list.co.uk/fi lm Previews & Reviews | THEATRE
P H O T O :
M A R K D O U E T
MINI-FESTIVAL CHRYSALIS Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 18–Sun 20 Nov CLASSIC COMEDY THE RIVALS Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, until Sat 19 Nov
Building on its successful first year, Chrysalis returns for a festival weekend at the Traverse Theatre. Curated by Youth Theatre Arts Scotland, it showcases exceptional works from emerging young artists from around Scotland and the world, drawing upon themes as diverse as gender roles in conflict, war propaganda, and the apocalypse.
‘The festival joins a number of other innovative mini-festivals that help to grow Scotland’s reputation for innovative arts,’ says Kenny McGlashan, CEO of Youth Theatre Arts Scotland. He is keen to site Chrysalis within the wider Scottish cultural festival landscape, looking beyond the 12 main Edinburgh festivals towards smaller grass-roots sharings.
This year’s programme offers alternative ways for young people to get
involved with the festival. New for this year, the Chrysalis Emergence strand showcases three 20-minute long experimental works-in-progress, giving young theatre-makers the rare chance to take some creative risks and seek out feedback from their audience. Additionally, Chrysalis Too offers a series of workshops and talks focusing on current trends and challenges in contemporary youth theatre practice. By bringing young theatre-makers into the professional setting of one of
Scotland’s most respected theatres, the festival is making a strong statement about the type of high quality work it wants to showcase. (Irina Glinski)
Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The Rivals appears as an intelligent addition to artistic director Dominic Hill’s programme at the Citizens Theatre. Sitting within Hill’s enthusiasm for classic scripts, this 1775 comedy, for Hill, retains relevance and humour even in the 21st century. ‘It is an absolute classic English comedy of manners,’ he explains. ‘It is a satire on human behaviour, and human behaviour doesn’t seem to change over the years. And it’s genuinely funny.’
Set in the then fashionable city of Bath, it follows the adventures of a sophisticated society, intent on proving its own brilliance. Sheridan’s script, notes Hill, does the same thing. ‘His use of language is brilliant. It’s a precursor to Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, although it is more celebratory. It is based on a similar situation and clever word-play.’
While the happy ending is never in doubt, Sheridan’s plot is a complicated version of a romance, with young lovers obsessed with literary ideals of love, and the characters providing a satirical picture of wealthy society. ‘It really manages to bring out their absurdity,’ Hill continues. ‘You’ve got a lot of privileged people behaving really ludicrously.’ Following the intensity of his last production, This Restless House, The Rivals is a showcase for Hill’s distinctive mixture of imaginative theatricality and naturalistic performance. (Gareth K Vile)
COMEDY PLAY THE BROONS King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 5 Nov; Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Mon 7–Sat 12 Nov. Reviewed at Ayr Gaiety Theatre ●●●●●
Perhaps the biggest challenge in Sell A Door’s production of The Broons is transferring the antics of a family who have not changed since their debut comic strip in 1938 onto the stage, which demands drama. Since the Twins, the Bairn, Ma and Paw, Daphne and the gang have stuck to their stereotypes for nearly 80 years, playwright Rob Drummond faced the difficult task of bringing tension into their settled world. Using a pantomime style – the actors frequently drop
character, indulge in slapstick and self-conscious cheap humour – The Broons is undemanding fun, a series of short episodes interspersed with songs. Gradually, the plot emerges (glamorous daughter Maggie is to be married, threatening Maw’s family stability) and the characters attempt to escape the stasis that reduces them to punchlines. The lazy jokes outstay their welcome but strong performances from Joyce Falconer as hatchet-faced Maw and Tyler Collins (a moving Hen who longs to escape from his role as the man who gets things down from top shelves) lend dynamism to the indulgence. Rob Drummond’s script, despite the knockabout atmosphere,
uses an intelligent conceit to resolve the threat of change, as Granpaw explains how the important thing is not progress or excitement but doing the thing that they love. The family reconcile themselves to their identities, accepting the eternal repetition of their adventures. The Broons is frequently sloppy – the songs seem chosen at random, although they include crowd pleasing hits: the Twins sing ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’, for example – and the slapstick, in places, lacks precision. Yet there are moments of wit and unashamed populist humour that do justice to the heritage of Scotland’s first family. (Gareth K Vile)
3 Nov 2016–31 Jan 2017 THE LIST 117 3 Nov 2016–31 Jan 2017 THE LIST 117
N A W N E K - A G Y M M O T
: O T O H P