun at ‘grim tip north' stereotypes. while evoking a time when revolution seemed plausible. As the strike wears on and loyalty lines are crossed. the humour subsides and a community divides. ll'e Lure iiltt ."I‘lllllt‘. like the strike itself. may not succeed in changing your life but is an engaging reminder of socialism before it had a New Labour face lift. ((‘orrie Mills) Assembly RUN/1H. 226 2428. until 2‘) .-lug (nut 15). /.20/un. [/0 [II It“) (/0).