THEATRE LIST
O THEATRE WORKSHOP 34 Hamilton Place. 226 5425. Box office Mon—Sat 9.30am—5.30pm. Bar. Cafe. Light Cycle Five Fri 9 Oct. 8pm. £2.50 (£1.50). Based in London. the
company was started in January 1986
through an MS(‘ scheme to explore the common ground shared by
profoundly deaf and hearing dancers
in performance. This show. for 12 years and over is preceded by a week ofdance workshops in and around Edinburgh. being organised by Artlink. Contact Thursa Sanderson. Artlink. Forth Street. 556 6350.
The Last Days at the Nosteratu NB extra date 15 ()ct. not advertised in programme. Thurs l5-Sat 17()ct. 8pm. £3 (£2.50). The Shadow Syndicate's successful Edinburgh Festival show. presented here as part of the Nethcrbow Festival of Mime
and Mask Theatre. See Glasgow Arts
% (‘entre for full description.
O TRAVERSE THEATRE 1 12 West Bow. 226 2633. Box office Tue—Sat 10am—8pm; Sun 6—10pm. Bar. Rest. Tickets also available from the Ticket ('entre. 22 Market Street. Seats from £2. Sundays ALL SEATS £2 (non-members £2.50).
Who’s Lelt? Until Sun 4 Oct. 7.30pm. Day members £4.50: Econ members £4: Full members £3.50: Student members £2. A dark study of the varied sexual fortunes ofthree women friends. Barry McCarthy's disturbing and first fully-produced play makes strong meat for the new
é Scottish company. Swaive
Kanooziers. A Tron Traverse
; co-production directed by Hamish
; Glen.
lnthe Night 6—] 1 Oct. 7.30pm. Prices : as for Who's Left". A political satire written and directed by Jim Kelman. following up his recent work at the
Traverse. The Bus/(er (in which he also directed Roughcast Theatre Company who perform In the .\'ight) ; and a translation of Enzo (‘ormann's The Prowler seen during the
1 Edinburgh Festival.
1 The Long March 13—15 Oct. 7.30pm. A guest appearance from the Sarmcol Workers' Co—operative (Natal) who use mime. dance and music to tell their own story. See Panel.
Andy Greenhalgh and Susie Maguire Fri 96: Sat 10()ct. 10pm. £3 (£1.50) f Cabaret makes a welcome return to the Traverse with a new season of English and Scottish acts. with Andy Greenhalgh and Susie Maguire.
; currently being seen on STV‘s The
Terry .N’easotz Show.
JUDY STEEL AND THE IRON LADIES
Newark Castle near Yarrow in the Borders has a 15th century door set twenty leet up in its sheer stone walls. ‘Five hundred years ago this was a wild and dangerous place to stay.’ says Walter Elliot, local historian and wordsmith. Five miles away at Ettrick Bridge, Lloyd Duinan, director at Judy Steel’s new play, remarks, ‘They never lock their doors round here. It’s that sort ol place.’
Historically the scene at bloody lamily lending and witchcralt, the Borders has guietened a little overthe centuries. The steely rule ol the Black Douglases lives on in name only: David and Judy can govern their clan with a genderhand.
The area has its problems nevertheless. The decline at the textile mills and less labour-intensive larming has lett the Borders, like so many parts at the country, boasting tourism as its major industry.
The Borders Festival at Ballads and Legends is not just an end of season tourist attraction, however. The events have been concentrated on the
: weekends so Borders people can
attend, and the venues range lrom the local stately home to the local hotel
bar. Judy Steel, Artistic Director at the Festival, emphasises the involvement
' of community councils and the
perlormances in town halls. The Festival is, by intention at least, a celebration at native culture, history
and talent.
The perlormers are a mixture at
locals and prolessionals (and local I prolessionals); and in the audience at
Stow Town Hall | tell, suitably, like an outsider. A woman beside me admitted
5 she’d only come because she didn’t
want the perlormers embarrassed by a tiny audience. Would she have lelt like
that about a theatre company lrom outside the area?
The Festival is an impressive
l achievement. There are more than
1 rounmc
Q o The Steamie Wildcat Stage
' Productions return with Tony Roper's wonderfully funny play about four Glasgow women in a communal washhouse. Superb stuff i — if it comes near you and there‘s a ticket left. go. For further details please call Wildcat on 041 954 0000.
Pavilion Theatre. Glasgow L'ntil Sat ‘
10 ()ct. 7.30pm. Tickets041 332 1846: Magnum Centre, Irvine Mon 12. Tue 13 Oct: (Jreenock A rts' Theatre Wed 14. Thurs 15 Oct:
Denny Civic Theatre. Dumharton Fri l
16. Sat 17 ()ct. Tour continues. 0 Turning Over Borderline Theatre
twenty perlormances at three lull-length dramastouring a
successful production. first seen at the Edinburgh Fringe. ofBrian Thompson's comedy about a TV' crew making a ’meaningful' documentary about India. For further details please call Borderline on 0292 281010.
Lockerbie Academy Fri 2 Oct.
