Theatre
Events are listed by city, then alphabetically by venue. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to theatre@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Suzanne Black.
alt Indicates Hitlist entry
Glasgow
I THE ABCHES 253 Argyle Street. 565 1000. New Works New Worlds Wed l—Sat 4 Jul. Times vary. Day pass £10(£8); festival pass £22 (£18). A festival which sets its sights on developing talent in the Scottish cultural landscape. with work from new performance and developmental projects. Sec preview. page 82. Hitch (a prelude) Wed l»-Sat 4 Jul. Wed & Thu 7—10pm; Fri & Sat 7—9.30pm. Day pass £10 (£8); festival pass £22 (£18). An intimate installation recreating Kieran Hurley‘s journey to the G8 summit in l.‘ Aquila. Parr o/‘Neit- Works New Worlds. Mlasma Wed l—Sat 4 Jul. 7—10pm. Day pass £10(£8); festival pass £22 (£18). A dual video projection. Miasma ( 1973). by Lindsay Perth. which re-edits Hollywood films to reveal messages about global warming. Part o/‘New Works New Worlds. Moyo Chirandu Ancient Echoes Wed 1 Jul. 7pm. Day pass £10 (£8); festival pass £22 (£18). Seeds of Thought seeks to redress negative representations ofAfrica through the use of mbira (music of the ancestors) and ngano (the spoken word). Part of New Works New Worlds. Plane Food Cate Wed 1 & Thu 2 Jul. Wed 7.35pm. 8.20pm & 9.05pm; Thu 7pm. 7.45pm & 8.30pm. Day pass £10 (£8); festival pass £22 (£18). Pan-cafe. part-installation. part-performance by Richard Dedomenici about the environmentally destructive effects of air-travel. Par! ofNett' Works iN'elt‘ Wmlds. The Sustainability of Sweetness Wed 1 Jul. 9.40pm. Day pass £10 (£8); festival pass £22 (£18). Naomi Shoba combines twixes. Barack ()bama and gender politics to examine society's beliefs about gender. race and culture. Part of New Works New Worlds. The YeIIoWing Wed | & Thu 2 Jul. Wed 7.35pm: Thu 7.40pm. Day pass £10 (£8); festival pass £22 (£18). A highly physical. multidisciplinary solo performance by Julia Taudevin. created in response to Charlotte Perkins Gilman‘s The Yellow Wallpaper. Part of New Works New Worlds. Gorbals Thrncoat Thu 2 Jul. 9.40pm. Day pass £10 (£8): festival pass £22 (£18). A new work in progress by Tam Dean Burn inspired by Allan Pinkerton. from the (iorbals. who is renowned as the world's first Private liye. Part (if/Vett- Works New Worlds. The Line We Draw Thu 2 Jul. 9.05pm. Day pass £10 (£8): festival pass £22 (£18). Theatrical musings on the line we draw between grown up and grown down. by Skye Loneragen. l’ar! of'A’ett- Works New Worlds. A Woman in Berlin Thu 2 --Sat -1 Jul. Thu 10.15pm: Fri 1.15pm & 10.20me Sat 1.15pm. Day pass £10(£8); festival pass £22 (£18). A true story. based on the anonymous diary of the same name. of one woman‘s experience of war-torn Berlin. Part of New lVorks Nelt' lVoI‘lds. Cardboard Castle Fri 3 & Sat 4 Jul. 9.30pm & 10pm. Day pass £10 (£8); festival pass £22 (£18). Philip Spencer
84 THE LIST 25 Jun—9 Jul 2009
will provide the sticky tape. marker pens and (Ends honest truth. all you need to bring is cardboard boxes. I’arl ofNew ll’orks New ll'or/ds.
Looking for Laura Quinn Fri 3 & Sat 4 Jul. Fri 8.30pm; Sat 9.10pm. Day pass £10 (£8); festival pass £22 (£18). Using popular social networking websites and an internet appeal as a springboard for a live lecture performance. llelen Quinn is combing the country for her non- biological twin. I’ar! o/‘Nett' ll’ln’ks New llorlds.
Room Fri 3 & Sat 4 Jul. 7pm. Day pass £10(£8); festival pass £22 (£18). A play
about a woman who never leaves her flat.
the strange man who is determined to oust her. and how language is misused for political ends. Part of New ll/orks New llorlds.
We Share Air We Share Air Fri 3 & Sat 4 Jul. 7pm. Day pass £10 (£8); festival pass £22 (£18). Peter McMaster explores physicality and the laws of biology and physics. l’ar! o/‘Nett- ll'orks New ll'orlds.
Year of the Horse Sat 4 Jul. 8. ltlpm. Day pass £10(£8): festival pass £22 (£18). Reprisal of the joint production between Tron Theatre Company and Burnt (ioods and starring Tam Dean Burn about leading political cartoonist llarry llorse. I’arl ofNeit- ll'orks New worlds.
Contact Jam Sun 5 Jul. 1 4pm. £3. A chance for dancers and musicians to jam and collaborate.
