festival
THEATRE REVIEW
Present Tense Imperfect
fir it it
In a collaboration between teenagers from [A and Leith, nine short plays written primarily by Las Vegas students explore the rough transition from childhood to maturity.
Putting American dialogue - ’l’m down with this shit' — in the mouths of Scottish children is awkward at times, making it difficult for the scenes to be entirely convincing. Professional New York playwright Peter Dee has made a concerted effort to tailor his scripts to
DANCE REVIEW Deadly ****
How quickly can you name the Seven Deadly Sins? New Zealander Deborah Pope and Brazilian Rodrigo Matheus dispatch the lot in less than an hour. This award-winning piece of physical theatre crosses the energies of circus and dance without short-circuiting. Matheus (tall, dark and handsome) and Pope (a nimble blonde with muscles) make the perilous journey from gluttony to sloth using trapeze, sound and light, and their own firm
flesh. Half the time their battle of the sexes is conducted in the air. They probably do lust best, a heavy- breathing pairing like no other trapeze act you’ve ever seen. (Dominick Millen)
. Dead/y (Fringe) No Ordinary Angels, Continental Shifts at St Bride’s (Venue 62) 346 7405, until 28 Aug, 72.30pm,
the players, though, and his two shorts have the witty, fresh style of Gregory’s Girl. On the whole, it’s the strong performances from the young actors that make this production worthwhile. (Catherine Bromley)
I Present Tense Imperfect (Fringe) Frantic Redhead Productions, Randolf Studio (Venue 55) 225 5366, 27, 29
Aug, Nam; 25, 27 Aug, 4pm, £4 (£3). £6/f4.
THEATRE REVIEW THEATRE REVIEW Parcel Of Burns Scary Antics AAA ****
Burns gazes prettin from tartan book covers in every gift shop in Scotland. He's our national bard, but how many of us know what Tam O’Shanter is about? Stewart Ennis uses the device of a recovering amnesiac Burns to imagine what Rabbie would make of contemporary Scots’ politics and his own status as an unread national poet. Conclusions are unpredictable — Ennis’ Burns pours scorn on the country’s cartoon image, into which his legend has been entombed. It’s an involving performance. Ennis is unsycophantic in his attitude to the works (‘Some 0’ this is shite . . .’) but creates enthusiasm for the great poems and songs, inspiring appreciative rumblings and toe- tappings. (Allan Radcliffe)
I Parcel Of Burns (Fringe) Gal/us Theatre Company The Famous Grouse House (Venue 34) 220 5606, until 29 Aug (not 23-24) 72.30pm, £6 (£4).
The Shysters 'Scary Antics' is a Visually stunning piece of theatre. With its dreamy, sometimes nightmarish, ambience, it is akin to an extended sequence from a Peter Greenaway film.
The cast of learning impaired actors and actresses use music, masks, texts and mime in telling the story of a young woman’s search for love in a sometimes turbulent world. Without any dialogue they rely on movement and expression to communicate feeling. As with other expressionistic pieces, it can be difficult to follow at times, but if you let the set pieces wash over you, it succeeds as more than capable avante garde theatre. (Ross Holloway)
fl Scary Antics (Fringe) Shysters, Theatre Workshop (Venue 20) 226 5425, anti/27 Aug, 77.30am, £5.50 (£3.50).
SCOTLAND’S YEAR or THE
ARTIST 2000 - 2001
Scotland’s Year of the Artist invites applications for funding from artists in all creative disciplines.
Proposals are encouraged across the full spectrum of creative activity, such as digital art and design as well as music, visual art, dance, theatre and contemporary developments.
THEATRE REVIEW The Bedsit
*‘k‘k‘k‘k Three men (two young, the other middle-aged) bicker, banter and argue but it is hard to define the relationship between them. Then it becomes clear that the young men are lodgers. However, it also becomes apparent that they are part of a terrorist organisation . . . L" This is a play which almost defines , the term 'thriller’. As a result of its tight, witty script, moments of pure hilarity are juxtaposed with superbly realised instances of tension. As chilling as it is humorous, this is a must for those who like their theatre cogent and absorbing. (Dawn Kofie) I The Bedsit (Fringe) Observer Assembly (Venue 3) 226 2428, until 30 Aug, 11.50am, £9/f8 (£8/£7).
For further information please contact
Rona‘MacDonald on
0141 339 2846
or visit our website at
www.5cottishcultu re.co.uk
‘ T; s. 1
Sit tight in Bedsit
3) Scottish
Cultural Enterprise
19—26 Aug 1999 THE "ST 51