Theatre
BERENICE Tramway. Glasgow. Thu 5—Sat 7 May
Stage Wl'l'spers
I The Festival and Fringe might seem a long way oil to you, but in the world of the theatre, the news of this year's venues is emerging with much sensation. You might have read in our news section that Assembly has taken on, appropriately enough, the Assembly Hall on the Mound. Having experienced four years as ; . a temporary home to the u : Scottish Parliament, this building 1 has seen plenty of theatrical E n " » performance in recent times, 'r v though one hopes that the purer ‘ z' 2‘ ‘ kind that Bill Burdett Coutts ~ ' z ' presents will have more depth. v: :. But will the massive new space, « which seats nearly 800, be used I x. v ‘ to accommodate the usual pack v . .r v 'em in, rush ’em out one-hour . ' =: . l-l ' stand-up shows we've seen . i . x :w 1 . arguably too much of over the l~ : . last decade? Hopefully, we’ll sea » i 2. v 1‘. couple of genuinely ambitious, ' z ' 2» 2 . big scale theatre pieces there, . . a: ,v u v . .m . too. The venue might well add A 1' a. r ' T" in." t ; W ,1 some grandeurto suchapiece. y w- .; z r LAUREL AND HARDY Watch this space. 7"" ‘ " " ~“ ” ‘ " l Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 14 May see. I Meant'me' PaU' Meadows. one 0‘ i r .- : l um: .n ~ v the faces to emerge from the recent l ' a r z; r» n : .. :r‘ .1 Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Such small names to describe one of the Cowgate Wilkie House stramach i v ‘ ll «:1 '* .x' : °. biggest sensations in early cinematic history. A duo so iconic that a few with dignity and decency intact. is x. v. r . f,. " w : .1? a ». " t'iw jerky notes of a theme tune, a pair of bowler hats or a lip-quivering set to start a new venue for the . .1: : z r .1 at t' whimper are enough to conjure up comic careers that, in fickle Fringe. The Broughton St Mary's l r r. t v .2. f ii, c. entertainment years, spanned several lifetimes. Church Centre. close to Broughton 'v z : fit um. «i mum .u‘ : When resuscitating two such greats of the comedy scene there is the Street, looks a likely spot for young .":; z r: .:i in n mm» on. ‘.' obvious danger that, like a tone-deaf karaoke singer, a weak parody would and adventurous companies. A 110- wnu. t"... .li. 1.. w ::, u s‘t air... ‘l‘. zit. a murder the perfectly timed gags that secured their fame. And it is here that seater, this venue seems the kind of «.c -' ~ w ' .w: t t; «l in mm the show owes its success to the abilities of Steven McNicoIl, as the place that young and aspiring l~ w t; '2'?“ t- w 7 1. ha. law- .2 loveable grump Hardy, and Barnaby Power who flits seamlessly between companies might find very much to lm'“ -. r i'.af' :ru lt.‘: y: :7: Stan Laurel’s bird-brained screen persona and the real life perform-a-holic. their liking. Complete with a cafe and .t T .. 1 tr» ~.:l'~.- McNicoll and Power prove a strong partnership, making the characters rehearsal spaces, it sounds just the it 3.1:. i i. z . w their own as they reveal the private side of a loyal friendship and the kind of gaff where you might unearth intertwined lives that were not without their clowns’ tears. a Fringe pearl from an unknown Tony Cownie‘s staging of Tom McGrath’s 30-year-old script is company. Mark it with an C on your delightfully cabaret-esque as it retreads this devoted exploration of two map. cultural giants finding their way through Vaudeville, silent movies, the I Sadly, though, another great talkies and finally the bitter reality of large scale production companies. small-scale venue with a Neil Murray’s monochrome set imaginatively transports us back in legendary reputation looks set to cinematic time to create the feeling that the actors are projected onto the close. The Garage, a long term stage in front of us. base for theatrical pioneer For a black and white play, Laurel and Hardy is a colourful watch. Pulling Shakti, which played host to back the curtain on the backstage lows of these eternally merry idiots, everything from naked feminist Cownie’s show has its elegiac moments, but never strays far from the troupes and gay Samurai shows force that drove them ‘the need to entertain'. And entertain it does. to the legendary Riot Group, (Corrie Mills) arguably the best small company unearthed by the Fringe in a
decade, looks like closing, according to its owners at Edinburgh Council. One wonders if a revearsal of this seemingly hasty decision is possible.
lung. 1.; 2.; LE SALON Tramway. Glasgow, Thu 12—Sat 14 May
-'\t . .'. .: e .... .... ~. ‘53.. «at, \1K,Ll. ,LIVl
xx mm '2' .1: ."l‘(-.l. Ham, 1.". m.
’;-'.l.:" “mu: "1"”? “'l‘l‘ "0:; tt-xf. .m'f‘v .i'm 22" {:Xli'fl'ék '."<3 Certainly, there’salot offeellng A ~ . . a ' t Ar‘ : ' a L. ontheground among wuw- ' a ' . : mm m‘ an at: r . v practitionersthatwe can in “w \ \ y ' M V'o; v sw M " 2 .‘l‘ affordtoloseit.
\ ‘ H ' ‘ .1 " "‘e'i‘ >" ' :7 ‘ " i i ' ' «if ' H \ ( k at: h . ("2:1 . :Iffi". .15 f"~.‘- .'..i'l‘.‘z" starts tf‘ gjz,‘ $23.3. \wsw swam: of We Jana": .ivs'v t.‘ :;.".\.-. Innis as Zl‘w“. are. 'I nor: 71‘.
..l .5 .l u. ..: . .: .l.1l‘t" 3".) .' .l. a titl .t b O. «I. M. b.‘ t, {ii/Otis 11m L,'.(1l‘_ f ".t .1. I‘m. .."'.'.‘. t‘.l".} ..‘.t.§~ .. .t. ..t Nd“. .. 1‘ ‘0” A|l\.\i' .'.C't\.
b! .‘ .\.\ ti \l .ti'I .‘u it t \1'\1\ \.\ t‘ 5‘ \A\/l\li xi ."\‘\AK1M1 l ’(,‘r ‘,| ..)t\,(tl (tin;
tru. .1. tilts. ..t .-. t .1.. l.:~.1 «tin :‘.t<..t... I'.l'...S<.<1t ..i.t..r.lw..t, ‘l\'\ \ ‘ ' \ i»\ 1 y\ 3.1\ \, ~ u\' ~ ‘\ ~ \ u \r\'§ 'V" 7\\, c/\\"‘ " 1"\'j«\r\ 'wxr‘ y ‘ N . to .. .im .1. t It xitlu . 5.1.5 {‘8 r. l. 5 d firm in. Cl C. \ 13.8w... t)... .' " u i: ‘ m 1 \t "h ~r MM \ ~ wx ~ ; 3 N x, [t x ‘. r"; ’\‘ A I n \r w\ r\?r‘ p'./‘r ‘r, r ‘ t \4{\WK \ .‘|:‘ \i ‘w. '\ Kl\k‘ll :‘11 Lit \A'x\" IL \ ;i I\/..~ \ \ mi- .ly. {.Ij)‘t,
tit t." .im . z . M .t t it ..1.\ Nb. . .1. o . K 7 K S. ‘3: LBJ g. all u :it ,... :1 ., ”\l \1 .t bt.‘ . f‘ tt-i ti. 5‘ .1 5:. ti “\i’tlL, gt .xi. ‘7 \ 5‘. .11 1:7". .t, 58L: wu.
‘k ‘.'::. 'x / " THE LIST 93