GLASGOW
0 Theatre is listed by city first then by venue, runningin alphabetical order. except for touring shows which are listed by the name of the show. Please send details not later than 10 days before publication date.
O CITIZENS (iorbals Street. 4290022 8177. Box Office. Mon—Sat 10am—8pm. Bar. [1)]
Arsenic and Old Lace 4 ()ct — 2 Nov.
7.30pm. £3. ('oncs £1 . ()AP and unemployed free. (iiles Ilavergal‘s production olJoseph Kesselring's outrageously black comedy about the exceptional vintage specimens in Martha and Abby Brewster‘s cellar. (See review).
0 THE DRAMA CENTRE 126 Ingram
('entre. 552 5827. Box Office
1 9.3()am—bpm.
Sus & Gotcha Wed 2.‘»-sai 20 ()ct. 7.30pm. Strathclyde ’I'heatre (‘ompany in a double bill by Barry Keeffe whose radical left wing plays take a sharp satirical swipe at society.
Tom Paine Live! Inc 29 ()ct—Wed 30
()ct. 7.30pm. Modern Times Theatre (‘ompany in their touring production of a new play by Vince Foxall celebrating the lite and times
ofTom Paine. author ofthe Rights of Man. a document that has continued to influence revolutionaries since it was written in 1791. Vince I-‘oxall‘s multi-media production aims to bring back into the limelight the man behind the ideas.
0 Bath Street. Box ol‘t’ice Mon—Sat 12 noon opm. Phone bookings. 'l'icket (‘entre. (‘andleriggs Mon Sat
ll).3l)am -h.3l)pm. 552 5%1.
My FairLady l'ntil Sat 1‘l()et. 7.30pm. Sat mat 3pm. L4 L2. l'he
. Apollo Players in the musical y ersion
of Shaw‘s Py gmalion
The Unsinkable Molly Brown Mon 21—Sat 2o()ct. 7.30pm Sat mat 3pm. The 'I‘heatre (iuild. in their 25th anniversary year. present the play
j based on the book by Richard
Morris.
Irene Mon 28 ( )ct S1112 Nov. 7.30pm. A musical presented by the Minerva (‘lub.
0 MITCHELLUranville Street. 221 3198. Box ol'l‘ice Mon Sat. 12 noon—bpm. 'I'iekets also available from 'I‘icket ( 'entre. L'andleriggs. 552 5901. Mon Sat
ll).3l)am b.3l)pm.
Cuttin‘ a Rug I hit ( )ne 'l'heatre
ARSENIC AN‘D OLD LACE
Citizens Theatre, Glasgow.
Arsenic and Old Lace, the tale of those two saintly Brooklyn Old Ladies with murderously bad habits will always remain unalterably linked with
Peter Lorre, Cary Grant and 1940‘s
America. It is a classic of the time, but one difficultto imagine out of itstime, updated either in style or setting. Giles Havergal‘s production at Glasgow's Citizens‘ Theatre attempts no such rash
deed. The Citizens are content to demonstrate their professionalism in a revival rather than a reinterpretation of Joseph Kesselring's black larce.
It is a production as intricate and detailed as old lace itself— Colin Winslow's cluttered and evocative set mimics perfectlythat of the film version providing the only possible setting for the fussings of the Brewster
Aunts as they gently put old lonely men
out their misery. In what might have been a controversial touch, the Aunts are played by men, Derwent Watson and Patrick Hannaway. But, this isn‘t drag played for laughs; rather, in the best traditions of Alastair Sim, the play‘s sisters seem more ordinary, more than women could ever have made them.
The considered application of the Citz theatrical powerto the play brings out much of the semi-satirical content- particularly the attacks on theatre critics and on politicians—that is usually buried beneath the mechanics
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of the farce, but perhaps some of the power of the farce is lost. The Citz are just a little bittoo lean and hungry looking to capture the comic potential of the easy opulence of forties middle class America. Robert Gwilym as the critic and ‘sane’ nephew, Mortimer Brewster, attacks the parts with relentless energy but never manages to quite convey the egotistical vanity that makes Cary Grant's hurtling round the set believable and hilarious. John Sommerville as the Boris Karloff look-alike Jonathan Brewster and Rupert Farley in the Peter Lorre part are wonderfully sinister but in their business not as gruesomely funny as they should be. Only Ciaran Hinds as Teddy Brewster (the one who thinks he’s Theodore Roosevelt) fully achieves the balance between characterisation and comedy. (Nigel Billen)
l 1 1
Company in part two ofJohn Byrne‘s comic Slab Boys 'I‘rilogy. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Wed 30 Oct—Sat 2 Nov. 7.30pm. Unitarian Players in the stage adaptation of Muriel Spark‘s novel about the overbearing spinster schoolteacher and ‘her gels‘.
O PAVILION 121 Renl‘ield Street. 332 1846. Box office Mon-Sat ll)am~~-8pm. Bar.