I CCA
350 Sauchiehall Street. 352 4900. Illuminate: Dialogue Thu 25 Jun. 130- 6pm. £15. An afternoon of debate about playwriting in a culturally diverse Scotland. Run by Playwrights' Studio. To book contact 01-11 332 4-103 or claireystn playwrightsstudio.co.uk
REVIEW NEW PLAY BALGAY HILL Dundee Rep, until Sat 27 Jun eee
Simon Macallum‘s Ba/gay Hill sets out to celebrate the life and work of the late Dundonian pop star Billy Mackenzie. but the Associates frontman actually remains pretty elusive throughout. and what emerges in the end is a well- intentioned. if somewhat hesitant. exploration of the changing fortunes of Dundee. as seen through the eyes of a
quartet of disparate characters.
Would-be pop star Stephen (Robin Laing) forms a band called the Nude Spoons and. with Mackenzie his inspiration, dreams of escape. His cannier younger brother Michael (Vincent Friell) dismisses the star as a phoney. much to the consternation of his American girlfriend. Kennedy (Louise Ludgate). but seeks solace in his music many years later. Meanwhile. a running commentary on Mackenzie's life and career is provided by Sinead, (Helen McAlpine). a troubled teen who finds release in Billy's music.
While alluding to the darker aspects of the city's history.
. Cryptic Nights Thu 2 Jul. 8pm. £5. An
interactive game from Alt-winning. Watch the (Ganediascot Twitter stream to find clues to a secret location in Scotland. With new work created and curated by Alt-w Fund supported artists Thomson & Craighead. Sarah Kettley and Distance Lab. new writing by Netwurker MCI. and Hannu Rajaniemi.
choreography by Sue Hawksley and ' music by Peter (iregson. all to celebrate
New Media Scotland‘s tenth birthday.
I CITY HALLS
Candleriggs. 353 8000.
The Singing Kettle: Boogie
Woogie 200 Sat 27 & Sun 28 Jun. See
Kids listings.
I GILMOREHILL G12
9 L'niversity Avenue. 330 5522. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Until Fri 26 Jun. 7.30pm. £8
(£6). A haunting tale about a mental
hospital and its sedated and suppressed
voluntary patients. by XLC Theatre
Company. Par! oft/1e W 's! [ind festival.
Limited Edition Tue 30 Jun. 7.30pm. £6.
FireBox and Blaze join forces for an
evening of street. tap and contemporary
dance. Blaze will be treating you to their
latest street dance piece ‘Don't Look Now‘.
I THE GLASGOW ART CLUB 185 Bath Street. 248 5210.
The Picture of Dusty Limits Tue 7 Jul. 8pm. £15 (members £12). Beatrix von Bourbon presents a night of
. decadent cabaret with original songs by
Dusty Limits and Michael Roulston as well as twisted takes on a number of cabaret classics. Part of the Glasgow
( ‘abare! Festival.
Kitten on the Keys: Does This Piano Make My Ass Look Big? Thu 9 Jul. 8pm. £10. ()ne-woman musical about
a nerdy suburban girl who discovers punk.
The feline performer accompanies herself
; on piano. accordion and ukulele and sites
as her role models Alice Cooper. Liberace and Freddie Mercury. Part of the Glasgow
: Cabaret festival.
i‘aasaau—ta’amtc““ ‘ GARDENS 730 Great Western Road. 334 2422.
The Taming of the Shrew Until
Sat 1 1 Jul (not Sun/Mon). 7.45pm. £15 (£10). Gordon Barr directs Shakespeare‘s battle of the sexes comedy as the Bard in the Botanics festival
j returns for 2009. Preview on Thu 25 Jun: £12 (£8). Par! of the West [ind Festival.
i’kiuc's riiéitrne
' 297 Bath Street. 0870 060 6648.
Scooby Doe! and the Pirate Ghost
‘ Until Sun 28 Jun. See Kids listings.
Thriller Live Mon 29 Jun—Sat 4 Jul.
7.30pm; 4pm & 8pm. £l2-£54.50. A celebration of Michael Jackson and The
Jackson 5 with choreography by award- winning director Gary Lloyd and LaVelle
Smith Jnr.
l '- LA cougar
; DWA Studios. 1120 South Street. Whiteinch.
A Flamenca Fusion Night 0 La Bodega Sat 27 Jun. 9pm. £9—£l 1 (£7.50—£9 in advance). Flamenco. tango.
opera and jazz performances from the
DWA Flamenco Dancers and guest
singer Laura Taylor. Part of the West [ind l'esrit'al.
I MAMA SAN
190 Bath Street. 352 8800.
FREE Glasgow Cabaret Festival
Launch a VIP Press Party Sun 5 Jul. A glitzy start to this new festival with
cabaret performances. See
and Mackenzie's own battles with depression and addiction. Macallum’s play attempts to offer a more balanced view of Dundee from the conventional 1980s
image of a grey. post-industrial. unemployment-ridden dump. References to local landmarks, from the cemetery on the ‘Hilly‘ where Mackenzie is buried to the Washington Cafe in the Nethergate. are enthusiastically lapped up by the local audience. Yet. the characters‘ overall trajectory (from miserable to even more miserable) rather undermines
Mackenzie's status as the supposedly redemptive figure in
their lives.
Also problematic is the framing conceit of telling Billy’s story in lecture form through the film Sinead is making. which rather undermines the dramatic thrust of the piece. and the technology littering the stage eventually proves cumbersome. Still, strong performances from the cast (particularly Laing) draw you into the individual stories here, while Mackenzie‘s charisma and uncompromising talent come through loud and clear in the all-too-brief clips from his too-brief career. (Allan Radcliffe)