Decroux School in Paris. Lily, a native of Australia, has worked as a solo mime and theatre performer for over a decade and has appeared with Opera Circus and Ra Ra Zoo; a truly international line-up, which draws from some very unconventional sources.
‘The play itself was a very visual show, based on B-movies — particularly Roger Corman — and French comic books,’ recounts Glass. ‘My grandfather and mother both worked in film, and so I grew up with it. In the theatre, I always try to move the physicality and sceneography forward, like with the movement of the curtains in Popeye In Exile [Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 1990]. which replaced the idea of a comic strip moving from left to right. Either you have to completely ignore all of film history or else you understand that you are film literate. But at no point did we say that we wanted to be like Delicatessen or this or that. Certainly that visual style of filmmaking is something that Peta, Robert and l are familiar with and interested in.’
‘Popeye was a cartoon land where people can be hit over the head and get tip again,’ adds Lily. ‘and we’ve been in the habit for a long time now of using film language in order to structure our physical theatre pieces so that you can cross-fade between scenes by doing something with your body or by bringing a group of people in front of another group of people. David and I both love films, and we were talking David Cronenberg quite a lot when we were making the play of Beg!, the body horror aspect and his very distanced look at his characters. In the play we had these moving silk drapes which I could walk through and Philip would manipulate. For a lot of people, that recalled Cocteau, mixed with the slightly stiltcd B-movie quality of the acting. We were inspired by these various sources, rather than working to pastiche them.’
The husband and wife team have performed. together and singly. in around twenty Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows, and so the capital would appear to be the logical place to launch their cinematic debut. ‘l’ve always found Scotland, and the Edinburgh Festival particularly, to be a doorway for new work, a place where people enjoy things which are out of the ordinary,‘ reckons Glass. ‘None ofthe things we’ve done have been conventional drama, but the Edinburgh audiences have embraced them. so we feel very at home. It’s wonderful to return to Edinburgh in a different medium.’ Cl Beg! screens at the Cameo Cinema on Monday 22 at 10.45pm.
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WATERSTONE'S BOOKSELLERS
WATERSTONE'S WEST END
EVENTS ANDRE DE TOTH
Reading from his autobiography "Fragments" Monday 22nd August 7pm
IRVINE WELSH
Reading from his highly acclaimed novel "Trainspotting"
Wednesday 24th August 7 pm
THE EDGE: 100 YEARS OF SCOTTISH MOUNTAINEERING
RICHARD ELSE & CAMERON McNEISH
An illustrated talk ojfering a unique preview of their forthcoming TV series
Thursday 25th August 7 pm
Free tickets for all events available from branch
Wine will be served
Venue 1 13
128 PRINCES STREET, EDINBURGH
1 26
The List 19—25 August 199415