Theatre N O T S N H O J N H O J
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PREVIEW FESTIVAL BEHAVIOUR Arches, Glasgow, Fri 2 Mar–Sat 28 Apr
‘There are some performances I see and think right away, that’s a Behaviour show,’ says Arches artistic director Jackie Wylie. Controversial American dancer-performance- artist Ann Liv Young’s The Mermaid Show – performed naked apart from a silvery tail, trapped in a pool of water – immediately blipped on her Behaviour radar (Young also reinterprets Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’ and eviscerates a raw fish). ‘She is self-consciously provocative, you can’t just sit there in your seat and evaluate what goes on. It’s very interactive, she’s very combative.’
Over the two months of Behaviour, there will be many
such provocative, unexpected and envelope-pushing performances across the city. The festival is busting out of the Arches and taking over street corners, shops, museums and hairdressers. The Silence of Bees, a new piece from Roadkill writer Stef Smith, is set among the bathbombs of Lush. In Haircuts by Children, by Canadian site-specific specialists Mammalian Driving Reflex, a class of ten-year-olds will spend a fortnight learning the basics of barbering in a city centre salon. The show then consists of them cutting the audience’s hair, without adult intervention.
‘I want people to stumble across events,’ says Wylie. ‘We want to make an intervention in every day life, create a visual spectacle. Eilidh MacAskill of Fish & Game, for example, tootling around Kelvingrove Museum, the Riverside and points in between on her bicycle, presenting three events celebrating the liberating power of two- wheeled transport.’
Behaviour is also a chance to catch up with 2011 Fringe
hits such as The Oh Fuck Moment, Maybe if You Choreograph Me You Will Feel Better and White Rabbit Red Rabbit. ‘We want to create a platform for the best Scottish work and put that beside companies with international status,’ says Wylie. ‘And make the city feel more fun for a couple of months.’ (Anna Burnside)
REVIEW COMEDY DOUBLE BILL DOUBLE NUGGET Touring Scotland until Sat 10 Mar. Seen at Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 15 Feb ●●●●● REVIEW ADAPTATION OF MICE AND MEN Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh, until Sat 17 Mar ●●●●●
REVIEW COMEDY DRAMA STEEL MAGNOLIAS Dundee Rep, until Sat 10 Mar ●●●●●
Lovers of Johnny McKnight’s brand of pathos-laden, observational comedy will find some moments to enjoy in Mary Massacre (such as a sullen, gossipy sales assistant in Argos or the dubious joys of online dating). However, the twin track monologues of unhappily married Jenny and lonely optimist Leyla lack the comic consistency of McKnight’s past output (such as the Little Johnny trilogy). More importantly, perhaps, this dark comedy is too light to carry the tragic twist of its dénouement. The less said about its companion playlet, Seven
Year Itch, the better. A supposed true life story of religious homophobia and homicidal resentment in a Chicago office, wrapped inside an absurdist Glasgow office comedy (complete with Dolly Parton as God), contained within a postmodern theatrical in-joke, it demands some virtuosity from its two- strong cast (Julie Brown and Martin McCormick). However, when the kind of single-entendres that one might (possibly) find funny at the end of a drunken party (the office workers are called Jenny Talia and Drew Peacock) find their way into your play, you really should consider a rewrite. (Leo Ramsay)
112 THE LIST 1–29 Mar 2012
Director John Dove breaks his run of eminently solid Arthur Miller plays at the Lyceum with this eminently solid adaptation of John Steinbeck. And in a similar style to shows like 2010’s The Price, the sets here are towering, intricate and beautiful, providing an evocative backdrop to the action. Below them, the story of nippy farmhand George
(William Ash) and his big, simple friend Lennie (Steve Jackson) plays out. The pair are migrant workers, forever forced to move on by the improprieties resulting from Lennie’s feeble-mindedness and pursuing the dream of a place of their own. The relationship between the two is tenderly convincing, Jackson putting in a sensitive performance as the simpleton who just wants to touch nice, soft things, be they baby mice or girls’ dresses. Some wobbly Southern American accents occasionally detract from the earnestness of the characters’ hopes and dreams, making Peter Kelly’s Candy perhaps even more of an oddball than intended, but performances are generally strong. And if the overall emotional impact is slight, the aftertaste left by the conclusion of this sorry tale is quietly shocking. (Laura Ennor)
You should maybe seek a second opinion on this one. Judging by the full house and the warm reception, the Rep’s decision to stage Robert Harling’s play – best known for the big-screen adaptation with Julia Roberts and Dolly Parton – demonstrates a shrewd understanding of its audience. Perhaps it’s only me who struggles to stay interested in the inane dialogue and who squirms at the horrible sentimentality of it all. I’m obviously not the target market.
Those who are, presumably see something I don’t
in the meandering chit-chat that characterises the bulk of this bitter-sweet comedy as six women from a provincial town in the Deep South shoot the breeze in a beauty salon. They must enjoy the feeling of female camaraderie, forged over manicures and haircuts in spite of everyone’s cookie little foibles. And they must be taken in by Harling’s heavily signalled story about the fatal consequences of diabetes. If they do, they’ll appreciate the energy and charm
of Jemima Levick’s cast – Ann Louise Ross and Irene Macdougall being particularly strong. For me, though, it’s slight and insipid. (Mark Fisher)