THEATRE
The Mark of Zorro Wed 27 & Thu 28 Mar. See Kids listings. Frost and Fire Fri 5 Apr, 7pm. £7.50– £10 (under 12s with adult). Howie Reeve curates a mixed bag of entertainers. New Theatre Thursday Thu 18 Apr, 7pm. £2. Some of Scotland’s leading playwrights present their new short works for audience approval.
■ ROYAL CONSERVATOIRE OF SCOTLAND 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. Carousel Thu 21 Mar, 2pm & 7.30pm. £13.50 (£11). Andrew Panton directs the classic tale of love, robbery, suicide and redemption, with musical direction from Simon Beck. ■ SCOTTISH YOUTH THEATRE The Old Sheriff Court, 105 Brunswick Street, 552 3988. The Sky is Falling Thu 21 Mar–Sat 6 Apr (not Mon). See Kids listings.
■ SECC Finnieston Quay, 0844 395 4000. ] Black Watch Thu 28 Mar–Fri 5 Apr (not Sun–Tue) & Wed 10–Fri 12 Apr, 8pm. Sat 6, Sun 7 & Sun 13 Apr, 3pm & 8pm. £27.50 (£15). Based on interviews with soldiers who served in Iraq, Black Watch reveals what it means to be part of the Scottish regiment. See preview, page 104. Mrs Brown Rides Again Tue 2–Sat 6 Apr, 6.30pm. £21.50–£39.50. More adventures of the inimitable Dublin Mammy. CBeebies Live! Presents Justin & Friends Mon 8 & Tue 9 Apr. See Kids preview, page 80. Singin’ I’m No a Billy He’s a Tim Wed 17–Sun 21 Apr, 7.30pm. £20. See preview, page 100.
■ THE SPACE 34 Argyll Arcade Chambers, Buchanan Street, 222 2333. Brownbread Thu 21 & Sat 23 Mar, times vary. £12 (£10). Roddy Doyle’s madcap adventure, about three young guys who kidnap a bishop. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival. Michael Neto: UPCLOSE Fri 22 & Sat 30 Mar, 8pm. £10 (£8). Scottish Close- Up Magic Champion three years running, Michael Neto brings together humour and close-up magic in this show. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival. ■ THEATRE ROYAL 282 Hope Street, 0844 871 7647. Birds of a Feather Tue 16–Sat 20 Apr, 7.30pm (Thu & Sat 2.30pm also). £10–£32.50. The three original cast members from the BBC’s long-running sitcom bring the lives and loves of Sharon, Tracey and Dorien to the stage.
■ TRAMWAY 25 Albert Drive, 0845 330 3501. The Tree and the Boy I Sat 30 Mar. See Kids listings. ■ TRON THEATRE 63 Trongate, 552 4267. A Man Came to a Woman Thu 21–Sat 23 Mar, 8pm. £10 (£7). This surreal farce, set in the USSR, satirises relationships between a man and a woman of a certain age. Part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival. Shout Tue 19–Sat 23 Mar, 8.30pm (Sat 2.30pm also). £10. Musical bringing back the sounds of the Swingin’ Sixties. Slick Tue 26–Sat 30 Mar, 7.45pm. £7–£15. See Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow. Anna Weiss Wed 27–Sat 30 Mar, 8pm. £10 (£7). Anna Weiss is a hypnotherapist who specialises in revealing ‘lost’ memories. Lynn is the girl in her care, but are the memories that Anna uncovers real? See preview, page 98. Gaelic Drama at The Tron Wed 27 Mar, 8.30pm. £4. Showcasing Gaelic drama at various stages of development. Viota Wed 3–Sat 6 Apr, 8pm. £10 (£7). This new devised play from Theatre
102 THE LIST 21 Mar–18 Apr 2013
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Thu 21–Sat 23 Mar, 7.30pm (Sat 2.30pm also). £12–£14 (£10–£12). Based on Shepherd Mead’s book about a window washer climbing the corporate ladder at any cost. Whisky Galore Wed 27–Sat 30 Mar, 7.30–10pm. £10 (£8). SCDA Edinburgh People’s Theatre present an am dram production of Compton Mackenzie’s play. ■ CRAIGMILLAR COMMUNITY ARTS CENTRE 58 Newcraighall Road, 669 8432. Pied Piper Sat 23 Mar. See Kids listings. Briar Rose Mon 25 Mar. See Kids listings. Willie the Wicked Wolf Fri 29 Mar. See Kids listings.
■ THE EDINBURGH ACADEMY 42 Henderson Row, 624 4927. Rent Wed 10–Sat 13 Apr, 7.30–10pm. £12 (£10). Rock musical about a group of impoverished artists living in NYC. ■ THE EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE 18–22 Greenside Place, 0844 871 3014. Russian State Ballet of Siberia: Swan Lake Fri 22 Mar, 7.30pm. Sat 23 Mar, 2.30 & 7.30pm. £17.50–£39.50. This opulent tale is brought to life by the Russian State Ballet of Siberia. An Evening of Burlesque Thu 4 Apr, 8pm. £20.50–£23.50. Fresh from 2012’s first UK tour and featuring West End stalwarts. Sally Morgan: Psychic Sally on the Road Thu 11 Apr, 7.30pm. £23.50. Sally takes her psychic knowledge on tour. Carmen Fri 12 & Sat 13 Apr, 7.30pm. £10–£35. See Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow. Cesar Milan: Trust Your Instincts Sun 14 Apr, 6.30pm. £40.50–£100. The celeb dog whisperer brings hints and advice on a national tour. The Sleeping Beauty on Ice Tue 16–Sat 20 Apr, 7.30pm (Wed, Thu & Sat 2.30pm also). £10–£34. Director Tony Mercer and Imperial Ice Stars return to UK theatres with this ice-skating adaptation of the classic.
