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Importers of Mexican Fine Jewellery & Hand-crafted Accessories
56 HIGH STREET ROYAL MILE EDINBURGH EH1 1TB
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Tel-0131 557 9553 Open 7 Days
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A SENSATIONAL NEW DRAMA
HY MICHAEL F. ACKERMAN AUG. 21 - AUG. 26 1.15pm AUG. 28 - SEP. 2
9.45pm
CHURCH HILL THEATRE (venue 46)
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STATEMENTS OF ATTAINMENT
What did you do when you left school? Out of timidity. bossiness or
-’ plain indecision. the four
teachers in Jonathan Hall‘s new play went straight back to it.
lo a Bradford primary school with immaculate wall displays and spotless water trays. not all things are bright nor beautiful behind the staffroom door. Then the school cleaner. Delores (Liz. H time- Dawson) suggests a girls' night out which changes everything.
As well as being warm and touching the play is often hilarious — witness Liz. (Sandra Douglas) instructing six-year-oltls in how to pee. Statements (if/tintinmt'nt is touching without being cloying and peopled by characters so fatniliar you‘ll wonder if Hall knew wur teacher. (Catriona Smith)
I Statements of Attainment (Fringe) Bradford Playhouse Studio Group. Southside (Venue 82) 667 7365. until 25 Aug (not l4, l6. I8. 20. 22. 24) 2.05pm. £5 (£3.50).
_ THE PRIME
MINISTER’S SON
A healthin detailed play about the life and times of Mark Thatcher. son of the infamous Prime Minister
j Lady Thatcher. may not
' be everybody‘s cup of
Earl Grey. However. this is a wonderfully intriguing story of AWOL parents. disastrous business strategies and failed dreams. In short. it‘s a kick up the 80s for the patronage system. The energetic Richard Hallam delivers a superb
one man show. He
introduces us to a web of
: deceit through a range of
- characters and manages to 5 display Mark’s weasel-
; like egotism with startling ; aplomb. For anyone with
even the slightest interest
; in political satire this is a
treat. (Philip Domard)
I The Prime Minister‘s Son (Fringe) BOCS Productions. Gilded Balloon (Venue 38) 226 2151. until 2 Sept. L30pm. £5.50 (£4.50).
BUMS 0N SEATS
If ever there was a play title set up for a reviewer‘s cheap gag. this has to be it. But temptation will be stoically resisted.
Penned by Mike Snelgrove. the piece is constructed through seven vignettes which purport to signify what theatre means in the 90s. Narrated by four usherettes/guardian angels we meet the Marketing Assistant. the Method Man. the failed sitcom actress. the hard-faced sponsor and the phillistine politicians.
As the battlefield casualties pile up. the farcical denouement opts for a Christie-esque whodunnit over the true owner of seat A13. Unfortunately the play tries to be funny while attempting to make serious points and fails to do either. (Brian Donaldson)
I Bums on Seats (Fringe) Backstage Theatre Company. Adam House (Venue 34) 650 8200. until 26th August (not Sun 20) 2.15pm. £4.75 (£3.75).
COMEDY SHELF lIFE
On the evidence of Shelf Life. David Wolstencroft was born to write sitcoms. Set in the back room of a supermarket and making points about the alienating effects of consumerism. it features six periodically arousing personnel and their tangled unwary. ln
I David Wolstencrott: supermarket backroom boy
at
the enigmatic character of Gordon. who can't get over Julie. it seeks to lift itself into the realm of challenging comedy but succeeds only in becoming a less viable sitcom. It‘s a problem when the hero (played by Wolstencroft) is so tiresome and unsympathetic that the biggest laugh comes when someone finally tells him to ‘fuck off'. (Ben Brown) I Shelf life (Fringe) Checkout Theatre Company. Gilded Balloon ll (Venue SH 225 6520. until 2 Sept (not 30). lpm. £6 (£5).
[(112m- FIG 30)!
Celtic myth comes to life in Diane Richardson‘s dark. physical but always accessible adaptation from the Mubinogimt. an ancient Welsh tome of metaphor and legend. This particular yarn deals with Culhwch (or Pig Boy if you must. though he doesn‘t seem too keen himself) and his quest to find his flame-haired spouse-to-be Olwen. whose dad‘s a giant of a man who must be disposed of before any nuptial coupling can take place.
[in route. Culhwch encounters a Game Boy- addicted King Arthur and a canny Geordie knight in what is an inventive affair which looks suitably grubby and fantastical. It‘s spirit of imagination is enhanced by Alan Tall’s moody musical score. and the overall feel is one of wonder. Take the kids. (Neil Cooper)
I Pig Boy (Fringe) Theatre Sans Frontieres. St Bride's Centre (Venue 62) 346 1405. until 26 Aug (not 20) 1.45pm. £5 (£3.50).
34 The List 18-24 Aug 1995