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CHINESE MAGIC
Don‘t expect lots oflions and elephants in the Chinese Magical Circus. There won‘t be. There will be some dancing dragons. but all the animals in the show will be human beings dressed up.
It will be quite different from a European circus. but it will be spectacular and colourful. The circus in China is a very ancient tradition and there are hundreds oftroupes. One of the troupes (from Canton) will be coming to Edinburgh for the first time. For all ages. Chinese Magical Circus. Playhouse Theatre, Greenside Place. 26—30 Aug 7.30pm. 28—30 Aug 3pm. £2—£7. 50. Special Children '5 performance 30 A ug 11am. all seats £2.50 (adults must be accompanied by a child £3.50). Tickets: 225 5756. [EIF]
GONE WITH THE WIND
Last year the Oxford ACT were ‘terrified‘ when they put on Superman (III) meets Snow White
and the Dwaryes (V11). Terrified that i
is because they had never done a children‘s show before. But it met with great approval. so they are doing another.
The company was inspired to do children‘s shows because they were
Mon 18 or25) 4.30—5.30pm. £2.25 (£1.50) Tickets: 557 1785. [F]
i CORNISH MYTH
One ofthe most
interesting-sounding plays coming to
the Fringe is Tregeagle by Kneehigh Theatre. It is their first appearance in Scotland. although two of the company met while studying at the Glasgow School of Art. Tregeagle is steeped in Cornish myth and magic and tells the story of a shepherd who sells his soul to the Devil and has to empty Dozmare Pool (which is bottomless) with a leaky limpet shell. It is played at great speed with much ingenuity and imagination by this ‘fiercely visual‘ company. Tregeagle, Kneehigh Theatre, Theatre Workshop (venue 20), 34
: Hamilton Place. 11—16Aug 1—2.20pm. £2.20 (£1.50) Tickets: 226
5425. [F]
WELL SUITED The Esher Youth Theatre of l4~21 year-olds brought a successful
Morons would rather be more like the Morovs (who have more of
everything) but Chance is the central
and deciding character. Marshmallow. the soft-centred Philip Marlow spoof has been drafted in to lead us through the stark. white paper boiler-suited world of Morovia. For 5 years upwards. Chances, Forth Children 's Theatre Group, Inverleith Church Hall (venue 120) 401nverleith Gardens. 15-23 Aug (not Sun 17)
7. 30—9.30pm. Matinees Sats 16 and
23 Aug, 2.30—4.30pm. £2.50 (£1.50).
[Fl
CHATTY CAT
Toby the Talking Cat is apparently
l l g
everybody‘s favourite in Revolting Rhymes. He is one of many who also include the Three Little Pigs. Big Giants. Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolfwith ‘teeth too long and eyes too red‘. It promises to be a fast and innovative show for 5—10 years
: and adults and is based on Roald Dahl‘s poems. Revolting Rhymes.
Theatre Workshop presents ()pen
Hand Theatre Co. Theatre
Workshop (venue 20) 34 Hamilton Place. 11—16 A ug, [lam—12. 20pm.
5 £2.25 (£1.50) Tickets: 2265425. [F]
3 TITLED MADNESS
~ When they say ‘audience
participation‘ in Madness and Mayhem at Mountjoy Manor they
really mean it. Go along and lob a
warm-hearted Winnie-the-Pooh goes :
to the North Pole to Edinburgh last year. This year‘s production is Birthday Suit. in which the futuristic Texan-speaking Emperor finds his new clothes are not altogether what
he had in mind. For 6—10 years. Birthday Suit, Esher Youth Theatre, George Square Theatre (venue 3 7) George Square. 9, 11. 12—16 Aug, 12.15—1.30pm. £2.50 (£1.50). Tickets: 6673 704. [F]
IMPROVISATION
Look out for three children‘s shows
from groups in the Leicester Youth
dissatisfied with others they had seen i . _ u shows for the Fringe, not scripted
which they felt were often too constrained by their original source. They might please mum. but did the kids have a good time? Their new show. written by the company. promises to have massive amounts of life. energy. slapstick and a frenetic. fast-moving plot in which lots of liberties have been taken with familiar characters. Superman (with a Super Fart) is trying to rescue Cinderella. there is a very sweet Frankenstein monster and two incompetent criminals who wear dark glasses and dark suits and keep bumping into one another. . . For6 years upwards. including adults. Superman (1V) and the Terribly
l Terrifying Secret of the Frankenstein
] Monster (m OxfordA CT, Theatre
] A CT (venue 101) Rifle Lodge, 32
Broughton Street. 8—30Aug (not
22 The List 8 — 21 August
Theatres. They are newly devised
but improvised by the groups using kids‘ ideas to build up a production. All are very visual and appropriate for children (over9 years) and adults. The Emperor's New Clothes and The Emperor and the Nightingale 18—23 Aug 10—11am. £2 (£1.20). Masque ofKing Arthur 18-23 Aug [2.30—1.30pm. £2 (£1.20). Beauty and the Beast 25—30 Aug 10—11am. £2 (£1.20). Leicestershire Youth Theatres, St Ann's Community Centre (venue 65) South Gray's Close. Cowgate. [F]
. . . MOREOVER
The Forth Children‘s Theatre are a local group from Edinburgh for any child aged 10—18 with some seven Fringe productions behind them.
Chances is a fast-moving.
custard pic at the lady of the manor or her butler! In a lively sounding plot. all is confusion anyway — the butler is also the Chefand Bayleaf
the Gardener. jewels go missing and
identities are mistaken. A student
production for 5 years plus. Madness
and Mayhem at Mountjoy Manor. Ragamuffin Theatre Co. Royal Scottish A cademy of Music and Drama, Harry Younger Hall (venue 13) Lochend Close, Canongate. 11—16Aug, 2—3pm. £1.50 (75p). [F]
PULLING STRINGS
Purves Puppets. perennial Fringe
performers are famous for their ultra
violet puppets. The puppeteers. dressed in black. are invisible and they can therefore move freely all over the stage. taking their luminous puppet characters with them. The 3—6 year-olds, not otherwise much catered for. are the age group in
mind for Pips and Panda meet the Tooth Fairy (and what has she done with all the teeth?). while Peter Pan with 6 feet ofultra violet crocodile is for older children. Pips and Panda Meet the Tooth Fairy 6-23 A ug (not Suns) 10.30—11.45am. 25—29Aug, 1.45—3pm. £2 (£1.50). Peter Pan 6—23Aug (notSuns) 1.45—3.15pm. 25—30Aug 4.30—6pm. Also Sats 9.
16. 23 A ug 4.30—6pm and Extra Short-30 .-l ug 1.45—3. 15pm. £2 , (£1.50). Purves Puppets, Whyte Hall (venue 14) St George's W’est Church, Shandu'ick Place. [F]
BALLAD OPERA
Worth looking out for should be the Bankhead Youth Theatre‘s production of Butterfly (as in the
opera). They have won Fringe Firsts
for the past three years and this piece
will be a ballad opera version of Puccini 's Madame Butterfly. Butterfly. Bank/lead Youth Theatre,
James ( iillespie 's High School (venue
93) Laurlerdale Street. 25—30Aug 7.30—10pm. £2 (£1).
SILVER LlNlNG
, A group ofthose who are too old (at
19) to stay with the National Youth Music Theatre have gone on to form a company of their own. As the Silver (‘loud Theatre Company they will be performing at the Fringe for the first time with their play Farewell to Jonathan. It was written by one of