■ EDINBURGH FESTIVAL THEATRE 13–29 Nicolson Street, 529 6000. Northern Ballet: The Great Gatsby Thu 21–Sat 23 Mar 7.30pm (Sat 2.30pm also). £12–£36.50. Choreographer David Nixon brings F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic to life through dance. The Full Monty Mon 25–Sat 30 Mar, 7.30pm (Wed & Sat also 2.30pm). £11.50–£31.50. Sheffield Theatres present a brand new take on the immensely popular 1997 film. Royal Shakespeare Company: The Winter’s Tale Tue 2–Sat 6 Apr, 7.30pm (Thu & Sat 2.30pm). £11– £33.50. The RSC take on the Bard’s story of jealousy, love, rage and redemption. ] Rambert Dance Company: Labyrinth of Love Tour Tue 9 & Wed 10 Apr, 7.30pm. £13.50–£26.50. Britain’s contemporary dance company present Marguerite Donlon’s Labyrinth of Love. ■ KING’S THEATRE 2 Leven Street, 529 6000. The Yeomen of the Guard Thu 21–Sat 23, 7.30pm (Sat also 2.30pm). £12–£21. Gilbert & Sullivan’s operetta, presented by the Edinburgh G&S Society. The Government Inspector Tue 26–Sat 30 Mar, 7.30pm (Sat 2.30pm). £14–£29.50. Gerry Mulgrew directs an adaptation of Gogol’s tale of municipal greed and corruption. Birds of a Feather Tue 9–Sat 13 Apr, 7.30pm (Wed & Sat 2.30pm). £14–£29.50. See Theatre Royal, Glasgow. Translations Mon 15–Sat 20 Apr, 7.30pm (Wed & Sat 2.30pm). £14– £29.50. Brian Friel’s best-loved play is part scathing critique of colonisation, part tender love story.
O Z Z O R O M M T
I
REVIEW TV ADAPTATION TAKIN’ OVER THE ASYLUM Seen at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow; Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 6 Apr ●●●●●
Aileen, a substantial young woman who would surely, in her native Glasgow, be called a barger, is controlling the remote control. The other inmates of this mental hospital – a space immediately recognisable by the mismatched chairs and door security system – squabble about what to watch.
Into this torpid environment creeps Eddie, a soul DJ-turned-window- salesman in a tweed jacket. His shoulders are down, his box of Sam & Dave singles battered, a quarter bottle stashed in his pocket. When he meets Campbell, a Tigger-manic teenager with chutzpah and patter in equal measures, no one is going to be catching Emmerdale in the foreseeable.
Three quarters of Donna Franceschild’s 1994 TV series telescopes
brilliantly into this funny, moving, relevant piece of theatre. Brian Vernel, still a student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, is astoundingly good as the dangerously effervescent kid who calls his radio debut Campbell Bain’s Loony Tunes Show. Iain Robertson is an effectively tortured Eddie: self-deprecating, humane, living on whisky and a hefty overdraft. Together with Rosalie, a germ-phobic, cross- referencing, spreadsheet-producing Caroline Paterson, they get the inmates out of their seats and into their dancing shoes. This is all grand and these characters have time to drop their back
stories into the black humour and Marvin Gaye tunes. What gets lost, however, is Eddie’s relationship with Francine, a damaged young woman who has illegally adopted a stray cat. Unlike his chemistry with Campbell, which has time to unfold organically, this feels shoehorned in. And Helen Mallon, playing weepy, broken Francine, is easily lost in this outstanding ensemble cast: the ebullient Vernel, Martin McCormick as a casually brutal orderly nurse, Grant O’Rourke as inventive escapologist Fergus and Gayle Madine’s frankly terrifying Aileen. This may be less of an issue to those who don’t remember the TV
version – which had the luxury of six episodes – so fondly. It’s certainly not a reason to miss this fantastic piece of old-school theatre. (Anna Burnside)
Revolution tells the story of three women living in London in 1969. Broadway in the Bar Sun 7 Apr, 4–6pm. £12. An afternoon of the best of Broadway tunes. Stitching Tue 9–Thu 11 Apr, 8pm. £10 (£7). Stu and Abby try to piece together their broken relationship but only end up picking it apart even more painfully than before. Fleeto and Wee Andy Fri 12 & Sat 13 Apr, 8pm. £10 (£7). See Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow. Project Branded Thu 18 & Fri 19 Apr, 7.30pm. £7. A new play imagining what would happen if everyone were branded – identified and defined just like a product in a supermarket.
EDINBURGH
■ ADAM HOUSE 3 Chambers Street, 651 2120. Jerusalem Wed 10–Sat 13 Apr, 7.30– 10pm. £10. SCDA Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group present an am dram production of Jez Butterworth’s play. ■ THE AUGUSTINE CHURCH 41–43 George IV Bridge, 220 1677. Macbeth: Biography of a Killer Thu 28 Mar, 7.30pm. £11 (£9). The murder and power plays of Shakespeare’s 1611 play get translated to modern times.
■ CHURCH HILL THEATRE 33a Morningside Road, 447 7597.