7. 30pm : Stan wix A rts‘ Theatre. Car/isle Sat 3 Oct. 8pm; Civic Theatre. Ayr Wed 7. 7.30pm; A irdrie A rts ('entre Thurs 8 Oct. 8pm: (ireenock Arts Guild Theatre Fri 9 Oct. 7.30pm: (‘umbernauld Theatre Sat 10 Oct. 7.45pm. End oftour.
0 Mary Queen at Scots Got Her Head Chopped 011(‘ommunicado start to
tourtheir excellentproduction of Liz
Lochead's play. They breeze through the story with tremendous energy and style. Don‘t miss it. For further details please call (‘ommunicado on 031 229 7404. Theatre Royal. [)umfries 3 Oct. 7.30pm (0387) 54209; Douglas lfwart
1,]? \;
bewildering variety ol villages, to say nothing at the host at concerts, exhibitions, guided tours, visiting theatre companies and the ubiquitous Fiddlers’ Bally. The sponsorship is
also prodigious: trom the Duke ol ‘ Buccleuch to the Transport and General
Workers Union.
Judy Steel claims the whole thing is a cooperative ettort, belittling her own part. ‘She’s an amazing woman: she’s written one play, compiled and directed another, and arranged a lestival, as well as that,‘ Lloyd Duinan
jerks his head towards the
conservatory, where David Steel, the only man in Saturday alternoon Ettrick Bridge to wear a suit, is deep in conversation with Charles lrom Boss and Cromarty.
Meanwhile, atthe other end at the house, Judy Steel leeds stray stage
I‘ managers, clutches sheaves ol unopened letters, phones someone 2 about a horse and gently reluses to tell
me anything about being First lady at Ettrick and Lauderdale. She opens up a little on the subject at
her play, The Wizard lady at
Branxholm. Its subject is a lormidable woman, living at the time 01 Mary
Queen ol Scots. Janet Beaton, Lady ol Buccleuch, is reported to have had live
1 husbands and scores at lovers. Judy
N 32"
'Zr'l ill .mpt No l‘ Kllkult
c u! Steel lound the truth to be less sensational, but perhaps more unusual. ‘She rode at the head at her clan, and signed documents at a time when not many women did, and managed her husband’s estates, although that wasn’t so unusual.’
Judy Steel‘s researches also turned up a collection at plays by James Hogg, none of which have ever been pertormed. Dne, All-Hallow-Eve, is given its world premiere on 6 October. ‘It has some very strong women in it too. He must have known women like that when he worked on the larms, and he writes very beautilully about motherhood, he must have seen women leeding their children in the lields.’
Women are to Judy Steel’s mind a mainstay ol the community. ’We have a ' community bus, and all that sort of thing was run by the women. Now there are lewer women without lull-time jobs, it’s more ditticult.’
‘They've done a tremendous amount since they came here,’ says Lloyd Duinan olthe Steels. ‘She’ll tell you hersell, this Festival’s built on twenty years at goodwill.’
The Wizard ol Branxholm is at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh 16-18 October. (Julie Morrice)
(0387) 63822: Wallace Hall Academy. Thorn/till 6 Oct. 7.30pm (0387) 63822; Kirkcudbright Academy 7 Oct. 7.30pm (0387) 63822; Lang/101m Academy 8 Oct. 7.30pm (0387) 63822; Town Hall.
Jedburgh 9 Oct. 7.30pm (“835)
63278/62261 ; Stanwix A rts‘ Theatre. Carlisle 10 Oct. 8pm (028) 471 1 1; Civic Theatre, Motherwell 12 Oct. 7.30pm ((1698) 67515: .S’pringwell House. Edinburgh 13 Oct. 7.30pm 031 337 1971 : Student L'nion Theatre. StAndrews‘ 15 Oct. 8pm (0334) 74610; Glen wood ('entre. Glenrothes 16 Oct. 7.30pm (0592) 7566337752244; New Street A rts‘ Centre. Paisley l7 Oct.7.30pm ()41 889 3 l 5 1. End of Scottish tour.
0 Tamlane Theatre Alba tour their production shown at this year‘s Edinburgh Fringe of this gentle. magical piece of theatre based on the Borders ballad ofthc legend ofthe knight Tam Linn. rescued from the
love of a girl. For further details please call Theatre Alba on ()31 226 5992. Borders Festival of Ballads and egends. Bookings tel: 0896 4751: SI BUSlt't’lfS Village Hall Fri 2 ()CI: Traquair [louse Sat 3 Oct (performance followed by ceilidh). Tour ends.
0 Mairi Mhor-The Woman lrom Skye 7:84 Scotland tour a new play by John McGrath about Mary MacPherson. a 19th-century Skye woman who wrote many beautiful Gaelic songs. For further details please call 7:84 Scotland on 031 557 2442.
.llitchell Theatre. (ilasgow'l‘hurs 1 — Sat 3 ()ct. 7.45pm. 041 227 5511: lz'den (‘ourt Theatre. lnverness Tue 6. Wed 7; then village halls throughout the l lighlands till Sat 17 ()c1.
0 Othello Last few days olTAG‘s mitch-applauded \ ersion of Shakespeare's tale of unapologetic
(‘ompany take on tour their
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‘ 1
The list 2—15 October 19