Festival Theatre
www.list.co.uk/theatre
BASIC TRAINING ' A “an: s cicg'az."";a tae. o" t"e US air farce 0... ’Ja, ce‘C'e re ecl sts in the u‘S A r 7% his "other rather caSual‘y re.ea s that the man he has cailed ‘ather all his ife, a bruta. ar‘d aCuS’ve siretcn is not his biologica. father From thus poznt. we meet a succession of brilliantly created comic grotesgues. from a ritechanrcally insultir‘g r rill sergeant with a care‘ully corsealed emotional ability. to a carnp-as-kn-ckers Lieutenant in charge of the ENSA-like miiitary ClllfBFTall‘fllell'i grOup that As'tanti ioins at the end of his training, In between,
'fi' . z. w ‘ ' ' 2" r 2 l. :' Ashanti searches for his real father l.“.")l,“' it ~ ' r His performance here shows amazing i"' " ~ z' : : r 2 physical dexterity. and a perfectly
: ; r' tiriiert sense of the abswd. and if the
' stOry falls into the occaSional moment
, of sentiriientalism more associated
r..|, «- i“? .,r.:t,.r: with American sensibilities than
tra. , " British, let it pass. for this is a tab
‘.'.o..- tar-r . sf 4 night but (Steve Cramer)
t-. -' I Assembly Rooms, 623 3030, untr/ 20 Aug, 7.40pm, [HZ—£73 (C? 7—5: 72).
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POPPEA Anything goes in a powerful. passionate production 0””
One of the most powerful leaders in the world abuses his position by having an affair and ignoring the will of the people - it’s a concept as familiar today as it was 2000 years ago for the Romans, on whose machinations Claudio Monteverdi based his opera.
Vienna Schauspielhaus brings us Barry Kosky‘s version of Monteverdi’s classic, translated by Susanne Wolf, as part of the EIF. It tells the tale of the ambitious Poppea (Melita Jurisic) whose passion-driven manipulation of the infatuated Emperor Nero (Kyrre Kvam) enables her to rise to power as Empress of Rome. It's a bloody ascent as the philosopher Seneca and Nero‘s first wife Ottavia both find themselves unceremoniously removed from the equation as Nero ensures Poppea’s success.
This bold, sinister-sweet reworking breaks all the traditional rules, infusing German opera (with supertitles) with Cole Porter standards in a surprisingly effective medley of classic, contemporary and burlesque. Set in an erotically charged world where the characters are driven by their own pleasure principles in the quest of fulfilment, it exposes the dark side of forbidden love. Sex becomes currency; flesh is joy, hatred, punishment, pleasure and love. Men are in power positions but in a world where sex is power it's the women who are in control, manipulating situations for their own ends.
Gaining momentum in the second half, the four musicians bombard the senses with their ever changing cacophony of sound. Dressed in revealing, glittering costumes, the gifted cast creates sharp characters each with their own distinctive movements. which perfectly complement Michael Zerz' innovative design. Flanked with doorways, the set creates the illusion of claustrophobia as the roof appears to grow lower upstage, trapping the characters then forcing them to face themselves in the mirrored walls. This is a unique, powerful and passionate piece in which literally, ‘Anything Goes'. (Greer Ogston)
I RO)’a/ Lyceum Theatre. run ended
66 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE “0—-.- Aw‘ Qt-c“
LIE DETECTOR TRUTH DETECTOR
Welcome to 21 st century Britain 0...
Peter Yates' play is "ade up of three thematically linked s'c". plays. In the first a man aCCuSeu sf terrOriSm undergoes a lie detector test. in the second two seCurity guards in a shopping mall abuse the authority of their uniforms. while the third. the longest of the three. tracks a woman's struggle to get a passport in 21 st century Britain. It's a world of red tape where rights are a thing of the past. rules and regulations are UHQUBSIIODaCI‘, obeyed. people are machines under constant observation and Judged by their outward appearance. power and corruption comes wrth a uniform and human instinct counts for nothing. Using humour, elements of phySical theatre are a cracking narrative, even the most established theatre practitioners could learn a few things from this 21 st century CUll‘rpdll,. 'NlCOia Husbandl I Roman Eagle Lodge. 226 720 7. Wm 78 Aug. lop/ti, :‘8 (E5).
