COPS OUT
City Limits (who they?) readers polled them the best cabaret act . . . Skint Video, in the shape of Mark Miwurdz and John Moloney. are in Edinburgh again on 11 and 12 Oct, opening up the Comedy Boom, more generally dormant outside the Festival. Specialists in scathingly satirical versions of well-known pop songs. the butts of their humour range from Botha to Bragg (Billy that is). Ifyou miss them on stage, their new single ‘Cops on 45' is out late October. Not quite Dixon of Dock Green. I‘m afraid. ..
WINTER FOR HITLER
This year, Glasgow‘s Tron Theatre will be presenting a pantomime for the first time and if the title —
, Sleeping Beauty — is conventional
then the writers are rather more unusual. They are Peter Capaldi and Craig Ferguson aka the ‘outrageously funny‘ Bing Hitler. The panto takes place in ‘Vulgaria — a country surprisingly close to Scotland‘, which, according to Bing, Prime Minister and hero of the piece, has its own ‘Scottie Dogs, Broons and Ubiquitous Chip.‘ For those of us who are acquainted with Bing‘s rather ‘adult‘ humour it was a reliefto learn that there will be ‘no swearie words‘ and Sleeping Beauty
will be awakened by strictly conventional means. Ferguson announces himself very excited at the prospect of performing such ‘sophisticated‘ material. He also said
1 that it will mark the end of his Bing
Hitler incarnation as he wants to move on to other things and ‘you can hear what it‘s done to my voice‘.
At the same time the Tron also announced 3 — subtitled Theatre That Sings. Consisting of three short plays each about 40 minutes long they were all written for three characters with an accompanying musical score written by Eddie McGuire. They are: Trio with Strings by Marcella Evaristi, Love Joan by Marrianne Carey and Tom McGrath’s Thanksgiving. 3 runs from 24 Oct—16 Nov (half price preview on 23 Oct) and Sleeping Beauty from Dec 12 to Feb 1.
FILOFICTION
Filofax users — the ever growing minority interest group whose lives revolve around their chunky diary cum personal files— will have had their organised lives upset by an article in the Sunday Times on 21st of last month. As well as announcing eating guides to London the piece declared that Filofax were also launching a food guide to Edinburgh. The London guides, in association with Time Out do exist but as yet there is nothing planned for Edinburgh. However, the good news is that Filofax hope next year to publish maps for both Glasgow and Edinburgh.
KEEPING YOUTHFUL
Edinburgh Theatre Workshop has come of age — but it certainly hasn‘t become aged. The theatre, celebrating its 21$t birthday this month was founded in the heady days ofthe Sixties, when in 1965, Catherine Robins arrived in the city to set up a drama centre for children. Over the past twenty-one years the theatre has moved several times
(finally to its present venue in
Henderson Row, Stockbridge), and expanded its activities constantly — : but never lost sight ofits original aim
to make the arts accessible to local pe0ple. particularly young people — both as audience and performers.
It now houses several youth drama
: projects, has workshops for countless other skills. plays host to 7 major visiting companies, mounts its
own productions, touring shows and
. the legendary community projects — large scale productions involving
= professional actors and local
3 volunteers. Adrian Harris. present
artistic director, hopes to develope still further. establishing links with local ethnic minorities and creating an International Arts Team. Meanwhile. the theatre birthday
celebrations proceed. (See Theatre).
NON-NUCLEAR ARMS
Still time to get involved in ‘Arms Around Scotland‘ — potentially the biggest anti-nuclear demonstration held in Scotland yet. ‘Arms Around Scotland‘ is planned as a human chain of about 35,000 people,
stretching 26 miles across Central
Scotland from Grangemouth Town Hall to Glasgow Green, who will link arms at 3pm on Sun 5 Oct. Anybody and everybody can take part — contact Arms Around Scotland, 146 Holland Street, Glasgow G2. ()41 332 5309.
LISTED PERSON
You saw him here first folks! The
man travelling hopefully on The List‘s Festival Preview cover certainly arrived. Ben Keaton‘s Intimate Memoirs of an Irish Taxidermist won him the coveted Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe, leading to a run at London‘s Donmar Warehouse, an appearance on Wogan and a beckoning future — all rather more than the modest Keaton had anticipated. ‘We just wanted to break even on the box office and not make fools of ourselves.'
Keaton attributes the success of his one man show to its refreshingly
, unusual nature (falling somewhere indefinable between theatre and
cabaret). Keaton‘s charactertakes us on an idiosyncratic tour ofhis own life (and death) mingled with Irish
history. ‘There is a lot ofstand-up comedy about in a more traditional
form. [think it wasjust different
: enough for people to respond to. It‘s a very mellow humour, which just
seems to win people over. I have no
interest in being a stand-up
comedian — we don‘t try to be funny, , we don‘t look for the gags. We just
. tell the stories— that makes the
humour much softer.‘
The other halfof the ‘We‘ is Marcia
Kahan, who wrote the show. Possible future collaborative
5 projects include a radio series based
5 on the character and style ofcomedy ofthe show. ‘Winning the award
made a much bigger difference than I
expected, it puts us on a different level completely, taking us out of having to do nothing but the arts centre circuit into the realms of tv and radio. lt‘s opened up the possibilities tremendously.’ Keaton may be broaching a
; much-needed new area ofcomedy for tv and radio. A successful case
' history, perhaps . . .
TH—'~”*LIST
Issue no 26 3—16 0ctober1986
Cover
Bob Hoskins in Mona Lisa. l
1 Guest List. ‘
Persons of note or notoreity appearing over the fortnight.
2 Short List.
Column by Tam Dalyell. News.
4 Mona Lisa.
Allan Hunter talks to Neil Jordan, Bob Hoskins and Cathy Tyson.
5 Everything but the Girl
Tracey Thorne interviewed by Mab.
Listings Full guide to events this fortnight.
Film 6 Art 29 Theatre 13 Media 34 Classical Music 17 Kids 35
Folk 18 Open 36
Jazz 20 Sport 37 Rock 21 Books 38
41 Student Guide
The List‘s comprehensive information and listings service for students in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
CONTRIBUTORS
Publisher Robin Hodge. Editors Nigel Billen, Sarah
5 Hemming, Glasgow Editor Graham I Caldwell, Associate Editor Allan
Hunter. Design Simon Esterson, Advertising Bill Gordon, Accounts Georgette Renwick, Richard Gray,
- Typesetting Jo Kennedy, Aileen Jardine and Hewer Text, Production
Editor Paul Keir, Production Assistant
Jane Kennedy, Art Alice Bain, Books
Alan Taylor, Classical Music Carol Main, Dance Alice Bain, Film Allan Hunter, Trevor Johnston, Folk/Jazz Norman Chalmers. Kids Sally Kinncs, Media Nigel Billen, Sally Kinnes, Open Richard Norris, Rock
(Edinburgh) Alastair Mabbott, Rock (Glasgow) Andrea Miller, Stuart Spence. Theatre Sarah Hemming, Illustrations Paul Gray, ortlce Lynn Spowart, Camera Darien Printing Cover Design Simon Esterson. Published by The List Ltd, 14 High Street, Edinburgh, 5581191 and
13 Bath Street, Glasgow 332 3393.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
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payable to The List Ltd.
The List 3 —- In October 3