THEATRE PREVIEW
Getting timing on Dad end
They say that the measure oi a well oot’. The plot might not sound much (it
written character is that they have a wasn’t that important in A light At liie beyond the page, and having The Sarry either), but the appeal or the written A light At The Sarry, Simon piece lies with the language, gags and Shaikey round that his vividly penned the recognisable milieu occupied by collection oi drinkers were oi that the characters. Such concerns are select bunch who reiuse to iinish shared with that esteemed set oi
themselves oii with the end oi the Scottish plays which includes The play. ‘The characters demanded that I Slab Boys, The Steamie and The Sash, write another one,’ explains Sharkey, two oi which iormed parts oi trilogies who has just completed lot A light At as well. Sharkey has plans to expand The Sarry, the second part oi a trilogy the trilogy into a sitcom, ii anyone
to be completed by Another llight At wants to make it: a sort oi short and The Sarry. haii-a-lager tops West Coast Cheers.
As you might have guessed irom the (Stephen Chester) titles, the series is based round the llot A llight At The Sarry, on tour.
Glasgow boozer The Sarry, and , \
Paula and Paul aren't . ieatures a motley bunch oi semi- Smiths 0": the fem" 15, alcoholics, drunk philosophers and GIOM'hWhO “MEWS” ‘ one ioot in the grave/one hand on a :20“ one“) a" w 0 treble OAPs. They might not be the
ula refers to as a .nympho bimbo barbie best role-models ever to grace the whore, this cock-sucking Stage: but they are among “‘3 bitch in hotpants, with her iunniest, and beneath the laughter doe eyes and love beads'. there’s a serious edge - the iirst play
The. theme of law was a critique oi the Glasgow Year oi F‘del‘f-V ‘5' accommg ‘0 Culture, and llot A llight At The Sarry E? wnter’Wifom‘ fem deals with a campaign to stop VAT on
fly, a familiar ourlle. The “'8' Ziwfme The Sarry, now closed ior renovation ’ no?" WM” Show is. “My God, “,8 (home the title) has forced "I. When women make up the majority of saying all the things that punters to remove to George The "‘0 ‘hFa‘rcgomg POPU'a‘lonr 1‘ seems are never said. that I‘ve Cantakerous Pensioner’s ilat, with ' , amazing that. one, there are not more longed to say and never mu. u, do but win into the tkem serious drinking at the San, women writing for the theatre and, two, fare?] to." Ttlliere'za lot of that this large sector of the audience 3'8 [er 1" he 3“ lencc — rarely witnesses anything to mirror at alternate "mes from the v their own experience. The Traverse has
$32616 Side and the male I I addressed the first point with its recent fie inspiration for the c repertory performances of two works Show, which draws on the . ‘ by women playwrights. while The quickfire visual and 5, physical style of her - previous success Beg! , are the West End sex comedies. which Lily doesn’t find very sexy. ‘lf someone‘s trousers fall down it’s usually because they’ve got a flea down their trousers or they're about to change into something else because they’ve spilt something.‘
MsFits — Fiona Knowles and Rona Munro — have turned their attention to the latter and produced the credible The Seven Ages 0f Woman and Rabbie Burns Yer Tea '3 Outf. Their latest work Burying Dad again puts the spotlight on ordinary women.
Three women from different generations of the same family offer distinctive perspectives and trade accusations at the son/husband/dad’s funeral and, through their private
As a "33”" She deemed ‘0 Fecund Theatre‘s plesasure trip confessions to the audience, a snapshot 3533858321“ affair Actors endure all sorts ior their art, all characters are Marilyn Monroe and of family existence is Constructed with G'ioria. who kinds oi method-acting traumas in the JFK, meeting ior the iirst time. The Whlch offers a far more realistic model subsequently moves in. pursuit oi credibility. london-based purpose oi this is ‘to explore the way In the Year of the Fermi)! than any Paula then writes a book company Fecund Theatre has twigged people seli-destruct and are never Govemment-imttated folly. An equal on ‘A Woman‘s Right To that the and completely exonerates satiated.’ smattering of pathos and humour helps ,E‘ES‘aSY' 3"" the spins"? the means, so there’s no indication The production has been iine-tuned the medicine go down. claims
"mired Paul becomes whatsoever that the acid trips they since its premiere at last year’s Knowles.
thwhstltervgllthw houses wok m .m'chi their laws, Fun”. “camps modus opemndt ‘lt‘s affirming for people to see their mumdoored sets ma {,b_ production The Pleasure Dome can in involves constant re-evaluation and own hves mirrored. ‘Shc says. Though tight upperdass any way be construed as just a bit oi evolution oi past work, and even the it has a lot ot pain. it s not negative. lt characters have been recreational drug use. Far irom it - initial creative process is a mish-mash Show the downsrde but ends as abandonai. Lily insists this was perionners taking themselves 0i experimentation with various empowering. It’s about women being that the play remains true to the precipico. Dig? theatrical forms and texts. The left on their own to cope, of men being ‘0 the fa!“ Minion ‘The no trip is used as a metaphor essential is not to be constrained, able to get out one way or another. It ihmugh "5 rapid 9"“ and to explore the need at this moment in although already Fecund iinds itseli says. “You‘re not a mum; look at $§ffl$§i§i§i¥2§i Seize” our society ior people to transcend squirming under the label ‘physical what you're doing. you're wonderful"- a challenge in doing so: than “and” mo and existance,’ theatte’. So many women suffer from such this Meghande, has only says l-‘ecund’s .lohn Keates, in ‘The iirst piece [Face To Face] was low self-esteem. In the theatre the
two actors, Gloria, being elaborate iustiiication oi their heavily lniluenced by exposure to discrimination iS so subtle that it s
all things to all people, is neiarious research methods. ‘We many practitioners working in actually tied up With how women feel Played by bout Of them iused those real-lite experiences into whatever genre people perceive as about themselves and having a v01ce at ‘lt'S amazing what you narratives, so the whole thing’s a physical theatre,’ explains keates, all in anything. The problem with a lot ca," do With “"0 , collage with people coming in and out ‘but we hope we’re not restricted to of the women writers I‘ve come across m‘cmph‘mm" “’5 L‘ly' oi this trip existence.’ one genre as it’s not something we is just complete lack of belief in gipgg‘eggejiig Luv The Pleasure Dome, Fecund’s second particularly aspire to.’ (Fiona themselves. Yet 1 was married to an and C0, mega“, ' production since its ioundation last Shepherd) actor who never thought for one minute womshop, Edinburgh, year, takes the classic ‘group at that he wasn t absolutely brilliant. 21—23 Apr; Paisley Ans people in one room’ situation and "'0 Pleasure Dome. The ARMS. (Fiona Shepherd)
Centre. 30 Apr. twists and exploits it. Two oi the six Glasgow, Tue 12—Sat 16 Apr. Burying Dad- 0" 10W-
4c The List 8-21 April 1994