The Black & White Minstrel Show Mon 2l—'I'ue 22 ()ct. 7.30pm. £2.51). £1.
Interestitlglosce(iarthamloek ‘ Youth'l‘heatre revivingashowthat
IV has long since dropped for its
L'nclc 'l‘omish portrayal ol‘the Deep
South. The Danny La Rue Show Sat 30 ()ct
b.2llpm a 8.4llpm. L(1.L'5.'1‘wo concerts in one night lrotn the
5 celebrated epitome ot the art of drag.
O CUMBERNAULD THEATRE ('umbernauld. ()23 ()7 32887. Box ol‘l‘ice Mon —1’ri. lllam (rpm. Sat
Main 3pm. tr 8pm pert. evgs. Bar cale.
The Pity olWar Hi 18 ck Sat 1‘) ( )ct. 7.45pm. £2.5llii.1.25).
Peter Florence in a one man perlormancc about the war poet \ViltredUwen.
‘ The Lucky Ones Hi 25 ct Sat 36 ( )ct.
7.45pm L251) ( L] .25). '1'.'\(i theatre company in‘l'ony .‘ylarchant‘s
v comedy about tour youngol‘l'ice clerks trapped in mindless jobs. directed by Ian Brown.
0 THEATRE ROYAL l lope Street. 331 1234 .332 ‘11 ll ll) ( credit cards). Box ollice Mon Sal Illam opm (7.30pm on per) ey gs) Bar. tullet.
Kelly Monteith 'lhurs 24 ( )ct 7.3l)pm. ()ne man show from the successful .~\merican 1\ comedian.
0 THIRD EYE CENTRE 35)) Sauchiehall Street. 332 7521. Box otl'ice '1‘ue~Sat ll)am—5.3()pm. Sun 2 5pm. ('l'ickets also from bookshop on per) evgs). in) 11’)
A Heart undera CassockamlASeason in Hell l'huis 24 Sat 20 ( )ct. ".3ltpm L.“(L:1.1.lS/it)(i.111i11.()IIL‘l)1 Hungary is most acclaimed actors in a double bill by Rimbaud; .»\ I Icart under a ( 'assock presents with comedy a in st sexual experience and A Season lli Hell the crisis o1 an idealistic youth In I Iungarian with simultaneous translation. (Sec panel).
0 TRON 38 l’arnic Street. 552 42fi7 8. Boxollice lites Sat. Noon lllpm. liarwith tood.
Point ofConvergence'l‘uc 15 Sun 2n ()ct. 8pm. Monstrous Regiment. the all-women group. in association with (‘ockpit Youth Project explore the result ot a meeting betweett two very dill'erent groups o1 women.
Greek and Decadence Tue 23
()ct 71‘hurs 24 ( )ct. 8pm. Fusion I'hcatre company in two highly acclaimed productions. seen on the Iidinburgh I‘ringc earlier this year. (it Steven Berkollis powerful. outrageous. bleak urban versions of the (ireek tragedies. (ircck on 22 and 24'. Decadence on 23,
Letters Home PH 25 Sun27()ct.
Ariel Productions in Rose l.eiman
IZThe List 18-31 October
Laszlo Galffi (Third Eye Centre) is, at 33, one of Hungary’s leading actors. He has collected prizes for ‘outstanding ' artistry' from the Hungarian Ministry of Culture, and his credits include the first i Hamlet filmed in Hungary, Mozart in the Hungarian version of Amadeus. Cyrano de Bergerac and Richard II (not quite the equivalent of Anthony Sher then). This performance, as part of the Hungarian Festival, marks the British premiere of the Rimbaud double bill he has been performing in Hungary for five years.
Plath. the complex and intense American poet who ey entually committed suicide. (ioldemberg's play is based on the letters Plath wrote to her mother.
Will You Still Need Me Inc 2‘) ()ct—Sun 3 Nov(not Fri 1 Nov). A triple bill of short plays by [Ina Lamont Stewart. best known probably for her moving play about life in the (ilasgow tenements. Men Should Weep. Iiach of these plays. being toured by Prime Productions. centres on the unexpected reyclation of feelings between two lonely people. all in different situations. ()nee the initial step has been taken ol‘ accepting the slightly improbable situations. the emotions revealed are movingly . sympathetically portrayed. (Sarah Ilernming) Playreading: Untitled Portrait Sat 1‘) ()ct 2.3llpm. Free. in the bar. (iraeme ( 'ampbell‘s play revoly es around the situation or a Lord (hie) Itistice being held hostage along with a (iuardian reporter and his wile Sister Mercy by an anarchist 7 now readon . . .l Directed by Michael Boyd those appearing include Simon Donald. Vivienne Dixon and Jimmy (‘hisolm.
Poetry Reading and Playreading: Lalia Sat 26 ()ct 2.30pm. Free. in the bar. After a poetry reading by Jeremy Reed. Lalia is a short play about a woman and her psychoanalyst. played by Marcella Evaristi and Sandy Neilson. directed by Hamish (ilen J