“Byron Yee calls him- self a stand-up comic. but that description doesn‘t do the San F ran- ciscan justice. Only a consummate storyteller y could have put together Paper Son . . . a unique and moving tale.“
- Toronto Star
“Both artl'ully con-
structed and as poignant
as it is funny.”
- San Francisco Examiner
“An electrifying combi- nation. polish and an open heart on stage.” - Edmonton Journal
VENUE 47 CAFE ROYAL
5 - 30 AUGUST 6.15pm
www.paperson.com
46 THE US! 12-19 Aug 1999
6—8pm
theatre 0 dance 0 comedy
festival
COMEDY REVIEW Chris Addison: Gentleman, Scholar, Acrobat
** fir *
Looking as if he has more limbs than he knows what to do with, rosy cheeks glowing under the spotlights, Chris Addison is the epitomy of boy-next- door charm. However, his gawky exterior belies a fine mind, a keen observation and a strong sense of his own identity, which is unapologetically middle class. Seemingly genuinely bemused by the levels of stupidity humanity can sink to, he pokes fun in an inoffensive way, targeting in particular Brummies, students and Americans. Gentleman and scholar he most certainly is; of the acrobatics there is no evidence. Still, two out of three ain't bad. (Kirsty Knaggs)
fl Chris Addison: Gentleman, Scholar, Acrobat (Fringe) Chris Addison, Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 6550, until 30 Aug (not 70, 24) 7.30pm,
£ 9/£8. 50/£ 8 (£8/£ 7. 50/£ 7).
THEATRE PREVIEW 2:18 Underground
What would happen if you actually communicated with your fellow passengers on the Tube instead of studioust ignoring them? This notion, among others, is explored in this National Youth Theatre production which centres on twenty passengers in one
carriage, travelling between King's Cross
DANCE PREVIEW Artifact
Going Dutch: Artifact
Dance masterworks don't come around that often, but American choreographer William Forsythe's 'Artifact‘ is one of them.
This large-scale contemporary piece will be presented by Dutch National Ballet, who performed superny in two programmes of Hans Van Manen
ballets during last year's Festival.
Forsythe, 50 this year, has been at the helm of Ballett Frankfurt since 1984. He's earned further kudos freelancing for companies like the Paris Opera Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater. Forsythe's importance stems from a high-tech reinvention of what the body can do. His sharp-edged, deconstructionist style has made him one of the most innovative forces in world dance. His radical approach to movement doesn‘t necessarily appeal to conservative tastes. 'Charles Manson of the dance' a London critic once damned him. 'It doesn't hurt me,’ he remarked, 'but those kinds of narrow attitudes do hurt dance. Hey, if you’re really concerned, let's open it up. Try it this way, that way, any way. It's time to evolve.’
Artifact, Forsythe's first work for Frankfurt, juxtaposes gorgeously sleek, stretched-out duets against sweeping ensemble passages. Shaking up audience expectations, every now and then the curtain crashes down with a thud. Further proof of what a theatrical, as well as terpsichorean, revolutionary Forsythe is. (Donald Hutera)
. Artifact (Festival) Dutch National Ballet, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 4 73 2000,
76-78 Aug. 7.30pm, £5425.
and Angel on the London Underground (a journey which takes two minutes, eighteen seconds, hence the title).
All those aboard reveal truths about themselves and the way in which their lives interconnect during replays of the initial journey. 'lt’s really about how people can seem incredibly ordinary on the Tube,’ says Laurie Sansom, the play's director. 'You make assumptions about what they are like by their appearances, but when you actually get to know people, you find they all have something extraordinary about them.’ The piece was devised by the NYT Company, a particular inducement to those who have seen earlier samples of such work from this quarter.
(Dawn Kofie)
I 2: 18 Underground (Fringe) The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. Chaplaincy Centre (Venue 23) 662 8882, 74-30 Aug (not 23) 6.30pm, £6.50
(£4.50).
COMEDY REVIEW Bob Doolally Queers His Pitch
* * *
Just as the new season kicks off, Bob ‘The Gob' Doolally reappears after a twelve month stretch inside. A drunken/sexist/homophobiC/chiId molesting (?) ex—football manager, Bob offers his commentary on the state of the beautiful game as well as some ill-informed insight into more worldly concerns. Full of the pious platitudes prevalent amongst the ex-footballing fraternity, Bob (Paul Sneddon) plumbs the depths of bad taste in his send-up of Dennis Law and his ilk. A definite for die-hards who prefer soccer to Shakespeare, but the humour is such that you don’t need a footballing brain to laugh along. (Davie Archibald)
I Bob Doolally Queers His Pitch
% I Rangers On A Train: 2:18 Underground
(Fringe) The Stand Comedy Club (Venue 5) 558 7272, until 29 Aug, 7.40pm, £5 (£4).
COMEDY REVIEW Dave Gorman's Better World
*‘kir
Dave Gorman is a caring, sharing kinda guy. Before the festival, he sent anonymous letters to hundreds of publications asking for suggestions on how he could make the world better. So his show involves the relaying of his correspondents' proposals, which range from perfectly reasonable, to downright disturbing.
Far from being a tedious, moralizing lecture based on the kind of maxims propounded by elderly relatives when you’re young — ’if you can't say anything nice . . .' and ’don't tell lies'- it’s actually pretty entertaining stuff. Belly laughs come frequently enough to make it an hour well spent. 60, if only to gaze in wonderment at Mr Gorman's most impressive sideburns. (Dawn Kofie)
I Dave Gorman’s Better World (Fringe) Dave Gorman, P/easance (Venue 33) 556 6550, until 30 Aug (not 10, 24) 7. 75pm, £9/£8.50/£8 (£8/£ 7. 50/£ 7).
STAR RATINGS
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