THEATRE CURTAIN UP
THE GREAT YES, NO, DON’T KNOW, FIVE MINUTE THEATRE SHOW David MacLennan, co-curator of the National Theatre of Scotland’s latest Five Minute Theatre broadcast, has been a major force in Scottish theatre since the 1970s, and developed the revolutionary A Play, A Pie and A Pint programme at Òran Mór. He explains how The Great Yes, No, Don’t Know event feeds into a venerable tradition. Five Minute Theatre curates a range of shows and broadcasts them for an entire day. How did you cope with the submissions? The real credit belongs to staff at NTS. Their experience in doing this type of work has been invaluable. Did you get many submissions? The subject of the work is so important and topical that it unleashed a tremendous response from the public and the profession. It was really a question of light the blue touch paper and await the explosion! Is there a particular answer to the question of the referendum that comes through the productions? It’s very much about diversity of opinion and indeed many of the pieces could be described as the ‘undecided.’ Political theatre is much more telling when it asks intelligent questions than when it pronounces simple solutions. There was really no temptation to shape an answer from the material because the richness lies in the variety and diversity of thinking. Is political theatre on the rise in Scotland? Political theatre is a popular art form in Scotland and these new writers are carrying on the tradition of companies like 7:84 and Wildcat: there is a whole new generation of politically engaged playwrights emerging. And is this a good thing? I have been lucky to have worked with many of them at Òran Mór in A Play, A Pie and A Pint. I feel immensely heartened that not only do these writers care passionately about the kind of society we live in but they also write with great skill and craft. (Gareth K Vile). ■ Online at fiveminutetheatre. com from 5pm, Mon 23 Jun.
94 THE LIST 12 Jun–10 Jul 2014
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
■ BRIAN COX STUDIO The Old Sheriff Court, 105 Brunswick Street, 552 4267. The Island Tue 17 & Wed 18 Jun, 7.30pm. £6 (£3). After a tsunami, a group of children are marooned on an uninhabited island. But are they really alone? Ages 10+.
■ BRITANNIA PANOPTICON MUSIC HALL 113–117 Trongate, 553 0840. Murray the Magician Sat 14 Jun, 1pm. £5. Murray the Magician presents his travelling escapology act for scrutiny. The show is a bit on the dark side, so not suitable for young children. FREE Music Hall Memories – The Most Vintage Show in Town Sat 28 Jun, 1pm & 3pm. (Free but donations welcome). Music hall variety show. ■ THE BUNGO BAR & KITCHEN 17–21 Nithsdale Road, 423 0023. The Creative Martyrs: The Sinister Wink Sun 29 Jun, 8pm. Not free, but 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. People Show 124: Fallout Tue 17– Sat 21 Jun, 7pm. £5 (£3). Collaboration with visual artist Rob Kennedy examining themes of isolation, media induced fear, and mass extinction. See preview, page 91. Ages 14+.
■ THE CHILDREN’S WOOD North Kelvin Meadow, Clouston Street, 07762 029663. FREE Superworm Fri 13 Jun, 11.30am. Tam Dean Burn performs Julia Donaldson’s Superworm as the opening of his all-Scotland tour with the Queen’s Baton Relay. See preview, Kids, page 66. FREE Worm Festival Sat 14 Jun, 11am. Children’s theatre company Eco Drama give their family-oriented performance of An Underground Adventure. ■ CITIZENS THEATRE 119 Gorbals Street, 429 0022. Betty Blue Eyes Wed 18–Sat 21 Jun, 7.30pm (Thu 1.30pm also; Sat 2.30pm also). £8–£16. Musical based on Alan Bennett’s film A Private Function. Presented by students of the Musical Theatre Course at the Dance School of Scotland.
■ COTTIERS THEATRE 93–95 Hyndland Street, 357 4000. The Gospel Enquiry Mon 23–Wed 25 Jun, 6.30pm. £10. As the enquiry into journalistic standards continues, four men deliver their testimonies. Part of West End Festival.
✽ Footprints Mon 23–Wed 25 Jun, 6.30pm, £7 (£5). High Heart Dance
Company with Emily Smith, Jamie McClennan and band present a new dance work from this Glasgow-based company. West End Festival.
■ DEAF CONNECTIONS 100 Norfolk Street, 0141 420 1759.
✽ Claire Cunningham: Guide Gods Wed 18 Jun, 7.30pm. £5.
Claire Cunningham can do more things on crutches than most of us can do without them. In this new work she looks at how the major world religions view deafness and disability. This performance has BSL interpretation. See preview, page 92.
■ GLASGOW BOTANIC GARDENS 730 Great Western Road, 334 2422.
✽ The Comedy of Errors Wed 25–Sat 28 Jun, 7.45pm. £10–£17.50.
A production of Shakespeare’s famous comedy about mistaken identity. See preview, page 91. West End Festival.
■ GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. Dance School of Scotland 30th Anniversary Showcase Sat 14 & Sun 15 Jun, 7.30pm. £10–£20. Annual showcase from students of Scotland’s Centre of Excellence, this year celebrating the dance school’s 30 years with a special appearance by previous graduates.
■ GLASGOW UNIVERSITY MEMORIAL CHAPEL University Avenue, 330 5419.
✽ Claire Cunningham: Guide Gods Fri 13 Jun, 7.30pm. Donations welcome. See preview, page 92. See Deaf Connections, Glasgow.
■ GREATER EASTERHOUSE SUPPORTING HANDS 1 Redcastle Square, 774 7261.
