1t)pm — Late festival
****
Goodtlme Glasgow girls gagging for it
Clyde Unity Theatre. Theatre Workshop (Venue 20) 226 5425. until 26 Aug. 10.30pm. £6.50
two cultures can live together.
First they need to find the causes of their antagonism. Cue an hour's worth of one upmanship. cheap jibes. clever gags and some splendid racial stereotyping which we can't reprint for fear of falling foul of the law regarding incitement to racial hatred.
It‘s pointless to argue whether the show is post- modern. ironic. tongue in cheek. self-knowing or gratuitously abusive — it‘s funny. period. (Jonathan Trew)
I The Arab And The Jew
(£4.50).
GAGGING WITH MINCE AND TATTIES
From the moment they come on stage. you know that you‘re in for a good feast from Mince Arid Turties. and from Clyde Unity Theatre. celebrating its tenth anniversary. Over-generous dollops of vulgarity and pathos are served up with energetic camp relish. from the opening suicide attempt to
(Fringe) Omid Djalili And lvor Dembina. Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 6550. until 3| Aug (not 29) l0.30pm. £8.50/£7.50.
****
TWD GIDDY KIPPERS
The double-act sketch show has been done many a time before. but Fringe
shagging in lifts and "'8 mu “NJ”: Jr: “'5‘ fax ourites Parsons and. giving birth in a skip. o I a" s I“ IV Naylor add fresh. spikily
John Binnie and hilarious dimensions to . Stephen Docherty (who this. the oldgst ot comedic also wrote the play) * * * situations. T he vague
(possibly unnecessary)
wallow in the smut and slapstick as the two Glasgow girls reminiscing in an institution on their friendship over the years. You’ll be gagging for more of their bitchy. bawdy banter. (Paul Smith)
I Gagging With Mince And Tatties (Fringe)
THE ARAB AND THE JEW
Forget all about political correctness as Omid Djalili and lvor Dembina (work out for yourselves which is the Arab and which the Jew) attempt to find a way in which the
plot-line struggles to hold the individual gags together. and it has to be said their production has some pretty ragged moments. but all problems are overcome by the often aggressive attack of their material. They're not afraid of the obvious.
THEATRE REVIEW
DREAMING DDDMSDAY
EllTG won a Fringe First five years ago for After Grimm, a post-modernist reworking of familiar fairy tales. Dreaming Doomsday seems to be an attempt to give the same treatment to llindu mythology, but with less success.
The opening scene in a travel agent provides the frame for a tale of reincarnation but it is bolted on rather unconvincingly. A further two tales are buried further within the narrative, making the whole affair demanding tor the audience.
The cast struggle to overcome the limited characterisation involved in these early mythology scenes and only really come alive for the amusing tlnale, where questions are raised about reality and illusion - are the characters real? ileincarnated? Or just actors on stage?
When the lights go up and the cast begin to pack up the set, leaving one member lost and alone, drifting between the stage and the audience the effect is genuinely chilling, and there are other imaginative pieces oi
Dreaming Doomsday: mythed the point
staging throughout.
The role of the author is raised at the conclusion as the characters rebel against the script, but this has been done so many times before that it is hard to see what is added here. (Stephen llaysmith)
Dreaming Doomsday (Fringe) sure, Bedlam Theatre (Venue 49) 25 9893, until 24 Aug (not 18) 10pm, £5 (£3).
predictable crack. but their sheer spirit makes this fact superfluous. even engaging. What results is a frequently brilliantly inventive set. surprising and refreshing. (Phil Miller)
I Two Giddy Kippers (Fringe) Parsons and Naylor. The Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 (i550. ttitttl 3| Attgtist (not 29) l().2()pltl. £7/£3 (Kb/£7).
****
THREE IN THE MORNING
Young Adrian ()stnond could be one of the finds (if the Festival. llis smooth writing. sharp. effortless direction and liyely acting are a real delight. llis play is classic existential stuff — a spooky stranger interrupts two going nowhere buddies killing time in a hotel lobby - but ()smond injects this with sparkling Tarantino dialogue and sometimes hilarious. sometimes menacing surrealism. Jason Gingold is escellent as the cynical bartender. and Jason |.ott scared the pants off me.
This is great small scale
drama. Very theatrical. a
pleasure to watch. and above all. accomplished. (Grant Gordon)
I Three In The Morning (Fringe) Double I-Idge Drama. C (Venue |‘)) 225 5 |()5. until 26 Aug |3.3()am. £5 (£4) Price includes a free whisky.
****
SIR BERNARD CHDMLEY’S GANGSHDW
There‘s something faintly uncomfortable about watching Matt Lucas. who opens the show dressed as a female cub scout leader before slipping into the slacks and soup-stained tie of Sir Bernard Chumley. wit and raconteur. Chumley's hairless. mis-shapen
“Strking satire.” GUdiUlElil "Great harmonies. outrageous songs. Excellent.” rthlIVdI FM
“Hysterical. There is no one like them". Stage
“Side splitting.” Time Out
luvva duckle, lt’s Ghumley Sir
figure gives him a strangely sexless air which provides a darker edge to a show based largely on schoolboy humour. His ability to contort his body into such awkward shapes surely makes him the Charles Laughton of comedy - a brilliant performer with a hint of tragedy. The chaos of the staging and the unashamedly puerile material mask the fact that Lucas and his excellent sidekick David Williams know exactly what they are doing. You‘ll laugh. then wonder why. (Eddie Gibb)
I Sir Bernard Ghumley’s Gangshow (Fringe) Sir Bernard Chumley. Assembly Rooms (Venue 3) 226 2428. until 3i Aug (not 29) I0.30pm. £8.50/£7.50 (£7.50/£6.50).
Edinburgh World Tour ‘97
August 11mm 25th
August 11th to 15th, 19th to 22nd at 8.45 pm (9.45) £6 (£5 con) August 16h to 18th, 23rd to 25th at 8.45 pm (9.45) £6.50 (£5 con) Venue 98, Marcos, 51 Grove St, Edinburgh.
At the Queens Hall, Edinburgh, for 2 nights only,
Aug 12th & 13th at 10.30 pm
For tickets call 0131 228 9116
The List lb-22 Aug I996 73