Theatre
Standing Stanes Thu 3–Tue 8 May (not Sun), 8pm (Sat mat 4pm). £10 (£8; all matinee tickets £6). Siege Perilous presents a play by Robert Ballantine, set in the 1980s, about an idealistic young man whose efforts to improve his community are blocked at every turn by excessive, unfeeling bureaucracy. ■ OUT OF THE BLUE DRILL HALL 30–36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, 555 7101. Circus Cabaret Sat 28 Apr, 8pm. £10. Contemporary circus cabaret from Strangebird Zirkus celebrating a theme of ‘East meets West’ and 20 years of the work of charity Edinburgh Direct Aid.
■ THE PLEASANCE CABARET BAR 60 Pleasance, 556 6550. The Sugar Revue Fri 4 May, 8pm. £15 (£12). The delectable Madame Myfanwy, Welsh diva and comedienne, is your host for this evening of dazzling burlesque and cabaret from Red Hot Annie (all the way from Chicago), Cherry Loco and Wild Card Kitty.
■ ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE Grindlay Street, 248 4848. The Lieutentant of Inishmore Until Sat 12 May (not Sun/Mon), 7.45pm (Sat 28 Apr, Wed 2, Sat 5 & Sat 12 May mat 2.30pm). £14.50–£29. In a gruesomely absurd comedy, a one-man terrorist faction is suddenly not so tough when he finds out that his cat is poorly. See review, page 109. Curtains Tue 15–Sat 19 May, 7.30pm (Sat mat 2.30pm). £17–£20 (£14–£17). The Southern Light Opera Company presents Kander and Ebb’s comedy whodunit musical. Carmen Wed 23–Sat 26 May, 7.15pm. £10–£28. Edinburgh Grand Opera brings the heat and passion of the Seville bullring to Scotland with a new production of Georges Bizet’s classic. ■ SCOTTISH STORYTELLING CENTRE 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. The Ollissey Fri 11 & Sat 12 May. See Kids listings. Gender Specific Fri 11 & Sat 12 May. See Kids listings. BANG! Sat 12 May. See Kids listings. Limited Editions 2 Tue 15 May–Thu 17 May, 7.30pm. £7 (£5). New short plays by emerging writers including Alan Gordon and Sam Siggs, performed by Strange Town Young Company.
■ ST NINIAN’S HALL Comely Bank Road. Booking via edinburghtheatrearts.com Macbeth in Scots Tue 1–Sat 5 May, 7.30pm. £10 (£8). A dark and brooding version of the Scottish play from Edinburgh Theatre Arts, putting Lorimer’s Scots translation to challenging and unusual use.
116 THE LIST 26 Apr–24 May 2012
■ TRAVERSE THEATRE Cambridge Street, 228 1404. A Play, a Pie & a Pint: Could You Please Look Into the Camera Thu 26 & Fri 27 Apr, 1pm; Sat 28 Apr, 12.30pm. £12. The lunchtime theatre slot is filled by a play by an anonymous Syrian playwright, cutting straight to the heart of the current political and social maelstrom in the country. Ticket price includes a pie and drink. Platform 18 New Work Award Double Bill Thu 26–Sat 28 Apr, 7pm. £15 (£6–£11). Kieran Hurley presents Beats, which explores the links between the outlawing of illegal raves in the early 1990s and the current government’s criminalisation of protest movements, while Gary Gardiner’s Thatcher’s Children is a physical theatre work exploring the legacy of Margaret Thatcher and the notion of leadership. Pass the Spoon Thu 26–Sat 28 Apr, 7.30pm (Sat mat 2.30pm). £15–£17 (£6–£13). Foodie opera featuring vegetables, a dung beetle and a singing piece of excrement, from artist David Shrigley, theatre company Magnetic North and composer David Fennessy. A Play, a Pie & a Pint: Dear Glasgow Tue 1–Sat 5 May, 1pm. £12.
See Òran Mór, Glasgow. A Play, a Pie & a Pint: Damascus Alleppo Tue 15–Sat 19 May, 1pm. £12. See Òran Mór, Glasgow. I Not I Fri 18 May, 7.30pm. £17 (£13). Dance theatre by choreographer Colette Sadler, creating hybrids of animal, human and object. A Play, a Pie & a Pint: Sleeping Beauty Insomnia Tue 22–Sat 26 May, 1pm. £12. See Òran Mór, Glasgow. The Captain’s Collection Tue 22 & Wed 23 May, 7.30pm. £15 (£6–£11). Dogstar Theatre tells the story of Highland composer Captain Simon Fraser with a blend of history, drama, music and humour.
■ VARIOUS VENUES imaginate.org.uk/festival, booking via Traverse Theatre, see above for details. Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival Mon 7–Mon 14 May. Festival of high-quality children’s theatre. See Kids section for more info. OUTSIDE THE CITIES
■ BYRE THEATRE Abbey Street, St Andrews, 01334 475000.
