Matt Goss: he's got chills
REVIEW Grease Edinburgh Playhouse, until Sat 16 Jan
There are those who may see Grease as some ideal manifestation of Barthes' theory of the carnival, Nietzsche’s triumph of the will or battles between all aspects of Freud's egos. These people are quite probably insane. What the show boils down to is a whistleable tour round some of your Top Ten hit memories from the summer of 1978. Yet, as with most original classics, each later imitation gets paler and paler till full-blown anaemia sets in. With this production, we are at the ’patient is stable’ stage.
For those who remain uninitiated, the plot goes something like this: boy meets girl for summer romance; girl shows up at his school for the new term to his mixed emotion; her friends try to turn her away from her state of purity; to his delight, it
works. In between, there are issues of teenage pregnancy, three-in-a- bed romps, fetishism — the cars are described as 'pussy wagons' — with shards of guilt and betrayal.
Even more camp than the film, this stars late 80$ teen idol Luke Goss as Danny Zucco and he turns in an adequate performance as the cool guy whose public image hides a good heart. As you'd expect, Goss's playing is little more than a caricature of Travolta, whose own performance was hardly the stuff of gritty realism. The action takes place within a set shaped like a jukebox and the dance sequences are particularly striking. And then there are the tunes — 'Hopelessly Devoted To You’, ’Grease Lightnin’ ', ’You’re The One That I Want’, at al.
Yet there is no point in denying that you can watch this without more than a mild hanker for Johnny and Livvy. For the most part, this Grease is absurd.
(Brian Donaldson)
CHURCH HILL THEATRE
339 Morningside Road. Tickets: 476 ()J7l
Chess 'l‘hu 2| Sat Rt) ,lan. 7.30pm; mat Sat 33 Jan. 2pm. 'l‘empo Musical Productions presents the popular \Vest lind musical written by Abbas Benny .-\ndersson and liiorn l3lvaeus. in collaboration with Tim Rice. llit songs 'I Know Him So Well and ‘()ne Night In Bangkok feature in this hi- tech production. w ith lull band. orchestra and cast ol in et‘ 50.
KING'S THEATRE 3 l,e\cn Street. 529 ()()()(). ’l'l‘. [Accessz R. l.. l-acilitics: WC. lR. (i. C. Help: A. AA]. Headsets tor Infra Red Systetti for the hard of hearing available from ltottl of house manager.
Aladdin Until Sun I? Jan. times vary.‘ {oil-1.50 (conc available).
A big. lavish glitterball ot‘ a traditional panto. starring Gerard Kelly. Allan Stewart. David Riiitoul and other titajor
PLAYHOUSE THEATRE (.ireenside Place. 557 2590. [Access: R. 1.. Facilities: WC. WS. (3. CI
Grease Until Sat lb Jan. 7.30pm: Wed & Sat mats 2.30pm. £ |()-L'22.5() tconc available). Luke (loss (of Bros) stars in this popular. slick and large-scale revival of the l’amous rock ‘n’ roll musical. set in the I950» See review panel.
ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE (irindlay Street. 348 4848.1”? [Accessz
l’. l.. Facilities: WC. W8. H. (j. C. '1‘ Help: A. AA]. Closed Suns and Mons. Snow Queen Until Sat 9 Jan. times vary. £84; I 5 tconc available). The Royal Lyceum's Christmas show is Stuart Paterson‘s hugely successful take on the Hans Christian Andersen tale about the Snow Queen who threatens to smash the evil mirror and bring winter on forever. The Deep Blue Sea Fri l5 Jan—Sat 6 Feb. 7.45pm: mats Sat 23. Wed 27. Sat 30 Jan 64 Sat 6 Feb at 2.30pm. £7—£ lb lconc available). Considered to be Terence Rattigan's finest play. the story follows a married woman who gives tip her husband for her lover. a burnt-out young pilot. Recently voted one of the century's best plays by the Royal National Theatre. Reviewed next issue.
listings THEATRE
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best festive
Kindertotenlieder Music, poetry and drama combine under Robert Lepage’s (pictured) expert guidance. Blake Morrison, author of Bulger case study As If contributes original text to the already heady mix of Mahler and Ruckhert. An essential appetiser for Lepage’s visa to the SECC in spring of this year. G/asgow: Theatre Royal.
The Deep Blue Sea Real life husband and wrfe team John Woodvine and Lynn Farleigh star as the Collyers, a couple held together not by love but by social convention, until a battle scarred pilot comes into their life. Very Rattigan, very SOs. Edinburgh: Roya/ Lyceum. Comedy: Mark Bratchpiece Diminutive, hirsute, bespectacled, acerbic, very funny and rather twisted, Bratchpiece carries the weight of the world on his stooped shoulders to decidedly comic effect, Edinburgh: The Stand.
This grid includes theatre and dance performances at Glasgow and Edinburgh's main theatres.
More information, including events at smaller venues, can be found in the listings above and over the page. Performances shown in brackets are free or reduced price previews.
Thursday 14 Friday 15 Saturday 16 Sunday 17 Monday 18 Tuesday 19 -
Sleeping Beauty Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty
-1.-.
Wednesday 20 Thursday 21 '
King’s Th
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“You and l are death to each other”
Terence Rattigan The Deep Blue Sea
15 January — 6 February (Tuesday — Saturday).
Tickets: £37 -— £16 Students Half Price (Tuesday — Thursday). BOX Office: 0131 248 4848.
oyal yceum
heatre ompany
7—21 Jan 1999 THE “ST 55