THEATRE LIST .
performed to only 60 people at a time who sit in a movable auditorium. You go tothe action rather than the action coming to you. Another highlight ofTramway‘s Touch of the Dutch season.
Voice Class Every Thurs until 28Jun. 2—3.30pm. £4 (£3). Elspeth Macnaughton leads the Performance Exchange class for professional performers. Call 227 5557 for details. See also Blackfriars above.
Dance Class Every Thurs until 28Jun. 3.30—5pm. £4 (£3). Aimed at non-dancers. this Performance Exchange class is conducted by Kate Dalton as an introduction to movement. Call 227 5557 for details. See also Blackfriars above.
I TRON THEATRE 63 Trongate. 552 4267. Box Office Tue—Sat Noon-8pm: Sun 12.30-1 1pm. Closed Mondays. [Accessz R. ST. Facilities: WS. E. G. R, B. Help: AA].
Yardsale Thurs 14 Jun. 7.30pm. Fri ISJun. 10.30pm. Sun l7Jun. 7.30pm. £2.50(£2). Wendy Seager stars in Pen Name‘s excellent production of Arnold Wesker's look at a failed marriage.
Betty Lemon Fri 15 Jun. 7.30pm. Sat 16and Sun 17 Jun. 9pm. £2.50 (£2). Another Wesker monolgue performed with great skill by Wendy Seager playing several times her real age as a disillusioned labour peeress confined to a wheelchair.
Nottlot While The Giro Thurs l4—Sat 16 Jun. Thurs and Fri 9pm. Sat 7.30pm. £2.50 (£2). A brief flashback to Mayfcst as Dependency Culture presents a stage version ofJim Kelman's short story. A tightly-written and ultimately grim view of unemployment.
The Adventures oi Tom Sawyer Tue 19—Sat 24 Jun. 7.30pm. £5 (£2.50). Cumbria's Pocket Theatre in a new adaptation of the Mark Twain classic. There‘s a strong local imput with direction by Brian Elsley. choreography by Greg Nash and music by David McGuiness. A dance. song, comedy and drama performance aimed at all ages.
I VOLUNTEER CENTRE 27 Elmbank Street. 226 3431. Tickets from Ticket Centre. 227 551 1.
Salsa Nica Fri 22 & Sat 23 Jun. 7.30pm. £3(£2). First visit to Britain by Teatro Nixtayolero (Theatre ofthe Morning Star) from Nicaragua. who are touring Europe with a show about the country‘s loss of cultural identity through migration to the United States. The two centralcharacters die on reaching the frontier oftheir destination: their final reflections— told through narrative. song and dance— illustrate the past and future relationships between the beleagured Central American state and its powerful
neighbour to the north. Well worth seeing.
EDI N B U RG H
I BONNINGTON RESOURCE CENTRE 200 Bonnington Road. Leith. 555 0920. What a Load oi Rubbish Until Fri ISJun. 2pm and 8pm. £1 (50p) includes free glass of wine. To celebrate Spring Fling‘s Green theme. members of the Centre have created this ecological detective performance/exhibition.
I BRUNTON THEATRE Musselburgh, 665 2240. [Access: PPA, R, St. Facilities: WC.
W8, E, G. B. Help: AA]
No Theatre this issue.
I CHURCH HILL THEATRE Momingside Road, 228 1155. Tickets available from Queen‘s Hall and Usher Hall Box Offices. Dance Displays Wed l3—Sat 30 Jun. See Dance Listings.
I FORTH BRIDGE CENTENARY THEATRE Binks car park. South Queensferry. Box Office 331 4441 (or in car park an hour before performance).
The Ferry Plav Until Sun 1 Jul (Wed—Sun only, not Sat 16 or Wed 20). 7pm. Sat and Sun Mats 2pm. £5 (£2.50). The citizens of South Queensferry celebrate 100 years of the Forth Rail Bridge in a theatrical extravaganza that takes over the whole village. Starting off at the Binks car park the audience is taken through a series of short performances around the town, culminating in Hector MacMillan‘s Bridging the Gap in the Royal Exchange‘s Mobile Theatre.
