THEATRE REVIEW
n the air
. _,
Blgmouth: Eric Bogoslan in Oliver Stone’s film of Tallr Radio
In the last few years. the British concept of ‘talk radio‘ has changed from genteel Radio 4 discussions about gardening to Ioudmouth ‘shock jocks‘ stim'ng up controversy among their listeners. Oliver Stone's I988 film Talk Radio examined the phenomenon. and although it draws on the murder by right-wingers of Dallas DJ Allan Berg (where Stone is concerned. a martyr— murder in Dallas can be no coincidence) the original inspiration for Eric Bogosian's play, on which the film was based. was the drugs overdose of comedian John Belushi.
THE
ADAM
THEATRE
mall'me
‘Ilr A-Z oanuee
cvergthing you ever uented to knou about drugs but uero too out of it to ask.
WARNING: ADULTS ONLY!
Mon 19-Sat 24 Feb
Pride & Prejudice
Superb new production of lane Austen 5 delightful period comedy.
Tue 5 Mar Bun in the studio
snoonuAfi‘. MACPHAIL“
Fri 10 & Sat 11 May
TRAINSPOTTING
BOX OFFICE
(0 l 592) 260498 kirkcalrl) District ('mmcil Leisure K Dirt-cl Sonia-s
The play attacks the way in which the g modern media can become a monster that turns round and bites those who think they're its masters. ‘lt‘s like an I hour in the company of someone on the I verge ofa nervous breakdown.‘ says director Sarah Wooley of Big Like i
Texas. the theatre company about to stage Talk Radio in Glasgow. This is their second production. following Robert Patrick's Kennedy's Children, I and again it features direct contact. via monologue. between actor and : audience. Wooley's staging of the ! action at the Arches Theatre in collaboration with arts group Concrete Dog should. however. provide a unique atmosphere. a
‘We'll have two monitors on stage.’ she explains. ‘and occasionally actors will appear on screen so we can see the distress and pain that Barry is causing them. We wanted to humanise these people. not just make them voices in the night. to make them real without actually having them appear physically. And the actor playing Barry's studio engineer will be in the box where the stage manager usually is. so people will 5 be going up and down the stairs. The audience will feel like they're in the studio.’
Talk radio callers tend to hide behind their anonymity. which gives them
licence to unleash streams of anger and = . i temporary escape route the steamre
hatred. Placed so directly inside the action. Talk Radio's audience should find this a very uncomfortable but no less addictive experience. (Alan Morrison)
Talk Radio, Big Like 'l’exas. Arches Theatre. Glasgow. Thurs 8—Sat /0 Feb. 8pm.
TR©N
best venue '95 The Herald
tue 30 jan-sun l l feb 8pm man act
HEAVEN
SCOTTISH PREMIERE erotic and highly charged dance theatre with a club soundtrack
tue l3-sat l7 feb 8pm compass theatre co
DR FAUSTUS
a devil of a show by Christopher Marlowe w. tue 20-sat 24 feb 8pm gandini juggling project AND OTHER CURIOUS QUESTIONS
poetry in motion The Independent
am 552 4267 l
0l4| 227 55”
63 trongatc glasgow gI
i M
until 3 February.
. in the name of progress is one ofthe great civic disgraces of the last 40 years. The mythology of close stair
! through a blurer mix of sepia and
. hardship is trivialist and
3 1950s washhouse life speaks with the : authentic voice ofthe underclass of any ;
; Torrington's Swing Hammer Swing!
; course there's no plot to speak of.just four gallus besoms bantering their
9 Hogmanay wash-day blues away. Yet beneath the seemingly effortless
f interplay is the underlying pathos of
; past productions.
might be termed a sisterhood. though
' with none of the weave-yer-own-
: yoghurts tweeness that phrase implies. i Rather. it's something more akin to the miners' wives' groups who still meet
. Seen at Haymadref Theatre, leicesfer. 5 Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Wed 31 3 JanuarrSaf 10 February.
; passion. Guys and Dolls is an old
who lived on Broadway In the 50s, and the memory of the traditional ; gangster.
' this show forever, but sadly it is not
2 shown much justice in Paul Kerryson’s Z interpretation for the Leicester
' llaymarket company. It’s always been
; too long for its own good, but usually
: Loesser. The cast’s singing shines
harmonies are so tight and provocative that you could get lost
. songs drag during the first act, and the show loses pace as a result.
I Sarah Brown, while Adelaide, played
THE STEAMIE
Royal Lyceum Theatre. Edinburgh.
The decimation of urban communities
neighbourliness that’s grown up in its wake. though. is all too often seen
rose-tinted NHS specs. so real life sentirnentalised in favour oftuppence
ha'penny nostalgia. Thankfully. Tony ROper's phenomenally popular slice of
era. and in Caroline Hall’s production ‘ brassily sashays across the stage like a big. be-curlered sister to Jeff
The premise is simple enough, and of
simple. unrealised aspirations and loyalty to menfolk. which have rarely been drawn out of Roper's script in
Sure. there are laughs aplenty. but the
provides for the women also gives them a chance to bond into what these days
Sud this for a laugh: Tony Roper's wash-house banter still wotks up a lather in The Steamie
today after providing the backbone to the strike ten years ago.
The second halfoccasionally suffers from trying too hard to be funny. with a series ofextended comic routines padding things out. Overall though. Hall and her well-drilled cast should be hailed on high for bringing out not only the warmth, humanity and unmistakable hilarity ofthe piece. but the politics too. They may be subtle. but they're sure as Scargill there. Some might say the play is done to death. but this production at least is the epitome of the Good Night Out thesis so often
. cheapened by theatre practitioners who
pay lip-service to it without any real understanding ofthe culture they're hi- jacking. Sorry lads. but this is the real thing. (Neil Cooper)
GUYS AND DOLLS
Sex, gambling, prostitutes, pimps, gangs and Broadway. It seems to promise excitement, drama and
classic, celebrating the lives of these
You could celebrate the history of
escapes criticism on this point because of the quality and depth of the music, composed by Frank
above its acting; with the possible exception of Peter Forbes, who turns in a reliable Nathan Detroit. The
among them. ‘The Oldest Established”, sung by the entire male chorus, is received with enthusiasm by the entire audience. Nonetheless, the slow
Fiona Slnnot captures the essence of straight, upright, withdrawn but sensitive Salvation Army member
by Geraldine Fitzgerald, is sweet but
not dluy or annoying enough. Nicely-
Nicely done: Peter Edbroolr isamong the better performers in lelcester Haymarlret's disappointing Guys And Dolls
Nicely and Benny, played by Peter Edbrook and Martin George, are a lovable pair and their songs are well sung. David leonard’s Sky is also at his best while singing, but the man who steals the show is Mark Roper as Big Jule, an oversized, overweight dumb gangster from Chicago.
The choreography is well thought- out, but it has to be said that the scenery is the most impressive part of the show. Enjoyable and funny as it is, this Guys and Dolls offers too many lacklustre performances to satisfy. (Belinda Nanlrs)
52 The List 26 Jan-8 Feb 1996