Theatre
■ KING’S THEATRE 297 Bath Street, 0844 871 7648. The Steamie Until Sat 26 May, 7.30pm (Sat mat 2.30pm). £12–£32. Tony Roper’s washhouse comedy celebrates its 25th anniversary. Dance School of Scotland Fri 15 & Sat 16 Jun, 1.30pm & 7.30pm. £8–£18. The annual showcase for musical theatre students from the Dance School of Scotland. La Cage Aux Folles Wed 20–Sat 23 Jun, 7.30pm (Sat mat 2.30pm); Fri 5pm & 8.30pm. £14–£21. In its first Glasgow performance for over ten years, the show about the farcical adventures of a glamorous gay couple and their future daughter-in-law’s ultra-conservative parents makes a glitzy return, courtesy of Glasgow’s oldest amateur musical society, The Orpheus Club.
■ MITCHELL THEATRE 6 Granville Street, 287 2999. Pulse 12 Tue 5 & Wed 6 Jun, 7.30pm. £12 (£10). Dance performance from students at Anniesland College. Part of the West End Festival. ■ OLD HAIRDRESSERS Opposite Stereo, Renfield Lane, 222 2254. The Play: Generations Apart Sun 17–Tue 19 Jun, 7.30pm. £6 (students £5). New work about four friends growing up in 1970s Britain and the paralysing plethora of choices they face.
■ ÒRAN MÓR 731-735 Great Western Road, 357 6200. A Play, a Pie & a Pint: One Day in Spring Until Sat 26 May, 1pm. £8–£12.50. Twenty-four young playwrights from the Arab world present dramatic snapshots of life in the region. Ticket price for this and all Play, Pie, Pint events below includes a pie and a drink. A Play, a Pie & a Pint: Sweet Dreams Mon 28 May–Sat 2 Jun, 1pm. £8–£12.50. New play by Ron Butlin about one woman’s attempt to relieve her husband of the stressful demands of modern life. Part of the West End Festival. A Play, a Pie & a Pint: The Brother’s Keeper Mon 4–Sat 9 Jun, 1pm. £8–£12.50. A new play by poet and playwright Peter MacDougall examines different aspects of relationships. Part of the West End Festival.
✽✽ Sol Summer Season of Classic Cuts: Pygmalion Mon 11–Sat 16 Jun, 1pm. £8–£12.50. Writer Sandy Nelson and director Liz Carruthers reset George Bernard Shaw’s classic tale in Edinburgh at the turn of the 20th century. See preview, page 127. Part of the West End Festival.
✽✽ Sol Summer Season of Classic Cuts: Ubu Roi Mon
18–Sat 23 Jun, 1pm. £8–£12.50. Marcus Roche adapts Alfred Jarry’s anarchic play about the megalomaniac murder who takes over a nation. See preview, page 127. Part of the West End Festival. ■ PAVILION THEATRE 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. Sinderella Until Sat 9 Jun (not Sun–Tue), 7.30pm (Sat mat 2pm). £17.50–£22.50. The world premiere of Jim Davidson’s new version (now set in Scotland) of his saucy, adults-only panto.
■ ROYAL CONSERVATOIRE OF SCOTLAND 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. RCS: The Threepenny Opera Thu 24–Sat 26 May, 7.30pm (Sat mat 2.30pm). £10.50 (£7.50). RCS students bring to life Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s wonderfully acid love letter to show business. the sky fell from your heart and landed in my eyes Wed 30 May–Fri 1 Jun, 7pm. £6 (£4). A devised piece about holding together and falling apart from first year Contemporary Performance Practice students. 130 THE LIST 24 May–21 Jun 2012
performs a new one-man adaptation of Macbeth from the National Theatre of Scotland. See feature, page 18.