I KING'S THEATRE 2 Leven Street, 229 1201. Box Office Mon-Sat 10am—8pm. Bar. [Accessz PPA, L. Facilities: WC, W8, AS, E, G, B. Help: AA]
Intent To Kill Until Sat 16 Jun. Mon-Fri 7.30pm. Sat 5pm and 8pm. £3.50—£6.50. A new thriller by Ted Willis on its way to London and starring Richard Todd and Nigel Pivaro. Dirty dealings in the world of a Greek tycoon.
Dor Wullle Mon 18—Sat 23 Jun. Mon-Fri 7.30pm. Sat 5pm and 8pm. £3.50—£6.50. Gerald Ramage directs a stage musical version of the DC. Thomson cartoon strip. Lynn Ferguson is one of the stars of
the Logan Theatre‘s production.
The Ghost Train Mon 25—Sat 30Jun. Mon-Fri 7.30pm. Sat 5pm and 8pm. £4.80. The first of a season ofthrillers at the King‘s is Arnold RidIey's spooky tale about seven passengers stranded at a Cornish railway station.
I NETHERBOW ARTS CENTRE 43 High Street. 556 9579. Box Office. 10am—4.30pm. 7—9pm perf. evgs. Cafe. (Access: R. Facilities: WC. W5. E. G. B. R. Help: A. AA]
The Carlin Moth Until Sat 16 Jun. 7.30pm. Up from the Borders. Rideout Theatre Co bring a production of Robert McLellan‘s romantic tale which blends humour. tragedy. lyricism and music. A young crofter receives a visitation from a spirit which reveals an idealised version of the man‘s fantasies.
I PLAYHOUSE THEATRE Greensidc Place, 557 2590.
Matilda Until Sat 16 Jun. 7pm. Sat Mat 2pm. Also Fri 10.30am. £3.50—£8.50. Roald Dahl's best-seller transformed into a musical for kids.
The Georgian State Dance Company Mon 18—Tue 19 Jun. See Dance Listings.
I RICHARD DEMARCO GALLERY 17—21 Blackfriars Street. Details on 3321418. Love Fables Until Sat 16 Jun. 8pm. Edinburgh-based New Yorker. Leeala. gives a set of her animal poems a branches of AT May‘s Travel and the Queen‘s Hall. Clerk Street.
The Odd Couple Fri 15 Jun-Sat 7 Jul. 8pm. £3—£9. Sat Mat 30 Jun. Free Preview Thurs 14 Jun. An all-female version ofthe Neil Simon hit is the second in the Royal
REVIEW
FRANCIE AND JOSIE IN KING’S HIGH
gt lThe King’s Theatre, Glasgow until 4 u y.
For a show that was billed as Francis and Josle’s very own there was a singular lack oi Messrs Fulton and Milroy tor the lirst hour. Aside lrom a ten-minute routine, reminiscent oi Waldori and Stanley, with the two protagonists transvestltlsing in the theatre’s boxes, the audience was ‘treated' to little more than a display at bare llesh, stockings and suspenders courtesy oi the chorus line.
The composition of the audience was irighteningly predictable - one row oi seats actually did not contain a single male or non-pensioner. That the show’s producers did not target the show at the right social group is surprising enough; that the various ladies bowling clubs accepted (and even seemed to enjoy) a variety show with all the class of a sleazy Amsterdam strip joint is a cause ior consternation.
Aiterthe interval, though, it gradually became clear that the feathered hordes had been little more than a warm-up act- a sort of ‘Slide' with sequins — lor once on the stage, the two gentlemen in the stylish suits did not leave. And to quote Chris Tarrant, ‘this was what they wanted’. The crowd loved absolutely everything about them lrom the one-liners to the wartime standards (which have the added attraction oi giving the opportunity to sing along and wave your arms in the air— great tun).
lt's diillcult to criticise what is so obviously a Glaswegian institution; especially when the audience's enthusiasm carries you along with it and helps you to laugh at jokes which lirst saw the light oi day in neolithic
times. It would also be unlalrto unduly castlgate two periormers whose charm and (ilawed) technique reaps such humorous dividends. But (you knew that had to come, didn’t you) some at the racism and sexism oi the routine - especially irom Mr Fulton- although lapped up by the audience, causes one to draw breath and think that this material really belongs in a bygone, jingolstlc age. I only hope that when I reach 70, lwon’t llnd insulting fellow members at the human race purely because oi their place at birth quite as iunny as did the lady bowlers. (Philip Parr)
REVIEW THE NORTHERN QUARTER
Seen at Tramway, Glasgow. Run ended.
