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. Scratch Night Fri 16 May, 7pm. £3.50. Join well-known and up-and-coming performers as they get ten minutes each to try out new ideas in front of an audience and seek feedback.
■ BRITANNIA PANOPTICON MUSIC HALL 113–117 Trongate, 553 0840. FREE Music Hall Memories – The Most Vintage Show in Town Sat 31 May, 1pm & 3pm. (Donations welcome). Music hall variety show harking back to the good ol’ days, with music, magic, comedy, sing-a-longs and novelties.
■ THE BUNGO BAR & KITCHEN 17–21 Nithsdale Road, 423 0023. Chemistry Thu 15 May, 7.30pm. £6 (£5). Comedy about a lonely workaholic who believes he has discovered a formula for finding the woman of his dreams. Part of Southside Fringe. The Creative Martyrs: The Sinister Wink Sun 25, 8pm. Not free, but pay what you like on departure. An evening of cabaret satire featuring mime, song and sketches in a 1930s style. ■ CITIZENS THEATRE 119 Gorbals Street, 429 0022. The Libertine Thu 15–Sat 24 May (not Sun & Mon), 7.30pm (Sat 2.30pm also). £12.50–£16 (£8.50–£10). Stephen Jeffreys’ romp about John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester. Directed by Dominic Hill. Sports Day Wed 4–Sat 7 Jun, 7.30pm (Sat 2.30pm also). £10 (£8.50). Large scale community revue show boasting material from Alan Bissett, Alan McHugh, Linda McLean, Davey Anderson, DC Jackson and more.
■ COTTIERS THEATRE 93–95 Hyndland Street, 357 4000. Gripped Fri 23 & Sat 24 May, 8pm. £10 (£8). Urban Fairytale Theatre present this comedy set in a newsroom as a womaniser attempts to seduce his way around the office. Written and directed by Ailie Hunter. Lysistrata Tue 27–Thu 29 May, 7pm (Thu 2pm also). £8. Aristophanes’ classic, a very early feminist comedy set in ancient Greece. ■ DASH N DOGS 340 Battlefield Road, 632 2556. Who Stole My Sausage? Thu 15, Wed 21 & Thu 22 May, 7pm & 8pm. Dogs £6, humans free (max 2 humans per dog). See Kids listings.
■ EASTWOOD PARK THEATRE Eastwood Park, Rouken Glen Road, Giffnock, 577 4956. Oliver! Thu 15–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. Lend Me A Tenor Wed 21–Sat 24 May, 7.30pm (Sat 2.30pm also). £11–13. Musical based on the West End and Broadway hit by Ken Ludwig. ■ GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. Children’s Classic Concerts: Going for Gold Sat 17 May. See Kids listings.
■ GOVANHILL BATHS Calder Street, 433 2999. Hamlet Thu 15–Sat 17 May, 7.30pm. £10 (£8). Strathclyde Theatre Group and The 102 THE LIST 15 May–12 Jun 2014
and challenging theatre piece, written by Mark Jeary, incorporates verbatim dialogue into this story about alcohol.
■ THE MACKINTOSH CHURCH Queen’s Cross, 870 Garscube Road, 946 6600. Deco Diva: A Portrayal of the Artist Tamara DeLempicka Sat 7 Jun, 7.30pm. £17.50. Kara Wilson’s theatrical project explores the life and art of Tamara de Lempicka.
■ ÒRAN MÓR 731–735 Great Western Road, 357 6200. A Play, A Pie & A Pint: Voices from the Black That I Am Thu 15–Sat 17 May, 1pm. £8–£12.50 (students £8). Theatrical meditation on issues of race, gender, sexuality and nationalism. A Play, A Pie & A Pint: Nine Lives Mon 19–Sat 24 May, 1pm. £8–£12.50. Drama about a man seeking a new life far away from home. Co-production with the West Yorkshire Playhouse. A Play, A Pie & A Pint: Fred and Alice Mon 26–Sat 31 May, 1pm. £8– £12.50. Fred and Alice meet in a home where they discover all you need to get by is a couple of tennis rackets, a freezer full of ready meals and an immature coping strategy. Chorale – A Sam Shepard Roadshow Wed 28 May, 7.30pm. £12.50–£15.50. A unique roadshow extolling the talents of American playwright Sam Shepard. A Play, A Pie & A Pint: Fast Cuts & Snap Shots Mon 2–Sat 7 Jun, 1pm. £8–£12.50. Drama where some people of Africa spend their time in barber shops debating the issues of the world, like the Scots might do in a pub.West End Festival. A Play, A Pie & A Pint: The Call Of The Wild Mon 9–Sat 14 Jun, 1pm. £3.50. Jack london’s classic tale of wild dogs in the northern US goldrush era. West End Festival. ■ PARTICK BURGH HALLS 9 Burgh Hall Street, Partick, 287 5919. Lobey Dosser Rides Again! Thu 12 Jun, 2.30pm & 7.30pm. £5. Comedy featuring the Sheriff of Calton Creek and his struggle with Rank Bajin. West End Festival.
■ PAVILION THEATRE 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. ✽ 51 Shades of Maggie Fri 16 & Sat 17 May, 7.30pm (Sat 2pm also).
