THEATRE PREVIEW

TUESDAY 23 TO SATURDAY 27 APRIL

ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

‘KNOCKOUT RSC COMEDY’

Observer \VHAT YOL' \VILL

TWELFThH NIGHT Mm Ergefrnw

This production is funded by a Sainshury Family Charitable Trust

BOX OFFICE 0131- 529 6000

THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

PRESENTS THE

ghahegpeo‘ii:

REUUIE

‘SCIN‘HLLATINGLY FUNNY' - SUNDAY TIMES ‘ONE OF THE BEST THINGS TO COME OUT OF THE 880 IN AGES' - THE INDEPENDENT

APRIL 15 - 20

BOX OFFICE: 0131 220 4349

[KING'S

ROYAl SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

ALLIED , '5 m - ’5’"""’v.r. °€DINBVRGHo -

treatment and eyeryday c\istence.

- first realised as part of NVA‘s

in a very poetic, eliptical way,’

i which has all the shades of love,

j destructiveness and struggling tor

, identity in the way that marriage does. 3 The politics come in implicitly.’

g Painful g employment

For most of us. breaking through the pain barrier may he a day in bed after a night on the tiles or sitting through 90 minutes at Brockville. For (.iraham Cunnington. it is a sharper reality. Having suffered from chronic rheumatoid arthritis since birth. his 34 years have been a fight to overcome daily physical pain and the psychological blemishes which ineyitahly emerge through constant

Having spent fifteen years as a member of industrial grinders lest Dept. he has now branched out into its theatrical offshoot the NV'A ()rganisation to perform a multimedia solo piece entitled I’m/1. The show was

Sit/mitten. platformed to great acclaim at .\layfest in I‘M}. (‘unnington decided to expand and explore his own themes. and the new show is set to hit stages very soon.

But Cunnington seeks nohody‘s pity. nor for anyone to label him hraye. ‘l’art of the piece is a rejection of the role of victim.‘ he insists. 'lt‘s yery hard to describe in words hill 1 try to do it in the work. I suppose it's a purely feeling thing.‘

Directed by Test Dept cohort Angus Farquhar. the set consists of an

Getting to grips with his sutterlng: Graham Cunnington in Pain

interactive monitoring system. 3|)

\ isuals and perspectiye slide graphics.

.\lusic enters the equation \ ia

(tmnington's own soundtrack ‘l'm

writing it with .\ngus and N\’;\.‘ he , explains "l'he music is intrinsically ' inyolycd. hut for this piece it comes

second to the performance. visuals and dialogue.”

In the meantime. he continues to

tackle life in his own way. haying

hroken away from traditional

medication to find his own methods.

such as meditation. for dealing with the

situation.

.-\nd his work with 'l'es! l)ept

continues. ‘\\'e'ye_iust released an album called 'lirlii/i/y.‘ (‘unnington

says. ‘()ther people come and go in the

group. its always eyolying.‘ (Brian Donaldson)

I’d/i1. NlC-l (heart/suit!w. .'ll'(‘/I('.\' iii/[HINTS (i/us‘emc Hurry Its-511(1) xl/U'f/f rewriting/or (l Smitty/i [our in I/1(’ (HI/1mm. :l (/1 split)" u/ rt'w tin/r H1(l/(‘l’l(l/.\'(III(/(1I'('/lll'('.\ rum (1/ (ft ll. (ilirvuou. .lIn/t t\' .811! 3!! .‘l/ll'll.

kinship :

Old prejudices sure die hard. Scotland f

; is no stranger to those old chestnuts

race and religion, which have set up an us-versus-them mentality that’s

been around for eons. Maureen

lawrence’s new play Resurrection,

which is being toured by new writing stalwarts Paines Plough Theatre E

Company, looks at this through the tragile relationship of no less a personage than Dr Samuel Johnson, outspoken campaigner tor the anti- slavery movement, and his young black manservant Francis Barber, whom he educated and treated as one at the tamily.

‘Basically the play is about race, but

explains Penny Ciniewicz, Paines Plough’s recently appointed artistic director. ‘It is a very humane and very passionate study of their relationship,

Spanning 50 years, the challenging

two-hander provides both wit and

poignancy as it explores the complex loyalties and intluences which saw Johnson dety 18th century society but ultimately led him to the realisation of

his own double standards. Ciniewicz

believes the rigour and inherent

theatricality ot the piece make it ideal

= r 7 Skin and

Frame of reterence: Malcolm Rennie and Tyrone Huggins in Resurrection

tor the Paines Plough agenda. This

she describes as, ‘tilling the gap with

something more challenging than

, commercial writing and more mature than “art house”.’

Some of Johnson’s own words have been woven into the script, characterising the creator of the first

ever English dictionary, who was

considered rough and rude in a

somewhat prim and intolerant society. - ‘The language and themes of the play

are very modern, and the reality is that very little has changed,’ says

Ciniewicz. ‘Johnson was a liberal and

it makes us so-called liberals question our own actions, beliefs and double standards.’ (Claire Prentice) Resurrection, Paines Plough Theatre Company, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 17-Sat 20 April.

48 The List 5-18 Apr 1996