PREVIEW HISTORICAL DRAMA ANNE BOLEYN Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Tue 8–Sat 12 May
TS Eliot may have been weirder than an ultraviolet raccoon, but he had some good lines. One of them was that civil wars never really end. It might explain our enduring fascination with the Tudors: Henry VIII’s decision to divorce his first wife and marry Anne Boleyn was the first tremor of a violent faith-quake that rumbles to this day, which perhaps explains why Howard Brenton has chosen Boleyn as the central figure of his new play. Brenton was young in the 1960s and he still carries some of that decade’s spark of millennial utopianism, a trait he also ascribes to his heroine. He sees Boleyn as both a sexually fearless young woman and something like ‘an English Joan of Arc with a mission’. ‘I’ve no doubt her love for Henry was real,’ he says. ‘And she believed she was doing God’s will: with Thomas Cromwell she helped make the English Reformation.’ The play was written for Shakespeare’s Globe and Brenton credits that stage with encouraging a rapid interplay between comedy and seriousness. It’s an attempt to reimagine Boleyn in all her complexity, even if, as Brenton notes, Anne turns to the audience at one point and admits that ‘she cannot understand and wonders if we understand her.’
Brenton is good at unexpected takes on history, having written the scalding
The Romans in Britain as well as an intriguingly sympathetic portrait of Macmillan, Never So Good. Critics across the political spectrum have raved about Anne Boleyn: the Tudors are the dynasty that keeps on giving. (Alex Johnston)
Cara de Plata Sat 28 Apr, 7.30pm. £2. A Spanish-language production by local students of Ramón del Valle-Inclán’s brutal comedy. ✽✽ Kidnapped: A Scottish Swashbuckler Sat 5 May, 7.30pm. £13–£15 (£8). See Brunton Theatre, Edinburgh. The Captain’s Collection Thu 10 May, 7.30pm. £12 (£8–£10). See Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. The Murder of Maria Marten Thu 10 May, 7.30pm. £8. Brian J Burton’s musical melodrama told in the finest music hall tradition. Ballet Central Sat 19 May, 7.30pm. £14 (£8–£10). The touring company of the Central School of Ballet presents a programme of ballet, contemporary dance and jazz. ■ DUNDEE REP Tay Square, Dundee, 01382 223530. ✽✽ Further Than the Furthest Thing Thu 26 Apr–Sat 5 May (not Sun), 7.30pm (Thu & Sat mat 2.30pm). £8. An intriguing play by Zinnie Harris about the inhabitants of an isolated island whose peaceful life is shattered when an apparently dormant volcano erupts and they find themselves thrust into a new, technologically-advanced environment. The Captain’s Collection Fri 11 May, 7.30pm. £14 (£10–£12). See Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. Kidnapped: A Scottish Swashbuckler Tue 15 & Wed 16 May, 7.30pm. £6–£14. See Brunton Theatre, Edinburgh. Italia ’n’ Caledonia Fri 18 May, 7.30pm. £10 (£8). A warm-hearted look at the Scots Italian community.
■ MACROBERT University of Stirling, Stirling, 01786 466666. Scottish Community Drama One Act Play Festival Thu 26–Sat 28 Apr, 7pm. £12.50 per night; £32 for all three nights. The final of the festival featuring the winning performances from regional competitions. Dance@SU on Pointe Thu 3 May, 7.30pm. £8 (£5). Members of Stirling Uni’s dance society perform some of their best work. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Wed 9–Fri 11 May, 7.30pm. £7 (students £5). Stirling Uni’s drama society presents Ken Kesey’s classic tale of dictatorship and freedom on an American psychiatric ward. The Steamie Mon 14–Sat 19 May, 7.30pm (Wed & Sat mat 2pm). £14. See King’s Theatre, Glasgow. Michael Clark Company: come, been and gone Wed 23 & Thu 24 May, 7.30pm. £22.50 (£20.50). Clark presents the latest evolution of his dance piece choreographed to the music of David Bowie and his collaborators and influences. ■ PERTH THEATRE 185 High Street, Perth, 01738 621031. The Captain’s Collection Tue 1 May, 7.45pm. £14.50 (£10.50). See Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. The Steamie Mon 7–Sat 12 May, 7.45pm (Wed & Sat mat 2.30pm). £18–£22.50. See King’s Theatre, Glasgow. English Touring Opera: The Barber of Seville Thu 17 & Sat 19 May, 7.30pm. £23–£36. Rossini’s comic masterpiece about young Count Almaviva who masquerades as a student to win the heart of the beautiful Rosina. Part of Perth Festival of the Arts. English Touring Opera: Eugene Onegin Fri 18 May, 7.30pm. £23–£36. Tchaikovsky’s romantic tale of unrequited love set in 1820s Russia. Part of Perth Festival of the Arts. John Peel’s Shed Wed 23 May, 8pm. £10. An autobiographical ode to radio and one of its finest practitioners, the late, great John Peel. Part of Perth Festival of the Arts.