firm/8m ‘
FESTIVAL
V THEATRE
THE MAN AT THE TOP
‘The problem with us humans is that most of us. or maybe all of us. want to always have some little power over some other person.’ says Tomak Bork of the new play he is directing by Egyptian playwright and London- based journalist. Atef El- Ghamny. 'lt starts from our childhood. we are experiencing the power of our parents and. so many times. this power is abusedf
Abuse of this power is what Man At The 72),) is all about. A freedom fighter. Katheem. rises through the ranks to gain leadership but then becomes enamoured of the power which his position wields. Although the play is touched by El- Ghamny‘s experiences of the Middle East — it is subtitled ‘Not The Saddam Hussein Show‘ — the Polish-born Bork says he has tried to give it a universal context.
'In this play we are showing the abuse of power in a very small nucleus of the family.‘ says Bork. ‘But every individual on this planet. we all allow abuse of power. (Thom Dibdin) I The Man At The Top (Fringe) Ab Ovo Theatre/Masrah Al- Ahram. Church Hill Theatre (Venue 46) 447 0111.12—13 Aug. 7pm; 14—20 Aug (not Mon 15) 5.15pm; 21—27 Aug. 6pm. £7 (£6).
V THEATRE IN ONE TAKE
‘Exclusive . . . Fury over sex shocker: PORN SHOW IN KlDS‘ CENTRE.‘ Rod Even of AIDS Positive Underground is no stranger to controversy. but the recent rent-a-quote front page of the Sunday
Mail was particularly virulent. Top Edinburgh Tory Tom Ponton was demanding an enquiry. ‘I am sickened to think that a group we plough so much money into is showing this pornographic filth.‘ he was quoted as saying.
‘I can‘t avoid controversy. I have to accept it because of the nature of the work.’ says Even. 'But that is not to
say I take comments like councillor Ponton‘s lying down. Especially when he was calling into question the validity of the venue that we are going to.
In One 'Iirke is the second part of an ongoing trilogy about different kinds of prostitution. It deals with pornography in a brutal and erotic way. tackling prejudice in an extreme setting. Evans believes it is vital to continue writing about AIDS as twelve years into the epidemic the situation continues to worsen.
‘There is a lot of information about AIDS around.‘ says Evan. “The difficulty is getting people to act on that information. We produce theatre that is shocking. not to be gratuitous. but to challenge (Thoml)ibdin) I In One Take Aids Positive Underground. Theatre Workshop (Venue 20) 226 5425. )5 Aug-3 Sept (not Suns). 7.45pm. £5.50 (£3.50).
I m
cAucHr - asruL/HAucmc
? When Gandini Juggling
: Project made its performance debut back
; in 1992 it hit the earnest
pen-pushers right between
I the eyes. Critics up and
5 down the country got all
l tied up in intellectual
; knots trying to stand
l Gandini‘s inspired fusion
i of contemporary dance
l and juggling on its head. Was it circus? Was it art? And what did it mean?
THE FREEDOM FACTORY PRESENTS:
15-20 August Tickets £3.50 (£1.75)
Tel: 031 667 4313
A EHRlSTlFiN
COMEDY
Cabaret 8 TILL IOPM
I i
Falling In Mine: ‘Bastard ottspring’
Audience reaction was
of course a whole different ball game (ouch!) Gandini had hit a spot somewhere in- between street entertainment and dance performance that was new. exciting and stunning to behold. At last year‘s Fringe their show
nEither [Either lth and
went down a storm. Nobody cared if it was circus or art.
With another year of dance-juggle under their belts the Gandinis
; promise Caught —
Still/Hanging will he an altogether more sophisticated show: ‘We‘ve developed the combination ofdance and juggling a stage further.‘ says choreographer Gill Clarke. ‘Thejuggling itself is more complex and it‘s tnore integrated with the movement.‘ (Ellie C11") I Caught - Still/Hanging (Fringe) Gandini Juggling Project. St Bride‘s Centre (Venue 62) 346 1405. 15—27 Aug. 6pm. £5 ( £3).
V THEATRE FALLING IN MINE
Crossbreed. as the name suggests. are about diversity. taking seemingly disparate elements and attempting to make them work together.
The company is composed of writer/ performer Christine Entwistle and writer/ director Anthony Neilson.
