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COMEDY PREVIEW Matelots from Madrid
Spanish mime merchants Yllana become merchant seamen in their new show, Glub, Glub!
Certain comic tableaux are tattooed on the mind: take Morecambe and Wise’s vision of Shirley Bassey in miners' boots. Fringe audiences who saw Yllana's 1993 Traverse show Muul still remember the absurd posturing of the four macho matadors from Madrid. It left a warm glow which has lasted for years. This year's treat is Glub, Glub! a series of mimed sketches loosely based on the subject of the sea.
Judging from a video of the show. audiences still guffaw at Yllana’s high-speed physical clowning. Featuring four hapless sailors let loose on the high seas, the show plays on fears of the unknown deep. Marvellously secure in their own sense of the ridiculous, Yllana's split-second comic timing and use of music result in some absurdly dramatic effects.
'lt's nonsense,’ says producer Marcos Ottone, brother of director David Ottone (together they are dubbed the Coen Brothers of physical theatre). Only he's not describing their comedy style, rather the company name. 'lt doesn't mean anything, it's not commercial, it's hard to pronounce, it‘s nonsensel' he says cheerfully. The six members of Yllana (pronounced eeeahna) met years ago while at University in Spain. The exception is new recruit, 25-year-old Raul Cano, who replaced Rick
Moranis lookalike Antonio in May.
After the success of Maui, Yllana wanted an international theme for their next show, which would appeal to an even wider spectrum. Their shows already attract international audiences because of the non-
A life on the ocean wave for Yllana
linguistic element. On and off, Glub, GIub! took over
five months to bring to fruition. ’lt‘s very complicated,’ says Marcos. 'We don’t write ideas, we develop them on stage. And we have thousands of ideas.’ Which makes for a slow process. 'One day we may have ten minutes I of a show. Then a month, and nothing. Much of it depends on chemistry.’ ' Along with the Umbilical Brothers, The Right Size, and Peepolykus, Yllana are contenders for one of the new Total Theatre Awards at Edinburgh this year. In the
Battle of the Big Physical Theatre, Yllana could well
24 Aug, {7 (£6).
prove victorious. (Gabe Stewart) I Glub, Glubl (Fringe) Yllana, Gilded Balloon (Venue 38) 226 2757, 75—30 Aug, 2. 75pm until 23 Aug, 4 30pm from
Hattie Hayridge on her so-called life
COMEDY PREVIEW
Hattie Hayfidge
Hattie Hayridge, star of Red Dwarf and one of Britain’s finest female stand-up comics, wants to tell you all about her long, lusty life. ’But don’t get me wrong,’ she says. 'lt’s no therapy session . . .
’It's not cathartic or confessional, or anything like that. I iust want to talk about all the weird stuff that’s happened to me. I'll talk about things like being on a Ferris wheel in Berlin with eight Russian soldiers. Or about the time I was chased by an elephant when I was on a school trip. Or even about the time my mother was rushed to hospital with me inside her, and she had no idea she was even pregnant. Stuff like that, really!’
Taken from her autobiography, the Abstract ’sadly nowhere near glam or showbizzy, although it s0unds like it could be along those lines, doesn't it7 It's not i lull ol names from the world of showbusiness, or anything like that. There are probably about three names ;
aptly-titled Random Memories, the stories are
in it, In total.‘
Known for her gently observational stand-up, which manages nevertheless g to take the odd sharp IWlSl or turn, I Hattie's new show takes her into newer, I fresher areas. So are we now Witnessing the birth of — dare we say it7 —~ a new,
story-a—minute Malcolm Hardee?
'Well,’ she says, 'Malcolni gets his bollocks out on stage. In that respect, i
at least, we differ' (Danny Wallace) I Random Abstract Memory (Fringe) Hattie Hayridge, Assembly Rooms (Venue 3) 226 2428, 17-30 Aug,
[7 50/[850 ([6,50/[7 50)
H it list
Check these out first . . .
Glub, Glub! Nautical adventure from the Spanish mime-comedy group that gave us Muu! See preview, left, and Freeloaders, page 7.
Random Abstract Memory In a show taken from her autobiography, the comedienne stuns all with the strangeness of her life. See preview, left.
The MC Of A Striptease Act Doesn't Give Up When the main attraction of a strip show fails to turn up, the MC does all in his power to keep the audience entertained. Acclaimed drama by playwright Bodo Kirchhoff. The MC Of A Striptease Act Doesn’t Give Up (Fringe) Gilded Balloon l/ (Venue 36) 226 2151, until 30 Aug, 2. 75pm, £6.50
(f 5.50).
Earthquake Weather Innovative Transatlantic theatre group with a Fringe First already under their belts premiere their new show exploring love in America. Earthquake Weather (Fringe) Starving Artists, Traverse Theatre (Venue 75) 228 1404, until 30 Aug, times vary,
[ 8 (f5).
7'
Boy‘s Life Striking observational humour in Pulitzer-nominated Howard Korder’s satirical drama about the battle of the sexes. Boy’s Life (Fringe) Great Jones Theatre Co, Assembly Rooms (Venue 3) 226 2428, until 30 Aug, 2.35pm [8.50/[9 50 (£7. 50/158. 50).
Latin! Illicit sex romp set in a public school, written by Stephen Fry, who presumably has some knowledge in the field. See review, page 43. Latin! (Fringe) C ounterweight Productions, Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 6550, until 30 Aug, 1.30pm, f6/f7
(f 5/£ 6).
Urban Minefields Scottish monologwst Oscar McLennan weaves a humorously surreal tale around the four cities of Glasgow, London, New York and Belfast, with projected images and a stunning soundtrack by Anne Seagrave. Urban Minefields (Fringe) Oscar McLennan, Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 6550, until 23 Aug, 2.40pm,
f 6/f 7 ([4).
is --2i Aug i997 THE UST 59