KT stars in our summer festivals round-up
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The Wooster Group’s
La Didone weaves 17th century opera with 19605 Italian sci-fi B-movie Planet of the Vampires
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UK Premiere of new work by The Wooster Group heads up Edinburgh International
Festival programme. Words: Allan Radcliffe
s this issue of The List hits the shops. the covers are being whisked off the programme for the
2007 Edinburgh International Festival. One of
the highlights of the first programme with Jonathan Mills at the helm is the UK premiere of La Didone. the latest work by legendary New York-based theatre
ensemble. The Wooster Group. in a series of
performances sponsored by this very magazine.
For more than 30 years. under the directorship of
Elizabeth LeCompte. The Wooster Group has been among the most innovative performance companies in the world. combining text. music. movement and film to create innovative forms of theatrical expression. often staged in spectacular found spaces. Key works include radical interpretations of Hamlet. Chekhov’s Three Sisters and O‘Neill’s The Emperor Jones.
The Group‘s La Dir/(me transports the opera of the same name by 17th century composer Francesco Cavalli to a world fragmented by rapid-fire video imagery and split open by the shriek of the electric guitar. The shipwreck tale of Aeneas and Dido. performed live by
classical singers. is counterpointed throughout with another ltalian cultural landmark. Mario Bava‘s 1965 sci-fi/horror B-movie Planet of the Vampires.
Musical director Bruce ()dland — charged with weaving the baroque era and 21st century into a seamless soundscapc — was delighted by his collaboration with the group. ‘The process is amazing: it‘s like waking meditation.‘ he says. ‘Everything was done as collaboration. from the performance to the music and all aspects of the design. Lil. LeCompte is the most minute observer of what‘s going on in the workshops and she can tell you exactly what she wants.’
Odland believes Edinburgh audiences will be thrilled and provoked by this piece. ‘Essentially we're presenting a slice of centuries side by side — an artificial baroque space that’s slashed open by modern life and the glitches where these two eras intersect. But the connections the audience brings to this piece will be very active.’
For further details of this year’s programme visit www.eif.co.uk
COPPER BOTTOM SUNSHINE CASTS ITS RAYS ON USHER HALL Laughter and music are on the bill for a fundraiser in aid of Bowel Cancer UK. Copper Bottom Sunshine, which takes place at the Usher Hall on Sunday 1 April, features appearances by comedians Bill Bailey, Rhona Cameron, Karen Dunbar and Brit award-winning chanteuse Eddi Reader. As organiser Diana Sinclair points out, Scotland has one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in Europe, making this cause well worth supporting. ‘It looks set to be a fantastic evening and we hope it will help us to put a few smiles on people’s cheeks for a change.’ Tickets, priced from £18, are available from the Usher Hall box office or www.usherhall.co.uk (AR)
Til A painting by celebrated Manchester-born artist LS Lowry is to be auctioned for the first time, at Edinburgh’s Ramsay Cornish Auctioneers, 15-17 Jane Street, Leith. ‘Climbing the Stairs’ (pictured), produced in 1957, will go under the hammer on Saturday 7 April at 11am.
E Up and coming bands with a socio-political message are being encouraged to upload their music for Democrazy 2007. The Scotland-wide competition features cash prizes for the most downloaded songs. with the results based (topically enough) on a single transferable vote system. www.democrazy2007.com
El Following on from the success of his collaboration with Malcolm Middleton on Ballads of the Book, novelist Alan Bissett will be taking to the road at the beginning of May in the company of two unsigned Glasgow bands, Y’All is Fantasy Island and Zoey van Goey. The four- date tour includes appearances at Glasgow’s Oran Mar and Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh. Keep an eye on future listings for further details.
8 Glasgow's Cathouse is to launch a new club night. Dirt Tuesdays. which aims to combine simple but effective rock with eyebrow-raising entertainment. The launch night on Tuesday 3 April features resident DJ Muppet with live entertainment by the Cathouse demon girls in an onstage mud wrestling , match.
29 Mar—12 Apr 2007 THE LIST 7