✽ Claire Cunningham: Guide Gods Thu 12 Jun, 7pm. £5. See
preview, page 92. See Deaf Connections, Glasgow.
■ 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.
■ HILLHEAD LIBRARY 348 Byres Road, 339 7223. A Date with the Dame (Fifty Shades of Pink) Sat 21 & Sun 22 Jun, 2pm. £10 (£8). Morag Stark’s light- hearted play on Dame Barbara Cartland, acted by Jane Dunbar. West End Festival. ■ KELVINGROVE ART GALLERY & MUSEUM Argyle Street, 276 9599. FREE Dramatic Georgians! Wed 18 Jun, 1.30pm. The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland performs a selection of scenes from classic theatre, including Comedy of Errors, The Lover’s Fight and Twelfth Night.
■ KELVINSIDE HILLHEAD PARISH CHURCH Observatory Road, 334 2788. FREE The Senate Investigation Fri 13–Thu 19 Jun, 7.30pm. Five years on, the Roman Senate discusses whether Pontius Pilate got it right or not. West End Festival.
■ KING’S THEATRE 297 Bath Street, 0844 871 7648. Tonight’s the Night Thu 12–Sat 14 Jun, 7.30pm (Sat 2.30pm also). £10–£42. Singing, dancing and all the Rod Stewart tunes you can shake a stick at! Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story Mon 16–Sat 21 Jun, 7.30pm (Wed & Sat 2.30pm also). £10–£29.50. Celebrate the man and the music. See preview, page 96. Fame – The Musical Mon 23–Sat 28 Jun, 7.30pm (Wed 2.30pm also). £10–£37.50. The smash-hit musical based on the 1980s film about a bunch of New York students trying to break into the arts. One Man, Two Guvnors Mon 30 Jun–Sat 5 Jul, 7.30pm (Wed & Sat 2.30pm also). £10–£44.50. National Theatre’s satirical, slapstick production based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni. See preview, page 91. Rhythm of the Dance with The Young Irish Tenors Tue 8 Jul, 7.30pm. £17–£36.50. Irish dance at its most thrilling, with beautiful costumes, experienced dancers and high production values.
The Dreamboys Thu 10 Jul, 7.30pm. £21–£23.50. The ultimate ladies night featuring some of the best looking boys in an all male glamour extravaganza.
■ LANSDOWNE CHURCH (WEBSTERS THEATRE) 416 Great Western Road, 337 2311. Cats Sat 14 & Sun 15 Jun, 2.30pm & 7.30pm. £6–£7.50. Andrew Lloyd- Webber’s smash-hit musical brought to life by students at Theatre Studio. Colin’s CommonHealth Games Fri 27 Jun, 11am. £6 (£4). Learn the history of the British Empire and the nations of the Commonwealth alongside Colin, the unhealthy, lazy teenager. Ages 5–14. I Will Survive Fri 4 & Sat 5 Jul, 7.30pm. £14. New musical comedy about love and laughter, featuring songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s. ■ THE OLD FRUITMARKET Candleriggs, 353 8000. FREE Refugee Week Scotland Media Awards Fri 20 Jun, 6pm. Annual awards, hosted by the British Red Cross, highlighting exceptional reporting of asylum and refugee issues in the Scottish press.
■ ÒRAN MÓR 731–735 Great Western Road, 357 6200. A Play, a Pie & a Pint: The Call of the Wild Thu 12–Sat 14 Jun, 1pm. £3.50. Jack london’s classic tale of wild dogs in the northern US goldrush era. West End Festival. The Misanthrope Mon 16–Sat 21 Jun, 1pm. £8–£12.50. Classic Cuts’ version of Moliere’s famous comedy of manners. West End Festival. Don Quixote Mon 23–Sat 28 Jun, 1pm. £3.50. Classic Cuts’ version of Cervantes’ famous tale of Don Quixote and his adventures with his trusty servant Sancho Panza. West End Festival.
✽ The Great Yes, No, Don’t Know Five Minute Theatre
Show Mon 23 & Tue 24 Jun, 5pm. tbc. Created by David Greig, this show gives you short pieces, songs, skits and drama to inform the approaching referendum. See Curtain Up, left. West End Festival. Ophelia: Shakespeare’s Hamlet Mon 30 Jun–Sat 5 Jul, 1pm. £3.50. Shakespeare’s great tragedy, re- interpreted by Alan McKendrick. Maw Goose Mon 7–Sat 26 Jul, times vary. £3.25–£75. Play about a woman’s fight to survive in a world of austerity. Sequence: Part II of the Unknown Trilogy by Tom Moriarty Wed 9 & Thu 10 Jul, 8pm. £12 (£10). Three troubled souls find themselves bound by destiny and cursed by love.
■ 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. June Field Sat 14 Jun, 7.30pm. £19.50. June Field, winner of the ‘International Battle of the Psychics’, claims to make contact with residents of the afterlife. Faces of the Future Sun 15 Jun, 7pm. £15 (£13). A showcase of the city’s young talent.
■ PENILEE COMMUNITY EDUCATION CENTRE 10 Gleddoch Road, Cardonald, 882 3309. The Tin Forest Wed 25–Fri 27 Jun, 5pm & 8pm. £5 (£3). A celebration of Glasgow’s industrial past and creative future inspired by the book by Helen Ward and Wayne Anderson. See preview, page 90.
■ ROYAL CONSERVATOIRE OF SCOTLAND 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. Big – The Musical Mon 16–Sat