list.co.uk/theatre
See Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow. David Hughes Dance: Last Orders Sat 1 Oct, 7.30pm. £10.75 (£8.75; under 18s £6). See The Arches, Glasgow. The Selfish Giant Wed 5 Oct. See Kids listings. Lord of the Flies Fri 7 & Sat 8 Oct, 7.30pm. £11.25 (£9.25; under 18s £6). Sell A Door Theatre Company presents an adaptation of William Golding’s tale of incipient savagery in a group of shipwrecked schoolboys. The Hunted Sat 15 Oct. See Kids listings. ■ THE EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE 18-22 Greenside Place, 0844 847 1660. Essence of Ireland Tue 27 Sep, 7.30pm. £29.25. A toe-tapping mix of Irish dance and music, featuring a live band. All the Fun of the Fair Tue 4–Sat 8 Oct, 7.30pm (Wed & Sat mat 2.30pm). £24.25–£37.25. David Essex returns to the stage in a musical inspired by his first album.
■ EDINBURGH FESTIVAL THEATRE 13–29 Nicolson Street, 529 6000. Rhinestone Mondays Thu 22–Sat 24 Sep, 7.30pm (Thu & Sat mat 2.30pm). £18.50–£24.50. Comedy about the feuding members of Warbleswick ‘Monday Night All Star Line Dancing Club,’ set to well loved country western hits. ✽✽ Wayne McGregor/Random Dance: Far Tue 4 & Wed 5 Oct, 7.30pm. £14–£22. The latest work from the Royal Ballet’s resident choreographer, Wayne McGregor, looking at themes of body and sentience. See preview, page 108. Street Scene Fri 7–Sat 8 Oct, 7.30pm (Sat mat 2.30pm). £19.50–£28.50. A day in the life of New York City in the 1940s in this musical/opera with lyrics from Harlem poet Langston Hughes. Performed by The Opera Group. Para Handy Thu 13–Sat 15 Oct, 7.30pm (Sat mat 2.30pm). £16.50–£27.50 (£13.50–£24.50). See Theatre Royal, Glasgow. Slava’s Snowshow Tue 18–Sat 22 Oct, 7.30pm (Thu & Sat mat 2.30pm). £17.50–£27.50 (£14.50–£24.50). See King’s Theatre, Glasgow. ■ NORTH EDINBURGH ARTS CENTRE 15a Pennywell Court, 315 2151. Calum’s Road Sat 24 Sep, 7.30pm. £4 (‘Good Neighbours’ £2.50). See Tron Theatre, Glasgow.
Head Chopped Off Until Sat 8 ■ ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE Grindlay Street, 248 4848. ✽✽ Mary, Queen of Scots Got Her Oct (not Sun/Mon), 7.45pm (Sat & Wed mat 2.30pm). £14.50–£29. Dundee Rep Ensemble and Royal Lyceum Theatre present their first co-production as part of a two-year partnership. Liz Lochhead’s celebrated play tells the familiar story of the life of Mary Stuart through the Makar’s typically witty and robust language. See review, right.
■ SCOTTISH STORYTELLING CENTRE 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Dream or Not? Sat 8 Oct, 7.30–8.30pm. £6 (£4). Storytelling theatre presented using sign language by Actual Signs, telling three short stories about they ways men and women interact. Part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival. The Old Woman Who Lived in A . . . Sat 15 Oct, 3pm & 7.30pm. £5 (£3). Whatever happened to the poor children of the old woman who lived in a shoe? This modern retelling of the nursery rhyme meets them – now grown up – in the Café of No Tomorrows as they confront their feelings about the Old Woman. Ages 12+. Part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival.
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Theatre
Doorways in Drumorty Thu 22 Sep, 7.30pm. £14 (£8–£12). The charming tale of a gossipy town in Edwardian north-east Scotland, scripted by Mike Gibb and based on the writings of Lorna Moon. Gospel of Matthew Fri 23 Sep, 7.30pm. £15 (£8–£13). George Dillon’s performance of the first gospel with original music and video, inspired by Dillon’s chance meeting with Bob Geldof at a subway station. Singing Far Into the Night Sat 24 Sep, 7.30pm. £15 (£8–£13). See Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow. Uncharted Waters Thu 29 Sep, 7.30pm. £10 (£8). New wave circus from All or Nothing & Strangebird Zirkus blending aerial tricks with gorgeous visuals to create a strange world teetering on the edge of reality. Lord of the Flies Fri 30 Sep, 7.30pm. £15 (£8–£13). See Brunton Theatre, Edinburgh. Acari Sat 1 Oct, 7.30pm. £10. Comedy- laced hypnosis stage show. Hamlet: Cut to the Bone Tue 4 Oct, 7.30pm. £13 (£8–£10). David Keller stars in a one-man performance of Shakespeare’s classic that aims to cut straight to the essence of the play’s characters. Macbeth: Sliced to the Core Wed 5 Oct, 7.30pm. £13 (£8–£10). The second one-man tragedy in as many nights from David Keller, this time tackling Shakespeare’s darkest play in just 70 minutes. The Hunted Fri 7 Oct. See Kids listings. I, Elizabeth Wed 12 Oct, 7.30pm. £15 (£8–£13). A study of Queen Elizabeth I at 25, looking at the young monarch as she steps out of the shadows and shares her world views in a play based on Elizabeth’s own writings, speeches and letters.
