Theatre
Romeo 8. Juliet at Shakespeare's Theatre
Quad a feeling
‘A DIFFERENT, AT TIMES HARSHER, VERSION OF A FAMILIAR CLASSIC'
As the West End Festival opens with more theatre than ever before, Steve Cramer looks at the highlights, including Romeo and Juliet in Glasgow University Quadrangle
he trend for small and medium scale festivals
we've experienced over the last decade has had a
refreshing effect on attitudes to the arts. making the odd soggy day in muddy open spaces as worthwhile for theatre lovers as it has. more traditionally. for fans of popular music. ()ften. events such as the West [ind Festival breed not only new audiences. but new. and more informal approaches to heng an audience.
So it is that in both open and closed spaces across the West End of Glasgow. there are new opportunities presented in a greatly expanded theatre programme. Festival director Michael Dale says. ‘We have to break out of this nonsense that we all have to start at 8 o'clock. If the shows are on on a Saturday or Sunday. they can be on at any time. I blame Noel Coward; didn‘t he say that shows should start at 8 o‘clock and finish at about 10.20. and that's what civilised people do. We work at completely different times these days. a
lot of us are self employed. unemployed or retired. If
shows can start at 2pm at the lidinburgh fringe. there’s no reason why they can’t in Glasgow.‘
Among this year's fare are a new take on Antigone by Theatre Found. which will use Kelvingrove Art Gallery as a suitably palatial backdrop. ‘lnstead of the sign
saying “Kelvingrove Art Gallery". we've got “Palace of
Thebes" in big yellow neon for a couple of hours in the evening.‘ Dale says. "l‘hat and someone standing in front of the "No Smoking" sign. and it should look really impressive.’ There's also a contribution from David McClelland‘s Play. Pie and Pint folk called Kibble. which is more general variety entertainment than a play.
80 THE LIST 7 ‘2‘. Jllli ?()()l'
But the unquestioned highlight must be the first ever visit by London‘s Globe Theatre with lidward Dick's production of Romeo (UNI Juliet. Billed rather adroitly as the Globe's lirst tour in 400 years. this will be a new departure for London‘s open air replica of the original. and its new venue. a quadrangle of the university.
equally suited to the interactive. knockabout spirit of
the company. With a promising Glaswegian actor in the male lead. there’s plenty to recommend this.
Richard Madden. who made a huge impression in his debut at the (‘it/ late last year in Your Fool. has both the youth and the ability to make a good Romeo. Although much loved. Romeo and Julie! is a problematical tragedy. partly because of the sudden changes which occur in the characters. Madden sees this. though. as part of the journey the couple are making. ‘That's precisely his problem: he doesn’t know who he is. He‘s from this wealthy background. so he can afford to be a lover. If he had to get up and work in the morning. he wouldn't have time to do all this philosophising. and focussing on love and poetry. I'm trying to understand him now. There's points in the script where he reacts in quite a shocking way. When the Nurse arrives to take him to Juliet. there‘s a really graphic scene where Mercutio sticks his hands down her pants. and he doesn‘t do anything but joke about it with his mates later] he says. ‘But there’s also this gentle side to him.‘
It is a different. at times harsher and more violent version of a familiar classic. which audiences can be close up to in Glasgow.
University of Glasgow East Quad, The 19$un 24 Jun
Hit
THE BEST THEATRE & DANCE
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* Happy Days Alison Peebles leads in Beckett’s classic, which sees a woman buried to her waist in sand, reflecting upon a grim and rapidly ebbing life with surprising optimism and humour. Dominic Hill’s production offers another chance to revisit a much-loved piece. Dundee Rep, until Sat 9 Jun.
* The Wonderful World of Dissocla Anthony Neilson’s legendary festival hit rounds off its NTS sponsored tour. A funny and ultimately very moving exploration of a woman's internal and external struggle against mental illness, this is a must see. Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 6—Sat 9 Jun.
* Cyprus Peter Arnott’s rewritten version of his 2005 play is part country house mystery and part political story. Two former colleagues in the British espionage world meet on an island off the West Coast; the daughter of one of these adds to tensions that are both sexual and ideological. Tron Theatre. Glasgow, Tue 12-Wed 13 Jun, then touring. * Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London makes its first ever tour with this classic of youthful love and troubled teens. Edward Dick’s production promises a grittier than usual approach to the story. University of Glasgow East Quadrangle, Tue 19-Sun 24 Jun.
* The Trouble with Asian Men Tamasha returns with this rowdily humorous, often interactive piece which combines various verbatim interviews with people of all races, classes and genders and is performed by an all male cast. Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow, Tue 12—Sat 16 Jun.