AUTUMN HIGHLIGHTS
THEATRE Picked by Gareth K Vile, Theatre editor
‘T he aftermath of the Edinburgh Festival can be depressing for theatre: August doesn’t just offer large numbers of performers, it tends to feature companies who don’t set foot in Scotland for the rest of the year. While the country does have a healthy theatre community, it’s the arrival of international acts that both sets its work in context and can inspire diverse creativity. Having said that, it is a relief to see both theatre company Forced Entertainment, and Lin Hixson and Matthew Goulish arriving at Tramway this autumn. Forced Entertainment present two shows, The Coming Storm and Tomorrow’s Parties (Tramway, Glasgow Thu 10 & Fri 11 Oct, see page 98), while Hixson and Goulish (formerly of American experimental theatre-makers Goat Island) are familiar faces on Albert Drive. Their restless imaginations challenge notions of what performance ought to be like without ever disappearing into the formless, inaccessible nonsense that often prevents experimental art from appealing to anyone other than arch devotees.
Hixson and Goulish’s Every House Has a Door (Tramway, Glasgow, Fri 22 & Sat 23 Nov, pictured) is especially exciting: the pair have enlisted a rock band, Joan of Arc, a stage-set full of triggered effects and an archive of American court transcripts to play around with notions of law, truth and the mayhem of existence. Over in Edinburgh, the arrival of The Lion King (Playhouse, Fri 11 Oct–Sat 18 Jan) is a safe bet with its well-known tunes and familiar moral tale. However, when this musical i rst appeared, it had a surprisingly interesting attitude towards contemporary dance, and made much of the rising art of puppetry: now well-established by both the Fringe and Edinburgh’s Manipulate Festival as a medium that’s not just for children.
The dazzling diversity of the programmes at the Tron and Traverse both pose intriguing questions about the venues’ identities and make it very difi cult to pick out a single work that represents the season. The Traverse return of Translunar Paradise (Fri 18 & Sat 19 Oct) is a reminder of how Theatre Ad Ini nitum i rst wooed the Fringe with their visual, passionate performance, while Fail Better (Wed 2 & Thu 3 Oct) spend a couple of nights attacking the patriarchy at the Tron. This season does have an emphasis on repeats: the National Theatre of Scotland is bringing back the Macbeth sequel, Dunsinane (King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 1–Sat 5 Oct) and Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justii ed Sinner (Summerhall, Edinburgh, Thu 17–Sat 26 Oct). There is one event that crosses all manner of arts: at Glasgow’s Brunswick Hotel, the 85A Collective are leading the annual Get a Room (Sun 29 Sep). Performances are slipped into the masquerade ball theme, including intimate pieces from Glasgow’s Louna and a dance with Mr Death.’
19 Sep–17 Oct 2013 THE LIST 17