Theatre Fame Tue 7–Sat 11 Feb, 7.30pm (Sat mat 2.30pm). £9.50–£14. Join the class of ‘84 as they learn that there’s no business like showbusiness. Performed by Glasgow Music Theatre. Singin’ I’m No a Billy He’s a Tim Thu 16 Feb, 7.30pm. £13 (£11; students £9). Goldfish Theatre presents its take on Des Dillon’s classic anti-sectarian play, which has a Rangers and a Celtic fan locked up together in a cell for the duration of an Old Firm match. Swan Lake Sat 18 Feb, 7.30pm. £13 (£11; students £9). Ballet West present the dark tale of a prince who falls in love with a swan maiden, with original choreography set to Tchaikovsky’s moving score. See preview, page 112. Double Nugget Tue 28 Feb, 7.30pm. £13 (£9–£11). Random Accomplice presents two short plays: Mary Massacre, the bittersweet tale of two hopeless women stuck in an endless loop of waiting and wanting, and Seven Year Itch, which is based on the true story of a murdered American office worker, told with a darkly comic twist. See preview, page 110.
■ KING’S THEATRE 297 Bath Street, 0844 871 7648.
✽✽ All New People Tue 14–Sat 18 Feb, 7.30pm (Wed & Sat mat 2.30pm). £12–£29.50. Zach Braff (Scrubs and Garden State) brings his self-penned (and self-starring) comedy to Glasgow for a short run before hitting London’s West End. A man celebrates his 35th birthday with an array of misfits, yearning only for a bit of peace and quiet. See feature, page 22. Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker Tue 21–Sat 25 Feb, 7.30pm (Wed & Sat mat 2.30pm). £17.50–£40.50. Matthew Bourne camps up the classic ballet with his trademark wit and theatrical flair. Beyond the Barricade Mon 27 Feb, 7.30pm. £18.50–£22.50. A selection of the best-loved songs from new and classic West End shows like The Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia, The Lion King and Les Miserables. All The Fun of the Fair Tue 28 Feb–Sat 3 Mar, 7.30pm (Wed & Sat mat 2.30pm). £15–£37.50. David Essex performs from his repertoire of hits and brand new songs in this musical featuring candy floss, dodgems, fighting and romance.
■ MITCHELL THEATRE 6 Granville Street, 287 2999. Oklahoma! Wed 22–Sat 25 Feb, 7.30pm (Sat mat 2.30pm). £12–£15 (£7–£10). It’s the granddaddy of the modern musical, the first one that didn’t rely on ritzy production numbers, the first one in which the songs advanced the action instead of bringing it to a halt. The Cecilian Society performs Rodgers and Hammerstein’s tale of a cowboy, his gal and the small town where they live in rural America.
WIN TICKETS TO
list.co.uk/offers 114 THE LIST 2 Feb–1 Mar 2012
■ OFFSHORE 3/5 Gibson Street, 07748 363354. The Valentine’s Day Special Fri 10–Sun 12 Feb, 7–9pm. £6. Two very different love stories from Attune Theatre.
■ ÒRAN MÓR 731-735 Great Western Road, 357 6200. For Play, Pie & Pint tickets call 0844 477 1000. A Play, a Pie & a Pint: Sex, Chips and the Holy Ghost Until Sat 4 Feb, 1pm. £8–£12.50. A playfully provocative new work from Jo Clifford about love and the cloth. Ticket price for this and all other Play, Pie & Pint performances includes a pie and drink. See page 117. A Play, a Pie & a Pint: Born to Run Mon 6–Sat 11 Feb, 1pm. £8–£12.50. National Theatre of Scotland emerging artist Gary McNair (the man behind Crunch – aka the money shredding show) presents a new piece about testing the human body to its limits. Regret Sat 11–Sun 12 Feb, 7.30pm (Sun mat 2.30pm). £10. A play about the traumatic causes and effects of homelessness in contemporary Britain, from Estrado Arts.
✽✽ A Play, a Pie & a Pint: Spirit of Adventure Mon 13–Sat 18 Feb,
1pm. £8–£12.50. In the centenary year of Scott’s ill-fated expedition to the South Pole, Oliver Emanuel presents a tragicomic take on the plight of the heroes of exploration’s Golden Age. A Play, a Pie & a Pint: Serov’s People Mon 20–Sat 25 Feb, 1pm. £8–£12.50. A new play by Peter Arnott, about talking paintings in an art gallery of the future.
