8"/10"'
V FOLK
' APU/AWATINAS
You can always pick out the sound of the quena and charangoduring the Festival. South American
' groups are a popular draw
and having been beating a
path to our capital from ' the Andean altiplanofor years.
Youthful exponents ofa more reflective contemporary sound. Apu
are rich in vocal harmony and skilled fretwork on
the guitar and strings. Successful in merging the traditional idioms in a
j rnusicofuniversalappeal. this five piece bring a fresh
slant in their music from Peru. Awatinas have a depth
. and hypnoticintensity which derivesas much
from their traditional Bolivian roots as from the fact that the group w as formed more than twenty years ago.
Superb. expressive flute and pan pipe playing is a hallmark of their sound. and a careful use of authentic costume colours the performance of music drawn from the tropical south of their country and the arid Andean wastes. (Norman Chalmers)
I Music from Peru's Sacred Valley (Fringe) Apu. Reid (.‘oncert Ilall (Venue ()8) until 31 (not 21-24 or3tl). 8pm. Awatkipasipxananakasataki (Fringe) Awatinas. St John's (‘hurch (Venue 127) lb and 17 Aug 1pm; 19—24 Aug. bpm.
V THEATRE
THREE MEN IN A BOAT
Jerome K. Jerome would have turned in his grave at the thought ofthrce women bringing his famous three men in a boat (not forgetting the dog!) to life. But he needn‘t have worried. With precision. style and panache. Performance Theatre Co blow away the Cobwebs of ‘classic‘ literature to provide a lively production which deftly takes its audience into the realms ofan imaginary golden age. Drawing inventively upon minimal props the cast transform a dingy community centre into gentrified Victorian England. Hampton Court maze. Henley Regatta and even the rippling waters of the Thames are reliant upon audience participation and atmospheric piano accompaniment. while the all-female cast propel the story along. often finding their feet for some sharp
16 — 22 August 1991
FESTIVAL
Friends of The Famous are waiting for the famous friends who don‘t, of course, turn up to appear on their chat show. So here’s a few songs to fill in the time . . .
This is not time wasted, as the shrill awfulness of their mock pretensions are engaging enough, but there are moments when the duo become horribly close to the cringingly kitsch world of failed glam which they are satirising.
At times the dialogue is as turgid and desperate as any ageing cabaret act
NIPPED AND TUCKED FOR ’91
I could think of, and with no more depth 1 than full- length chra (albeit as much colour), the show has one joke which was neverdeveloped. All cover songs and little content, it is : Hello magazine on stage, show biz in full-frontal face-iob—saved, ironically, by the slick professionalism of its i execution. (Stephen Chester)
flipped and Tucked ’91 (Fringe) Friends
of The Famous, The Gilded Balloon
' (Venue 38) 226 2151, until 24 Aug, 9pm, £5 (£4).
senseofhumour— andthe script is witty and intelligent. But unlike last year‘s double-act. I.esand Robert. I‘m not convinced that the (ierty .\'aylor character is interesting enough to sustain this much material.
Sure. it's delightfully quirky. and you'llsmirk all the way through. but somehow Naylor doesn't hold the imagination for long once she has left the stage. (Mark Fisher) IThe Gerty NaylorShow (I-‘ringe ) 'l‘ony I laasc. I’leasance (Venue 33) 556 (i550. until 31 Aug(not 29). 9.30pm. £5.50 £6 (£4 £4.50).
v CABARET jTHE 20:20 snow
Stand-upappears toofter
tw'ocategoriesol
. performerzthc geekorthe
hectoring southerner. Since this was cabaret they
were joined by theonc who does the funny songs on the key board and the one who reads the
ad-Iibbing.
Gems like this make the Fringe worthwhile. As the applause receded at the end we were asked to spread the word ifwe enjoyed the show. Well. I did. You will. (Aaron Hicklin)
IThree Men inABoat (Fringe). Calton (‘cntre (Venue 119).661 9121. until 31 Aug (not Sun) 8pm. £5 (£4).
V THEATRE , THE GERTY NAYLOR SHOW
Edging into Michael I’alin territory. (‘Iiffhanger veteran 'I'ony I Iaase createsthe unlikely character of (ierty Naylor. a now-deceased 92-year-old who led a secret double life in her youth as a male footballer ) for Aston Villa.
Haase is an excellent performer— easily able to chastise the irritating brats in the first-night audience without losing the flow of the monologue or his
new spaper headlines.
