Theatre
Ilt’sthattimeoftheyearwhen the theatre begins to settle into the calm before the storm that is the festival. Audiences are enjoying the sun and practitioners are preparing for rehearsals. All the same, the dedicated theatre goer can still catch up with a few events well worth seeing if they’re willing to miss the sun for an hour or two. Nazli Tabatabai’s promising Zendeh company, whose production of Waiting Room was well received at the fringe last year, will be conductiing a workshop titled Shakespeare '3 Women at Edinburgh’s Dancebase, Wed 21 Jun, 5pm. In it, the characters and nature of many Shakesperean females will be explored. The fun of the performance might be combined with a really instructive insight into ideology and gender attitudes in Shakespeare. I Meanwhile down in Musselburgh. a project entitled Invisible Man. produced at the Brunton theatre in collaboration with Benchtours. is set to go ahead. Employing community and professional actors. this piece examines HG Wells’ classic novel from a distinctly local perspective. setting it in ,Musselburgh and examining the marginalisation of individuals and communities through the novel's central metaphor. It sounds an instructive night of theatre. I Meanwhile, we might reflect on a quiet kind of Scottish triumph in the Big Apple. Nothing, Andrea Hart’s adaptation of Henry Green’s novel, directed by the late Robert David MacDonald was much acclaimed when it was first produced a couple of years back, garnering some attention at the CATS awards and generally pleasing critics and audiences alike with its mordent domestic wit. The show has gone up off Broadway over the last few days, and Whispers wishes it luck in front of its new audience.
Nothing
SlJMf/ll l<~ SHAKE SH 561E
BARD IN THE BOTANICS Botannical Gardens, Glasgow. until Sat 22 Jul
The rear ’frie'ti't‘a for id, ’ii'wr’ ' (resenting Shakespeare tn.- farrrrlrarrt‘, of audiences wit" the «a The azerage r'epe'tor‘, (illr’fll'l‘i’ii' J'ra‘ become pretty sophisticatef when» Shakespeare is concerned. s'; '$llfllfll(;lilfll(:* .‘Jhere. alr rr.e' Britain. audiences take to the parks for the now traditional outdoor printzirtinns. might be the reorientatrori lilifilitl‘i/‘irf. need.
Certainly that's what Gordon Barr. artistic director of C—‘zlasgov.’ Herrera r, lheatre. feels this mini festr~.al incur a yearly fixture in Glasgowr can do In addition, he maintains that the audiences for this work are not the characteristic rep audiences ‘I think because our audiences aren't the usual audiences. we can offer a new experience] he says. ‘I think the fact that it's outdoors also rrrakes things sound afresh and new even for audiences who are pretty familiar ‘.‘.’lffi the plays'
Barr is taking on A iii/inter}; lit/e this year. a play famous for its beauty. but ha/ardous for its irrrr>|ausrbr|ities Anything that has vast stretches of stage time between scenes. statues coming to life and folk pursued by all manner of Wildlife includes some banana skins for any director wrth a naturalistic approach. So Hair is eschewnrg such technigues. ‘l'in errrbr'acrng the fairy tale aspect of if. We're foregrounding the story. We're getting a group of actors to sit down wrth the audience and say, "right we're going to tell you a story. it's a brt fantastical. but corrre Willi us on rt.’ If we do the job right. they'll erribrace its irrcorrsistencres and improl>abr|rtres"'. he says. (Steve Cramer)
NEW WORK DIASPORA
33/le “if THE NEW STATESMAN King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Mon 26 Jun—Sat 1 Jul 000.
‘He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.’ George Bernard Shaw commented on political leaders with egotistical leanings, hands that wander, and many devious dealings. And things haven‘t changed. If the people in power are always B’stards. it makes sense that, after 19 years, Rik Mayall's notorious Thatcherite MP has reinvented himself as an ultra-cynical Blairite.
And B’Stard is the one pulling the strings. He’s abolished Clause Four, attempted to plant WMD in Iraq and polished off John Smith. and that’s just for starters. Bombing the BBC and helping Condi Rice (Alexandra Gunn) find another oil source are just a few of the things he’s implementing. He also has to deal with slutty wife Sarah (Marsha Fitzalan), socialist Frank (Clive Hayward), terrorist Habibi (Kamaal Husssain) and Blair’s new feisty aide Flora (Helen Baker). His plan is to bump them off one by one. gaining supreme power, and, obviously, satisfying his libido along the way.
To say the play’s content is radical and crude is a wild understatement. It’s a reminder of just how equivocal broadcast satire has become. There’s no sanctity in Laurence Marks’ and Maurice Gran's script; attacking everything in current poltics, up to and including the Pope, everything delivered as snipey, personal-piss taking rather than subtle humour. Fat jokes about Prescott, blind ones for Blunkett, thick Americans and a sack full of innuendo are all part of the deal. The show stands in the tradition of ridiculing those in power a la Spitting Image, but behind the tomfoolery there’s some pointed comments about our government, driven by the global system of greed rather than public service. And B’stard personifies all that is malevolent.
Mayall’s exaggerated physicality, proud vulgarity and silly face pulling exemplifies the evil of power clamping the iron-clawed grip. His performance commands the audience as he varies between strutting like a peacock and slithering like a demented gargoyle. And he knows how to turn a fluffed line into an in-joke with his appreciative audience. Love him or loathe him, he delivers brilliantly in Jennie Darnell's neat production, which is stylishly performed by the whole cast. The plot may fly here and there, but like the 2001 election, nobody seems to care. It’s not big and it’s not clever; but it’s bigger and much cleverer than any politician.
(Lindsay Corr)
Tron theatre, Glasgow, until Sun 25 Jun
The Infusion of new work that rs Diaspora. a mini-festival of works in progress. continues With two pieces of truly international flavour. This collaboration betn‘xeen the NTS. the Tron and the RSAMD has {tfl(?£t(f‘, unearthed some talent. and this week's offerings look Just as promising. Scott Johnstone's production of Jackie. or the Submrssmns sees the return of lonescu to Scottish stages. at a time when that writer's recurrent obsessions With the loss of |fl(fl\/I(ftl{il identity in the face of a bureaucratic socrety seem as relevant as ever. This story of two families preparing fora wedding. and the unease With which the two betrothed view each other. is a dark cornedy not often seen on Scottish stages. Johnston will be collaborating With Romanian practitioner Grrgori Gonta. who ‘.‘.’lf| no doubt add a certain Eastern European authentrCIty to proceedings.
You can also see Martin McCardie's translation of Katya KEifliUfSKéilEtf} The Sixes. retitled Love and Money here. Tire play deals with a kidnapping scheme that becomes more emotionally rrt‘.'()l‘.'ing than its perpetrator expects. and exarrrrnes the Russen Mafia and a consumeristrc society with euual vigour. Directed by RLrSSian practitioner Nadezdha Ptushkrna. this also looks a good night out.
(Steve Cramerr
86 THE LIST 3'3 Jun—(3 .Jul 3006