‘De Mexicaanse Hond' is the name of the theatre company. They are Dutch. The Tramway is the venue. You don’t exactly go into the theatre expecting Ayckbourn, but even for those anticipating a somewhat irregular theatrical event, this was splendidly surreal. The iacts that the set consists (at its most elaborate) of three Bauhaus stools and that the musicians are given equal prominence to the actors become peripheral issues where normally they would be major talking points, such is the level oi innovation in every aspect at this periormance.
The tale is a parable oi an inquisitive child trapped in the body of a 43 year-old man as a result at his parents’ obsessive protectiveness. What is incisive and illuminating, though, is that the man is not displayed as some retarded imbecile. Alex Van Warmerdam has realised that isolation need not necessarily lead to stagnation, and the leading character, although displaying child-like
curiosity, has the understanding to engage in (and emerge victorious
trom) philosophical debate with his peers. (That his peers can be alternately an artist and a group oi construction workers is also a welcome departure from the norm - recognition that you do not need a degree in order to think.)
The obvious message oi the value at ireedom is given added iorce by striking design and music overlapping this thoughtiul script. Once again, it is Van Warmerdam who must take most credit (design and direction), although it was his brother, Vincent, who wrote the music. All oi the cast wear bright, primary-coloured suits and, when evocative lighting is cast on the stage, the lull spectrum oi emotions can be bridged without a word being spoken. For music and lighting to be so integral and enhancing is as rare and exciting as this company’s skill. It is a tragedy that more people were not here to see the lirst in what looks (it this is an accurate precursor) like being a memorable season. (Philip Parr)
BDMBER/LOUDER THAN WORDS
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. Showing 23 a 24 June. Continuing the honourable tradition established two years ago by John Macliay in Dead Dad Dog, the lirst double-bill in this year’s Spinning A Line season at new plays by new writers gets through two ghosts in the same evening. As one whose iavourlte TV programme as a late-developing teenager was Rentaghost, such theatrical intrusions are to be welcomed.
Dl the two plays, Betty Stone's Louder Than Words is the one to make
comic mileage irom the intrusion at a benign, but mischievous phantom. Like Coward‘s Blithe Spirit, this short domestic battle oi the sexes plays on the contusion caused when one character can talk to a ghost oi which the other is unaware. The spirit in question is the sullragette grandmother (Jennlier Black) oi the upwardly-mobile Lucy (Leigh Biagi), a victim of sex descrimination whose problems are cleverly put into historical perspective by her polltlcised relative.
Admittedly, it’s a lesson in DIY lemlnism. The obvious solution, and one which Stone repeatedly avoids, would be tor Lucy to ditch her dull, one-dimensional and sexist boyiriend (Craig Duncan). Stone never makes it clearwhat the appealing characteristics at this wiliul individual are. Although political issues are raised, the play is too anxious to maintain the status quo ior it to coniront sexism head-on. Director Andrew Farrell opts to play down the vein oi comedy in LouderThan Words and in so doing demands a little too much oi what is essentially a light, well-made play.
John McKenzle’s Bomber, his second contribution to a Spinning A Line season, is a much more disturbing ailalr. Continuing his iascination with those on the shady side of legality, McKenzie creates a world not too lar into the luture where secret police coerce political subversives into working iortheir own underhand ends. Like Louder The Words, Bomber raises questions about the extent at one's political engagement, but unlike the earlier play, it provides less comiortable answers. Ben Twist gives a stark, cold production to what is an over-wordy, but nonetheless chilling play that is worryingly believable. (Mark Fisher).
48 The List 15—28June 1990