list.co.uk/theatre
The Matchmaker Wed 3 Oct, 7.30pm. £11.50 (£9.50; under 18s £6.50). Splinters Productions presents an interpretation of John B Keane’s Letters of a Matchmaker. Sex & God Fri 5 Oct, 7.30pm. £11.50 (£9.50; under 18s £6.50). See Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow. Jason and the Argonauts Tue 9 Oct. See Kids listings. David Hughes Dance: The Chinaski Sessions Sat 13 Oct, 7.30pm. £11 (£9; under 18s £6.50). An outrageous and hedonistic new dance and drumming piece.
■ THE EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE 18-22 Greenside Place, 0844 871 3014. The Phantom of the Opera Thu 20 Sep–Sat 20 Oct (not Sun), 7.30pm (Sat & Thu mat 2.30pm). £19.50–£56. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s vastly popular melodramatic musical comes to town. See picture caption, p110.
■ EDINBURGH FESTIVAL THEATRE 13–29 Nicolson Street, 529 6000. I Dreamed A Dream Fri 21–Sat 29 Sep (not Sun), 7.30pm (Sat & Thu mat 2.30pm). £15–£39.50 (£12–£36.50). See King’s Theatre, Glasgow. Scottish Ballet: Autumn Season 2012 Thu 11–Sat 13 Oct, 7.30pm. £18.50 (£15.50). See Theatre Royal, Glasgow. ■ KING’S THEATRE 2 Leven Street, 529 6000. Good Grief Mon 1– Sat 6 Oct, 7.30pm (Wed & Sat mat 2.30pm). £14–£29.50 (£11–£26.50). Adapted by Keith Waterhouse from his best-selling novel, Good Grief stars Penelope Keith as the widow of a tabloid newspaper editor. Haunting Julia Tue 9–Sat 13 Oct, 7.30pm (Wed & Sat mat 2.30pm). £14–£29 (£11–£26). A chilling ghost story by Alan Ayckbourn, starring Christopher Timothy and Richard O’Callaghan. The Rise & Fall of Little Voice Mon 15–Sat 20 Oct, 7.30pm (Wed & Sat mat 2.30pm). £11.50–£29.50 (£8.50–£26.50). A production of the hit play (also a popular film starring Jane Horrocks).
■ NORTH EDINBURGH ARTS CENTRE 15a Pennywell Court, 315 2151. A Beginning, a Middle and an End Fri 21 & Sat 22 Sep, 7.30pm. £7 (£5). Greyscale and Stellar Quines present a new play by Sylvia Dow – her first, written at the age of 73. Part of Luminate.
■ THE QUEEN’S HALL 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. Oscar de Los Reyes & Co: Sevilla al Aire Sat 13 Oct, 8pm. £17 (£15). Acclaimed flamenco dancer Oscar de los Reyes depicts the history of his native Seville. Part of the Hispanic Festival. ■ ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE Grindlay Street, 248 4848. The Guid Sisters Thu 20 Sep–Sat 13 Oct (not Sun/Mon), 7.45pm (Wed 26 & Sat 29 Sep, Wed 3, Sat 6, Wed 10 & Sat 13 Oct, mat 2.30pm). £14.50–£29. Martin Bowman and Bill Findlay’s Scots translation of the original Québecois play Les Belles-soeurs.
■ SCOTTISH STORYTELLING CENTRE 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. We Have Won the Land Tue 2 & Wed 3 Oct, 7.30pm. £10 (£8). A piece of physical theatre shedding light on the significance of community land ownership in Scotland today. Part of Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival. Theseus and the Minotaur: A Love Story Fri 5 Oct, 7.30pm; Sat 6
Theatre
REVIEW DRAMA SHE TOWN/THE MILL LAVVIES Dundee Rep, until Sat 29 Sep ●●●●●
It’s hard to think of a play less likely to have had its origins at Cheltenham Ladies College than She Town. It’s about the moment in 1930s Dundee when the mainly female workforce was confronted with falling wages and the prospect of mill closure, while internationally, the forces of left and right were squaring up for battle. As the women coped with the squalor of their homes in the ‘backies’, the appearance of the civil rights activist and singer Paul Robeson at the Caird Hall was about to inspire a generation to fight Franco in Spain.
Yet before it appeared in this revised format, Sharman Macdonald’s play had its premiere in 2010 as Lu Lah, Lu Lah at the exclusive girls’ school. It’s a surprise, not only because of geography and class, but because She Town seems custom-built to draw on the combined talents of a large cast of professionals and community actors who want to reclaim a neglected part of their city’s female-centred history for themselves.
