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THEATRE PREVle Easy Access (Solo Remix)
Claire Dowie fools her friends as male prostitute Michael
A woman playing a male prostitute. An ex-comedian writing and starring in a play about child abuse. You would be forgiven for thinking that Claire Dowie is suffering from a mid-life crisis. 'lt's nothing like that,’ she says. 'As a comedian you can't go further than the punchline. I wanted to go deeper, to explore more than just laughter.‘
Michael, the play’s protagonist, was sexually abused by his father. He doesn’t see the intercourse as abuse, but as a consensual act of love and sets out to make a video diary to prove it. But as the story unravels and Michael discovers more about himself and others, he realises that perhaps he was betrayed after all. Nothing in the piece is cut and dry, a point Dowie wants to stress. ’There's so much hype about child abuse,‘ she says. 'It’s always black and white. In reality, it’s more complicated than that, especially when the abuser is a relative.’ ,
Dowie plays the character straight: no accent, costume or melodrama. She is so effective as Michael that her own friends fail to recognise her, yet her sense of humour pervades even this weighty topic. 'It's not a wholly tragic play,‘ she laughs. 'But I don't put socks down my groin either.‘ (Nicky Agate) 3555;: Easy Access (So/o Remix) Claire Dowie (Fringe) Pleasarrce (Venue 33,) 556 6 S 5 O, 7 --37 Aug (not 10, 24,) 2pm, f 7. 50/[6 50 ((6/13). Preview 6 Aug [5
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THEATRE PREVIEW OJ. Othello
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Srmpson's gurlt or rnnorenr e rs not the Issue rn O J Othello Instead, rt presents the Conflrrtrnr; yorr es ‘.‘.'rthrrt OJ's tortured rnrnd 'The Jurte', the young, str'eetwrse football player ‘rom an all black nerohhourhood, and the nth, medra-frrendly golfer he later became When 0 J apolorpses for
E The stones of Othello and OJ, Srmpson are essentrally the same Blar it man rn predorr'rrnantly whrte sorirety elevates hrmself throurrh hrs talents, and marrres‘ youno, v.rhrte woman from wealthy famrly Othello murdered Desdemona rrr a realous raoe
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THEATRE PREVIEW Tooled Up
'rteatrnrr hrs wrfr- Nrrole, hrs alter eor) retorts ‘So you slapped her up a hrt, so
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Stephen Powell says hrs new show seems to he about other people's famrlres Yet how many people would relate to the stones of an arteran East- End r'rrmrnal, showrumper, yarhtsman and carpenter7 'It's a trursm of any performance, the more spetrfrr‘ you make rt, the more unryersal rt hecomes,’ (OlltOS the Zen-lrke reply. Powell plays hrs father, confrned to a tell, talkrnrr ahout lrfe rn prrson and hrs chequered past In the srxtres, he ran a (lot) frequented by the Krays, flrtted
Venue 3' 226 2428, .7 IlAur;, between Jrzhs and used stolen (redrt .7 30pm, 72-15 Aug, n." in, [Cr/[8 (ards for trrps ahroad Br/arrely, he
onre os'xned an Asran hrown hear and although often assorrated wrth armed \'r|larrts, hrs own guns were more often used to hunt dutks
Apparently, thrs rs a man wrth ourte a few stones to tell and wrth the ard of a menu, the audrenre wrll be able to (hoose the order of the vronettes Powell Senror seems to he enroyrno hrs new found (elehrrty a Irttle too murh hy ’holdrnr; t'orrrt far too lono' rn recent rntervrews. Wrth thrs rn rnrnd you (an see Stephen Powell's porrrt, 'famrly relatronshrps are all the same ' (Rory Ford) 533535 Too/ed Up, Stephen Powell (’Frrrrge) P/eas‘r‘rnre (Venue 33) 556 6550, 77 37 Aug (not 71, 25) 7 30pm, [7 50/[6 50 ([6 50/[5 SO) Prevrew 6 Aug, [5
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PLEASANCE 10-51 st August ’98
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THEATRE PREVIEW Letter to a Daughter
F‘rolrfrt Arnold Wesker' appears to i.l‘.()( k off award-\.'.rrnnrnr; plays rn the here rt tales most of us to searr h for past the rrrrht word Yet not (ontent wrth hayran wrrtten dozens of plays, he's ernharlzrnr; on a new rareer as a '\,rr:rs wrrter ’I would sooner have been a tornposer than a ‘.'.rr'rter,' he r--rrfesses, before lettrno slip that hrs next prorett rs wr‘rtrn'r an entry for, ahem, the Eurrmsrorr Song Contest
One susperts the mrrsrt rn hrs play letter to a Daughter wrll he somewhat more somhre rn nature It features son-firs rornpased by Ben Trll and 'the r_-,<tra-'rrdrn,rry vorre’ of Julre Clare
~Hie play rs a mounr; portrayal of a srnrrie mom who sets out to wrrte a ‘etter of admit to her daughter and ends up (onfessrnrr her man feelrnos of parerttal rr‘aderruaty Partly rnsprred hy hrs own experrenre, \\'t“si.('l helreves
the p‘ay's sentrnrent tout hes a :rnryer'sal nerve 'l wrppmse all parents feel that they've never rione rrrr'rrt 'try tirerr rh:!d'e't, and :ertarr‘iy many of us have (orrternplxrted ‘.'.rrtrrrr; Cr-tters to our (hrldren, even ~.'.rrtten them ' The result rs plenty of \‘thty adv: e
asp-nor; parents may .'.«rsh to take Tom; a notehook 'Rrvhrn James)
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GLYNIS llENDEllSON PBESENIS
STEPHEN POWELL
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“Hilarious Hancock-like
Charm'ifllfl Will! “A talented and original performer ...very tasty't.... PLEASANCE 31 AUGUST 1.30PM
013155 5 7- .. 9.6.5.9 PREVEWBAUGUSImmnazsm
6—13 Aug 1997 rrrsusns
Box Office: 0 151/556 6550