Theatre
REVIEW NEW WORK GIRL X Dundee Rep, Tue 12 Apr. Seen at Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Sun 6 Mar. For touring schedule see www.nationaltheatrescotland.com ●●●●●
Girl X was inspired by the real-life case of a pre-pubescent girl with learning difficulties whose mother successfully sought legal approval to have her womb removed to spare her the discomfort of menstruation. The show’s creators Robert Softley and Pol Heyvaert have structured their show around internet debates on the incident and its wider implications. The participants in this debate are a disparate 16-strong Greek chorus whose reactions to the Girl X case are challenged – sometimes with wry humour, sometimes with barely repressed fury – by the main performer, Softley. The discussion is peppered with the prejudices, divergent views and digressions that characterise internet forums and there are some amusing forays into song from the chorus. After a while, though, the format feels a little repetitive, and, although the subject matter is important, controversial and compelling, the way the text has been constructed rather limits the show’s dramatic potential.
The piece really comes into its own when Softley – a disabled rights activist who has cerebral palsy – and the chorus dispense with the niceties and the debate becomes personal. There’s a chilling moment when the chorus draws attention to the surtitles above the stage, put there, they claim, to help the audience understand what Softley is saying. At another point Softley questions whether any of the chorus would ever want to fuck him.
As with any ongoing debate this piece is left open-ended, but it succeeds in highlighting the complex nature of issues surrounding disability sexuality and wider disability rights in a way that is rarely expressed so directly in theatre. (Allan Radcliffe) L L E R R A F W E R D
REVIEW CLASSIC MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN Tron Theatre, Glasgow, until Sat 2 Apr. Seen at Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, Sat 12 Mar ●●●●● REVIEW REVIVAL GAGARIN WAY Currently touring. Seen at Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, Sat 19 Mar ●●●●●
The depressing thing about Brecht is that his plays never go out of date. At a time when western governments stand accused of propping up corrupt dictatorships with a lucrative arms trade, his black comedic musical on the commodification of war and the drubbing the little man takes whoever’s in charge couldn’t seem more ripe for an airing.
The German writer’s ideas have certainly been kept alive by Birds of Paradise
Theatre Company, which employs the chapter introductions and musical interludes familiar to any student of Brechtian theatre; that the actors have something akin to an autocue screen facing the audience is perhaps a technique too far, as it turns out to be rather distracting and exposes the odd script slip-up. Lee Hall’s translation of that script is witty, bawdy and vibrant, and it’s brought to colourful life by Alison Peebles in the title role, who gets the lion’s share of the crudeness and most of the best lines. A charismatic, foot-stomping and fickle character, Mother Courage is a caricature, but in Peebles’ powerful performance she’s one you can relate to. The rest of the show is good fun, though a few rough edges in the accents and reactions take the shine off it a little. Still deserving of mention are Ashley Smith, who shows the many shades of Courage’s mute daughter Kattrin, while Garry Robson comfortably excels as an array of comic nasty pieces of work. (Laura Ennor)
Playwright Gregory Burke may be best known for the endlessly garlanded and ceaselessly touring Black Watch, but, judging by the packed and noisily receptive crowd at the Brunton in mid-March, theatregoers also have fond memories of his debut, the blackly comic kidnap-gone-wrong thriller, Gagarin Way. Rapture Theatre’s revival largely justifies this sense of excitement. Michael
Emans’ production of the play – about a pair of factory workers who kidnap a consultant, either for ideological political reasons or purely for kicks – proceeds at a breathless pace with the emphasis squarely on the witty lines and snappy rhythm of Burke’s text.
This is enhanced by a quartet of excellent performances – notably Jimmy Chisholm as Gary, the hapless would-be revolutionary and Jordan Young, controlled but terrifying as the psychotic Eddie, a man who would delight in ripping the legs off your pet terrier.
This makes for an entertaining evening, but somewhere along the way, Burke’s wider concerns about the need for political engagement in a socially dysfunctional society get lost in the relentless barrage of jokes. And when the downbeat ending comes around, it doesn’t feel as though the idealistic side of the political debate – as represented by Gary – has been given enough of a chance to put its case. (Allan Radcliffe)
114 THE LIST 31 Mar–28 Apr 2011
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