further into brutish misogyny This is a fine piece of social history. spoiled b, a hasty riiarriage of lll'bUllL‘U bedfelio precisely what the old boy in the film f.’dfll',<’1’}itlll'il. (Andrew Burnet
HOME EDINBURGH Queen's Hall, Edinburgh 0000
There was a smattering of well-kent faces in the audience. and an even greater number in the cast fer Anthony Neilson's version of First Minister's Question Time, as dictated by seven Scottish schoolchildren aged nine to eleven. While one might take With a grain of salt Neilson's assertion at the up that every syllable is the children's, most of it clearly is. and a surreally comical piece is the result.
Alex Norton's first riiinister. who sports a fish’s head and chips for hair is assailed by upwards of 20 MSPs. With some equally queer costumeries. They tax him on such questions of the day as poisoned peppermints. electric whales and the need to ban scary films. because lots of people have heart attacks when they see them. Amidst all this Neilson has craftily put together a picture of the free- assoCIating minds of children. But if there are Wild flights of fantasy in the comedic action, there are also some ever so slightly chilling moments. which might give us some insight into how the mass media-inspired hysteria of the current political climate feed into. and arguably damage. the adiustrnent of the current pre- adolescent generation. When Daniela Nardini‘s martian, Mrs Blobb Gobb. attacks cartoons which represent aliens unflatteringly. and threatens our race's extinction in reaction, we might wonder at how adult paranoias affect our kids.
For all that. the whole thing is a delight. One MSP simply declares of a dodgy bit of mock legislation: 'Maybe l am pushing my luck,‘ and sits down. It's a rhetorical strategy one Wishes one saw more frequently employed by real members of parliament. It's all qune rougth done. and more enjoyable for that. With a cast including Dawn Steele, Tam Dean Burn, Raquel CaSSidy. Joe McFadden and Susan (30er haVing a glorious bunfight With it all. (Steve Cramerl
National Theatre of Scotland: Home
HOME INVERNESS
Arts in Motion Creative Centre, Evanton COO
isolated by acres of forestry coininitmt in, Home /nvcyness -— a brick and term; iatixl iron NISSUH hut on an Enanton industriai estate — is reached by a ‘15) minute "t iiin; 1' bus drrve north from lnverncu). It's, the first stage in a sustained exercise of putting one's audience on edge by director Scott Graham of exi )(fllllltrllt' i! theatre outfit Frantic A; ,‘llll )l,.
Ushered into the crampcd Evanton space. a le'lllllllfl estate agent .‘.’ltll an estuary accent - Thames rather than Moray — runs through the "features of this lovely family home'. Suddenly m: are plunged into darkr 10:23. as thumping music and blasts of light highlight family Vignettes on a lmxl in sofa. brilliantly enwpsulated by what sexrms a \ast cast.
In the event. there are only six actors. a refr‘esl iii ieg international bunch wt to clearty revel in this Vigorously l)ll\,’fil(;<' il piece. The scer iarios teeter i >etwi .1 :-i i cloracter—Ied bnlliance and the intro t< ) a Friends style sitcoii i.
Soon it 's falling apart. from a ‘house rules" Vignette to brutally physical slanging matches. It's visually thrilling. and Graham works 2 ft century set-pirxges ~ such as the glow of the mobile phone lighting up a face in the dark -— into the action. Excellent performances and fluid writing place this a cut above everyr ia‘, productions. but the overall narrative loses momentum. lacking the dimensions of the closing snapshots of lnvernesx; families upon whom this piece was based. (Sarah Jonesl
HOME SHETLAND NorthLink Ferry, Lerwick 0000
Shetlanders call it the 'shoormal' - the place where the land meets the sea. To this most remote of Scottish communities. the seashore holds speCial Significance. Despite the advent of air travel, the sea remains the traditional means of arrival and departure from the island.
Departures are the main focus of Home Shetland. staged on board the ferry MV Hialtland. A multimedia tour of the ship, it is directed by Wils Wilson of Wilson + Wilson a Halifax-based duo who speCiaIise in staging performances in unusual spaces. Her collab0rators include poet Jackie Kay yOung Shetland writer JaCQueline
Theatre
i 1' ~ :' r . N t ,: 1K3: ' i 1 i i , . . ' lhl . T'v i (H r 'r [(1 HA“ ' ' : t’l ' b J I {‘l’flltiH'lt I’ll!) ‘. i E- i , ;. t l Ii"'° t 't" ' i; ‘ ‘ ' . t ' - I ' Iti‘ ‘II‘xt’fr" t /rl}..ri‘ {\r :1..'-' EJLI'V‘.) l‘; "1 l. 1:. , ' o. 1 >, n.l . t.'f'w:'~u‘.i'rr . HOME STORNOWAY ~ n . ; ;.. ,- 14 Church Street, Stornoway .. . ~. . . 0000 ,...y,,y . ELL-F.{lifiirt'lflii‘~le3l"ti‘fli‘n" f "'i't'” tl‘it"llit“§lllil| fallle "‘ I" "'."I"i"tt" t"‘.tf"‘ ~' }{\,,".t‘\()“v,r,,lc '1' f. {XVI-Ui‘ ' ‘i‘, i» ::y‘:' . "H 1..V.-'
HOME EAST LOTHIAN Starting at Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh 00.0.
We tend to think of the 705 as a naive time, which is a bit rich coming from our subsequent generation, who allowed a 20% tax cut to our highest earners, the council tax and the Iraq wars. All the same, such imagined na'i'vety is a necessary illusion in creating nostalgia, and the proximity of nostalgia to myth is well worth exploring.
And it is, to truly splendid effect in this sweet and sumptuous 70$ retro version of Hansel and Gretel. From the moment we arrive by bus at a secret location, to see a live cellist playing the Bay City Rollers‘ ‘Shang-A- Lang', we're entranced. The audience is introduced to a wicked English stepmother (a tremendous Cath Whitefield), whose seductive wiles with hubby (Steve Kettley) lead to the abandonment of the kids (Anthony Pearson and Susan Harrison) in a dark forest. We travel through this (wear your old togs) perverse pastoral landscape, bedecked with skulls and spiders before a gilded path of sweeties and fairy lights leads us to the witch‘s house. And you know what happens then . . .
The physical dexterity and charm of the performers brings Gill Robertson’s production wonderfully alive, with Karen Tennent's landscapes and interiors creating the requisite enchantment, and then some. We’re not spared some grisly aspects of the folk tale, but all this adds to the piece's comic charm - certainly the children in attendance seemed undisturbed by all the cannibalistic action, so why should we be?
This is perhaps the highlight of a singular series of Home events - one hopes to see it again. (Steve Cramer)
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