Theatre
DRACULA King's Theatre. Edinburgh, Tue 12— Sat 16 Apr
beast, which is as much metaphorical as real. A' ' 2' a : a. " ' Martin Danziger's bleakly comical production t." " r . :A .v ‘ i: ' v :
'~ ' '. liberates Arnott’s forensic and merciless text superbly. ii" ' ' " w '. ' v' "
THE VIS|T In front of Neil Warmington‘s set, a plywood and ' »- " v 1‘ ‘ A :' , ~ w
DU'ldCO ROD. Um” Sat 2 APr ..... formica departure lounge which perfectly encapsulates .13. . a: : : 1 ° v . ' -- ~ :'
the seedy impoverishment of the town, the allegorical : '~ ; " :' "
I wonder whether Peter Arnott, whose rigorously force of the piece, its relentless questioning of z . w l -, : »-
intelligent and entertaining new version of Durrenmatt’s consumer values, individualism gone barking mad and :2 . ' w ' z ' : " ~v~
modern classic, was aware of quite another visit that multinational culture leaves one with inescapable and in: ~ v' w A1 " z A' ~- : : .
will occur shortly after this play ends its run this unnerving questions. As the townsfolk shift uneasily / x A. r‘ HAM” w HA :‘ ' :. .u : A:
summer. If not, the G8 meeting at Gleneagles makes for from the hollow Blairite patois of community to innit. a m: v : l, .' ' ' : ‘ '
a striking coincidence, and this play, despite its 505 extremes of individualism running from excess of w?!» v' : ut' . " . v- :'
origins, seems truly an allegory for our times. booze through retail ‘therapy’ and on to the grotesque ' ; '.' z a: fin» n 2" In it, the ageing but polymorphously seductive Clarrie individualist cant of that ugly offshoot of Wilhelm Reich,
(Ann Louise Ross) returns to the downtrodden, the psychological self-help book, the tragic dynamic of
impoverished. dying town of her origins, having been this bleak farce is evident from the start.
cast aside 40 years before, when unattached Ross' multinational grotesque, a friend of everyone
pregnancy and harlotry were seen as indistinguishable. from Bin Laden to Rumsfeldt to Sharon to Posh and
The irresponsible party was Freddie (Gerry Mulgrew), Becks is an outstanding performance. This figure,
and her price for reviving the town with unheard of bisexual and rapacious, shows an appetite for not
wealth is his death. The mayor (Robert Paterson), simple revenge, but a more complete form of malice,
security man (Keith Fleming), chaplain (John Buick) and the twisted reifying spectacle of modern international
local teacher (Irene MacDougall) all put up a fight, but capitol. Mulgrew's put-upon, flawed but
are eventually seduced by commodity fetishism, quintessentially human shopkeeper is also strong,
preferring affluence to social responsibility. So too are while MacDougall’s priggish intellectual intervenes with
Freddie’s wife (Anne Marie Timoney) and daughter a perfectly delivered audience address that makes us
(Samantha Young), who abandon him for the all complicit with the action. A superb night of theatre,
surrogates for passion represented by Armani and boasting great performances all round and a
Gucci. Two suspicious Weegie twins, employees of breathtakingly contemporary sting in its tale.
Clarrie, stalk the town, and so too does a menacing (Steve Cramer)
Rona Munro .; STRAWBERRIES IN JANUARY Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Sat 2 Apr
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96 THE LIST " -.'