FESTIVAL PREVIEW
ASSEMBLY ROOMS
Traditionally the busiest. and. potentially at least. the most lucrative of Fringe venues. the Assembly Rooms — or rather. ifyou must. Assembly in Association With llarp Premier Export Lager— can seem somewhat daunting for a first time visitor. The George Street venue. managed by Bill Burdctt-(‘outts
has thirty shows
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Julie Morrice and Stuart Bathgate take a turn round some Festival spaces with stories to tell, accompanied by photographer Douglas Robertson.
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— ROSSLYN
The night Dorothy Wordsworth got her knickers caught on the barbed wire was a classic. says Judith Fiskin, curator of Rosslyn Chapel. In this. its seventh year, the Masque of Rosslyn should avoid that particular thorny problem. A marquee has replaced the crypt as dressing-room for the 40-odd actors and their 300 costumes. and passers-by need no longer stumble over companies of mediaeval soldiery and clergy negotiating fences and cowpats between scenes.
More than a venue. in many ways Rosslyn Chapel is the performance. Glen Theatre‘s annual production in the tiny. intricately-sculpted interior is a dramatisation of five hundred years ofthe chapel‘s own history. ‘The audience must be aware that you are playing it.‘ says Fiskin. ‘Acting out the reconsecration of the chapel and the blessing ofthe altar. the company tread a fine line between theatre and liturgy. On the other hand. scenes of revelry and murder may strike some as unsuitable but.‘ says Fiskin. ‘the congregation have been very supportive.
‘l defy anyone who‘s been here not to come back.‘ she says. as we admire the casket-like exterior of the chapel. Her challenge may explain the inexplicable. the sudden squalls on calm nights and the ghostly sightings which members of the cast have reported. ‘Perhaps we‘ve tuned in to something._‘ she suggests. (JM)
1.0 The List 11— 17 August 1989