Theatre
PREVIEW REVIVAL GAGARIN WAY Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline, Thu 17 & Fri 18 Feb, then touring throughout Scotland
Rapture Theatre has forged a strong reputation for its revivals of contemporary and classic plays, touring to the furthest corners of Scotland. Having previously triumphed with works as diverse as Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, the Scottish premier of Joe Penhall’s Blue/Orange and an adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery, artistic director Michael Emans was keen to fall back on home-grown fare for the company’s tenth anniversary production. Gregory Burke’s blackly comic exploration of the decline of political radicalism proved the ideal text.
‘The main attraction in choosing a play is always the writing,’ says Emans. ‘Gagarin Way’s such a great play on so many levels: it twists and turns like a thriller but it’s also full of ideas about tradition and belonging and people’s perceptions versus reality. It’s about human behaviour in the end and I don’t think the play will ever lose its relevance.’ The show is part-produced by the Arts and Theatre
Trust Fife and one of the major attractions for Emans in selecting Burke’s play – set in the small West Fife
82 THE LIST 17 Feb–3 Mar 2011
PREVIEW MODERN DANCE AILEY 2 King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Tue 22 & Wed 23 Feb
When Alvin Ailey died in 1989, he left behind an incredible legacy. Not only had he created a remarkable body of works, and a company – Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – to perform them, but he had also looked to the future. As dancers mature and leave the company, somebody has to replace them, and if that somebody has already learned about the rigours of rehearsals and touring, so much the better. Hence the reason that, in 1974,
Ailey 2 was born. Populated by young dancers who have graduated from the Ailey School, the company is renowned for its powerful repertoire and athletic dancers. And now, finally, audiences on this side of the Atlantic can see for themselves, when Ailey 2 conducts its first ever UK tour.
With 12 dancers aged 17-23, Ailey 2 may be smaller than Ailey 1, but carries an explosive amount of youthful vigour. ‘I think one of the main qualities we have is an eager energy to learn and to share,’ says 22-year- old dancer, Fana Tesfagiorgis. ‘Whether that be with each other, with the company directors or with the audience. We have a tendency to want to give them everything, even in rehearsal.’
village of Lumphinnans – was the prospect of opening the run at Dunfermline’s Carnegie Hall before a ‘home crowd’.
‘I’m passionate about touring,’ he says. ‘I don’t feel The company will be performing four
diverse works and, just like the main company, will end the night with Ailey’s legendary Revelations – a special moment for all dancers in the company. ‘I remember watching Revelations when I was 10 years old and the company toured to my home town in Wisconsin,’ recalls Tesfagiorgis. ‘And now, performing it myself is unreal.’ (Kelly Apter)
you should have to go to Edinburgh or Glasgow to see good theatre. There’s a major difference between staging a show in a small conservative town like Perth and appearing before an audience in Rutherglen where people are sitting at pub tables. It’s a completely different atmosphere.’ Burke’s play revolves around the kidnapping of a
management consultant by communist ideologue Gary and trigger-happy Eddie while a wide-eyed security guard tries to intervene. Whereas earlier productions of Gagarin Way have tended to focus on the thuggish Eddie, Emans has made a conscious decision to bring out all four characters.
‘You don’t want to do a retread of previous productions. I think if you bring a fresh angle to it then it warrants a revival, though you don’t necessarily have to do an all-nude version or something. I wanted this production to have a distinctive flavour, a distinctive look and I wanted to bring out the different nuances in the text.’ (Allan Radcliffe) ■ For full tour schedule see www.rapturetheatre.co.uk
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PREVIEW NEW WORK THE BELIEF PROJECT Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 2–Sat 5 Mar
The concept of belief is something songwriters, authors and playwrights have mulled over for generations. Flatrate, a small Glasgow theatre collective, are the latest creative types to take a stab at the phenomenon with their new piece, The Belief Project. The story follows three characters, a young couple and their lodger, each with fundamental convictions about their life. Director Rob Jones explains, ‘We wanted to examine the place of belief in the
modern world, that difficult place between faith and doubt and why the characters hold onto these overriding beliefs, perhaps to the detriment of other things.’ Jones, a 24-year-old Glasgow University theatre graduate, created the play with writer and longtime collaborator, Stephen Redman. ‘Stephen wanted to show that people often hold onto things in the sky above at the expense of the people around them. You never want to get up on your high horse about things but you always want to make something that resonates with people and is grounded in real life.’
Flatrate started in 2008 when Jones and Redman began putting on plays in people’s flats – hence the name. Soon progressing to regular drama, music and spoken word nights at the 13th Note, Flatrate’s biggest success to date has been the critically acclaimed Zeros Keep Going, another Tron production. With strong writing and poignant issues under the microscope, The Belief Project is likely to follow suit. (Lauren Mayberry)