list.co.uk/theatre Previews | THEATRE
HISTORICAL DRAMA UNION Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Thu 20 Mar–Sat 12 Apr
This debut play by filmmaker Tim Barrow has the honour of being the first major stage work of 2014 to tackle the year’s big political story, although its roots go back to 2008 when Barrow was touring The Inheritance, his debut feature as a writer and producer. Feeling curious, he began researching the 1707 Act of Union and what he learned had him writing scenes within an hour. Fast-forward six years and the subject couldn’t be
more relevant. The Lyceum’s artistic director Mark Thomson is on board to direct what Barrow calls ‘a big, boisterous, foul-mouthed theatrical celebration of the characters and events surrounding the Act of Union’. We’ll meet the heirless Queen Anne, says Barrow, as well as the Earl of Stair who authorised the Glencoe Massacre, English spy Daniel Defoe and our narrator, poet and wig-maker Allan Ramsay.
‘The early 18th century was a grubby, chaotic, fast-moving period of history,’ he continues. ‘Corruption was rife, with both Scotland and England burdened by great debts. I was shocked to learn Scottish MPs received bribes to write their parliament out of existence, but unsurprised to discover it was their poor, bankrupt citizens who were left to struggle on as best they could. It’s always the same people who suffer.’ (David Pollock)
DESPERATELY SEEKING EMPLOYMENT SH!T THEATRE: JOB SEEKERS ANONYMOUS The Arches, Glasgow, Tue 8–Wed 9 Apr
With a manifesto that promises to explore ‘the political, the personal and the down-right perverted’, Sh!t Theatre (Louise Mothersole and Rebecca Biscuit) became the toast of the 2013 Fringe with their study of life on the margins, Job Seekers Anonymous. Anarchic and playful – and occasionally shocking – it took in songs, religious entreaties to media moguls and slapstick sketches on the frustrations of unemployment. Fitting into the Behaviour Festival’s enthusiasm
for charged political performance, Sh!t Theatre are somewhere between cabaret and live art: Job Seekers Anonymous is a linked series of routines, but it injects a thoroughly contemporary sensibility into themes that have been current since the beginning of the welfare state. Their scattershot approach recalls the controlled chaos of New York cabaret, while their insistence on sharing their vision of modern British life reflects the increasing enthusiasm of theatre-makers for making work that challenges the status quo.
SUGAR-SPUN NIGHTMARE THE PITCHFORK DISNEY Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Tue 25–Sun 29 Mar
With Philip Ridley’s visceral Dark Vanilla Jungle having conquered the Edinburgh Fringe last year, the revival of his first play from back in 1991 is a reminder that he was a pioneer of the aggressive ‘neo-brutalist’ style that has defined new British theatre. ‘Ridley’s stories make your heart beat faster,’ says director Eve Nicol. ‘His lyrical barbarism can be real Marmite work – you’ll love it or hate it – but his distinctive voice comes from a place of honesty and is fuelled by love for people and their survival instinct.’
The Pitchfork Disney teeters between naturalistic horror and surreal fantasy: after the death of their parents, the Stray twins have hidden themselves away, paranoid and sugar-addicted. When Cosmo Disney arrives, he appears to be offering an escape, until terror ensues. Ridley’s distinctive style is disorientating and sinister. Dread is lurking and innocence is already corrupted: the Stray twins are a magnificent tragi- comic creation, cocooning themselves in silly stories and compulsive chocolate consumption.
They are never quite as shocking as their name Nicol believes that intensity is the key to Ridley’s
suggests, and their restless invention and physical skills transform what could be worthy into a treat of bravura performances, rough theatre and insights into the workings of a society that strives to exclude. (Gareth K Vile) charm. ‘The play is an hour and a half straight through with little relief for either the cast or audience. But once you’ve worked your way through to the other end of the tickles and terror, it is deeply rewarding.’ (Gareth K Vile)
PUBLIC HOUSE PERFORMANCE VILLAGE PUB THEATRE Traverse, Edinburgh, Mon 31 Mar–Sat 5 Apr
For the past two years, the north of Edinburgh has been home to a radical new approach to theatre making. Eschewing the glamour of the cultural quarter, a group of artists have been producing new plays in an unfamiliar environment.
‘We are normally at the Village Pub in Leith,’ says James Ley. ‘We started two years ago at the Leith Festival: we did three nights and it went really well, and it has grown out of that. We have been doing around one night a month, and at Christmas we did a pantomime. We did “plays in a tweet” as a one-off, but that went viral and we ended up doing those as a curtain-raiser at the Lyceum.’
To celebrate their success, the group is staging a brief take-
over of Edinburgh’s famed new writing theatre. ‘We always said it would be nice to do a “Best Of . . .” at the Traverse,’ Ley comments. Director Caitlin Skinner continues: ‘It feels natural for us to take work there. It couldn’t be more different. If we went to somewhere a bit similar, it would just be . . . a bit similar. This is a new challenge to bring some warmth and fun to a new space.’ The Village Pub Theatre is evidence that drama doesn’t need funding to get started, and the imaginative venue has produced its own style of theatre, as Ley explains. ‘Really intimate pieces don’t work in the pub – the soundproofing is non-existent so it needs much bigger casts, and comedy works really well. It’s rough theatre that isn’t people sitting round just reading a script. It’s much more in your face.’
With the last night given over to a selection of tried and tested favourites, and the weeknights showcasing various pieces from the collective, the arrival of Village Pub Theatre as a dynamic addition to Scotland’s theatre community is celebrated as the Traverse proves its commitment to intriguing, original creativity. (G areth K Vile)
20 Mar–17 Apr 2014 THE LIST 97