FESTIVAL
OANTE’S INFERNO
All those Doug Anthony Allstars fans who spill into the night leaping and singing. ‘Satan Is Lord‘ should get their horns over to Dante‘s Inferno before there is noturning back. The circles of hell beckon and it‘s not a pretty sight.
Kazzum‘s underworld is fabulously costumed. all nippled bodysuits and coneheads. ropey masks and big cagey bird heads. This is a company which sweats and writhes and declaims well in an expressionistic tale of moral impeccability. The actors are skilled and bestial. the environment murky. They succeed in Dante's mission to make sin an unattractive option. I have seen hell and it isa smoke machine under a polythene sheet. (Roberta Mock)
l Dante's Inferno (Fringe) Kazzum. Greyfriars Kirk House (Venue 28) 225 3626. until 5 Sept. 8pm.£5 (£4).
V THEATRE
ME, I’M AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF
Alan Bennett‘s tale of Terylene-trousered Trevor, uneasy and unhappy with his mother, his girlfriend and his job as an English lecturer at the local Tech is the acutely observed comedy we have come to expect. Unfortunately, the Blow Up Theatre Company has bitten off far more than it can chew.
It takes more than a slapped-on moustache to turn a student into an old codger and the performances often detract from the play. as do the frequent and rustling scene changes. Which is a pity. as obviously a lot of thought has gone into this production. It‘s just that
V THEATRE
there could have been a
bit more inspiration.
(Thom Dibdin)
I Me, I'm Afraid olVlrglnla Woolf (Fringe) Blow Up Theatre Company. Festival Club (Venue 36) 650 2395. until 5 Sept. 8pm, £4.50(£3.50).
V THEATRE
SEX III
Emily Woof‘s Sex III is the third in a trilogy that is less about sex than love. transformation and Anna
Karenina. Woof uses
every skill available to her including trapeze work. piano playing and flamenco dancing. and it‘s a strong performance. The text is funny. with an underlying pathos. but there are a few moments when Woofs concentration wavers. No
doubt this will improve as she grows in confidence.
Of the host ofcharacters
which all have different
accents. the most bizarre is an answer-phone with a high pitched voice which Woof plays with her fingers stuck up her nose. (Tamsin Grainger)
I Sex III (Fringe) Emily Woof. Bedlam Theatre (Venue 49) 225 9893. 31 Aug—5 Sept. 8.30pm. £5 (£3.50).
v THETRE PARA/PARA
One is paramilitary and one is parachutist. you see. We‘re talking Northern Ireland here. of course, and more
Brat/10m
specifically the collusion between the UDA and the Army. We know this because there are proclamations of‘No Surrender‘. a profusion of men with balaclavas. and lots of shouting. There is also no structure. atrocious lighting and an infuriating bastardisation of Shakespeare at regular intervals. Why this company feels that a few virtually unconnected vignettes. cobbled
together in order to make
some obvious political statement. makes great theatre defeats me. This does The Cause no good at all. (Philip Parr)
I Para/Para (Fringe) Richard Demarco Gallery
5 (Venue 22) 557 0707. until
29 Aug.9.30pm.£5(£4).
V ‘CABARET
ATTILA THE STOCKBROKER AND JOHN OTWAY
Yes, they‘re back. Fringe stalwarts both. as sharp.
. funny and anarchic as
ever. Kicking offwith a duet (of sorts). a continuous-translation English and German version of ‘You Ain‘t Seen Nothin‘ Yet‘. Attila moves swiftly on to several fast and furious. funny and not-so-funny numbers. including an inspired Crusty reworking of‘Puppet on a String‘ and a passionate. raging lament about the resurgence of Fascism in the ‘New Europe‘. Then it‘s Otway‘s turn. and he wades in merrily to massacre some cherished hippy classics. including ‘Woodstock‘ and House of the Rising Sun in his inimitab l e shambolic-geek fashion. Attila reappears to take the piss out of train-spotters. and we all go away happy. (Sue Wilson)
I Attila the Stockbroker and John Otway (Fringe) Marco‘s Leisure Centre (Venue 98) 228 2141. until 5 Sept. 8pm. £6 (£5).
EDINBURGH
OF GEORGE 111
BY ALAN BENNETT
“Nigel Hawthorne gives the performance
of his life”
Mail on Sunday
and Observer
EDINBURGH VISIT SPONSORED BY BMW (OR) LIMITED @
ING’S
THEATRE
MON 7 - SAT 12 SEPT EVES: 7.30PM MATINEES: WED 8. SAT 2.30PM TICKET PRICES £ 7 - £16.50*
* CONCESSIONS AVAIlABlE
AII MATINEES SEATS NAIF PRICE
TICKETLINE)
p ' 031 220 4349 CREDIT CARD HOTLINE
TICKETS AISO AVAIIABIE FROM KINGS THEATRE BOX OFFICE AND SUMMER BOX OFFICE IN EAST PRINCES ST. GARDENS (All OPEN I 0AM - 8PM, MON - SAT)
‘0’; f“
The List 28 August — 11) September 1992 41