Festival THEATRE
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HITLIST THE BEST THEATRE & DANCE
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✽ Men in the Cities Writer-performer Chris Goode (pictured) takes a wide ranging look at the complexities of modern life, infused with his trademark compassion and intelligence. See review, page 80. Traverse, 228 1404, until 24 Aug (not 11, 18), various times, £18 (£13).
✽ Blind Hamlet Mechanical version
of Shakespeare that finds new meanings in the relationship between writer and audience, mediated by sounds and failing vision. See review, page 86. Assembly Roxy, 623 3030, until 25 Aug (not 12, 18), 2.50 pm, £14-£15 (£13-£14).
✽ The Pitiless Storm David Hayman is on blistering form, as trade unionist Bob
Cunningham, who’s forced to look at his past and wonder whether success must mean compromises. See review, page 86. Assembly Rooms, 0844 693 3008, until 24 Aug (not 11) 12.30pm, £12-£15 (£10-£13).
✽ Confirmation A sweaty Chris Thorpe makes us all have a dialogue about
confirmation bias. Directed by the TEAM’s Rachel Chavkin. See review, page 85. Northern Stage at King’s Hall, 477 6630, until 23 Aug (not 10, 17), 4.35pm, £14 (£11).
✽ King maker A fast-paced political satire that isn’t based on Boris Johnson at all. It follows the attempt of two ambitious politicians to derail the career of a buffoon who seems to be heading for the top job. See review, page 81. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 25 Aug (not 11), 3pm, £12-£14 (£11-£13).
✽ Chef Raw prison kitchen-based drama from Sabrina Mahfouz, with an incredible
performance by Jade Anouka. See review, page 81. Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 748, until 24 Aug (not 11), £9.50-10.50 (£8.50-£9.50).
7–14 Aug 2014 THE LIST FESTIVAL 75
SIRENS Big in Belgium and ready to attack: Ontroerend Goed get sexual
O ntroerend Goed’s reputation as theatre’s shock troop is well established. Whether dealing with adolescent alienation, speed dating, political disenfranchisement or the apathy of the audience, they seem determined to attack presumptions and present a vision of the world that borders on nihilistic. While Teenage Riot took its name from Sonic Youth’s hymn to apathy (it placed a gang of youths within a hut where anything went), Audience courted controversy by attacking the very people who had just paid to be entertained.
Sirens goes after the representation of women: the startling programme entry lists a series of stereotypical statements about women, mostly negative (whores, liars, princesses) and boldly refuses to qualify them. During a Fringe where explicitly feminist theatre suggests that gender difference is not just about the conflict between the sexes, Goed are heading straight into the battle zone.
Coming from a Belgian tradition which encourages formal experimentation and a commitment to socially engaged theatre, Goed are always a reminder of drama’s ability to challenge. Siren’s bold statement confronts unpalatable truths, not necessarily to confirm them, but to use them to tear apart lazy thinking. At the heart of Goed’s approach is the insistence of the audience’s complicity: picking up Brecht’s ideas about ‘breaking the fourth wall’, they consciously antagonise the spectators, forcing them to take sides. In Fight Night, they reduced democracy to a fixed popularity contest. In Sirens, they stare into the abyss of labelling according to accidents of birth, and deliberately emphasise the brutality of human relationships. (Gareth K Vile)
Summerhall, 0845 874 3001, 12-24 Aug (not 18), 8.30pm £12.50 (£11).