£22.50–£25. Comedy spoof of 50 Shades of Grey tells the story of Maggie Muff and her search for love. The Wizard Of Oz Thu 5–Sat 7 Jun, 7.30pm (Sat 2pm also). £14–£20 (family £25–£62.50). Time to click the heels of your ruby slippers together three times and take a trip to Oz. Based on the classic Children’s story by L Frank Baum and featuring music and lyrics from the MGM Motion Picture.
■ PLATFORM The Bridge, 1000 Westerhouse Road, Easterhouse, 276 9696. Yellow Valley Tue 20, Wed 21 & Fri 23 May. See Kids listings. Grandad and Me Thu 22 May. See Kids listings. Tunnels Mon 2 & Tue 3 Jun. See Kids listings.
■ SCOTTISH MASK AND PUPPET CENTRE 8–10 Balcarres Avenue, Kelvindale, 339 6185. The Wonderful World of Magic Sat 17 May. See Kids listings. ■ SECC Finnieston Quay, 0844 395 4000. Singin’ I’m No a Billy He’s a Tim Sat 17 May, 7.30pm. £17.50–£20. Goldfish Theatre presents its take on Des Dillon’s classic anti-sectarian play, which has a Rangers and a Celtic fan locked up together in a cell for the duration of an
JUKEBOX MUSICAL LET IT BE Edinburgh Playhouse, Mon 2–Sat 7 Jun ●●●●●
While the dominance of jukebox musicals shows no sign of abating, Let It Be falls into the category of a show created for the people who would enjoy Mamma Mia but wish that it had less plot. It is more a history of the Beatles, told chronologically in clusters of faux-gigs from the Cavern Club to Abbey Road, and it makes for a rather surreal experience. The facsimile version of the Mop Tops is augmented by two large
TV screens at either side of the stage, acting as providers of context in lieu of any kind of narrative, displaying the Americanisation of British pop culture, commercialism and anti-Vietnam war protests. Advertisements display a troubling attitude to women in the pre- feminist era of the early 60s, and have been specially selected as such. There can be no denying the band perform with energy, if not passion. Paul (James Fox) has a cheeky charm and sings ‘Blackbird’ with real soul, but John, played by Michael Gagliano, is the only authentic-looking Beatle, both in terms of mannerisms (making monkey faces behind Paul, snarkily chewing gum during the latter material) and vocals. The kaleidoscopic and psychedelic animation by Duncan McLean is generally of a high standard, even if it does wander into Neil Innes / Eric Idle’s Rutles territory on occasion, but the poignant lyrics of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ are diluted by explosions of vibrant colour and the bubbling, trippy design for ‘When I’m Sixty Four’ is sharply incongruous.
Crowd-pleasing numbers are peppered throughout, with more obscure songs naturally eschewed for the big hits. The air at a Beatles ‘gig’ may be thick with the smell of chocolate rather than grass these days, but this perfunctory jaunt into the long and winding road needs more interesting detours. (Lorna Irvine) ■ Reviewed at King’s Theatre, Glasgow.
Royal Shakespeare Company Open Stages’ rendition of the Shakespere classic with an all-female cast. Southside Fringe.
■ THE HALT BAR 160 Woodlands Road, 353 6450. Renz Novani: Mystic – Intuition & Premonition Thu 12–Sat 14 Jun, 7.30pm. £8.50. Psychological magician Renz takes you on a mystical journey. Magic and mysticism for the thinking audience. West End Festival.
■ KING’S THEATRE 297 Bath Street, 0844 871 7648. ✽ Wicked Thu 15–Sat 31 May (not Sun), times vary. £20–£72.50. Smash-
hit musical that acts as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, with L Frank Baum’s characters brilliantly re-imagined as two young girls who grow up to fulfil their destinies as Glenda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. Tonight’s the Night Mon 2–Sat 14 Jun (not Sun), 7.30pm (Wed & Sat 2.30pm also). £10–£42. Singing, dancing and all the Rod Stewart tunes you can shake a stick at! Set in Detroit and LA, the play follows a young man who strikes a deal with the devil to trade his soul for Rod’s.
■ LANSDOWNE CHURCH (WEBSTERS THEATRE) 416 Great Western Road, 337 2311.
Dirty Water Thu 15–Sat 17 May, 7.30pm. £9. Comedy set in the world of Eager Beaver Cleaners who service the housing schemes of Glasgow. Top Girls Mon 19–Wed 21 May, 7.30pm. £10 (£8). BA Honours Acting students present this seminal play set in the early 80s. Caryl Churchill’s prose examines the highs and lows of Marlene, a successful female executive. Into The Woods Fri 23–Sun 25 May, 7.30pm. £10 (£8). BA Musical Theatre present Stephen Sondheim’s musical retelling of the stories of the Brothers Grimm, including Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel. The Normal Heart Tue 27–Thu 29 May, 7.30pm. £10 (£8). BA Acting present present Larry Kramer’s play which follows one man’s struggle to break through the conspiracy of silence surrounding AIDS. Beyond the Rainbow Fri 30 & Sat 31 May, 7.30pm. £12. Theatrical production about the troubled life of Judy Garland, featuring her most popular songs. Presented by Tram Direct Theatre Company. The Count of Monte Cristo Tue 3–Sat 7 Jun, 2.30pm & 7.30pm. £15. Swashbuckling musical based on Edmond Dante’s journey from sailor lad to Count of Monte Cristo. West End Festival. Blackout Tue 10 Jun, 7.30pm. £10 (£7). This imaginative, raw, hard hitting