Theatre
NE‘.'.' DANCE RAMBERT Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 9—Sat 12 Oct
If Britain’s oldest dance company has retained a youthful outlook, it’s partly because soon-to-depart artistic director Christopher Bruce has had the smarts to develop promising in-house choreographers and commission work from the likes of Wayne McGregor. Last season Rambert’s dancers cut their collective teeth on McGregor’s razor-sharp, elegantly distorted style via Detritus, in which a giant mechanical insect leg hung ominously above the stage. Now this sleek troupe is returning to Edinburgh with the world premiere of McGregor’s PreSentient, a work for 12 dancers set to Steve Reich’s Triple Quartet.
‘The music is punishing,’ says McGregor, ‘a persistent wall of sound which propels and cuts into the atmosphere.’ The score, played live by three string quartets, is not the only thing that excites him. ‘The piece has a real sense of unresolved anticipation in it. A physical premonition, if you like.’
McGregor’s risky, 20-minute dance has a claustrophobic structure, inside of which the dancers move at killer speeds. ‘I deliberately want to challenge the viewers’ eyes,’ he says, ‘to overdose them on the kinetic drive. It’s like a dancing bomb.’
PreSentient shares a bill with Bruce’s Grinning in Your Face and American master Merce Cunningham’s Ground Level Overlay. The former is a fine example of Bruce’s craftsmanship, his inspiration a combination of Depression-era American rural culture and blues and folk guitarist Martin Simpson’s recordings of songs by Dylan, Paul Anka and Cat Stevens, plus traditional tunes. Times are hard in this stage universe. When not scrubbing floors, the women sit around on packing crates. The men are gamblers and wastrels. And war is just around the corner. Sound familiar?
Bruce flirts with the literal and narrative. Not much chance of that happening with Cunningham. His timeless ensemble dance unfolds against a backdrop of ropes strung with junk that looks as if it’s washed ashore and been hung out to dry. Cunningham’s eccentric clockwork formality has a hidden spring and a deeply courtly erotic charm, its strange beauty amplified by the haunted majesty of Stuart Dempster’s score (ten trombone players recorded in an empty underground water tank). Rambert’s dancers are spell-casters, working Cunningham’s magic on us and themselves. (Donald Hutera)
Wayne McGregor’s PreSentient
ZQE\V/:EI\.... SCOTTISH DANCE THEATRE
~/) ‘I\ I‘ (V‘/\ r 'yan II I“/\
\/\l tI \ LIIL Li. J |l\/\l Lu
but: II \} \ I(/l \‘xl. I/‘x/ I (I Ol\/I'< \/
Theatre Royal, GlaSQOWI Tue 8 Oct pa aha": (:etcac. e" "(V-CI) "tea
then touring COO. .,. ,§ .
S l. (15 (lav Vt, at)“ {A} :1 \I
/\'11\I\'/\/‘ l /\ 9 I Ix /\'\ r/\. (In. 0 ‘1‘ \, ICII\1\I Il\/r \ II V V \/\/. I '
hwy/:8 “I Iqur "}I{‘,v"{‘,ffi /\ ll‘l‘ /‘/\'V\l\’}'\v [II'Iy °r\ 'y' [I {;/\{;p '4‘ [‘1‘ IV"“'<’", I\ .y 8‘
,y . ,,.,. .,\ r _ SW,“ W...)
./\ o,\{,' ,\/1'\o‘\‘r F...:,,,... l,\\\,. .x/ I \1 I;( .\1 V (A\)‘(l l \I (
8.. <,.. t, :,. Ja D<, 5.». «e s ex. 2 IJxlt k/ (I \xvK (I. (I t l \) ) D'I’II/T I'II‘ I /“ I'll) ‘ '7‘."'(‘ ""'V‘ ""I
rt \ x"\r«)o ,\,\ ,\o' S,‘,\oo (\,\ ,\ o _/ ,U (It \1 \1 \ 2 t) \,\I III I II \I
Law: ant: A”. C ..:;'s 't‘aci sap. R(}/O"§j(3 e" "mass are T" "gs — et‘er a een‘e he .e t:: aa"<:-:;- ‘. "g: "s Tea:
[I/I‘I'./\r‘,(\.,\,‘ , I’ ,. ,\,\,),.,\(.
‘\l<,.. a e m
AJ(l» \,{V' . {\l \l\l\/ LOI/x/ \‘tI/(I (1 . (I. I. “I .(IK'V \l \1\/ .(, .)\l>(: . \IKI \,(,’. I)
l.) Nae at . t, .1. Ma, .»
.,\ ,,,,, Sf r“... W.“ W) ,‘ ,.,, . H... ..I \ll I .I but, .x/ 1.. A \l .. :2.
HOM’Ut .ws ' :' z,' s" . “.228 user: ,:. 1x: a r t . a Iv " < st " W‘s .:, ' :: “ester s~r‘<;e "e" a": a at Six; .' "I r '2. Cf)”: rt x: (xxx;- " r' s t" > Da"<:e 7"‘eatre " ‘ :9” t 'r 'r )° :2' ss: ,r'n'ar’ reed. We": s»< s are pretty. agar" "of figs. 2; e": tia"<:ers "‘a’, haze a ::"a'i<:e Is Best; (e essg (1"‘e" :‘:;"‘:;a" Sl‘i‘L‘K "‘ athz:..:;r‘ :‘r \ ea" (2" t" 8 ,ea". Sr" th "as; ara‘ten‘ ' r .r n l "“Ztilvx'811'i'lil I super!) "ex. "er; ace" ehts . 't : SDV 094 a: are: - {Lt ‘ ' ~' 1 ass
«a " s meats r< .Ai.‘r'
I/(fiHIf/ (I (,I'\,.
