FEATURE

Beautiful Gemme fame, Raymond Ross presents his new play at Musselburgh’s Brunton Theatre. which concerns a barely remembered workers’ uprising in 18th-century East Lothian.

I HammerAnd Tongs the second studio album by Edinburgh’s Goodbye Mr Mackenzie hits your local music store on Mon 4.

I Compass Theatre Company Tim Piggot Smith and cohorts return to Scotland with medium-scale productions of The Merchant of Venice and Waiting For Godot, which can both be seen at Glasgow’s Tron and Cumbernauld Theatres this month.

I The Field Jim (My Left Foot) Sheridan’s new film casts Richard Harris, Tom Berenger and Brenda Fricker in a period drama set in western Ireland.

I The Crucible Arthur Miller’s gripping persecution drama survived deconstruction by the Wooster Group at Tramway last year. and is this year’s first production by the still-homeless Royal Lyceum Company (see August), currently at

the King’s Theatre, Edinburgh.

I Shirley MacLaine can be seen (and heard) being there at Edinburgh’s Playhouse on Fri 22 and Sat 23.

I Show Boat Acclaimed touring

revival of Hammerstein and Kern’s I

1927 musical of the Deep South docks at Edinburgh‘s Playhouse on Tue 26, after cruising through a run in Glasgow last year.

MARCH

I Cambridge West Indian writer Caryl Phillips‘ new novel, published this month by Bloomsbury, is a coruscating account of racist inhumanity in the 19th century Caribbean.

I Dreaming Adapted by William Mcllvanney from his own short story, this BBC Scotland Screen 2 presentation features Ewan Bremner, Billy Connolly, Marianne Faithfull and Deacon Blue in a musical fantasy expected to be broadcast on Sun 3.

I Victories The latest novel by George V. Higgins is set in 1968 in

Vermont, New Hampshire, and tells the tale of a political conflict overshadowed by ancient baseball rivalries. Published this month by Andre Deutsch.

I GFT Second Screen The long-awaited and much- sponsored extension to Glasgow’s arthouse cinema is expected to open around the end of this month.

I Bonllre or The Vanities Tom Wolfe’s classic New York satire adapted for screen by Brian DePalma, stars Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith and Bruce Willis, and an ending Wolfe never wrote but

is rumoured to be happy with.

I The Royal National Theatre Company returns to Scotland with the latest theatrical knight Sir Ian McKellen getting the hump in Richard III and our own Brian Cox losing the rag in King Lear.

I National Week or Sport 1991 is officially Year Of Sport, and the week from Sat 9LSat 16 will be a special fundraising celebration, in conjunction with . . .

I Comic Relief The annual comedy benefit event, with Red Nose (and Red Ball) Day on Sat 16.

I The Two Jakes Long-delayed release for Jack Nicholson’s self-directed sequel to Polanski’s 1974 cracker Chinatown, in which he stars as private detective J .J. Gittes in 19405 Los Angeles.

I The Closing Number is the latest Shared Experience show, a physically expressive piece directed by the esteemed Yugoslavian director Mladen Materic at Glasgow’s Tron theatre from Tue 5. I Deep Purple Richie Blackmore and his chums still have an axe to grind, and their quest for eternal youth

brings them to Edinburgh’s Playhouse on Mon 11.

I The Godiather Part 3 Coppola, Puzo and Pacino re-convene for what promises to be one of the year’s cinematic hits.

I The Ottslti Variations Marcella Evaristi’s latest one-woman show is revived at the Tron Theatre , Glasgow, Tue 12—Sun 24.

I From Glasgow To Saturn is TAG Theatre Company’s new science fiction show, based on Edwin Morgan’s poetry, which tours Scotland this month.

I The Doors Hollywood’s Mr Controversy Oliver Stone directs Val Kilmer as J imbo Morrison in a biopic that promises to get the rock hacks excited one way or another. Oh, by the way, Diane, Kyle MacLachIan plays damn fine keyboards as Ray Mazarek.

I Laurie Booth puts his best foot forward in a new show at Glasgow’s RSAMD on Fri 15 and Sat 16.

I Sean Hughes There was this Irishman who got so good at telling jokes that he became flavour of the year in 1990 and picked up the

Perrier award at the Edinburgh Fringe. He’ll be back with a punchline at the Tron, Fri 15—Sun 17.

I Gary Human and friends go electric at Glasgow’s Pavilion on Sun 17.

I Tanlta Tllraram will renew some good traditions at Glasgow’s Pavilion on Sun 17.

I Netherbow Theatre Reopens Three of Edinburgh’s theatre venues are currently closed for renovation. The Netherbow, in the High Street, will be the first to throw open its doors to the public again.

I Edinburgh lntematlonal Folk Festival The annual foregathering of Scotland’s own ethnic musicians and those from other countries runs earlier than usual this year (Fri 22—Sun 31), offering a wide variety of performances (Capercaillie is the only name so far released) and workshops as well as the annual Harp Festival, the second year of the European Piping Festival, and other special events. The Folk Festival Club runs at Teviot Row as usual.

I Green Card Peter Weir’s latest movie stars Gerard Depardieu in his

first English-speaking role as a Frenchman (no kidding) who marries an American woman (Andie sex, lies MacDowell) to obtain a work permit.

I Inferno Edinburgh‘s Mandela Theatre Company present a new show in the style of their award-winning production of The Dorm , also written by Lance Flynn. The show opens at the Traverse, and will tour to Glasgow’s Tron, Aberdeen and the north of England. I The Cheviot, The Stag And The Black, Black Oil John McGrath’s classic dramatic chronicle of the rape of rural Scotland is revived by Wildcat at Clydebank’s Clyde Theatre for the first time since its premiere as 7:84 Scotland’s debut show in 1973.

I Kingsley Amis publishes his memoirs this month, which should raise a few blood pressure readings among England’s literati. ‘If some of the total result reads like my fiction,’ Amis avers ominously in the preface, ‘that does not point to its untruth, any more than plausible passages in my fiction are necessarily taken from life.’

I European Football Championship: Scotland v Bulgaria To be held on Wed 27.

I Judas Priest Genuine contenders to topple Spinal Tap from their pedestal as Kings of Rock get down at Edinburgh Playhouse on Thurs

APRIL

I Edinburgh Science Festival begins this year on the auspicious date of Mon 1, and runs until Sun 14, though a major schools programme and touring exhibitions begin on Tue 12 March. There are lots of talks and demonstrations as usual, with appearances by David Bellamy and Miriam Stoppard; conferences on Microbiology, Plant Technology and Health and Safety at Work; and a special one-day seminar on Genetics, which covers many aspects from monocellular genetic engineering to the ethics of genetics. I Skin Tight Welsh ladyslayer Tom Jones, who made it a half-century last year, dons his cowhide breeks for an outing at the SECC on Thurs 4.

I Scottish FA Cup Semi-Finals To be held on Sat 6 or Sat 20.

I Johnny Mathis Well-loved American balladeer croons for his Scottish admirers at Edinburgh Playhouse on Sat 6 and Sun 7.

.iy‘iilitilllitiiI

I Hamlet Following a string of second-rate thrillers, Mel Gibson

The List 11—24 January 1991 7