N O S T T A P H T E K
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Theatre
PREVIEW FAIRY TALE ADAPTATION RUMPELSTILTSKIN Tramway, Glasgow, Fri 20 & Sat 21 Nov
If any art form can claim a familiarity and a relevance that crosses all boundaries of age, class, education and even culture, it may well be the fairy tale. And if there’s a form of art that suffers most from a reputation for being elitist, obscure and inaccessible, it may well be contemporary classical music. Combining the two is Birmingham Contemporary Music Group’s brand new retelling, through music, dance and physical theatre, of one of the Brothers Grimm’s darker-edged tales, that of the pint-sized riddler, Rumpelstiltskin. Throughout its 22-year existence, BCMG has won
awards for its work, as artistic director Stephen Newbould puts it, in ‘getting out there and finding new ways to encourage people over the threshold to hear stunning new music, brilliantly played.’ Packaging it up with a familiar and gripping tale, as well as elements of dance and physical theatre, may well be one of those ways, not that the work of composer David Sawer necessarily needs those other elements to open it up to a wider audience. ‘He writes wonderfully vibrant, rhythmic music which always has a great melodic feel,
so I don’t think there’ll be anything in it that will scare people away,’ assures Newbould. Another element of Sawer’s compositions is their
theatricality: he learned a fascination with the dramatic possibilities of classical music from early mentor Mauricio Kagel, the pioneering sound artist and composer who included the musicians’ movements and facial expressions in his instructions for how his pieces should be played. Such dramatic ingenuity is essential for the telling, through music, dance and action alone, of a tale that revolves around a name- guessing game.
With the titles of the scenes printed in the programme, and musicians in costume on stage and part of the action, there are elements of epic theatre in this production, which is described intriguingly by those involved as closest in tone to ‘a 3D silent movie’ or ‘a tableau of moving pictures.’ Very much in keeping with these aspects is Newbould’s assertion that the audience should engage critically with the characters and their morality – contrary to traditional preconceptions of the fairy tale ‘there’s a big question mark with this story about who are the baddies and who are the goodies.’ (Laura Ennor)
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REVIEW MUSICAL WE WILL ROCK YOU Edinburgh Playhouse, until Sat 9 Jan ●●●●●
Regardless of how unsure or cynical you may be walking into this musical, by the time the eponymous song comes around, if your hands aren’t clapping and your voice isn’t belting out, ‘We will, we will rock you!’, then check your pulse, for you may well be dead. It’s impossible to resist the allure of
this rock extravaganza. Unless, of course, you can’t stand Queen – in which case stay away, because it’s wall-to-wall Freddie and the boys. Although even then, speaking as a non-Queen fan, hearing the songs in a different context, sung by some truly phenomenal vocalists, prompts a new-found appreciation of how well crafted they are.
Ben Elton’s storyline straddles the borderline between utterly daft and scarily prophetic, imagining a future world where musical instruments are banned and songs are all computer- generated. Set hundreds of years hence, much amusement is found in looking back at music’s demise (largely attributed to Simon Cowell and pop stars who are ‘famous for less time than it takes to play their record’) and unearthing the true meaning of rock’n’roll. The songs are well-placed, the
script largely witty and the set design suitably epic, but the main selling point here is the performances. A cracking band and genuinely talented musical theatre actors conspire to make this a show that not only pays homage to Queen, but live music generally. As titles go, it’s an honest one, because after two-and-a-half hours we’ve all been well and truly rocked. (Kelly Apter)
REVIEW ADAPTATION RAIN MAN Theatre Royal, Glasgow, until Sat 21 Nov. Seen at King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 10 Nov ●●●●●
It’s a pleasant surprise to see how successfully Dan Gordon’s adaptation of the Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman-starring screen classic translates to the stage. The tale of city slicker Charlie Babbitt’s relationship with his long-lost institutionalised older brother, Raymond, remains a touching rite of passage; the brothers’ journey towards forgiveness and unconditional love still poignant. TV star Neil Morrissey is quietly impressive, never allowing his portrayal of autistic savant Raymond to become affected. And while it’s difficult not to make comparisons between his and Hoffman’s performances, Morrissey does, to his credit, manage the highly physical role to charming effect.
Oliver Chris, from Green Wing and The Office, plays Charlie, in many ways the
tougher role. Chris succeeds in balancing his angry disaffection in the first act with a solid portrayal of a young man struggling to reconcile the loss of a family he never really knew in the second. At the heart of the play lies Chris and Morrissey’s ability to play off each other, touchingly and amusingly. It’s frustrating then that the dénouement comes all too quickly, never fully capturing the raw emotion of the original. Charlie’s revelation that he loves Raymond more than money hasn’t quite the foundation or gravitas that it should, and this slightly undermines an otherwise enjoyable night of theatre. (Anna Millar)
84 THE LIST 19 Nov–3 Dec 2009