‘THE ARGUMENT OF TRICKLE DOWN BENEFITS TO SUBSIDISED THEATRE
SEEMS A LITTLE SPURIOUS'
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Great big mammas
As all the glitz and glamour of MAMMA MIA, the ABBA musical, hits Scotland for the first time Steve Cramer considers the phenomena of the multinational mega-musical, and gets the screaming ABBA dabs.
et‘s lace it. it‘s all heen said. The phenomenal
slleeess til the .-\BB:\ musical has created long
and at times rather \yindy discourses on the journey ol‘ said pop hand from pop trash to wonders of post modern irony and then on to composers and perl'ormers ol' almost classical stature. So too. the ‘just good l‘un’ hoppy. girly nature ol‘ the piece will contintte to he hyped at you. But is this really Sunny l)elight theatre. colourful. tasty. htit not quite as good lor the consumer as it seems'.’
One should. I suppose. keep an open mind on the issue. The other side ol‘ the dehate is the way in which .llumnm .lliu has. according to some commentators. sax ed Broadyyay. 'l‘he trouhled tnain drag ol‘ dreams has. in recent years. seen a nttmher of much hyped dogs hit the stage and lose l‘ortunes l'or theatres and their hackers. the astonishing. \yorld-heating success ol‘ this shoyy has helped to suhsidise an otherwise trouhled industry.
The money side of the shoyy certainly speaks for itsell‘. .-\lthough the creatiye team are notoriously reluctant to part with information on the personal l'ortunes they ha\ e accrued. it‘s known that producer .ludy (‘raymer (tragically. no relation) has hecome one of the Still \yealthiest people in the world almost exclusiyely from her earnings on this show The shoyy itsell‘ opened recently in Seoul. the llth production to open round the world this year. and the production company at that point had t'SSthn in the hank. 'l‘he multinational nature ol‘ this enterprise is indicated hy its success in such places as South Korea. There are eyen rumours ot‘ a production in
India. traditionally a place \yith no market for
Western theatre. But. (‘hicken 'l‘ikka. you and l knoyx. .-\BB.-\ sells to eyeryone. In short. .llummu .lliu is well on the way. according to the numher crunchers. to heing not just the highest grossing. hut also the
96THE LIST-'- \y.
single most attended theatre c\ent of" all time.
But in creating a product so identical in cyery country and region itnaginahle. are \\c losing something creatiyc. local and necessary in theatre'.’ .-\re the endless Stepl‘til‘tl (lasts ol~ actors. \\ho are slotted in and ottt of parts \yithout heing ttlloyycd to add the slightest nuance or tick to their characters. really a representation of \yhat has. elseyyhere in this issue. hcen referred to as ‘.\lcl‘heatte‘.’
.-\ctress llelen llohson. playing the central role of
the mother. doesn't think so. ‘l kno\\ \yhat people say ahottt some of. the musicals \ye’ye seen o\ er the last few years. hut I feel like l'\e hcen giyen a lot of freedom with this character. .\ly costume “as made especially for me. and eyen the Mg \\as something costume took a lot ol trouhle o\er.' ller character is mystilied hy her daughter’s decision to marry at Ill. She pttt it ahoul a hit alter an emotional trauma tyyo decades hct‘orc. and as a result. there are three possihle fathers. all ol~ \yhom are imited to a (ireek lsland wedding to meet the possihle daughter.‘
\Vhatcycr the nature of. the corporation in control of
this production. they new kind enough to host me down to London for the sho\\. and it ly fun. the kind of inol‘t'ensiye romp \se might e\pect.
All the same. the old neo—conseryatixe argument that sonlehtm this kind Ul‘ \yot'k lt'lekles its hcnel'ils down to suhsidised theatre seems a little spurious. “ill the punter leaying .lltlmu .lliu really say to themselyes. no“ I really lllllyl go along to the lle\\ play at the 'l‘rayerse. or an artistically adyenturous piece 111 the (ill stlltllti theatrc‘.’ DH l need to tell you the ansyyer'.’ It would he nice though. it. people (/lt/ see hoth kinds ol’ theatre. for each has heauties. and might represent a halanced diet.
Playhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 12 Nov-Sat 29 Jan
* Othello A stunning performance by Liam Brennan as Iago is a highlight of Mark Thomson's strong production at the Lyceum. which is generally strongly acted. Complete with a coherent political metaphor, an inventive and well lit set. some nice visuals and some grand 203 music. this is a splendid night out. Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh, until Sat 20 Nov.
* Rambert Michael Clark's ‘Swamp' is the latest piece by a dance legend showing his classical influences. These are evident throughout this high quality bill of contemporary dance which also includes talented Australian lan Spink’s version of Frederick Ashton's ‘A Tragedy of Fashion', which was originally produced in the 19208 and a new piece by Javier De Frutos. Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 10—Fri 12 Nov.
3|! Mamma Mla This legendary musical is well on the way to becoming the highest grossing theatre production of all time. Romance. comedy and ABBA on a Greek Island. What more could you want? Well there's lot’s of ABBA singalongs, too. Playhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 12 Nov—Sat 29 Jan.
5|: A Whistle In the Dark Tom Murphy's tale of violent family conflicts in an Irish emigre family still retains much power and eloquence. A dark and very reflective evening of theatre. Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow, until Sat 13 Nov.