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CASANOVA
Tron Theatre, Glasgow. until Sat 3 Mar, then touring 00..
So the secret of seduction is honesty. Well, so says Casanova right at the start of Suspect Culture’s latest theatrical essay. So, your best bet is something like: ‘Excuse me love, would you mind coming back to my place for some fairly indifferent sex? You won’t feel a thing, God knows it won‘t take long, and afterwards I promise never to bother you with so much as a phone call.’
Nah. Surely the secret of seduction is a subtle, tacitly and mutually acknowledged deception, with all the Marvellian snares and traps part of the delight for both parties. But what do I know?
All the same, Graham Eatough directs David Greig’s script appropriately seductively, caressing us into a rhapsodic suspension of disbelief. Gavin Mitchell’s Casanova has fallen on his feet with a wealthy gallery owner (Anne Marie Timoney) who sends him around the world to collect erotic souvenirs from his encounters. His assistant and constant witness is the rather frosty Marie Louise (Louise Ludgate), who we know from early on will become another willing victim.
But most of his victims are Vicki Lidelle, who plays a bewildering array of Chicky-babes, one of whom turns out to create a deeply wounded husband. Lidelle disrobed before us so often that I began to think I was married to her myself, but the stage husband (Alan Williams) plots a complex revenge involving the hiring of a private click to imitate his wife and destroy the man of many other people’s parts.
Theatre
Gavin Mitchell and Louise Ludgate get on with some honest seduction
As the husband fetishises his hireling, eventually falling in love not so much with her as with the image he creates, Casanova is seen truly to love his women, if only for a moment. Perhaps he reflects upon contemporary sexual mores more than we think. After all, hasn‘t sexuality become part of a consumer culture in which we seek for the perfect, constantly discarding our partners if they represent anything less?
At the end we’re left with two images of male sexuality: the husband who traps and silences his new wife in a suburban home, carping on about poisoning the bothersome owls in his
barn, or a guy who, for all his love of women, treats them like disposable razors. But is male sexuality the simple choice between shag-fiend and irritable owl syndrome?
However loaded its unanswered questions, Greig's script evokes a jouissance (I use the word carefully) that teases, pleases and fascinates. The production also boasts some strong performances, particularly from Lidelle, a one- woman show within a show, and Mitchell, whose blankness is appropriate to the objectified, much projected-upon central figure. Treat it like a passionate, elusive lover. Come and be vexed. (Steve Cramer)
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THE LAND OF CAKES Dundee Rep, Wed 7—Sat 24 Mar.
Dundee Rep cakes on the melodrama
‘None of this rs terrrhl‘,
rrrrpor'tant.' ‘lhus ends the first poen‘, ‘Atltltio' rn Don Paterson's heautrlul. \.rl‘."llllltl't?{ltl-Slltfllllfltia} illllllOltttl‘. of verse, fire [fies It Is a strange 'err‘ar‘k u'rhreh prepares the reader to take the unrxerse o‘ heautrt’ull‘. constructed Ideas drsplax'eo t‘oth rn the first ltttt‘l‘,‘ and throughout t
re (Tt)||("(‘,’.|{tll mth a Sense o" detar‘hrr‘ent. It works too, rrtakrhd the r‘lexer eonstr‘uetron ot the ltltXTOS rnsprred hr, and translated from the work of Spanish poet Maehado all the rrior'e heautrtu. for therr lltttlll‘l‘..
Ver‘,’ odd then te learn that Paterson‘s trrst xenture into txrr‘rtrno for the theatre rs deserrhed ht, the man hrr tselt as a melodrarrra. Sure-It Don Patmson. ‘.‘.’|lll one of the nest delit‘ate touches rn (tonterr‘perar‘;
[finish (twin, is not :i:;rrt<; t'; rer.'r'.'e a theater? lorrr‘ rr‘ade sxnonyn‘ous o, the V.<:t<>rra"s ‘.'.’|lll ll‘,’f3l(;l|£l and the s-:2ritrrr‘er‘.t'i', Paterson hrrr‘seit expla ns: “fit/hen the, hear the .vord ll‘.t:(>:l';£'t‘[l. ext-ryorzr- has ar‘. made '2? Vietor'rans s'..'.'oonrrr<_; It‘- fine haek ot l'l(:il h; nrls aeress their foreheads. hut we are :rsrngi the word in Its original sense llltféllllllt) a dran‘a of n‘eiodres'. lypreallt, tor a poet and {Efsllttt‘lélrl‘, one of Paterson's suhtiet .. t're Dundonrah rs using; a ‘.'.'or:i navrnr; stripped rt (lovxr‘. to its exar‘t nreanrno. l‘,’l)l(l£tl. too. rs the manner rn garhreh he has (:ollahorated .'.'rth (:omposer‘ and .‘ello'.'. [.lrtndonzan Gordon l‘\.4r:l)herson to create a ntore halanrred form.