68 THE LIST '2 ' ‘
CLASSIC
THE CIRCLE
King‘s Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 8—Sat 12 Oct
Best known for Butterflies. the 1980s BBC sitcom in which si‘e played a harangued ll()LlSO‘.'.’|i(} and mother eyer desperate to escape the confines of the kitchen. Vile ‘(ly Craig as at last tree of the family thanks to V! Somerset Maugham's (:Fassie comedy of manners. The Care/e.
In It she plays Lady Kitty. 21 ‘ree- spirited soc.er dame '.'.rh<) provokes a sea of scandal when she tips and leaves her husband and sor‘ to elepe ‘.'.’ltl‘. her loyer Lora Porteeas :: ayed by fellow sitcom star Tehy BT’UOllr. Returning to the scene of the or me some (31) years later. Lady Kitty drseeyers that her (lit.l§llil(§"—i't-.£i'.'.’ Eli/abeth. 18 iZICIHtg the same d: emrna. 'lt's .;herathg;. yen. d:fferent.' says Crag 'lr‘ these days {the 19’ (Is: it was Ll'tl‘il’étl'Cl of fer a ‘.'.'().’l‘£i." to fast he: "‘O'l‘ her f‘tlSlXt'Kl am (:i‘: d. 80 very strange and 20!", : ” '1". <
I
O‘ the play.
W‘v‘ Elia-(Lest e? 1".(:2\)." :,~:,-"t.rr‘,. and
I I\/'(K- I\‘IJI.(I\/\;I<:.\S\S
One early Maugham
nere g ‘.’(}'i rants." treatment by (lll'O’ltCN' Mark Res-amen. Crag e'ithases: 'lt's being so ‘.'.'ei? "(:-<:e:‘.'(;~d. Peepre (a laugh a set txit they loye the seneas n‘emtrx‘ts tee. It 's't't Just a play yet. at; a"d see (“‘0 target i’tC' moment the eartatr‘ (:e'nes (tax/n. It's a yen. tread ‘tf’LIl aria :l‘eaaht-:;"<>‘.'ek ng;
:: ay. Cati‘er ne Bromiey~
NOTHING EVER BURNS DOWN BY ITSELF Theatre Workshop, Edinburgh, Thu 3-Sat 5 Oct
( [\r' / I n,\,‘ ‘ , . I o (VI/1,. ,I. , mp , ) ‘,\,‘., t . I t I , ,\‘o H,‘ I‘ I“: II II I ’1’ I \ Q/" I" Hg; I I ’I II }' r. \, /‘ , ‘ , “ , ~ , I , y,‘\,\ ' o, o,\,\ r, x ‘oo,_'.,.,\o , y, N ‘ ,. < ,, , , ,., .,,. .., , . . ,. r1; ..... ,. II I I\{yI III I H SV‘I' I / I I I ‘I‘K_I I l Cr I I )g‘ I I I I I I “I 'OI\ I I I r\I~'\ I I I 'I; .n, l‘ I l"" ,L‘ ’I I 'I II (1;; I I I x H p 'I I I {‘1' I I ' I ;I I I I I ‘7‘
()2 5 {JAN SHOT.
THE MAN WHO COMMITTED THOUGHT Paisley Arts Centre, Tue 8 Oct
A.) :1 A “(I a.“ ..(. i, . I. [3,"! .y '6'...» , I, , .K. - I, , ,. up, ,( , K k... ( p , . o , , t ,. (AN \ ‘ ) at}. N(‘I( I I XI .I I, 1 I ) I I I I \II I‘ [—I‘ I F! < I I". "M‘ II I 7‘ pr‘( I1, SUI... ) l;l.\/ (I J I .> I I1.1\,'\ I I l I I (I l‘( I II I /\" “II'I I ‘ I { I (I l I x; x (I I S 1'... l . I I o o , . ,to, , , ,o, .‘ I, ,Am I , , ,\ "I , ( o H, ‘ \o’,.,.,.,. , , I I ‘ I I I I S! ' I\ I E I "I‘I‘ I It E," I I I"\' \ I ‘ I \ I I \ ‘I \ I {\l I I \ INN >I (II DI (I I I 3 \ I , o I H’. I I I I \/ I'. :).\ I II \‘ I I I I" I I II III ' g‘ I II I I h I I I ‘I‘ r‘ I I I I I w' S/JI / \ I I /\ I! III" I I I I \ k I I t; \ It, (' ,x;\ I < I I I '\ \l. I f\ ,\,j',\,,',..,,,, ,I/.,. I, ck. , ‘ , I. ‘ '\ ‘\l I I I o l I II ‘ H l‘" I! I I/ .l I‘I \ II I I: I I I )1" {‘i I I ' ';I I yII ( I \