list.co.uk/festival Top Tips | F E S T I VA L T H E AT R E
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A ROCK’N’ROLL SUICIDE! ZOO Southside, 5–26 Aug, 9pm, £10 (£8). Previews 2–4 Aug, £5. Performed by a veteran of the punk scene (Lee Mark Jones AKA Gypsy Lee Pistolero), Ziggy Stardust is revealed as the ADHD of the rock star who nearly was. A one-man show with a roll-call of virtual celebrity guest stars, this suicide is by turns glamorous, punky, anarchic and tragic.
SPLINTERED Bedlam Theatre, 2–25 Aug (not 13, 20), 9.30pm, £10 (£8). Previews 31 Jul & 1 Aug, £8 (£6). According to artistic director Emily Aboud, ‘this is the show I needed to see growing up, the show that would certainly be banned back home, and the show that celebrates the people whose very existence is an act of rebellion. Caribbean culture itself is based in rampant homophobia and misogyny and the terrific sadness of this piece is that it is a wholly Caribbean piece that cannot safely exist in the Caribbean.’
THE POPULARS Summerhall, 3–25 Aug (not 12, 19), 9.20pm, £12 (£8). Previews 31 Jul & 2 Aug, £5. Volcano like to make theatre for people who aren’t typical audiences: this is forceful, dynamic and visually impressive. After having a crack at Chekhov, they are going for the toughest nut to crack in a dance party about Brexit.
BRANDI ALEXANDER Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 3–25 Aug (not 12, 19), 9.45pm, £9.50– £10.50 (£8.50–£9.50). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £6. Ostensibly a visit to a comedy club in 1987 and the return of a stand-up after a long time away, Brandi Alexander asks some difficult questions about how a woman can survive in a scene dominated by men, before descending into darker territory: is this time for comedy to admit to its serious toxic problems?
10PM
MY FATHER THE TANTRIC MASSEUR
Assembly George Square Studios, 2–25 Aug (not 12, 19), 10.10pm, £9–£11 (£8–£10). Previews 31 Jul & 1 Aug, £7. Join Roann McCloskey as she attempts to navigate life as a British Algerian queer woman with a conservative English father turned tantric masseur and a traditional Muslim mother. Expect uncomfortable laughs in this uproarious solo show which won an Origins Award for Outstanding New Work at the 2019 VAULT Festival.
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LA REPRISE HISTOIRE(S) DU THEATRE (I) Director Milo Rau is not content to direct his theatrical scalpel on a brutal Belgian murder, but chases back to the very roots of theatre itself. Examining the crime in forensic detail, the show questions how theatre can provide a cathartic resolution to complex real-life problems. See feature, page 33. Lyceum, 3–5 Aug, 8pm, £20–£25. 31 Jul–7 Aug 2019 THE LIST FESTIVAL 121