SHORT”—5'-
CALTON STUDIOS BE-OPEN
The Calton Studios which used to be Edinburgh’s ans house cinema, theatre and music venue, is to re-open in January.
One of the most versatile buildings in the city, Calton Studios in Calton Road has been renovated by its new owner, Fred Bell, and is already hosting jazz nights on Thursdays with the Festival City Jazz Band and Driving Sideways, and on Friday nights the popular Cambalache Club holds its disco nights.
When fully open it is hoped that the Calton Stuios will once more become a multi-media venue with specialist film shows aimed not to compete with the Filmhouse or other existing cinemas, and an exhibition space which will take advantage of the diverse throughput the centre hopes to attract and give exhibitions more than usual exposure.
Archie Webb, a former president of Edinburgh College of Art’s Student Union will be helping to co-ordinate events and is looking for ideas that will make good use of the space. It is hoped that a modern jazz club, run by the Cambalache’s Ernesto and Juan, will be established in the upstairs room with a jazz DJ presenting records and live modern jazz.
FABEWELLS
Should Auld Acquaintance be forgot . . . the turn of the year sees some well-known figures on the arts scene departing from Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Scottish Opera’s controversial director Graham Vick (acclaimed by some, berated by others and best known probably for his graffiti-scrawled production of Don Giovanni) will not be renewing his contract with the company when it expires next autumn; while alsolin the area of music, Leonard Friedman , director and founder of the Scottish Ensemble (formerly Scottish Baroque Ensemble) will also be departing.
In theatre, Andy Arnold (formerly director at Edinburgh’s Theatre Workshop, who has recently been
working freelance and co-wrote The Nutcracker Suite for Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum with Jimmy Boyle), will be taking up the position of Executive Director at London‘s Bloomsbury Theatre in the New Year. Arnold, who has spent most of his working life in Scotland and the North of England has mixed feelings about moving, ‘it is a big of a wrench’, but feels that the theatre has massive potential and h0pes to develop the drama side of the theatre’s programming, which at
present has a very strong music input ranging from opera to cabaret. ‘I want to keep my links with the people up here and try and develop an exchange, particularly with foreign theatre. There‘s as much foreign theatre premiering in Scotland now as there is in London.‘
GIFT OF THE GAB
If you are suffering from insomnia anytime over the weekend of 12-16 Dec, you could do worse than to p0p down to Glasgow Airport where non-stop storytelling will be on offer night and day. Theatre Seanachaidh, a group of story-tellers who usually manufacture tapes and books, have decided to make story-telling official — and to do so they are adopting the extreme measure of telling stories non-stop for 100 hours.
There has never been an official world record set for story~telling, though legend has it that the ‘Seanachaidh’, the story-tellers of old, would tell stories all through the night and all through the winter, without ever once repeating themselves In keeping with this tradition, none of the stories told by Theatre Seanachaidh (ranging from tales translated from the original Gaelic to new tales read by writers) will be repeated — and adjudicators will be on hand to enforce this ruling.
Many organisations have rallied round to facilitate this verbal marathon: Glasgow Airport providing the space, Loganair providing two free tickets for a raffle to be held half-way, TrustHouse Forte providing nutritional sustenance and Glenlivet providing sustenance ofa different kind for those attending the launch of the session at 10am on Fri 12 Dec. The RSAMD provided the set, and the Glasgow Drama Centre the costumes— meanwhile, Ross King, Radio Clyde DJ will open proceedings and a large cauldron will be on hand to welcome donations
towards Radio Clyde‘s annual ‘Cash For Kids’ appeal (which buys gifts for underprivileged children in West Central Scotland). Theatre Seanachaidh start telling stories at 10am on Fri 12 Dec in Glasgow Airport main terminal building (the session is open day and night, free, to members of the public) and aim to finish at 2pm on 16 Dec - all power to their vocal chords . . .
