THEATRE PREVIEW
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PYGMALION
by Bernard Shaw “Brilliant. intelligent, lunnv. sexv. dramatic" Scotland on Sunday
Thu 6 June 7.30pm British Gas
BALLET CENTRAL
A vibrant, dancepacked programme
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11 June 7.30pm Vince Hill Wed 12 June 7.30m
Wildcat No Expense Spared
A new black comedy by Morag Fullerton.
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LOST CONTINENT
Saturday 8 June, 8pm
Steve Steen (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) in the stage version of Bill Bryson’s bestseller.
“A superb one-man show...quite remarkable. " Sunday Times
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Friday 14 June, 8pm
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Yes woman
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In full Bloom: Muireann Kelly in Parallel Lines Homer's Iliad is perhaps world literature‘s greatest celebration of male achievement. James Joyce‘s U/_\'.s‘.\‘('.\‘ -- a spectacularly original take on the same epic myth. set in 1904 Dublin — explores (among much else) a fascination with the mystical powers of womanhood. Nowhere more. than in the novel's final chapter. an interior monologue set among the drow sy. late- night musings of Molly Bloom. the central character‘s wife. In (it) unpunctuated pages. Joyce reveals an obsession with the minutiae of feminine thought. sexuality and experience. concluding the episode and the book — with the affirmation ‘ycs I said yes I will Yes‘.
The chapter has been dramatised or set to music many times. but it's a safe bet nobody"s done it like Theatre Cryptic. who premiere their new adapation. l’arti/le/ Linux. at Tramway this fortnight. Formed in 1991. the company is committed to developing a fusion between word. music and action.
Molly's soliloquy lends itselfto such treatment. as Cryptic‘s founding director Cathie Boyd explains ‘ll’s a fantastic piece of theatre. It's ama/ing: —- just this woman speaking her mind for that time.‘ she enthuses. her voice 1 fresh breeze from Belfast. punctuated with gusts of high-pitched laughter. ‘With Joyce. it‘s not just the meaning. it's the sound and the rhythms. \Ve‘ve divided the character between an opera singer. Colette McGahon. and an actress. Muireann Kelly. Muireann is the core of the character. speaking Joyce's language; Colette is basically the subconscious of the subconscious. and the musicians connect these two levels — sometimes Molly‘ll lind the thought herselfand sometimes the musicians will give her that thought.‘
Central to Cryptic's approach is the work of composer David Paul Jones. cellist Anthea Haddow ta wizard with the effects pedals beloved of rock guitarists) and clarinettist Jenny Scott. So important is music that the script devised during a month of improvisations — is known as ‘the score‘. ‘lt's not an easy process] concedes Boyd. But if asked for approval. Joyce -‘ who gave Ulysses a symphonic structure. and was mentor to that giant oftheatrical innovation Samuel Beckett — would undoubtedly say yes. (Andrew Burnet) l’uru/lc/ Lines. T/It’tlil't’ Cry/Hit: 'Ii'umn'uy. (Ilusgmr. Thurs 6-—.S'ul X.
“5.933;,
Strife on the ocean wave
Whether playwright Tom Stoppard took inspiration from the 70s crinolene- and-perm TV pap The Love Boatfor his 1984 play Rough Crossing isn’t on record, but they both understood the dramatic and commercial potential of setting sail with a disparate crew of strangers. Both were massive hits: the play continued a trend Stoppard was setting for himself by taking old European texts, sprinkling a dab of wordy gold-dust on and transforming them into just the sort of thing the llational Theatre was crying out for in those oh-so-indulgent 80$.
Fast-forward a dozen summers from its premiere and it’s ideal prime-time summer viewing for an audience who don’t want too many demands made on them. ‘lt’s an entertainment,’ says Kenny Ireland, artistic director of Edinburgh’s Boyal Lyceum, where the play is set to enjoy a lavish revival.
Freer adapted from a play by Ferenc Molnar, it’s set amid the opulence of a 50s ocean liner, where a pair of writers must finish their play before arriving in New York. A former lover who also happens to be the play’s leading lady opens up an ever- expanding closet of complications, and the boat is set to be well and truly rocked.
‘lt’s got all that stuff Stoppard does with wit and language that I love, full of terrible puns,’ says Ireland. ‘But there’s a danger of alienating an audience with that, so you have to
CLIVE FRANCIS
Tom Stoppard: terrible puns
combine the play’s cleverness with great comic performances.’
Veterans John Bett and Briony McBoberts should make sure of that, though the play’s genius comes in the shape of Tony Cownie, who plays a Chaplinesque waiter whose topsy- turvy physical tics mean he’s all off- balance when the ship’s docked, and can only tread a steady path once the ship’s in motion.
Noel Coward also had a stab at adapting Molnar’s original (his version is called The Play’s The Thing), so it’s fitting that Stoppard’s version is playing in tandem with Coward’s Blithe Spirit, another piece of finely- tuned verbal frippery so clever in its execution as to make Stephen Fry, a natural heir of pink fin and frolics, look like the class dunce.
‘The combination of physicalisation and slick text is tremendous fun,’ says Ireland. ‘As long as you’ve got the performances it’s fine, and I definitely know we’ve got them here.’ (Neil Coopen Rough Crossing, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 7-Sat 29 June.
COMEDY REVIEW THE STAND
Moscow Bar, Edinburgh, Saturdays
It could be Stars In Your Eyes— BT girl, social worker, housewife, ex-taxman and Proclaimer lookalike. But this motley crew were assembled to christen Edinburgh’s latest comedy hang-out, brought to you by the winning team that established the Stand comedy club. The basic cheap and cheerful formula remains, but this extension aims to become a permanent fixture of the Ull’s laughter circuit, with acts booked from Clydeside to Canada. Quality control is tighter, and the affair is targeted at thirtysomethings ‘too old to rave and too young to die’ according to promoter Tommy Sheppard, though this didn’t deter the kids from flocking to the opening. ,
Getting a free transfer from her regular Thursday slot, compere Jane Mackay kicked proceedings off in wicked fashion, and is one Morningside lady you wouldn’t want inviting you round to tea. First act Susan Morrison let rip with a lingering stream of fart gags, before Frankie Boyle revealed an endless repertoire of TV trivia — including sharing his ambition to swear on Countdown — which suggested the boy should get out more.
Fast-talking headliner John Gillick
Frankie Boyle: should get out more
held his own with his tales of domestic bliss and the dole, but the night’s high spot came from Yorkshire songster and ageing hippy Bory Motion, who delivered a pot-pourri of Dylan pastiche, poetry, pop-culture and veggie-growing.
It’s a mixed bag, but with five acts a throw it’s worth a gamble. The Moscow Bar’s cosy confines work in its favour, with just enough elbow- room to take advantage of the assorted drinks promos on offer. With Bruce Morton, Bert Tyler-Moore and Norman Lovett booked to follow its sell-out opening, The Stand’s little sister venue looks set to be more than a one-hit wonder. (Claire Prentice)
60 The List 31 May-I3 Jun 1996