10"/LATE
FESTIVAL
Breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner
Hot and cold drinks and licensed bar
'International flavours of food, music and people'
The Art College, Lauriston Place Edinburgh 031-229 7062
THE DEL RUBIO TRIPLETS inragine the Golden Girls poured Into spangly black Iinldresses, toting Spanish gnitars and topped oii with Identical blonde haystacks: that’s the kind oi entertainment that Millie, idle and Ellen Del itnbio oiier. They specialise in a deceptively casual ion of American satire, alternating sheanr-oi-conscionsness chatter about kitty-cats, rumba and poppa in the shower with close-harmony ---- - « versions oi Satisiaction, like A Virgin and liniorgettahle. Are the Del Babies really triplets? (Are they really women?) By the time they're ilaylng the hell oat oi the lievo classic Whip It, or bnrbling their way throngh Light My Fire the Del ltnhlos are delivering something so out-to- lnnch it doesn’t seem to ntatter that Inch. They love playing up the rnore ponpons side at yooi cnltnre, sending Ink ; ' ' "‘ ‘ m m? sum 'm' a brand oi gentle irony. Sti l, their act is Int It their genteel wittering isn’t to "WWW: “'0'” a“ "W a you taste, then yon rnlght iind things M' (“'9' PW") m “I... M." not a cm“ 0' Whip it (Fringe) The Bet linbio Triplets, “mm ,m _ WI. mm, a Assemny at the Meadows (Venne 116) seemingly random moments - who 226 2453' "I" W A ("I 2" 31 “9), clearly delight In the Del lioblos’ 10M £550 (£550)- l l; mgr” Phipps' bistro bar open before, during and 1 _ after Show 7 d k LICENSED TILL 3Y3 a W99 1 O'CLOCK
SET LUNCH £5.90 SET DINNER £10.50 FULL A LA CA are MENU (from 7pm)
W M
You don't have to go to the theatre to enjoy Edinburgh '3 leading Theatre Restaurant
GRINDLAY STREET, EDINBURGH RESERVATIONS 031 229 8663
V THEATRE
WOOFSKI. GRIIFFSKI AIIIJ FIIIOREVICII
it may be entered under ‘theatre' but Elk Theatre’s adaptation of Diary of a Madman includes elements of stand-up. mime, dance. puppetry. even improv. What it does not have is a great deal of coherence.
This did nor seem to detract from the enjoyment of a couple of giggling messes in the audience but as they were in a fit of hysterics before the actors appeared this cannot really be a recommendation. Giggling needs to be mentioned, though, for the two actors did play the piece for laughs, and through the confusion they do :Iicit some chuckles (even from the more sor. \re members of the audie. I. However, even accepting the show‘s limited goals, it must be put under the category ‘needs work’. (Philip
Parr)
I WWI, WI and Fidoreyich (Fringe) Elk Theatre, Calton Centre (Venue 119) 661 9121. until 21 Aug, 10.30pm, £5 (£3).
A v. COMEDY
AL MURRAY - PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER
Al Murray is the Tooting Terminator, a Satan- driven crazy bonkers psycho from Broadmoor. and he’s here to treat us. the voyeurs of violence, to his personalised version of the psychology of serial killers. Unfortunately the voices in his head don’t emerge often enough. Despite the brilliant verbal pyrotechnics on the mike, impersonating a fine range of weaponary in spitting glory (witness the booming 8mm intractable Blowpipe) and the whizz through the psycho killer hall of fame. the material isn’t strong enough to hold the 'violence’ theme together. Murray seems more at home as a stand-up at the local miner’s club with his rambling outpourings on the merits of Jeremy Beadle than at the cutting edge of serial killer comedy. (Ann Donald) I Al Mnrrny - Portrait oi a Serial Killer (Fringe) A] Murray, Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 6550. until 4 Sept (not 16 Aug. 2 Sept), 10.15pm. £6.50 (£5.50).
!
V COMEDY
IMPRO- VEGETABLES
Lively improvised comedy from a skilful and clever crew. Stephen Maslin comperes as two teams battle it out in a variety of games chosen by the audience. Maslin’s sadistic schoolteacher persona adds to the fun as he punishes players for
‘ political incorrectness and
ruthlessly stops games if they threaten to get boring.
Improvegetables have been year-round sell-outs in Edinburgh for the last four years, and it was high time they had a Fringe slot. This show is fun, and has a spontaneous party atmosphere, making it a great late-night choice. (Jane Allison)
I improyegetables (Fringe) Edinburgh University Theatre Company, Bedlam Theatre (Venue 49) 225 9893. until 28 Aug (not Sun). midnight, £3 (£2).
TRADITIONAL scomsn sronvrrumc
For all the high-tech wizardry and physical theatre dexterity on show across Edinburgh, it’s nice to be reminded that the power of the imagination is alive and well. George MacPherson and Padraig MacNeill were first up in a nightly programme of storytellers that is a welcome, important and beguiling addition to the lntemational Festival programme. Accompanied on clarsach or bodhran by the ubiquitous Norman Chalmers, the yarn spinners take us on mythical voyages and epic adventure, moving, comic or gripping, through the power of speech alone. Geared a little to the tartan-tourists, this is nonetheless your genuine article. (Mark Fisher) I Scottish Traditional WIIIII (Festival) Glasite Meeting House, 225 5756, until 4 Sept, 10.30pm, £8.
12 STEPS re A MORE nvs- rurrcrrorrAL You
If there is something distinctly unfunny about this show it's not Rob Nash. The former stand-
up comedian turned one- person showman brings us — aided only by a sweatshirt and a wheelchair — Mildred, the unflappable Nazi fem grandmother; Matt the teenage monster from hell; Mildred. therapy- addicted lesbian who lives with Moonbird and answers to the name of Windsong; and several other equally horrific family members. However, apart from playing five different people over fifteen years Nash also tackles Issues. Don’t be alarmed, though — this man is not only very serious, he’s seriously funny. Chortle your way through alcoholism, homosexuality, repression, teenage trauma, incestuous lust, anorexia, and AIDS. ‘Let’s sit back and judge the weirdos,‘ says Grandma Mildred as she turns on Oprah. Rarely have I been so appalled and so amused. (Jane Bowie) I 12 Steps To A More Dysfunctional Yon (Fringe) Curtains Theatre, Adam House Theatre (Venue 34), until 4 Sept (not 24 Sept), 10pm, £4 (£3.50).
V THEATRE
KLYTEMIIESTRA BAIRIIS
: It’s a two-hour, torch-lit
‘ promenade on top of
. Calton Hill and the script is in Scots. So when the
black-masked ushers punch you in the back and shout, ‘Get a fucking move on.’ there's always a temptation to respond, ‘1
i would if I could
understand what was going on.’ This confusion is enhanced by the tossing together of loose, uninfomied symbolism and compounded by a plethora of images picked, you suspect. simply because ‘they look good’. If this is a gesture toward World Theatre, as the racist representations of sexuality suggest. then it certainly smacks of cultural tourism and the victory of style over substance. (Stephen Chester)
I ’8 Balrns (Fringe) E.A.S.T/ Common Force. Acropolis On Calton Hill (Venue 26). 557 6969. until 28 Aug. 11.30pm. £5 (£3).
IS The List 20—26 August 1993