I
E R O M L G S S O R
THEATRE | Previews
K R A L C Y B B O N
BALLET AND OPERA GET VISUAL MANIPULATE VISUAL THEATRE FESTIVAL Traverse Theatre and Summerhall, Edinburgh, until Sat 7 Feb
Manipulate’s brief to present international performance that is both accessible and challenging has uncovered a selection of works which play with the highest of art forms: opera and ballet. Receiving its Scottish premiere, Czech choreographer Andrea Miltnerova’s
acclaimed Dance Of The Magnetic Ballerina (Fri 6 Feb) explores the limitations of dance, body and the psychic and physical space surrounding it. Challenging the preconceptions of ballet’s aesthetics, this powerful and discomfiting piece may shatter ‘frou frou’ ideals of pretty and delicate ballet clichés.
Ramesh Meyyappan’s skilful theatre production, Butterfly (pictured, Thu
5 Feb), based on the short story by John Luther Long that later became famous as the opera Madame Butterfly, is an immersive blend of puppetry, choreography and heart-rending story telling. With music by David Paul Jones, this is moving and memorable theatre. Although live theatre is at the core of manipulate's programme, its animation strand is consistently innovative and engaging too. Look out for the screening of BAFTA-nominated Monkey Love Experiments, alongside a talk by its creators Will Anderson and Ainslie Henderson (Sat 7 Feb). (Lorna Irvine)
SCIENCE FICTION MUSICAL RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET King’s Theatre, Glasgow Mon 9–Sat 14 Feb; Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Tue 10–Sat 14 Mar
As writer and director Bob Carlton remembers, the creation of Return to the Forbidden Planet was a gradual process. He was the artistic director of Bubble, ‘a fringe company for people who didn’t usually see theatre'. When they added theatrical takes on classic rock’n’roll numbers to their repertoire – ‘for a bit of entertainment’ – Carlton recognised a possible link to Shakespeare.
‘Shakespeare was a populist,’ he says, ‘and the old B-movie, Return to the Forbidden Planet, despite the dialogue, is so good because it uses Shakespeare’s The Tempest.’ Carlton’s next step – to score the story with rock’n’roll – created a musical juggernaut, which has toured constantly and spent four years in the West End of London.
For this 25th anniversary restaging, Carlton is delighted to be back as
director. The comic mixture of science fiction, pop music – which now has a touch of nostalgia – and a familiar yet deep story recalls Shakespeare’s own approach to theatre: celebrating shared memories and ideas, reaching for the sublime but never forgetting the importance of humour and entertainment. (Gareth K Vile)
CURTAIN UP
BUZZCUT Nick Anderson and Rosana Cade explain the Buzzcut festival, which appeared as a response to the end of the popular New Territories season
What is Buzzcut?
It’s an accessible alternative environment for audiences and artists to get together to watch, experiment with and celebrate radical live performance practices. Where does it happen?
We’re returning to the Pearce Institute in Govan for the second year running, but will be using different spaces in the building this year, so there will still be a few surprises. What makes Buzzcut stand out from other theatre festivals?
In our first year, we were basically running the whole thing on a shoestring, building a festival through people’s energy and enthusiasm for the performance scene in Glasgow. Because there was no money involved, we had to ask important questions about what the exchange of performance can be about, if it’s not about money. What can we offer artists outside of financial support?
Who is performing this year?
Our programme has around 60 different artists and companies, around half are based in Scotland and half travelling to Glasgow from elsewhere. There are a few people who are returning having previously shown their work with us like Eilidh MacAskill (pictured, Fish and Game), FK Alexander (industrial music-inspired singer and performer), and cabaret live art act Figs in Wigs, as well as lots of new faces we are really excited about, including artist and designer Minty Donald and drag king Diane Torr. How is this year going to be different from 2014? What we have developed, and are in a process of continuing to develop, is the level of access to the festival. We now only work in wheelchair- accessible buildings and are looking to secure more support for future festivals to consider access in new ways. (Gareth K Vile) ■ Pearce Institute, Glasgow, Wed 18–Sun 22 Mar.
84 THE LIST 5 Feb–2 Apr 2015