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Played out
Why is it so fashionable to dismiss theatre — the whole medium. you understand, not just some plays or productions as artistically bankrupt. It's usually a safe bet that the people who say these things — Scottish writer Barry Graham is the next in a line of increasing length (The List 230) — have just written a play themselves.
Why bother if theatre so totally fails to speak to them? I suspect their closed minded attitude is based on a misguided notion that theatre 2 middle class. axiomatically a bad thing in the lexicon ofthe gritty. university—of-life writer that Graham styles himself as. Trying to ‘find a fresh approach to
LETTERS
theatre‘ is a worthy ambition. but coupled with the attitude that ‘I‘ve no interest in seeing plays‘ is surely bound to fail. How will he know ifit's anew approach?
I‘ll try to see his play Bow To The Beast with an open mind when it comes to Edinburgh. but I‘m always suspicious of artists working in any field who profess to take no interest in the output of their peers and those who have gone before. I wonder ifthey're afraid of discovering their work is hardly as ‘fresh' as they imagine. Kieran Inglis Dalkeith Road Edinburgh
Felt up
.\ Feltmakers Association: whatever next? Your article in the last issue (The List 230) was extremely informative. Who‘d have thought felt had been around since 7008C or that Iranians make their houses out of the material? Unfortunately. I have a hard job thinking of it as art. To me, felt is for Fingerbobs and those other BBC children‘s television creations before sticky-back plastic and Transformers
' changed everything. I also have a 1 problem with the syntax: ‘Wool doesn‘t
felt on its own.‘ apparently. Are there are some words missing in this sentence or should it be ‘feel‘? I'm confused.
Dominic Green
Old Dumbarton Road
Glasgow
Protect and survive
Your article about WWF Scotland was interesting and I fully support their objective of trying to preserve our natural heritage (The Lis. 230).
It looks as ifGlen Feshie in Caimgorm has fallen into (reasonably) safe hands after being bought by a private trust. But the uncertainty surrounding the sale highlights how dangerous it is to leave something as vitally important as our environment to the whims of a handful of wealthy landowners. I applaud any landowner who strives to manage their estates in an eco-friendly way — far better that than they plant conifers as far as they
eye can see or worse. rape the hillsides by quarrying.
But surely such vast tracts of land would be safer in public hands where they can be sheltered from changing economic climates which can test even the most committed ‘green' landowner. I wish the new owners of Glen Feshie well. but am sorry that bodies such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds were unable to buy it for the nation.
Jenny Black Antigua Street Edinburgh
Unhealthy obsessions Many male fashion designers are gay. Many male fashion designers design clothes for women. Many male fashion designers seem to treat women's bodies as ajoke. a screen on which to project their visual puns. Does this make them misogynist? Probably not. but it is getting a little tiresome.
The [.ist’s (230) use of an image from Almodovar‘s new film Kika on the front cover is very arresting. hardly offensive. certainly not titillating (no joke intended). But it does rather play into the hands of filmmakers like Almodovar, a director who mercilesst uses the old trick of ‘irony‘ tojustify rather a lot of naked women.
Calling on the services of one of the above mentioned designers — Jean-Paul Gaultier in this instance — he has very much found a partner in crime. I suspect that ifJ-P wasn‘t gay. he would be given a harder time for his ‘humorous' breast obsession. Far be it from me to suggest some kind of mother/wet nurse fixation as a cause of homosexuality. but in J-P‘s case. you do begin to wonder.
Paula Bates Sciennes Edinburgh
No win situation
I almost wish that Liverpool would win the I999 City of Culture award. The prospect of Glasgow or Edinburgh crowing at victory over its (supposed) rival makes my stomach turn. I can see that a combined bid was probably impractical — would all the towns in the
‘ NEXT ISSUE OUT THURSDAY 28 JULY.
intervening 50 miles have been included too? But in Glasgow and Edinburgh city councils we have two local authorities that are more than adept at making deals behind closed doors. Surely it would be possible to ensure that the two cities avoid direct competition if it increases the chance that neither might succeed.
It would be truly sad if Scotland loses out on this one. Both cities rightly attempted to get on the shortlist but I'm sure it could have been agreed beforehand that the weaker bidder would withdraw if they both progressed to the second round. Now we have the crazy situation where Scottish architects' professional body RIAS must sit on the sidelines holding the jackets. How much stronger might a Scottish bid have been if it had been allowed to lend its unequivocal support. Hedging bets never looks impressive. even though it had no choice.
Andrew Miles Duke Street Glasgow
g".
9.: Jors . , BUERVII "
I know what you mean. Andrew. But
let is hope the winner is .S'eottish and the losers are magnanimous in defeat. It wouldn't be too latefor Glasgow and Edinburgh to help eaeh other if one of them wins. There 's a bottle ofteqaila waiting/or you in the Glasgow office.
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Rezereetion — The [Event [1: Scotland’s biggest all-night dance event is unleashed With a completely eclectic line-up of guest DJs.
Michael Clark: U nrestrained physical theatre from the radical Scots dancer famed for strutting his funkies.
The Tales ()fPara Handy: Gregor Fisher. the man behind Rab C. Nesbitt relinquishes his string vest to star in BBC Scotland’s new
flagship series.
PLUS: Horse (left). T In The Park running order, the Scottish Colourists and the Edinburgh Jazz Festival.
onnen voun COPY romonnow
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so The List 15—28 Julygl994
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