3....
_ film
festival
THEATRE REVIEW * ‘k ‘k *
BLUES TRAIN South Africa's Mamelodi Theatre Organisation. fresh from the Grahamstown National Arts Festival in Capetown. examine the schizophrenic nature of their turbulent country in this satirical show which is both humorous and harrowing.
The four black cast members use song. dance and mime to portray the new South Africa and the problems which it is having in coming to terms with both its apartheid past and unpredictable future.
With only the aid of a couple of hats and chairs. the cast manages convincingly to evoke both characters and settings. including a disturbing torture scene which takes place in ajail. (Alan Crawford)
I Blues Ttall'l (Fringe) Mamelodi Theatre Organisation. Moray House Kabaret (Venue I68) 556 0102. until 29 Aug. 3.15pm. £7l£5 (£6/£4).
*
GREAT PRET NDERS
You should never wn'te lyrics like ‘lt’s all a waste of time. We should give this up tonight.‘ but Great Pretenders. a musical from a former Bootleg Beatle is an irony-free zone. oblivious to the fact that it speaks a bigger truth than originally intended.
On paper it probably looked like a great idea. Five impersonators. including an Elvis and a Marilyn Monroe meet for a corporate entertainment gig. Unfortunately. the turgid songs and weak
story squash any potential '
that the situation might once have held. There is one good visual gag but you have to sit through an hour of dross first. Frankly life is too short. (Catriona Craig)
I Great Pretenders (Fringe) Etcetera Theatre Company/Counterfeit Company. Gilded Balloon (Venue 38) 226 2151. until 31 Aug. 4pm. £7 (£6).
Punk’s llot Dead: making thelr (lav
l *‘k‘k‘k l
RICHARD HERRING’S PUNK’S NOT DEAD
This is what the Fringe is for. You have an idea in April. write the script in May; rehearse through July and — Johnny’s yer Uncle - out pops a fully gagged-up show in time for August. Conceived after the Sex Pistols announced their comeback tour. Richard Herring revisits his adolescence as a punk fan in Somerset who missed I977 by a full six years and 200 miles.
This isn’t really a play about punk. but a witty meditation on why it is that schoolfriends remain buddies when all you have in common is the past. Herring‘s deft script walks confidently along the fine line between laddishness and sentimentality. The bollocks. basically. (Eddie Gibb)
I Richard Herring’s Punk’s Not Dead (Fringe) Pleasance (Venue 33) 556
6550. until 3| Aug (not 27) 4.15pm. £8.50/£8 (£7.50/£7).
THEATRE REVIEW * *
BALLYIIOO
Combining science. art and a circus sideshow. Eric Schoefer's one-man show takes the audience on an existential trip. Fleas perform amazing feats intercut with a commentary from a scientist who throws doubt on illusion and questions the nature of being. All the while an innocent juggler gets more and more frustrated as he can't keep it up. Schoefer approaches this wildly ambitious project with energy and enthusiasm but fails to draw the audience into a philosophical debate or even engage us in what is a slight and incoherent piece. Some humour rises from the physical antics but on the whole the ringmaster hangs himself with his own tightrope. (Claire Prentice) I Ballyltoo (Fringe) Scrap Performance Group. C. Over-Seas House (Venue I9) 225 5105. until 3| Aug. 3.15pm. £5 (£4).
Much Ballylioo shout out
The Storytellers
rant
Le Sept
7 Old Fishmarket Close Edinburgh lunch and dinner Monday to Thursday all day Friday and Saturday Sundays dinner only telephone 0131 225 5428
St. John's Church Hall Aug 26 - 31 4pm
DIRECT FROM LOS ANGELES...
71512 6/205 7L/{gac/ Gav/06V
Elektra LA LA
A RIFF ON THE MYTH. WITH SONGS __ ‘.
‘IRREVERENT AND CHILLINC... EXCEPTIONAL PEREORMANCES' - LA. WEEKLY
VENUE 169
Moray House Studios
1 2th- 3lst August (Not Tuesdays) 5:1 5 PM BoxOffice- 0131556 0102
“It’s the atmosphere of the coffee bar that draws them in.
It’s funky, it’s intellectual, it’s artsy, it’s romantic beyond belief”
Pattlson
t e ant
e eguse
The gourmet tea and coflee house in the heart of the Old Town
21 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh 0131 220 5355
The List 23 Aug-5 Sept 1996 31