FESTIVAL REVIEW
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THEATRE OF THE SUBLIME
(Students of The Central School of Speech and Drama
bLSTEVEN BERKOFF
VENUE NO. 53 23-29 AUGUST
CROWN THEATRE
l9 HILL PLACE (Off NICOLSON STREET) 5.15 pm.
Tickets 667 7588 2.50 ( 1.00)
NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN
NIJINSKY’S DIARY DRAMATISED AS:
A CLOWN OF GOD
Edited by ROMOLA NIJINSKY Adapted by DAVID HOPKINS Sinking into schizophrenia, Nijinsky talks
of his poverty-stricken childhood, his ’ training, his dancing, and in particular, \ his relationship with Diaghilev. RIDDLES COURT Lawn Market 5.15-6.35 pm
(oft- High Street)
10th-29th August £2.50
LAST WEEK - 5 H/T SHOWS I \ & A STUNNING EXHIBIT/ON o THUNDER THIGH REVUE ‘
o DRAMADILLO THEATRE co. . t
o ACTORS THEATRE OF ST.PAUL ‘” 0 THE KOSH
o KNEEHIGH THEATRE ' o PAT MCDONALD PHOTOGRAPHS ,
FREE CABARET NIGHTLY CAFE/BAR OPEN 10 am - after midnight
\\
The best studio theatre in Scot/and The best atmosphere on the Fringe
FESTIVAL THEATRE
' AROUND THE FRINGE
THE COLOMBIAN COUSIN
Nick Whitby‘s are strange. though worthy concerns. Last yearhis Fringe show ‘Dirty Dishes‘ told with great humoura tragedy of Latin-american immigrants working in a pizza restaurant. This yearhis new play shows six Colombians holed up in a London bed-sit. What Whitby is really interested in is humanity understress. whetherit‘s last-order cooks working an 18-hour Christmas Eve shift. or. as isthe case here. six immigrants competing against each othertoran inheritance by seeing who can go without eating longest
It‘s an enjoyable novel situation. with the tension built in. so we need not question too closely whythe Colombians should be quite so silly. Whatwe get isa sort of Ten Little Starvers. each succumbing inturn through various causes. madness. greed. deceit. absent-mindedness. orjust lust fora slice ofMother‘s Pride.
Whatwe lack is action: this is inevitably static. and although director (brother) Tim Whitby has good fun with his very able cast. it's hard not to begin to hunger ourselves for a lesson more substantial than the obvious one—people in small spaces eitherlall out. orlall in love. But there are some greatly entertaining performances. not least lromthe able comicsAndy Linden and Clift Parisi. and fromthe HungerMarathon winner. Caroline Quentin. (Alex Benton)
0 The Colombian Cousin. Gilded Balloon. Cowgate 2262151 (venue 38) Until 29 Aug (not Mons) 7pm. £4.50 (£3.50).
AS THE WIND ROCKS THE WAGON
In this one-hourmonologue the diaries ofAmerican pioneerwomen are brought to life in a colourful display of imaginative acting. As a movingly vivid tale emerges. our attention is never allowed to straytrom the subject. actress Amy Warner. Hereye-to-eye expressions invite usto share the experience. Through a depth oltonal variation, she commands an entire lamin otlemale roles who combine to weave an intricate understanding olthe event. (Duncan McLaren)
0 As the Wind Rocksthe Wagon. Loaves and Fish Theatre Co. Southside International. Nicolson Street (venue 82). 667 7365. Until 29 Aug(not Suns) 2pm.
IT’S THAT RAT AGAIN
Letme letyou know what this is all about. asthey say atthe outset of thisinvolved production. There‘s this rat. buthe‘s not reallyarat. He’sreally Winston Churchill. who has been reincarnated and is trying to blow up Mrs Thatcher's cabinet. only there isthis emergency plumberwho stamps on him. Then he comes back as a waitress. . . The rat acts very well. but it is difficult to see justwhy we should botherto suspend disbelief. (Stephanie Billen)
0 It's That RatAgain. O‘Connell's Consortium. Mandela Theatre. The Gateway Exchange. Abbeymount (venue (5)652 0181. Until 22 Aug (notSun) 3pm. £3 (£1.50)
PRIVATE VIEW
A brave new group are treading the boardsthis Festival. Presenting PRIVATE VlEWtorpublic consumption are the Scottish Student Theatre Company. born earlierthis yearoutofthe Scottish Student Drama Festival. Written bya serious-minded 18 year-old. Mhairi Grealis. this ambitious piece looks at the old chestnut olartistic integrity underthreat. and at the invidious effects of hypocrisy in the modern art world.
Followingthe dilemmas of Harry. angst-torn artist whose idealistic purity grows tarnished and confused. Grealis is preoccupied with hertheme and gives little real attentiontothercharacters who are simply vehiclesfor hammering points home. The castclearlyleeltheir shallowness and there's an understandabletendency amongthem to compensate by overacting. Yet. despite its flaws. thisperformance givesa strong hintof bubbling tatentthat—given a richerscriptandtighter direction—promises better thingsto come. (Rosemary Gonng)
0 Private View. Scottish Student Theatre Company. Bedlam Theatre. 2 Forrest Road (venue 44) 225 9893. Until 22 Aug. Noon. £2.50 (£1)
SOMEONE MUST HAVE BEEN TELLING LIES ABOUT FRANZ KAFKA
David Charap‘s Franz K. is a charminglellow—too charming. one beginsto suspect. to have written such alienated novels. His father. played withthe subtlety of Basil Fawlty by the playwright. seems
18 The List 21 Aug— 3 Sept
infinitely more paranoid. Mark Brand's biography isa brave attempttorelate Kafka‘s life andtimesto his work. it begins well. with some wittily and confidently portrayed caricatures. but loses direction in the second hall. which pointlesst introducestilm of Mussolini. There are plenty of good ideas. afine backdrop by Michael Friedlanderand some intelligent staging but. alas. it doesn'tgel. (Andrew Burnet)
0 Someone Must Have Been Telling Lies About Franz Kalka. DlY Theatre Company. Masonic Lodge. 19 Hill Street (venue 41) 225 7294. Until 29 Aug 9.30pm. £2.75/£2.25.
IN THEIMAGE OF THE BEAST
Red Shitt‘sfirstproduction wasthe Jacobean revenge tragedy ‘The Duchess of Malfi'. seen here i31983. Theirlatest. written by directorJonathan
Holloway. is an
extraordinary science fiction fantasy which pays sly homage to Websterand his contemporaries. even using the name Amalti fora spaceship. Bussy D'ambois is a de Flores of thefuture. scarred both physicallyand psychologically bya desperate yearningfor revenge afterhe is abandoned in outerspace. His obsessive questbrings him into confrontation with many strange and terrifying beings and eventually... but I shan'tspoilthe ending.
As its picaresque structure suggests. THE BEAST is partlya vehiclefor satire: several of the less tasteful institutions olthe 24th-century are uncomfortably familiar. But the show is by its own admission 'self~indulgent' and its real strength liesin the company's outstanding abilityto coniure upan expressionistic other-wordliness. Can you imagine 2001:ASpace Odyssey on stage? Committed ensemble playing. live percussion. acrobatics. outlandish set and costumes. dazzling special effects . . . See it. (Andrew Burnett)
o In the Image olthe Beast. Red Shift Theatre Company. YWCA. Randolph Place (venue 8) 225 4204. Until2.° Aug 8pm. £3.75(£3.50)