■ DUNDEE REP Tay Square, Dundee, 01382 223530. Big Pants and Botox Tue 27 Sep–Sat 1 Oct, 7.30pm; except Fri 30 Sep, 6pm & 8.30pm. £11–£16 (£7–£14). Rebecca Wheatley (Casualty) stars in Louise Roche’s play about a woman pausing to reflect on life, having just endured a ‘significant’ birthday. My Romantic History Wed 5 & Thu 6 Oct, 7.30pm. £10–£14 (£8–£12; students £6–£10). See Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow. Baby Baby Wed 12 & Thu 13 Oct, 7.30pm. £14 (£7–£10). Dundee Rep Ensemble presents a play by Vivian French about two teenagers who have nothing in common until they both end up in the same school for young mums. ✽✽ Mary, Queen of Scots Got Her Oct–Sat 5 Nov (not Sun/Mon), 7.30pm (Thu 27 & Sat 29 Oct, Thu 3 Nov mat 2.30pm). £12–£19 (£10–£17; students £8–£15). See Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh. Head Chopped Off Wed 19
■ MACROBERT University of Stirling, Stirling, 01786 466666. Kathakbox Fri 23 Sep, 7.30pm. £12 (£7–£9). Sonia Sabri Company presents its inimitable brand of Urban Kathak, a style brings the movement and rhythms of Indian Kathak and hip hop together. See preview, page 108. My Romantic History Tue 27 Sep, 7.30pm. £12 (£7–£9). See Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow. Uncharted Waters Wed 28 Sep, 7.30pm. £12 (£7–£9). See Byre Theatre, St Andrews. Lord of the Flies Wed 5 Oct, 7.30pm. £12 (£7–£9). See Brunton Theatre, Edinburgh. David Hughes Dance: Last Orders Sat 8 Oct, 7.30pm. £12 (£7–£9). See The Arches, Glasgow. Apocalypse Tue 11 Oct, 7.30pm. £12 (£7–£9). See Tron Theatre, Glasgow. Saturday Night Wed 19 Oct, 7.30pm. £12 (£7–£9). See Tramway, Glasgow.
22 Sep–20 Oct 2011 THE LIST 111
REVIEW REVIVAL MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS GOT HER HEAD CHOPPED OFF Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh, until Sat 15 Oct ●●●●●
Liz Lochhead’s powerful, playful dissection of a key chapter in Scotland’s history may have debuted at the height of the Thatcherite 80s, but the play’s central themes – the pernicious effects of sectarianism, the Scots’ complex relationship with our nearest neighbours and the thorny path negotiated by women in power – are more urgently relevant than ever. Tony Cownie’s production for the Lyceum underlines this sense of immediacy, surrounding his historical figures with contemporary objects such as mobile phones and traffic cones in the style of a Caravaggio Biblical scene, and presenting the action on a cluttered set featuring such anachronisms as a red phone box and a wall covered in graffiti. The performances, too, capture the mix of ribald irreverence and
seriousness in the script. Shauna Macdonald brings a quiet determination and desperation to the role of Mary, while Liam Brennan gives a blistering turn as John Knox, portraying the clergyman as a bellowing Orangeman driven almost demented by his fearful fascination with the beautiful queen. Ann Louise Ross, meanwhile, is in feisty, energetic form as the play’s narrator, La Corbie. While rooted in historical events, Lochhead’s text is never more than a beat or two away from the present tense. The play’s bold final scene, in which the players take on the role of children mercilessly bullying their sole Catholic schoolmate is a shocking depiction of sectarianism’s ugly first stirrings and a timely reminder of its potential to drive vast rifts through societies. (Allan Radcliffe)
Wicked Grimm Tales Mon 17 Oct. See Kids listings. ■ TRAVERSE THEATRE Cambridge Street, 228 1404. Whose View of Life? Or . . . Men and Monkeys Revisited Fri 30 Sep, 7.30pm. £6. Peter Arnott, the Traverse’s resident playwright at the University of Edinburgh’s Genomics Forum, presents a piece that interrogates arguments at the heart of existence, dealing with genetics and evolution. ✽✽ The Salon Project Mon 10, Wed 12, Fri 14, Sun 16, Tue 18, Thu 20 & Sat 22 Oct, 6pm. £25. Interactive theatrical happening is set to mimic, in full 360-degree detail, the atmosphere and spirit of a Parisian Salon. See preview, page 104. A Play, a Pie & a Pint: Dig Tue 11–Sat 15 Oct, 1pm. £12. See Òran Mór, Glasgow. Apocalypse Thu 13–Sat 15 Oct, 8pm.
£15–£17 (£6–£13). See Tron Theatre, Glasgow. A Play, a Pie & a Pint: You Cannot Go Forward From Where You Are Right Now Tue 18–Sat 22 Oct, 1pm. £12. See Òran Mór, Glasgow.
■ VOODOO ROOMS The Voodoo Rooms, 19a West Register Street, 556 7060. Missy Malone & Friends Burlesque Revue Fri 14 Oct, 8pm. £21. An early Hallowe’en special hosted by Edinburgh favourite Missy Malone who’ll be joined by Des O’Connor, Leyla Rose, Cat Aclysmic and Velma Von Bon Bon for some utterly immodest fun. OUTSIDE THE CITIES
■ BYRE THEATRE Abbey Street, St Andrews, 01334 475000.