Theatre
Stage Whispers
IOver the last few weeks, Whispers has detected a recurrent theme to many of the conversations that he's had in the various bars and foyers of the Scottish theatre. The Scottish Arts Council's policy of subsidising "artist based“ work seems to be the current talk of the theatre world. Various folk have various kinds of problems with this policy, perhaps surprisingly, across the full gamut of the profession.
The practical, earthy kind of theatre practitioner seems to feel that this is a policy that excludes audiences from the equation to such a degree that they may as well not attend subsidised theatre. This is no doubt something of an exaggerated fear, yet it contains more than a grain of truth. it‘s important to instil a sense that process should always be significant in the creation of art, and that failure in any artistic endeavour needs to be a starting point for the next experiment, rather than the abandonment of a sense of adventure. But the idea that process is all, and there virtually needn't be an end product of any significance is surely a dangerous idea for artists and audiences alike.
Even the ‘artier' end of the profession seems a little uneasy with this remit. Does ‘artist based‘ work mean the freedom to explore, or the enshrinement of forms of elitism? is it possible that theatre could end up like the world of visual arts, where, at the extreme and, artists retreat into high subjectivity, or only wish to converse with other artists? One hopes not-time will tell.
Meanwhile, certain off the record noises were made by the Scottish Parliament toward the end of the festival that the smoking ban on stages would be relaxed, at least to the extent of allowing certain substitutes to be used. Once however, the press stopped writing about this piece of daft Philistinism our parliament went all quiet. Was it all just glad handing to deter a threatened pefltlon? Will we see a softened bill along the lines of the English legislation? Whispers would like to know.
Smoking in The People Next Door
84 THE LIST 2— 16 Nov 2006
SCOTTISH PREMIERE TOM FOOL
Citizens‘ Theatre, Glasgow, Thu 2—Sat 18 Nov
There's been bits and bobs going on at the Citz studio theatre for a while. but the arrival of the first piece of work to equal the scale of the splendid “Little Bit of Ruff' season, which garnered such acclaim a couple of years back. is bound to excite theatregoers. The intimacy of the space makes for splendid theatre. especially when the piece concerned is liable to confront our sometimes complacent expectations.
In this respect. Tom Fool looks set to revive some of the old fire one often felt in this close-up space. For the name Franz Xaver Kroetz will always set expectations of controversy. Noted for a kind of political hyper realism. Kroetz‘s work observes everyday life with a microscope. not stinting on details that many writers would omit. Thus defecation. masturbation. violence and. perhaps even more disturbing. the searnier reflections of the subjective mind are often to the fore. Kroetz was a member of the German Communist Party for a decade. and although that period is now over two decades behind him. there are always political subtexts to his plays. This piece. translated by Estella Schmid and Anthony Vivis. examines a factory worker who reaches crisis point with his wife and child. his fantaSy life shading into reality. A strong cast also recommends this as a night out. (Steve Cramer)
WEST END TOUR HEROES
Review
CLASSIC THE TEMPEST Tron, Glasgow, run ended 00.
Forgiveness is perhaps the toughest emotional business we can undertake in life. It must occur in order for us to move on, yet it sometimes takes a strength, proportionate to the offence committed, that’s greater than our resources. In Paddy Cunneen’s production of what’s sometimes called Shakespeare’s retirement play, this element of the piece is to the fore, but perhaps might be more singularly so.
Here, our Prospero (Paul Higgins) is younger than we might expect, a scholar and sorcerer who seems less about clearing up unfinished business as the grave nears than a man with a problem in early middle age. Marooned on his (cleverly realised) island, inhabiting with Miranda (Helen McAlpine) a storage crate from a container vessel, this Prospero seems an executive under stress, complete with tattered suit, barely keeping his Ariel (David Mackay) and Caliban (Paul Blair) under control, while fighting his emotions about his unworthy sibling.
As we might expect with Cunneen there’s a stress on music here, as well as a visually striking design (Jonathon Fensom) to enjoy. Yet beyond his initial theme, there seems to be a desire to open the play up on its many fronts without fully following through all its themes. The political metaphor represented by both the idealistic Gonzalo (a slightly wasted Alison Peebles) and the colonised Caliban, and a succession of dilemmas about age and the subtle differences between compromising and selling out, as well as the possibility that the Tempest concerned is one of the mind and subjectivity are all touched upon but not quite explored. It’s as if Cunneen, finally entrusted with a major production, has tried to do too much with his unquestionable talent. On the up side, there are three splendid performances. Paul Thomas Hickey and Matthew Pidgeon’s Trinculo and Stefano - a pair of soap-dodging wasters who let no comic opportunity pass - double well as Sebastian and Antonio’s New Labour scum too. Meantime, Blair’s overcoated, Care in the Community Caliban is terrific, but perhaps even more admirable is his Ferdinand, a pretty inert sort of Shakespearian suitor, given vitality by a smart performance. Not all the performances are of quite this quality. Still there are some fascinating moments, and no shortage of spectacle here. (Steve Cramer)
King's Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 14—Sat 18 Nov
There's a certain genre of theatre which causes (I'm sure I‘m not alone in this) one to think of one's Mum mid show. and propels one home on a torrent of guilt about how long it is since she's been phoned. These pieces usually feature helpless elderly folk and their loneliness. No doubt couples with children go home and wake them up to cuddle them. while singles Stan lending plausibility to even the most improbable eligibles. It's all a hit disruptive. but we're suckered by these works again and again.
One such piece is Gerald Sibeyras' Heroes. a play that took the West End by storm last year through Tom Stoppard's whimsical. gently playful translation. The protagonists are not old ladies. but men. and war veterans at that. Yet. these three old dodderers. livrng out their last days in the late 1950s. still suffering from the physical and psychological effects of the Great War create a charm and pathos. which amount to the same thing. By all accounts there's a good deal of humour in the piece. and Will) three bankable faces in the shapes of Art Malik. Christopher Timothy and Micheal Jayston in the leads. this should prove a crowd pleaser to warm folk from the heart outwards as we enter the winter months. (Steve Cramerl