SHAKEN BOOTS
As The Mission opens at cinemas in Scotland, an exhibition organised b‘ Survival International (of which Jeremy Irons is himselfa member) reminds us that the exploitation of
' tribal peoples in South America
shown in The Mission is still rife today.
The need for rubber for cars continued the colonial abuse of the Indians between 1895 and 1910. when tribal numbers were reduced from 50,000 to 10,000. The company responsible was British, with British directors and shareholders. Now oil exploration, mining, highways and dams threaten the tribal peoples.
Roland Joffé became aware of their plight through directing: ‘Making The Mission confronted me with the tragic history ofsuffering that the Indians ofSouth America have endured since the arrival of Europeans; suffering that has not ended yet. Surival International important work for the rights of threatened tribal peoples deserves the widest possible support.‘ Jeremy Irons, working closely with the Waunana tribe, was impressed by their strong sense ofcommunity and disturbed that their rights to self-dtermination were being undermined by the West: ‘Their situation, however, is not as bad as that ofmany other Indian groups in South America, whose land is being destroyed by commercial loggers, miners, settlers and by massive ill-conceived development projects. As a supporter of Survival International, I know that even today Indians in the Cauca area of Colombia are being killed for trying to defend their lands and their people.’
Survival International was set up in 1969 to campaign for the rights of threatened tribal peoples everywhere. Paraguay has been the focus of two of its most important campaigns, the first in 1970 against the genocide of the Ache Indians, and the second in 1980 against the forced relocation of the Toba Maskoy. The Ache are a tribe who were forced to abandon their nomadic hunter-gatherer existence after years of persecution and flight.
lfanyone is interested in joining Survival International, the main organisation is at 29 Craven Street, London WC2 SNT. The Edinburgh Group is currently showing Shaken Roots, an exhibition of black and white photographs from 1917 to 1984, depicting the growing degradation and poverty of the San (Bushmen) in Namibia, as a product of post-colonial exploitation
by the West. (Ness Raison) ‘Shaken Roots’ is at the Sateway Gallery, 2-4
Abbeymount until 14
December.
wusr
Issue no 31 12 Dec 1986-11 Jan 1987 Special Double Issue
Cover Round Midnight.
1 Guest List
People in the news.
4 Short List
5 The Mission.
Allan Hunter talks to the men behind this year‘s Cannes’ success.
6 Craig Ferguson.
This year’s most unlikely panto star interviewed by Graham Caldwell.
8 Bertrand Tavernier.
The List talks to the director of Round Midnight.
10
Listings. Full guide to events until January.
Film 10 Folk 35
Media 19 Jazz 37 Theatre 21 ROCk 39 Dance 23 Listen 42 Panto Special 24 5P0“ 44
Kids 27 Art 45
Classical Music 33
53 Backfist
Christmas Gifts. Books. Food News.
CONTRIBUTORS
Publisher Robin Hodge.
Editors Nigel Billen. Sarah Hemmingfilasgow Editor Graham Caldwell.Associate Editor Allan Hunter. Design Simon Esterson. Advertising Robin Hodge. Frances Lochtie Accounts Georgette Renwick. Richard Gray. Typesetting Jo Kennedy. Aileen Jardine and chcr Text. Production Editor Paul Keir. Production Assistant J anc Kennedy. Art Alice Bain. Books Alan Taylor. Classical Music Carol Main. Dance Alice Bain, Film Allan Hunter. Trevor Johnston. Folk/Jazz Norman Chalmers. KidsSally Kinnes. Media Nigel Billen. Sally Kinnes. Rock (Edinburgh) Alastair Mabbott. Rock (Glasgow) John Williamson. Sport Graham Caldwell. Theatre Sarah Hemming. Camera Daricn Printing Co.
Cover: Round Midnight.
Published by The List Ltd. 14 High Street. Edinburgh. 5581191 and
13 Bath Street. Glasgow 332 3393.
The List 12 Dec—8Jan3