Alasdair Gray’s Fleck Sun 26 Feb, 6pm. £12. After a sell-yer-granny-for-a- ticket debut at Edinburgh International Book Festival last year, Alasdair Gray’s modern adaptation of Faust gets another outing courtesy of Margins Book and Music Festival, with an equally starry cast including Alan Bissett, Allan Wilson, Zoe Strachan, Louise Welsh, Chiew Siah-Tei, Rodge Glass, Carl MacDougall and Gray himself. Part of Margins Book & Music Festival. A Play, a Pie & a Pint: The Jean- Jacques Rousseau Show Mon 27 Feb–Sat 3 Mar, 1pm. £8–£12.50. For its 250th play, the venerable lunchtime theatre project has called on the services of ‘every young, firebrand writer we could recruit and a few old gits who have never grown up’ to produce a new work. The result is a playful interpretation of Rousseau’s idea of the social contract. Beware playwrights brandishing pens and contracts . . . ■ PAVILION THEATRE 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. Peter Powers Fridays & Saturdays, 3–25 Feb; Fri 7.30pm; Sat 7.30pm & midnight. £11–£14 (family, available Fri only, £24). ‘The Ali G of stage hypnosis’ returns again. Friday shows are suitable for families, Saturday early shows for teens and adults, and midnight shows strictly over-18s only. Jukebox Memories Valentine Special Tue 14–Wed 15 Feb, 7.30pm (Wed mat 2pm). £13.50–£16.50. A love songs special featuring hits from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s performed by Dean Parks, Christian, The Swingcats
PREVIEW NEW PLAY MWANA Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 10–Sat 18 Feb; Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 22–Sat 25 Feb
Mwana is a salad boy. It’s a Zimbabwean joke, that people who live in the country and eat a heavy, starchy diet call the urban lettuce-munchers. Despite this dietary preference Mwana comes to Glasgow to study and Tawona Sithole’s play takes his return to Harare for his brother’s wedding as the starting point to reveal a family’s hidden secrets, and dissect the disappearance of the indigenous culture of his homeland. While Mwana is not autobiographical it is certainly personal. Sithole, 38,
came to Scotland as a student in 1996. A performance poet and writer, this is his first play. ‘The story is close to me,’ he says, while between rehearsals. ‘It’s based on my experiences, being raised in Zimbabwe, feeling that society is ignoring its own influences. In these post-colonial times, people are ignoring traditional learning.’ Within Sithole’s family oral traditions – music, storytelling, ceremonies and
celebrations – were all important. ‘I’m so glad I experienced that. It has given me an insight into my own heritage, there’s a knowledge there compared to my peers who have not had these experiences.’
Sithole has been developing Mwana with Glasgow-based Ankur Productions since 2007 and is understandably excited to see it finally coming together. ‘These are my observations,’ he says, ‘but I think these themes are universal in traditional cultures. Zimbabwe now has a cut and paste culture of TV and film. You dismiss your own culture if all you want to do is copy somebody else’s.’ (Anna Burnside)
and Chris Scougal with the Jukebox Dancers.
■ PLATFORM The Bridge, 1000 Westerhouse Road, Easterhouse, 276 9696.
✽✽ PUSH Fri 17 & Sat 18 Feb, 7.30pm. £8 (£3.50–£4.50). Multimedia dance
theatre conceived by Christine Devaney and her company Curious Seed (also behind 2009’s found), following the twisted logic of a dream and exploring what causes us to push out against the world, or what pushes our buttons. See preview, page 112.
■ GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. Madama Butterfly Sun 26 Feb, 7.30pm. £19.50–£32. Puccini’s heart- breaking tale of a fragile young Japanese girl who falls tragically in love with an American naval lieutenant. La Traviata Mon 27 Feb, 7.30pm. £19.50–£32. Ellen Kent and Opera International present the tragic tale of searing passion from the pen of Giuseppe Verdi. ■ ROYAL CONSERVATOIRE OF SCOTLAND 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. Notes to Self Wed 29 Feb–Sat 3 Mar, 7.30pm. £10.50 (£7.50). The first in a series of new musical theatre pieces from the Conservatoire’s second year Musical Theatre students.
■ SECC Finnieston Quay, 0844 395 4000. Strictly Come Dancing Fri 10 Feb, 7.30pm, Sat 11 Feb, 2.30pm & 7.30pm, Sun 12 Feb, 1.30pm. £42.50–£65. See stars from the hit TV show (including Harry Judd, Anita Dobson, Nancy Dell’Olio, Chelsee Healey and Jason Donovan) gather their gowns and don their dancing shoes once again.
■ THEATRE ROYAL 282 Hope Street, 0844 871 7647. Scottish Opera: Hansel and Gretel Sat 4, Wed 8 & Fri 10 Feb, 7.15pm, Sun 12 Feb, 4pm. £9.50–£67. Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel is an unlikely but highly effective synthesis of Wagnerian techniques with folk-inspired tunes; a darkly funny folktale that has never been out of the repertoire since Richard Strauss conducted the premiere back in 1893. This production features Estonian mezzo Kai Rüütel as Hansel, Irish soprano Ailish Tynan as Gretel and Leah-Marian Jones as the Witch. Go Dance 12 Tue 14–Sat 18 Feb, 7.30pm. £8.50–£16. A dance festival showcasing Scotland’s dance talent, with performers from tons of community groups, dance schools and colleges. An Inspector Calls Tue 21–Sat 25 Feb, 7.30pm (Wed, Thu & Sat mat 2.30pm). £8.50–£31.50. JB Priestly’s compelling psychological thriller about the unexpected arrival of an inspector into a supposedly respectable dinner party. ✽✽ An Appointment with the Wicker Man Tue 28 Feb–Sat 3
Mar, 7.30pm (Wed & Sat mat 2.30pm). £9–£29.50. Original new musical written by Greg Hemphill and Donald McLeary and directed by the National Theatre of Scotland’s director Vicky Featherstone, in which a Highlands-based am dram group prepare an all-singing, all-dancing version of The Wicker Man, only to have their lead actor go missing in mysterious circumstances at the last moment. Recommended for ages 16+. See preview, page 111.
■ TRAMWAY 25 Albert Drive, 0845 330 3501. Only Your Pre Formance is Cult Fri 24 Feb, 8.45pm. Day pass £6; festival pass £14. Experimental theatre directed by NTS Emerging Artist Amanda Monfrooe exploring ideas of consciousness and critical awareness. Part of Arika12 Episode 2: A Special Form of Darkness.
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