Theatre
Review
REVIVAL THE BEVELLERS Citizens, Theatre, Glasgow, until Sat 3 Mar 0000
There is something direct and compelling about a good play from another era, that cuts through our nostalgia, or simple desire to remake history in our own time’s image. In Roddy McMillan’s 1973 drama of Glasgow working class life, we meet a young man from an impoverished background who declares early on that his first day in a new job might be his last, for there may be other opportunities, even lifestyles, elsewhere. It’s a confident ambition that might not be uttered so readily by parallel characters in a contemporary play. The job in question is that of a trainee skilled glassworker, and the labourers we meet in Jeremy Southgate’s grimy subterranean workshop might from the outset seem to be familiar working men from this decade of such dramatic characters. Yet, as we encounter young Norrie (William Ruane), his unsavoury, bullying nemesis The Rouger (Andrew Clark), his fatherly, craftsmanlike foreman (Paul Morrow) and the
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various other machos of this workplace, no act of sensational violence or depravity seems in the offing. Instead, playful joshing gives way to something more brutal and sinister very slowly, the denouement being quite psychologically plausible from this innocuous beginning.
Director Jeremy Raison shows great caginess in trusting the play’s stealthy pace to deliver. In doing so, it displays an era frozen in aspic, but its power lies not in some museum quality, nor in its parallels to our times. Instead a striking contrast is evinced, from middle aged workers whose joy and passion in their craft can become a dangerous addiction to a more indifferent and amoral younger generation whose nascent ambition bears only an oblique resemblance to the post-Thatcher world’s youth. There’s a strong ensemble cast on display here, with Morrow’s avuncular foreman quite striking (particularly given the short notice with which he took the role). A little cameo by Brian Pettifer as a kind of pitiful living shade of the workshop’s past is also admirable. It’s a production that rings with an authenticity that a whole series of Life on Mars won’t bring you. (Steve Cramer)
SWASHBUCKLING BALLEI THE THREE MUSKETEERS
(/e trors.
(Kirstin Innes)
ADAPTATION
LIFE OF PI
Citizen’s Theatre, Glasgow, Tue 13—Sat 17 Mar
We're fascinated by shipwreck. or. more recently. plane crashes. stories that leave people stranded. fending for themselves. Outwith recognisable societal confines. who defines right and wrong? What would you do?
Yann Martel's 2002 Booker Prize- winner has been adapted for the stage by Andy Rashleigh for Twisting Yarn. the only company given the rights to stage the text. It follows Pi's inspired journey from India to Canada during which he's stranded at sea with nothing but a zebra. hyena. orang- utan. Richard Parker the tiger. and his wits. to survive.
Director Keith Robinson explains. ‘Part one equips Pi to survive his ordeal with his upbringing in a 200 with three different religions. In part two it all happens. at sea in a lifeboat.‘ It's a story about life. survival. faith and imagination. as Robinson adds: ‘Manel wanted to challenge our beliefs.
A play that examines religious stereotypes seems a good fit for Bradford-based. multicultural company Twisting Yarn. ‘l'm constantly on the look-out for tales and stories that throw up interesting themes. We've created an ambiance where Pi can ask questions about religion that we’re usually not allowed to. because it's all new to him.‘
The play throws Pi into situations where standard morality doesn't apply. ‘Both versions of events contain killing and cannibalism.’ says Robinson. 'The myth that eating human flesh makes you mad evokes recent memories from the BSE crisis. There are certain rules of nature you can't cross or things go wrong.‘ (Greer Ogstonl
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 7—Sat 10 Mar
Northern Ballet Theatre have long been renowned for their atypical productions and for injecting realism and contemporary movement into ballet. In his six years as artistic director. however. David Nixon has refocused NBT's repertoire on grand—scale spectacle. from Gothic excess in Dracula and Wutherr’ng Heights to the upcoming Sleeping Beauty Tale set on an alien planet. and the current touring production of The Three Musketeers. which arrives in Scotland after an English tour last autumn. Alexandre Dumas swashbuckling story of chivalry. loyalty and cavalier Cavaliers might seem better suited to a Saturday matinee with Errol Flynn than an evening at the ballet. but Nixon is adamant that this is nothing unusual for the company. ‘We're combining theatre entertainment with high quality dancing. This is something NBT strives to do — that's the way we try to be more accessible] he says. A sweeping. cinematic score specially composed by the late Sir Malcolm Arnold (who wrote the music for Bridge On the River Kwa/I. and an intensive programme of sword-fight training for the dancers certainly seems to indicate that the story of these Musketeers will be more action-adventure than pas
Nixon is clearly excited about the fight scenes. He says.'[The swordfighting] has proved very popular with the company. It's a fun story and a fun night.’