THE LOTTERY TICKET
No food. no jobs and no saleable assets save one bastard offspring. A bleak prospect indeed for the Heehaw family. But what if the rugrat can be exchanged for the price of a lottery ticket and that lottery ticket happens to be the winning slip'.’ Time to pop the champagne and order the Italian marble sunken bath surely. Perhaps not.
This adrenaliii-fuelled production of Roddy Mcl)evitt's play crackles with energy from start to hitter end. The satire is sharp enough to cut flesh but witty enough to split sides; the staging is innovative arid the acting vibrant without being over the top. One of the better ways to spend an afternoon. (Jonathan Trew)
l The Lottery Ticket (Fringe) Stomping Feet Theatre Company. The Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 6550, until 2 Sept (not 30) 2.15pm. £5.5()/£6.5() (£4).
ITEM- CALIBAN ON THURSDAY
Adapted from John Ginger's 60s novel of the same name. this work
The Lottery
follows a teacher and his pupil as they explore their
; relationship atid emergent , sextialities through Shakespeare's 'li'mpt'st.
Despite some inspired casting and first-class portrayals of teenage ineptitude the characters
seem stale. The teacher's girlfriend is an Absolute/v l-it/m/ous Saffie-a-like and while the boys are supposedly techno knob- ? twiddlers. the delivery of their lines is so rooted iii i the (i0s idiom that you cart
almost feel the flares flapping. These discrepancies
: stretch the credibility of
i l
ati otherwise engaging production. The updating process hasn't quite worked btit otherwise
3 Cult/um on 'l'lim'sr/uv is a tnoving insight into the
. way two men fail to talk ; about their feelings.
' Surely you guys don't
g need to go to the theatre for that. do you'.’ (Catriona
Smith) I Caliban on Thursday (Fringe) The lilectric
Company. Festival Cliib (Venue 36) 650 2395.
until 26 Aug. 2pm. £5.50 (£3.50).
BLACK BRIDE
This is a scatty deconstruction of the nursery rhytne ‘Sing a Song of Sixpence'. exploring the Freudian
’
1‘! t'.’ g‘ I ’
is. ,.,i
. l
Caliban on Thursday: men don't wanna talk about it
Tlcket
: ‘crackles with energy’
implications of its violent images. which suggest rape among other things. But the show isn‘t just about the primitive forces that lurk iii folk imagination. It's also about performer Andrew Kelm's childhood and its portrayal as a bewildering time of sexual crisis. Kelm's style is wry banter. So quite why he dropped his trousers and waxed lyrical about the small ‘classical‘ proportions of his dick is best answered by himself. except that it was ersatz Black Forest Freud time again which is always a good excuse to lose yourself tip a dark passage of personal angst. (Ronan O'Donnell)
I Black Bride (Fringe) Ambrosia Productions. Theatre Workshop (Venue 20) 226 5425. until 2 Sept. 2pm. £4.50 (£3).
DID SHE REALLY?
An Ayckbournesque outing for the Electric Company. with a “)5 ‘spooky is hip-type edge. on top of Slur Wars references a-go-go (particularly iii the set). The young players come through relatively unscathed. with a stand out performance by Nat Raybould as Sarah. a girlfriend on the edge of an engagement breakdown. Her parents arrive bearing gifts of tedious DIY conversation and psychopathic behaviour to interrupt a lover's tiff. What can I say? It's not too bad. there‘s a nice twist and there‘s not much else going on at that time. Go to see new talent. just don't expect genius yet. (Cait Hurley)
I Did She Really (Fringe) Electric Company. Pleasance Attic (Venue 33). 556 6550. until 2 Sept (not 30). 2.55pm. £5/£6.50 (£4/£5.50).
FESTIVAL 1PM5PM
THEATRE
GLASGOW HARD TICKETS
When a pair of gallus besoms and a glaikit secretary working on the ticket kiosk of the Perfect Homes lixhibition get ideas above their station. an elaborate fraud is hatched and acted upon. Such is the corrupting
A fattiiliar. altnost moral tale frotii yet another new Glasgow company. Kathleen Ruddy's script crackles with banter. below which lurks a deeper sense of longing for dreams to be realised. A series of wordless snapshots set to music works particularly well. 3 and is reminiscent of early 80s Scottish feelgood
|
movies. which can‘t be a ..
power of the folding sttiff bud mint (Ncil (“up”) Id . i _ e , eas above their t : ; though. that it slop-oil ill I Glasgow flafd kaets Glasgow Hardiiiggrs :
re-hab is required for one of the trio before lives can be fully re-invented in the
(Fringe) Rubber liar Productions. Gilded Balloon ll (Venue 38) 226
2151. until 2 Sept. 1.15pm. £5.50 (£4.50).
The trouble with plays based on real people, especially one-person works, is that there is usually far too much biography and not enough drama. This production is no exception, despite the passionate swirl of onstage activity from writer/performer Lisa Daniely, who presents Théroigne as a heroic figure whose campaign for I emancipation never managed to save l herself. Though her vulnerability is made clear, the reasons for the madness aren’t sharply defined enough to encourage sympathy. An informative history lesson nevertheless, though. (Neil Cooper} Snakes About Her Cradle (Fringe) Pinpoint Productions, The Pleasance ( Venue 33) 556 6550, 13 Aug—2 Sept, 1 1.30pm, £5. 50/26. 50 (Di/2‘5).
SNAKES ABOUT HER CRADLE
9.5
Lisa Daniely: informative, but unsympathetic
Théroigne de Méricourt might not be a household name, but she is one of those fascinating characters on the periphery of history who were often more colourful than the movers and shakers they were courted by. Once the thirteen-year-old Théroigne did a runner from her French peasant family she dallied with singing and was in turn dallied with as a courtesan. She was inspired away from such trivial pursuits by the Vive la France spirit of the Revolution and could count as comrades Marat, Danton and Robespierre. Handy names to have in your address book, though they didn’t do much to save her from fifteen years in an asylum, where she died.
Jack Shepherd & The One Tree Company present
a M l e t OwOf‘ld gone Mod a
MURAL LOUNGE FESTIVAL CLUB 27aug-25ep 8.00
JERS EY’s fuICIRCLE
His new play set in a jazz club:
CHASING THE ’I ' ;
MOMENT
From August 9 to September 2 at The Pleasance '1 . ' (0131 556 6550) l
The List 35 Aug-7 Sept l‘)‘)5 27