this late show. (Claire Piela) I C Centra/. 0870 707 5 705. until 29 Aug. 72.30am. 57.50 @660).
DOUBLETHINK
Innovative performance 000.
If you're looking for groundbreaking, experimental. truly 'on the fringe' kind of theatre. then this little gem fits the bill. A crudely constructed screen diVides two performers. who incidentally you might recognise from other Fringe shows; they haven't rehearsed and are in fact ‘guests'.
UBU
Stage markings and lights limit freedom of movement while a heaVily accented voice monotonously imparts instructions they must carry out. The proceedings are observed and then chaotically interrupted by two ‘operators'. a cigar smoking. vodka— swilling man (Neil Bennun), and a doll- like. kooky woman (Silvia Mercuriali). The commands never cease but become urgently whispered and shown through physical action and written messages.
What is most interesting in this unique. intriguing and nightmarish show. directed with inspired creatiVity by Ant Hampton, is the fact that the two ‘guests' have no idea what's coming next. This notion of unpredictability keeps you gripped as does the impression that they don't know who to be. Are they iust themselves. or characters they are constructing as they go along. or are they showmg their own performance
An outrageous vision of the world 0000.
Alfred Jarry’s Pa Ubu epitomises the ugliness at the heart of humanity. Offensive and grotesque, the play is an attack on society’s hypocrisy. Martin Danzinger’s adaptation is set in Scotch-land, where Ubu plots to overthrow the king (Jack McConnell) and kill Blair, Brown and every other poor sod who hinders his bid for tyranny.
Demanding our attention from the moment they burst onto the stage, Robert Jack, Louise Allan and Nick Underwood are an outrageous and gutsy threesome. They prove the versatility of some metal buckets and three tin chests, hiding behind and climbing in and out of them with wicked slapstick humour. A dildo on the end of an extending stick is also used for
a variety of purposes.
But it’s the use of food which amuses and causes the action to descend into anarchy. A little clowning around with a few French fries quickly turns into a full-blown food fight, shortly followed by the audience hurling tomatoes at the characters. More and more food items are destroyed and flung across stage and auditorium, and the visual grossness (and stench) of the characters increases as their morals degenerate.
While the thrill of anarchic fun has the audience continually gasping and tittering, this isn’t just the pointless madness it may sound. The way they attack and tear apart everything they touch reveals a society built upon greed, gluttony and corruption. At one point the audience are asked if some would come forward, with prospect of winning a tenner. They then chase Pa Ubu round the small auditorium space, clambering over the laps of the seated audience members, with the idea being to snatch the money from him. It works well, and the point about human greed is crystal clear. Not every moment is so clear, however, and things can get confusing in all
the stupidity.
The adaptation into contemporary Scotland is not detailed through text so as to root the play solely in this culture. The idea is that, regardless of social context, the evils we delight in seeing onstage are present in us all - monstrously exaggerated, but present nonetheless. From start to finish, this performance plays out the messy, disgraceful and downright revolting, and it’s all strangely inviting. (Claire Piela)
I Smirnoff Baby Bel/y, 0870 745 3083, unti/ 28 Aug, 2.25pm, E8479 (f7—f8).
Theatre
Total Theatre Award winners 2002
Company F.z
.‘zss‘c at c" .'..t." The Drill Hall 5. The Corn Exchange Newbury
personae'? In fact. they seem to embody all these identities and are most captivating when glimmers of true vulnerability seep out ~ when bewildered. worried or amused by their instructions. It feels like a clinical experiment. beautifully original. celebrating indIVidualism and all the while examining the confusion of control and power. The ambiguity of the commands leads to dark. playful imagery. creating a world brimming With meaningful madness.
(Michelle Macintyrel
IAi/rora Nova<at St. Stephen's. 5:38 3853, (mm 29 Aug (not 23), 4pm. £72.50 (5‘0).
LOST ONES
Imaginative and inventive spectacle .0...
This is Vanishing Point domg what they do best: atmospheric. higth Visual theatre and fantastic storytelling. In this bizarre and darkly comic creation. Theodore is haunted by an ambiguous incident. which took place on a school trip in the mountains. where his teacher and classmates died and he
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www.companyfz.com
survwed. Gradually, their supernatural
“Theatre Babel... the great style house of the Scottish stage” "nudism
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The Sunday Times
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