list.co.uk/theatre
Events are listed by city, then alphabetically by venue. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication by using our ‘Add an Event’ service at list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Murray Roberston. ✽ Indicates Hitlist entry GLASGOW
■ THE ARCHES 253 Argyle Street, 565 1000. Behaviour Thu 17 Apr–Fri 2 May, times vary. Prices vary. The Arches continues its quest to support innovative live performance with five weeks of events representing the forefront of arts practice from the most exciting international artists and their Scottish counterparts.
✽ The Forbidden Experiment Tue 22–Fri 25 Apr, 7.30pm. £11
(£9). See preview, page 90. Part of Behaviour. Dark Behaviour Fri 2 May, 7pm. £10. The closing night of Behaviour Festival presents a lively showcase of performance art, live music and an anything goes attitude designed to celebrate both the Behaviour festival’s fifth anniversary and the Arches as a whole. Part of Behaviour.
THEATRE
■ BRITANNIA PANOPTICON MUSIC HALL 113–117 Trongate, 553 0840. Blythe Spirit Sat 19 Apr, 6.30pm. Donations welcome towards the Panopticon’s restoration. On The Air Productions present Coward’s popular comedy which plays on people’s beliefs in the afterlife. ■ THE BUNGO BAR & KITCHEN 17–21 Nithsdale Road, 423 0023. The Creative Martyrs: The Sinister Wink Sun 27 Apr. Pay what you like on departure. An evening of cabaret satire featuring mime, song and sketches in a 1930s style.
■ CCA 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. Biding Time (remix) Wed 7 & Thu 8 May, 8pm. £10 (£8). A multimedia piece telling the story of a female musician looking to make it big in the music industry, brought to the stage by a collaboration between Grid Iron’s Ben Harrison, musician Louise Quinn and others. ■ CITIZENS THEATRE 119 Gorbals Street, 429 0022. The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler Thu 17–Sat 19 Apr, 7.30pm.
£12–£19.50. Vanishing Point and the National Theatre of Scotland present the first theatrical presentation exploring the work of the extraordinary artist Ivor Cutler. The Libertine Sat 3–Sat 24 May, 7.30pm. £8–£19.50 (£9.50–£16.50). See preview, page 90. ■ COTTIERS THEATRE 93–95 Hyndland Street, 357 4000. Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr Mon 21–Thu 24 Apr, 7.30pm. £11 (£9). A musical adaptation of Disney’s 2008 Broadway production. Vivace Theatre School: Acting Up Sun 27 Apr, 3pm & 7pm. £10 (£8). Dramatic showcase from the students of Vivace Theatre School.
■ EASTWOOD PARK THEATRE Eastwood Park, Rouken Glen Road, Giffnock, 577 4956. ’Allo ’Allo Wed 23–Sat 26 Apr, 7.30pm (Sat 2.30pm also). £10–£12. Giffnock Theatre Players take on this popular wartime comedy. Nine Tue 29 Apr–Sat 3 May, 7.30pm (Sat 2.30pm also). £12 (£10). An Italian film director gets himself into a lot of trouble . . . Uncle Varick Sun 4 May, 7.30pm. £13 (£11; students £9). A play where 60s London collides with remote Scotland. See preview, left. Too Many Penguins? Tue 6 May. See Kids listings. Oliver! Mon 12– Sat 17 May, 7.30pm (Sat 2.30pm also). £12–£15. Join Oliver, Fagan, the Artful Dodger and the rest of the gang for the musical classic. ■ THE GLAD CAFÉ 1006a Pollokshaws Road, 636 6119. The Southside Fringe Festival Launch Fri 9 May, 7.30pm. £6. Music, comedy and drama all wrapped into one nice tidy launch-night package to kick off the second Southside Fringe.
CLASSIC ADAPTATION UNCLE VARICK Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow, Sun 4 May; King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 7–Sat 10 May
Glasgow-based Rapture Theatre might be populist in their choice of plays, but they are equally eclectic. Last time they connected with the spirit of the Bay City Rollers for Shang-a-Lang; this time they go back to a Russian classic, updated by one of the great Scottish dramatists. ‘I am really chuffed because I can’t remember the last time a Chekhov play toured Scotland,’ says director Michael Emans. ‘Or a John Byrne play, for that matter!’ Thanks to works like The Slab Boys, Byrne has a reputation for comedies that use the Scottish vernacular, and his recent translation of The Cherry Orchard made a few satirical strikes against Thatcherism. Emans observes that this translation retains a contemporary resonance as well. Uncle Varick brings Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya to the rural Scotland of the 1960s. A story of failed ambition and, in this version, a dishonest critic, it has that distinctive Chekhov tone between laughter and tears. Jimmy Chisholm, an actor equally at home in pantomime or tragedy, is taking on the title role. ‘We have Scotland’s funniest writer,’ Chisholm notes. ‘I don’t think that you’ll be in any doubt that it is a comedy.’
‘The joy is that it meshes the two together,’ Emans adds. ‘Chekhov saw his plays as comedies.’ It is this ambiguity that makes Chekhov such a perfect match for Rapture: the underlying seriousness is sweetened by the humour. Having worked with Emans in The Collector, Chisholm is enthusiastic about the company: ‘Theatre has got to get out and find audiences, and Rapture goes to lots of places that other people aren’t taking it,’ he says.
Emans concurs. ‘I know that a group of women are coming to see Varick because they enjoyed Shang-a-Lang,’ he laughs. ‘From the Bay City Rollers to Chekhov: that’s a journey!’ (Gareth K Vile)
THE TRUE STORY OF A MAN WHO EXCEEDED EVERY LIMIT.
T h e Li
bert
ine BY STEPHEN JEFFREYS
3 (cid:2) 24 MAY Strongly recommended for 16+
BOOK NOW
0141 429 0022 citz.co.uk
Citizens Theatre Ltd. Registered in Scotland No. SCO 22513 and is a Scottish Charity No. SCO 01337. Photo by Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
17 Apr–15 May 2014 THE LIST 91