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helpful Te tall the 1, arm." 0" Ciao}: a tradrr‘t‘rr‘ettx. \.'.'=th me trust." tr'orr‘ a six rmer- ha'rfit. l);‘.’.-i:.'ti:;" and l\./l(il*)l‘.é:.'f;;‘tl‘ Manet xx: :9: hijarre suhjezit for then {tin-"1 traded‘. and t‘.0.'“(?tl‘.l a lEllf3lllt) tater". twittest he. I r,. in:- patrents ot a rrrenta; hesp fiat. Paterson ‘.',’lll ltzi‘. e to ssrrn‘on a? all hrs ahundant poise r‘e rs to steer clear of hysteria thus
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MUSIC llll Allll JOURNEYS AND MEMORIES Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 14-Sat 17 Mar.
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Life hangs by a string quartet in Journeys And Memories
\r‘thh its latest production, Journeys And rtlerrrorres. Theatre Cryptrr; continues its quest to present ‘rrtusrr: to he ‘.'.rat(:hed'. Artistic director Cathie Boyd has ehosen three eontr'astrno .vork‘s tr: he performed hy new string ensemhle Kuotet ‘.‘.rrth vrsual input from choreographer ()larre Peneak and Video artists l‘rarrehousered.
To hedrn the Journey. Kuotet's vrola player Fiona Winning has transerrhed Allegrr's
he‘.'.':tr:hrng} a eaopelia (:horai work ‘lt/lrserere' tor strrnr; riuartet. Folloxrrnr; the létllllllitlll‘,’ of 'Alledri' comes a r‘elatrxel‘.’ nes.’ ‘.'.'ork hy’ the l-lungarran lst .ran Marta. 'Doorn A Sirih'
unras or'rgrnallj. eomm ssroned h', the Kronos Quartet hut, according to Boyd, has never heen r‘)ertormed in Scotland. The preee rs haseri on folk recordings Marta made an the earl; 1970's rn the Romanian village of Trunk.
'He x'rent .'.':tn xeri.‘ hasrr: sound equipment and recorded songs and realised that the people spoke arr areharf: l'lunoarranf says Boyd. “Ml/hen he returned to Budapest he sent photographs of h:s tep to the {Outh't Sadly. six months later. the polree derrtrfred those .‘.’hr_; har send for our; and punished them. A ten years later he (lot a feieorarn '.‘.’lll(7ll said "do net some aoarn" and he "ever went hack.
'lt's an extraordinary .'.'orl« f she enthases. ‘Emotronal rs an rirrderstatenrent, You don't knes; .'.*‘»r;t**r:' the ees are laughing; or crying.‘
Steve Reich’s 'lj‘ferer‘t Trans as eiiuali, thoughtprovoking. lll.“:(5il(léliltltll the contrast t;et.‘.~’:er‘ tr‘e requia" tra n journeys he r'narie hetsreer‘. Clurgatiu and New York during \‘Jort': %l the Kent ot train fourne‘, he :vrtagrne'l that, as a Je.'.', he would he rrzakrng; he ear} .:.ed In Europe at the trrne.
B<;,d wants is keer; the .rsuai aspects of the presentation urt'ter ‘.'./raps hut
antrr;:pates a woe-rated ext/:rrett’ge for all the performers. 'l‘/lus:r, l‘, ultrm; tel, about listen-no] sr‘e sa,s. rm. I think it ,ou can create lll ages or just add sorrrethrng more to
:t. the experwewr’; is: ;:‘i the more sr»,=r‘.satonaf and rr;emorahle.
rFlflliii Sherherrl
", Mar ’x’,' i THE LIST 57