The large numbers involved do hamper the storytelling, however, and only in the second half does it
become clear where the heart of the play lies. Although director Jemima Levick does an artful job of evoking the life of the tenements, in a production full of movement, the play puts more emphasis on misery than resilience. It seems less a celebration of community than a eulogy for a defeated generation.
Staged as a companion piece, The Mill Lavvies gives the male perspective on Dundee working life and shirking life as the loom mechanics take their tea breaks and pee breaks one day in the early 1960s. Chris Rattray’s play is mildly amusing rather than hilarious, but the cast led by John Buick give it generous performances, switching effortlessly into the excellent set of songs by Michael Marra that punctuate Andrew Panton’s production. (Francis McLachlan)
Oct, 3pm. £6 (£4). Storytelling theatre with flamenco music and dance. Part of Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival. Queen Amang the Heather Sat 13 Oct, 7.30pm. £9 (£6). Rehearsed reading of a new play about Scottish traveller and ballad singer Belle Stewart. Part of Luminate.
■ SERENITY CAFE The Tun, 8 Jackson Entry, 111 Holyrood Road, 556 8765. FREE Jackie’s Story Thu 18 Oct, 7–8.30pm. A forum theatre piece about mental health. Followed by a discussion. Part of Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival. ■ SUMMERHALL 1 Summerhall, 0845 874 3001. Anatomy Fri 28 Sep, 7.30–11pm. £6. Variety night with a focus on risk-taking performance from any genre.
■ TRAVERSE THEATRE Cambridge Street, 228 1404. L’ingegner Gadda va alla guerra (Gadda Goes to War) Fri 21 & Sat 22 Sep, 7.30pm. £10 (£7). A play by Fabrizio Gifuni investigating why we go to war. In Italian with English surtitles.
My Shrinking Life Tue 2 & Wed 3 Oct, 7.30pm. £15.50 (£6–£11.50). Actor and director Alison Peebles tells of the emotional and physical journey she has been on since first having MS ‘unofficially’ diagnosed 12 years ago. A Dream on Midsummer’s Night Thu 4–Sat 6 Oct. See Kids listings. Mortal Memories Thu 4 & Fri 5 Oct, 7.30pm. £6 (£4). Stellar Quines presents a typically feisty story from Liz Lochhead. Rehearsed reading, followed by discussion with Lochhead and director Marilyn Imrie. Part of Luminate. Sex & God Thu 11–Sat 13 Oct, 7.30pm. £15.50 (£6–£11.50). See Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow.
✽ The Authorised Kate Bane Fri 12–Fri 26 Oct (not Sun/Mon), 8pm. £15.50–£17.50 (£6–£13.50; Fri 12 & Sat 13 Oct previews, tickets £11/£6). Grid Iron presents a new play about family mythologies, by Ella Hickson (Eight) with new music from MJ McCarthy (of Zoey van Goey fame). See preview, page 106.
✽ The Incredible Adventures of See Thru Sam Thu 18–Sat 20 Oct, 7.30pm. £15.50 (£6–£11.50). See Tron Theatre, Glasgow.
OUTSIDE THE CITIES ■ DUNDEE REP Tay Square, Dundee, 01382 223530. Mill Lavvies Until Sat 29 Sep (not Sun), 7.30pm, except Thu 27 Sep 2.30pm mat only. £6–£19. Play set in a 1960s Dundee jute mill, featuring songs by Michael Marra. She Town Fri 21 & Tue 25–Thu 27 Sep, 7.30pm; Sat 22 & 29 Sep 2.30pm mat only. £6–£19. Dundee Rep Ensemble presents this largely female play about a group of women working in the mills. The Incredible Adventures of See Thru Sam Tue 9 Oct, 8pm. £16 (£6–£13). See Tron Theatre, Glasgow. Home for Broken Turns/It Needs Horses Thu 11 Oct, 8pm. £16 (£13; students £9; children £6). Prize winning company Lost Dog presents two comic dance pieces. The Static ●●●●● Fri 12 Oct, 8pm; Sat 13 Oct, 2.30pm. £12 (£5–£10). A cross-disciplinary performance from ThickSkin theatre telling a tale of love and guilt. Ages 14+.
✽ The Cone Gatherers Tue 16–Sat 20 Oct, 7.30pm (Thu & Sat mat
2.30pm). £6–£19. See Theatre Royal, Glasgow.
20 Sep–18 Oct 2012 THE LIST 111