Theatre
PREVIEW ADAPTATION THE LADYKILLERS King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Mon 5–Sat 10 Nov; Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Mon 19–Sat 24 Nov
Fans of The Ladykillers may have been sceptical when Graham Linehan’s stage adaptation of the film premiered last year. But the Father Ted creator’s version of the classic Ealing comedy – in which a gang of petty criminals occupy an old lady’s house as they plan to rob neighbouring King’s Cross station – has proved to be a big hit. It’s now embark- ing on a 24-destination UK tour, and will visit Scotland in November.
Despite its popularity, actor William Troughton – who plays cockney spiv Harry Robinson in the show – has never actu- ally seen the original film. ‘I have great respect for the Ealing comedies,’ he says, ‘but I purposely didn’t watch it. I’m sav- ing it for when I finish the tour.’
Instead, Troughton was drawn to The Ladykillers because
of Linehan’s reputation. ‘I grew up with Father Ted and Black Books,’ he explains, ‘and his performance in Alan Partridge is one of my favourite scenes in a comedy series. I’m a huge fan.’
Like the West End cast – which featured Peter Capaldi
and Ben Miller – the touring ensemble boasts great comedy calibre. Extras and ex-Eastenders actor Shaun Williamson plays gangster Louis Harvey, while The Vicar of Dibley’s Clive Mantle and Michelle Dotrice – who played Betty in Some Mothers’ Do ‘Ave ‘Em – also appear.
Up-and-coming actor Troughton understudied the roles of Harry and Louis in the original West End run, and he’s convinced that the adaptation’s charm is the secret to its success.
‘I just think it’s so much fun,’ Troughton says. ‘Anyone that comes to see it will walk away with a smile on their face. It’s really silly, but it’s just fun and you care about the characters. For me, hearing the audience reaction every night is great. Hearing a thousand people laughing at the theatre, it’s so enjoyable.’ (Yasmin Sulaiman)
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REVIEW REVIVAL THE GUID SISTERS King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Tue 23–Sat 27 Oct. Seen at Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh, Tue 18 Sep ●●●●●
Director Serge Denoncourt does an admirable job of marshalling a 15-strong ensemble as Michel Tremblay’s cast gathers in the kitchen of Germaine Lauzon (Kathryn Howden), aspirational 60s tenement dweller, ostensibly to help stick the million Green Shield stamps she has won in a competition. As the night wears on and Madame Lauzon’s stamp books begin to disappear into her envious neighbours’ handbags, the surface gossip and squabbling grad- ually becomes interspersed with lyrical soliloquies that add depth and pathos to the characters.
On such a crowded stage, it’s inevitable that some of the characters’ stories should have more impact than others. In an overlong play, a couple of the stories feel a little sketchy and superfluous, and some of the jokes are either repetitive or don’t quite hit the mark. But Denoncourt’s production is funny and entertaining and there’s no denying the energy and commitment of the ensemble who do full justice to Martin Bowman and Bill Findlay’s vibrant Scots translation in several inspired set pieces. (Allan Radcliffe)
114 THE LIST 18 Oct–15 Nov 2012
REVIEW NEW WORK LIFEGUARD Govanhill Baths, Glasgow, until Sat 27 Oct ●●●●● REVIEW NEW PLAY SEX & GOD Touring Scotland until Fri 26 Oct. Seen at Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, Fri 5 Oct ●●●●●
Adrian Howells’ performance piece, created in col- laboration with the National Theatre of Scotland and sited in Govanhill Baths, is a collage of images exploring our relationship with water. Each fragment is compelling in itself but these combine to create a whole that is so fragile it fades like a dream, even as you’re sipping hot chocolate in the café afterwards. By inviting the audience to participate in the ritual of changing into swimsuit and flip-flops in the newly renovated baths and eventually enticing us into the shimmering water of the training pool, Howells evokes a powerful nostalgia that’s enhanced not only by the smell of chlorine but a succession of projected images, the slap of a rubber brick as it hits the water, the tidal waves created by Howells and his performing partner Ira Mandela Siobhan dive-bombing and leg-kicking and recorded tales of learning to swim and skinny-dipping. For its short length the piece weaves a multi-sensory web around its audience, but you’re left longing for a clearer shape, a greater emotional crescendo and perhaps some social or political context to these reminiscences. (Allan Radcliffe)
Award-winning playwright Linda McLean has never been one to pass up an opportunity to experiment with form, and her new work for Magnetic North, Sex & God, is perhaps her most ambitious to date. Barely an hour in length, the piece focuses on four women from across the span of the 20th century, overlapping and juxtaposing their stories to create a powerful collage of embattled lives, repeatedly obstructed and frustrated by economic and social hardships. McLean’s lyrical dialogue is at times so frag- mented that following every detail requires the maximum of concentration, while the generally trau- matic nature of the stories could perhaps have been leavened by some quieter passages. But director Nicholas Bone has drawn fine performances from the four-strong cast of Ashley Smith, Lesley Hart, Louise Ludgate and Natalie Wallace, who move around Claire Halleran’s chessboard set with its central motif of precariously-stacked chairs and bend themselves to the rhythms of the writing with such precision that it’s impossible not to be drawn in. (Allan Radcliffe)
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