SPAWN AND DIE
Witty one-woman sexual revolution 0...
Sometri‘es we treat the laws of sexualt, as if they were written by Derrida. lnstead of obeying primal instincts that might lead us to the kind of blissful state that would render conflict redundant. we obey a repressed. materialistic. competitive mind. conditioned by a malformed and inorganic society.
Such is the case furnished by the rambunctrous and .‘ritty Susan MclntoSn in "ter one Qman Show. and pretty cortircing it is too. Presenting rzerseit as a hip university lecturer. ner tneSis. worked through With the aid of slides. songs and rauCOus. exblicit one-liners. SOunds pretty connincing. Punning through the animal kingdom. sne brings us accounts of gay penguins lesoar‘
“a"“"gos. and a lance "cs: 9‘ bisexual animals indeed. as she cornpares hummis to the colyrnorphotis "app; shoppers of the non-human 0nd she finds us \aant‘ng 0n even occasion Dixerting into her Characters personal reminiscences. we also find that two partners are invariably better than one ~ we are. She guilefulh assures us. simplx the wrong kind of monkey The great sexual re\0|utionar\ 0' par time. 0i itist a dirty. dirty girl" Go anti find out (Steve Crainerl
I Underber’ly's Baby Berry. 3570 11:? 3083. until 27 Aug. 9 30pm, f8.5(%€9.50 if? 50—2‘8 Sci
GREEDY SCRATCHERS Travel through time 000
FrOm stone age to Space age. this piece examines human life. through the ages by tOCusing On one family. Beginning as homo sapiens relying on primal instincts. like sex, food and power. the piece explOres how humans have evolved phySically, emotionally and technically throughOLit the ages.
The play looks at how power has shifted thrOugh time. from havrng originally belonged to the mate. then passed to the husband. then the King, then minister. then scientist. concise-i, capturing the transition of power wrtliiri 800er Sex is another recurring .ssue It begins as a primal urge. then lbw making. then becomes obsolete thanks to test tube babies. The your g c0uple are unable to conceive thrOughout time; it's not until i;t,:t:ll(,t: intervenes. taking sex out of the equation, that she is able to get pregnant. The females father becomes impotent and is cured by Viagra. thus exposing how even sex becomes COntrolled by science it's a clever piece. which uncovers our solence led society but at tiiiies attempts to cram ll‘. too "lucli lGreer Ogstoni I P/easance Coirrfiard. 5‘36 (i550. unti/ 27 Aug (not 20; 3 30pm, £8 £9 (£6 50437.50;
AN AIR BALLOON ACROSS ANTARCTICA
Blockbuster themes and basket cases 000
We all oboe ’J'l’ltfl'tflrll, .‘ritli grief, however we can prooaol, assume that yer, few of us are |;kely to grat, a hamster. lump in a not air balloon and Journey aCrcss Antarctica in the st 'le of this slightly surreal plat, 's
protagou st laikirig hamsters .‘rith arr addiction to Specia -K and ghosts of leng dead explorers aside. it's a simple human relationsnrc story as a eduple struggle to cornmunrcate after the death of their seven-,rear-old son with key themes that wOuldn‘t look out of place in a Hollywood blockbuster. of not being afraid to take chances and the dangers of ranging to be something or someone tnat you're not. this piece certainly has wde appeal and Sophie Larrrpel in the role of the Hamster. makes it well worth the tiCket price ’Nic0la Husbandr
I P/easance Dome, 556 6550. 27Aug mot 20;, Sworn, £7 504.6150 ace-r: 7/