■ TRON THEATRE 63 Trongate, 552 4267. Night and Day Thu 24–Sat 26 May, 8.30pm. £10 (£7). A two-act cabaret from Linden Tree, starring Ian Bustard and exploring the light and dark of Cole Porter’s songwriting ouevre. John Peel’s Shed Sat 26 May, 7.45pm. £15 (£12). An autobiographical ode to radio and one of its finest practitioners, the late, great John Peel. FREE Classics à la Carte Sun 27 May, 2–5pm. Choice extracts from classical literature, theatre and poetry, performed just for you, at your table by Strathclyde Theatre Group. Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme Thu 31 May–Sat 2 Jun, 7.45pm (Sat mat 2.30pm). £12 (£7). The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland presents Frank McGuinness’ play about the 36th Ulster Division, and their tragic destruction on France’s battlefields in 1916. Motherland Thu 31 May–Sat 2 Jun, 8pm (Sat mat 2.15pm). £10 (£7). Powerful drama drawing on the experiences of the mothers of serving soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, performed here by students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Average Joe Thu 7 & Fri 8 Jun, 7.30pm. £7. A play devised by participants in the Tron’s Skillshops drama classes for kids, about a boy who’s just in the middle of every pecking order, and therefore best placed to know what’s going on with just about everyone in school. The Curse of Class 2B Sat 9 Jun, 5.30pm. £7. Another production from the Tron’s young Skillshops attendees, all about a notorious class who surprise themselves and everyone else with their achievements. ✽✽ Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland 2012 Sun 10 Jun, 3pm. £15. Celebrate and commiserate with the stars of Scottish theatre. See preview in Noticeboard, page 11. Eight Tue 12–Sat 16 Jun, 8pm. £10 (£7). Ella Hickson’s collection of eight stories portrays a cross section of society today. Presented by New Up North in association with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
✽✽ The Chairs Wed 13–Sat 16 Jun, 7.45pm. £7–£15. Ireland’s Blue
Raincoat Theatre Company are masters of physical theatre; here they take on Eugene Ionesco’s absurdist parable about how you just can’t get a decent orator anymore. See preview, page 128. Some Other Mother Tue 19 Jun, 7.30pm. £5 (£3). A play exploring language, globalisation, solidarity and class through the struggles of a young African mother caring for her child in Glasgow. Part of Refugee Week. Glasgow Girls, The Musical Tue 19 & Wed 20 Jun, 7.45pm. £8 (£6). A sneak preview of a new musical work developed by Cora Bissett and David Greig in response to the true story of seven teenage girls from Glasgow who mounted a campaign to bring back their friend, an asylum seeker who had been removed from her home in a dawn raid. Part of Refugee Week. Don’t Forget Us + One Spirit Wed 20 Jun, 7.30pm. £8 (£5). A two-part show for Refugee Week. In Don’t Forget Us, Annet Henneman performs songs from Baghdad, Kurdistan, Palestine, Iran and Argentina, with stories of the people and places to whom they belong. In One Spirit, a group of young refugees from Glasgow perform music, parkour and story. Part of Refugee Week. True Colours + The Trouble With Me Thu 21 Jun, 2pm & 7.45pm. £6 (£4). Two devised works from Ignite Theatre, exploring identity and what happens when you stray from the tourist trail into dangerous territory. Part of Refugee Week.
PREVIEW MUSICAL OLIVER! Playhouse, Edinburgh, Wed 30 May–Sat 23 Jun
‘Cameron Mackintosh doesn’t do small,’ announces Brian Conley, his warm grin a lifetime away from the Fagin character he depicts in the Scots impressario’s successful revival of Oliver!. TV star Conley’s acclaimed turns in Jolson and Hairspray suggest a man with more than enough musical muster to match Mackintosh’s renowned theatrical magic, as Charles Dickens’ story of a mistreated workhouse orphan boy is reimagined, with a raft of unforgettable tunes from ‘Food Glorious Food’ and ‘Consider Yourself’ to ‘I’d Do Anything’.
‘He’s really created a spectacle,’ continues Conley. ‘From the huge musical numbers to some amazing special effects, not to mention the amazing young cast of Olivers and Dodgers going out every night . . . they’re just brilliant.’
Conley’s enthusiasm for the show, and his love of Lionel Bart’s
original script, encouraged him to bring his own comedic flurries to the character of Fagin. ‘Cameron was very open to us being a bit playful and bringing our own little twists to the character – so with some of the big Fagin numbers, I added a little bit of colour here and there . . .’ Ultimately, says Conley, whether you love the Dickens’ classic or
Bart’s musical retelling, there should be something here for everyone. ‘What’s so great is that the story is so recognisable to people, yet Cameron – and hopefully we as a cast – created something that still feels exciting and new. If people don’t leave the theatre singing, I’ll be disappointed.’ (Anna Millar)
Life After Life from the Wild Fire Winging Swiftly Into the Night Thu 7 & Fri 8 Jun, 7pm. £6 (£4). Experimental performance from RCS students, containing nudity and adult themes. Collaborations I: Choreography & Digital Technology Wed 13 & Thu 14 Jun, 7pm. £8 (£6). Innovative combinations of movement and digital technologies from Contemporary Performance Practice students. ■ THEATRE ROYAL 282 Hope Street, 0844 871 7647. Educating Rita Mon 28 May–Sat 2 Jun, 7.30pm (Thu & Sat mat 2.30pm). £10–£33. Matthew Kelly and Claire Sweeney star in Willy Russell’s play about a young girl’s introduction to literature. See preview, page 127. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Radio Show – Live! Fri 8 & Sat 9 Jun, 7.30pm. £10–£29.50. Do you know where your towel is? If not, you need to book now for this touring
reunion of (most of) the original cast of the greatest cult radio show ever to blow up the planet. Starring Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Mark Wing-Davey, Susan Sheridan and VIP guests performing the voice of the Book. See preview, page 127.
✽✽ Dance GB Tue 19–Sat 23 Jun, 7.30pm (Sat mat 2pm).
£14.50–£37.50. Inspired by the 2012 London Olympics, the UK’s three national dance companies (Scottish Ballet, National Dance Company Wales and English National Ballet) join forces for the first time, performing choreography from Martin Lawrance, Christopher Bruce and Itzik Galili. See preview, page 128.
■ TRAMWAY 25 Albert Drive, 0845 330 3501.
✽✽ Macbeth Wed 13 Jun–Sun 24 Jun (not Mon), 7.30pm (Sat 23 Jun mat
2.30pm; Sun 17 & 24 Jun mats only, 2pm). £20 (£15; Wed 13 & Thu 14 Jun previews, all tickets £10). Alan Cumming