8pm —IOpm FESTIVAL
into pure rant. But be warned. You may not come out lrkrng yourself much. Or hrrn (Stephen Naysmrth)
I A/ibis For Life by Sean Hughes (Fringe) Sean Hughes, George Square Theatre (Venue 37) 650 2007, until 29 Aug, 8. 75pm, [9 (f8).
THEATRE REVIEW
3 Swan Song
1k * ir Meet Dr Trtswell Thirty-three, single, a
staunch Blarrrte and middle- ‘ management profeSSIonal'
comprehensive schoolteacher She is also a character for whom the term
; 'self-satrsfred busybody' was comed. Playwright Jonathan Harvey's debut
Fringe production comes trailing a litter of accolades for Beautiful Thing and
Babies, yet this one-woman show § starring Rebecca Front fails to
substantiate rumours that a young Alan Bennett has arrived. As an acutely observed and barbed criticism of Britarn's education system, Swan Song does the JOb neatly. However, as a portrait of a woman it lacks substance. That said, Front commits an act of sheer brrllrance, carrying off her smug character With sparkling aplomb and hilarious faCral mimicry. In this instance credit should be lard at the feet of
Front. (Ann Donald)
I Swan Song (Fringe) Rebecca Front, The Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 6550, until 30 Aug, 8.25pm, [7 (f6)
COMEDY REVIEW Stewart Lee - King Dong vs
Moby Dick
*‘kti'
A show of two halves. Part one sees
televrsron's Mr Lee — who comes on to the strains of Mr Lee by Televrsion — launching a diatribe on the Fringe Society for its censoring of hrs poster. Via a slide show, Lee makes a lrnk between Captain Ahab, 70s porn star King Dong and Leah Betts's dad whrlst pr0vrng concluswely that his poster penis cannot possibly be erect.
Part two rs a straightrsh stand-up routine which IS more cerebral than hysterical. lf Lee rs attempting to be comedy’s answer to Jean Baudrrllard, he Is well on the way. Hugely
I entertaining in a not that funny kind of I way. (Brian Donaldson) : I Stewart Lee ~ King Dong vs Moby
Sean Hughes: the dark side
Dick (Fringe) Stewart Lee, The P/easance (Venue 33) 556 6550, until 30 Aug (not 26) 70.30pm, [LB/f8 50 ([ 7/f 7. 50).
THEATRE REVIEW
Koyo’Yamamoto * t at ‘
No Marcel Marceau, white-faced lookalike here. With a body as fluid as Irqurd srlver, Japanese mime artist Yamarnoto melts from one abSurdrst comedy skit to another
One moment he’s gesturing a day in the Irfe of a Japanese office worker. from wolfrng down breakfast, to sniffing the underarms of fellow passengers on the underground and a sesh on the karaoke Next, by way of a yellow box on his head and a free-flow of arm movements, he’s butter massacred by the midday sun.
The pace IS fast. In Gone With The Wind he's a wrndswept Rhett Butler who loses his toupee along with Scarlett O'Hara. Brzarre yes, but definitely fun. (Susanna Beaumont)
I Koyo Yamamoto in Made In japan’ (Fringe) Japan Experience, Randolph Studio (Venue 55) 225 5366, until 30 Aug, 9pm, [5 (£4).
Koyo Yamamoto: big in Japan
STAR RATINGS ** “Hr Unmissable i t t * Very good *** Wonh seeing * * Below average it You've been warned
become. an 'it' girl
he Portrait of a Lady: Sargent and Lady Agnew at the National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound, Edinburgh. 8 August — 19 October 1997. Admission £3, concessions £2. Monday — Saturday 10am — 5pm. Sunday 2 — 5pm. Opening hours extended during the Edinburgh Festival.
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NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND
EXHIBITION SPONSORED BY GREAT NORTH EASTERN BIIlWAY INO ORIENT-EXPRESS HOTELS