< in 2 C: m 1* 3 '3. 5;. g > 2. ,‘5 m 3'. > 3
2°, “A Definite” The Scotsman B ON J O U R TRI S TES SE
THEATRE CRYPITC
w‘fiwop
Directed by
CATHIE BOYD
THEATRE WORKSHOP - Venue 20 ISAUG - 38!)? (NOT SUN) 1.30PM
Tickets £6(£3.50)
1 Box one: Tel: 031 226 5425
observations of several friends who ‘mistreated‘ themselves. ‘lt‘s about the cruelty we inflict on ourselves rather than anything we might do to others. Not self-abuse though.‘ she stresses. (Neil Cooper)
I Falling in Mine (Fringe) Crossbreed Productions. Greyfriars Kirk House (Venue 28) 225 3626. 12 Aug—3 Sept (not 14. 2| Aug. l Sept).
pictures and with the silent films there's no sound. so hopefully we‘ll get the two together one day.‘ he chirps.
hi the meantime the ex- doctor. who invented post-modemist comedy by combining old-fashioned gags with new-fangled non-sequiturs. has thrown together an all-new Edinburgh show. ditching last season‘s spurious facts in favour of straight-
whose desire to work together was fuelled by a previous collaboration on a short film for Channel Four‘s He/She play series. 1 ‘Anthony has a very l intellectual approach.‘ ! says Entwistle. ‘l‘m from a more image-based background rooted in European theatre.‘
With these ingredients they attempt to create something new and a little shocking. ‘I want the effect on the audience to be primarily visceral. taking the narrative away from talking heads.‘
Falling in Mine is the result. Set in the uppermost room of a house where a woman takes refuge from both a flood and a pack of ravenous dogs. the play was inspired by
i PUB
7.45pm. £5 (£3.50). j v comeov i INTERNATIONALE }
From his humble arrival
as Best Newcomer in the
1992 Perrier Awards.
. Harry Hill is rapidly
becoming one of those
ubiquitous media names
3 that you will come across
no matter what channel
you tune into. UK. so he's
not quite at Danny Baker
levels. but on top of the
v Edinburgh stand-up show.
the follow-up national tour and the new Radio Four series. Hill is the
man behind Harry Hill 's Fruit I’alir‘it's. a series of black and white silent movies going out on
BBC2 from September.
"l‘he radio show has no
ahead (and left at the lights) stand-up and a celebration of the great British pub. ‘We recognise with the move into Europe the pub stands to gain enormously provided it‘s promoted in the right manner. because they don‘t have anything like it abroad.‘ he says. slipping off into a world of his own. ‘We try and re-create the atmosphere of a pub in. er. a pub. It‘s all in English but we do it in such a forceful manner that even foreigners can understand it. "Please take your glasses back to the bar." is our catch pluase.‘ (Mark Fisher) I Pub Internationale (Fringe) Harry Hill. Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 6550. l2-29 Aug. 7.50pm. £7l£8 (£6/£7).
V COMEDY RIOHARO HERRING IS FAT!
The hardest thing about losing weight is admitting you have a problem. Richard Herring reveals the tell-tale signs that mean it’s time to crack open the Slim Fast . . .
1. When you are eating a Flake in the
bath your stomach sticks out of the water.
2. The man from the Pizza Hut delivery service not only recognises your voice
but knows your name and address off
' by heart.
3. You‘re watching a home video of a wedding or family occasion and are laughing at your ridiculously fat cousin when you realise that ridiculously fat cousin is you.
4. When you ask a sales assistant ifa shirt makes you look fat. she replies.
' ‘No. it‘s your great lardy stomach that
makes you look fat.‘
5. You think Mars Bar Parties are a waste of perfectly good Mars Bars.
5. You think that chocolate is not a substitute for sex. but that sex isjust a way to take your mind offchocolate for a couple of minutes.
7. It seems unfair that some people can eat anything without it affecting them. but you just have to have one little
piece of chocolate and maybe a couple
of doughnuts. and some curry and chips
Richard Herring proves he has a stomach for the Fringe
and six pints of beer. and the weight just piles on.
8. You tell everyone you‘re big boned. And that the biggest bone is that unusual. extremely huge. curved bone coming out of your stomach.
9. You only over-eat when you‘re depressed. overworked. lonely. unloved. happy. bored. socialising or in love. And you drink up to five litres of
Diet Coke a day.
IO. Whenever you‘re trapped in a serial killer‘s house with a group of friends. you‘re always the first to get killed.
I Richard Herring is Fat (Fringe) Richard Herring is Fat. Pleasance
(Venue 33) 556 6550. 10 Aug—3 Sept.
7pm. £7/£8 (£6/£7).
44 The List 12—18 August 1994