()ne man with an ego and a microphone and its time for a repetition ofall the jokes you've heard from all the other cabaret acts in the I‘ringe. with enough oftheobligatory mixture of aggression and arrogance to make you scream. ‘I am a human being. I am not a member of an audience".
These are the sort of routines that make you think anyone could do this. and they probably could do it at least as well.
The audience Iov ed it. but then this government has been elected democratically too. (Stephen (‘hesterl IThe 20:20 Showll-‘ringei 'I‘he 'I‘ebbits ( ‘omedy (‘lub. Southside '91 (Venue R2 ) (vb? "305. until 24 Aug. 3.20pm. £4 (£3.50).
V THEATRE IT’S A MADHOUSE
I Ship Shape were already
performing Bleasdale's It's A Madhouse before (iBI I hit our screens. but his sudden street- credibilityclearly hasn't done them any harm. Ibis is a play you could blow the dtlst off. It leels dated and. in the murky disco-pink of Buster Brownsitlooksawful it you can see it at all. Add to that the incessant vvhirr
ol air-conditioning and the
unaccountable smell of pongy' feet and you‘v e got an uncomfortable night out.
Now the good part Ship Shape's actors are all very impressive. realistically and powerfully playing characters in a psychiatric ward w here the administrators may be madder than the inmates. liven so. the venue defeats them - you'd be better ofl'spending the money in the Doric opposite. (Miranda France)
I It‘s A Madhouse i I’ringel I
Ship Shape. Buster Brown’s (Venue (v0) 226 4224. until 24 Aug(not Sun 18).S.15pm.£3.50 (£3 )-
V THEATRE
WE
Written by Yevgeny '/.amyatin in the 1920s. 111’ was the prototype dystopian novel ofthe 20th century. Itsintluencc on .Vmcri'en Iz'ig/irv-I’our and Brave New World couldn't be plainer. and in the 70s Hollywood plundered the book mercilessly for movies like Logan 's' Run and I'llX-IIJN.
In his90-minute one-man adaptation. Peter Ireland is the Winston Smith-like rocket builder who finds subversive thoughts and emotions disrupting the clean. mathematical lines of his world. The way he's abridged the novel does lead to occasional confusion. but the owlish Ireland. a moch of. engaging mcekness. easily keeps hold of the audience‘s attention. assisted. but nev er ov erwhelmed by w ell-manipulated video and sound. (Alastair Mabbott)
I We ( l‘ringc) Peter Ireland. Southside
((‘ommunity (‘cntre
(Venue 82) («)7 7365. until 24 Aug. 9.50pm. £4 (£3.50).
V THEATRE
- THE EXORCISM
lite Day idson's Mains Dramatic ( lab has clearly gone to great efforts with this ( ‘hristmas horror
story. 'l‘he naturalistic stage set perfectly recreates the interior ofa w cll-to-do country
cottage. filled with all the
propsimaginable ‘I'\'. video. candlelit dining table. three-piece suite. even a ( ’hr istmas turkey. But . quite honestly . the play itself is tvvosolid hours of tedium. When they 're not hamming it up. the cast of four don't really seem sure about who and what they are playing. The stage is too cluttered (characters are inadvertantly obscured by an armchair or settee ) and the play toolong. Melodrama for those of a H-movie frame of mind. (Robert Alstead) I The Exorcism i I‘ringe) I)Ml)('. l loly ('orncr (‘entre ( Venue 113). until 24 Aug ( not Suns). 8pm. £4
CABARET ;
DENIS
‘ I I], ‘
'I‘here’s no smoke without fire. or so they say. and Denis Leary certainly fills the stage with both. The intense anger and hate that appear to be behind ~hisdiatribes will leave many sets ofears badly singed. not only because of the language. but because of the subjects themselves. The antithesis of the right-on comedian. Leary throws foul-mouthed barbs at the Queen. baby seals and. puffing away on a pack of Marlboro. non-smokers. L'nfortunately. for every keen observation that knocks down some hypocritical target. there is another item that just seems to be offensive for offensive‘s sake. This may have had some merit in itself last year. when the material caught an unsuspecting Assembly Rooms audience off guard. but already the fans are in line and expecting Dirty Denisto deliver. It's a razor-wire line that Mr Leary is treading. (Alan Morrison) I Denis Leary(f"ringe). Assembly Rooms (Venue 3). 2204349. until I7Aug. 9pm. £8.50-—£7.50.