O Z Z O R O M M T
I
Theatre
PREVIEW COMEDY THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh, Fri 22 Oct–Sat 20 Nov
The Importance of Being Earnest arrives hot on the heels of the Lyceum’s recent production of Romeo and Juliet, and is employing virtually the same cast and the same set. Director Mark Thomson is excited at the prospect of getting his teeth into Wilde’s classic farce and believes there’s a central harmony between the two plays, beyond the differences in period and genre. ‘Both are about lovers coming up against an invented social system,’ he says. Indeed, scratch the surface and further parallels emerge, reflected in the choice of period staging. Thomson’s fellow director, Tony Cownie, placed Romeo and Juliet in a Europe shattered in the wake of the Great War; this production of Earnest is set just prior to the conflict, sharpening the sense already extant in the play of a world under threat. Wilde’s play first appeared against the backdrop of a society whose moral guardians trumpeted concerns about the degeneracy of a rising self-made mercantile
class empowered through cold hard sterling rather than pedigree. The writer held a mirror up to this paranoid pomposity and exposed the absurdity of parents determining who was a suitable love match for their offspring – just as Shakespeare did in Romeo and Juliet. In both works the older generation cling hard to
established mores whereas the younger characters question why they should be bound by these constraints. ‘I want people to come away from the play and think “Why do I care about this or that? Does it make me happy?”’ says Thomson. As with all Wilde’s works, The Importance of Being
Earnest is more than mere Victorian verbal gymnastics. Wilde himself called it ‘a trivial play for serious people’, a sentiment that Thomson has taken to heart. So has he made any major alterations to the original? ‘You mess about with it at your peril,’ he laughs, ‘because it’s usually cleverer than you. I intend to play the notes as they lie, albeit with great skill and vivacity.
‘But it will make you happy,’ Thomson declares confidently. ‘That’s a promise.’ (Siân Hickson)
PREVIEW SHORT PLAYS CHEKHOV SHORTS Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Thu 28 Oct; Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Tue 2 & Wed 3 Nov
While Lung Ha’s has long been known for producing groundbreaking work, the success of Huxley’s Lab, its CATS-winning co-production with Grid Iron earlier this year, may well have marked a watershed for the company, which works solely with actors with learning disabilities.
‘A company like Lung Ha’s can
easily be marginalised,’ says artistic director Maria Oller. ‘It’s easy to keep it within the disability community, but I think it’s important to open up to society and to get an audience to come and see the show for the show and not just to support a company with disabled actors.’ With that in mind, Oller wanted to
move away from the company’s typical territory of devised pieces and into working on a classic text. Inspired by her own experiences as an actress, she delved into Chekhov’s short stories, and soon came across the adaptations written by American playwright Carol Rocamora.
The two pieces she selected, Romance with a Double Bass and The Two Volodyas, could not be more different – another feature of the production aimed at stretching the cast of four actors. The former is a farce involving a spot of sabotaged summertime skinny dipping, while the latter, set in the depths of the Russian winter, revolves around the troubled wife of an ageing colonel, searching for an answer to her questions about love and commitment in the bottom of a brandy glass. (Laura Ennor)
PREVIEW FESTIVAL IETM Various venues, Glasgow, Fri 4–Mon 7 Nov
At a time when the threat of cutbacks hangs over Scottish theatre, it might be wise to take a good look at this theatre arts conference, for much of the work being showcased will not – if the auguries are true – be seen again on this scale for some years. Steve Slater, producer of IETM (the International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts), this year visiting Glasgow, feels this is an opportunity that involves the whole population of the city. ‘People won’t be able to help but notice that there’s this concentration of work over four days,’ he says. ‘There’s an energy to it that’ll bleed out to people in the city – this isn’t like a medical conference, it will have an impact on the cultural landscape.’ This gathering takes in virtually every venue in Glasgow, and aside from several
newly commissioned pieces (Laika’s Bridging and Fish and Game’s Alma Mater and SDT’s Life and Times of Girl A & NQR among them) showcases much of the best of Scottish theatre over the last few years. Among the acclaimed productions on offer are David Leddy’s Sussurus, Nic Green’s Trilogy and Dogstar’s The Tailor of Inverness. What’s notable about these, and many other pieces performed over the long weekend of IETM is that they have an earlier track record of success. You can also go along to one of the many discussion events that will take place in the city by contacting the organisers. (Steve Cramer) ■ See listings for full details.
84 THE LIST 21 Oct–4 Nov 2010