Theatre
The best guide to the live event
PLAYWRIGI-ITS' STUDIO - PLAYS ALOUD
A chance for both Scottish audiences and visitors to see staged readings of the highlights of Scottish theatre over the last
year or so. Among the productions '
you can see are Anthony Neilson’s The Wonderful World of Dissocia, Des Dillon's Six Black Candles (pictured) and David Greig’s Pyrenees. Most of the original casts will be on stage for the performances - expect high quality entertainment.
I Scotland '3 Theatre Gateway, 317 3939, until 28 Aug (not 20-22). times vary. £3.
ACTOR'SCHOICE
Let’s face it, it’s no time to give up, so we asked Garry Collins, lead in the Traverse’s East Coast Chicken Supper, about his favourite versions of the demon weed.
I’m generally a rollies man. It’s cheaper than filters for a start. I smoke Cutter's Choice. and I have a real ritual about smoking. I always buy the tobacco. filters and papers in separate places. When I smoke. I like to do that like a ritual, I smoke it slow, stub it out. and I'm satisfied.
Sometimes I smoke Golden Virginia. I used to smoke it all the time. but it's quite heavy and it does my throat in. All the same. I like to return to the dark side occasionally . . .
As to filters, well I like Benson and Hedges now and then. but that‘s for when I'm feeling affluent. I smoke more Benson's when I'm in London on a job. because that means I’m getting paid better.
Now I do like menthols. so I occasionally get Con3ulate menthols. I usuain need one after a bad review, if you know what I mean.
I know it’s not a cigarette. but I like to buy menthol filters to go in my rollies. The ordinary ones burn my tongue. A menthol tip is like an After Eight. they're wonderful things.
I Traverse Theatre, 228 1404, until 28 Aug (not 22), various times, £15 (£74.50—E9).
Hit >I< FESTIVAL THEATRE
‘In London, theatregoers expect to laugh; in Paris, they wait grimly for proof that they should.’ — Robert Dhery
* The Devil’s Larder Grid Iron are at their scintillating best in this site-specific performance set in the dark corners of the Debenhams department store.
A dark, luscious treat of a show. Debenhams Princes St, 228 1404, until 28 Aug (not 18, 25), 8.15pm, 28—211 (£4.50).
=l< The Riot Group: Switch Triptych A tale of switchboard operators at a New York exchange in 1919. The impact of war, prohibition and the new corporate state are all satirised. That it's metaphor for the state of the USA today is clear. Assembly Rooms, 226 2428, until 29 Aug, 12.15pm, £13—£‘14(£12—£‘13). * An Oak Tree Tim Crouch is outstanding in this brave piece, in which he hypnotises a volunteer and explores his own response to a fatality. Edgy, emotive and experimental, this is Fringe theatre at its finest. Traverse Theatre, 228 1404, until 28 Aug, times vary, £8—£11 (£4. 50).
* ScrewmachlnelEyecandy A TV game show goes horribly wrong. Brilliant performances from the Americana Absurdum cast. Assembly Rooms, 226 2428, until 29 Aug), 3. 15pm, 2104312.
* My Pyramids: Or How I Got Fired from the Dairy Queen and Ended Up In Abu Ghralb by PFC Wendy England The title tells you the story of this topical examination of a demonised woman in the war in Iraq. Traverse Theatre, 228 1404, until 28 Aug (not 22), times vary, 215—29 (£4. 50).
For venue addresses, please see the Fringe programme, log on to www.edfringe.com or call the venue number.
1 1—25 Aug 2005 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 85