THEATRE | Previews
AUSTRALIAN THRILLER PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 13–Sat 28 Jan MYSTERY PLAY SECRET SHOW 1 Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Tue 8–Fri 11 Nov
David Greig’s first year as artistic director of Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum is demonstrating his admirable desire to continue the theatre’s tradition of staging classic scripts while introducing internationally respected companies to its audience. Black Swan Theatre, Western Australia’s flagship company, bring their bracing adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s novel Picnic at Hanging Rock to Edinburgh in January, on the back of excited reviews from Australia and Europe.
The novel, which was made into a film in 1975, tells a macabre story of missing
schoolgirls: the play follows the novel’s ambiguity about their disappearance, by turns a murder mystery and a supernatural thriller. Matthew Lutton’s direction uses theatre’s intimacy for a complex and frightening production that recognises the tensions between maturity and childishness in the teenagers and presents their tragedy without unravelling the circumstances.
Lutton’s script jumps between the time of the disappearance in 1900 and a later visit to the site to create an atmosphere of anxiety and threat. Time itself becomes slippery and the brooding presence of the wilderness overshadows the struggles of the young women.
Thanks to the author’s suggestion the novel was based on a true story, Picnic has become mythology, embodying the battle between humans and nature. Lutton and playwright Tom Wright imagine the story as it has passed into folklore and conjure a horror story grounded in a nation’s imagination. (Gareth K Vile)
Blood of the Young, an emerging Glasgow-based theatre company directed by Paul Brotherston, are promising audiences 11 performers in the Tron’s restaurant, live music and a radical staging of a classic script. They aren’t, however, revealing the play in question. ‘The secrecy element is fun as it means the audience comes to the performance with no idea what to expect,’ explains Brotherston. ‘And in turn, we are totally free to have fun and throw caution to the wind. The audience aren’t buying the show; they’re coming along to see what happens.’
Brotherston recently demonstrated his taut directing skills in a terse production of Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, and the company includes musicians as well as theatre-makers, inspiring an anarchic and playful attitude. ‘We want to have fun,’ says Brotherston. ‘Really, that is the main thing. Nothing about our chosen text is sacred so I want some silliness and some invention.’ With a limited capacity, and an audience which has permission to ‘keep
their phones on, make a noise, have a drink and feel involved’, Secret Show deliberately flouts the conventions of theatre to capture a vibrant atmosphere. ‘I hope it all feels alive,’ Brotherston concludes. ‘it should all feel relaxed and fun!’ (Gareth K Vile)
COMEDY JUMPY Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 12 Nov
Cora Bissett has a reputation for tackling serious issues: her Glasgow Girls bridged the gap between the musical and sharply engaged political theatre. Yet, on the surface, Jumpy appears to be following a different path.
Exploring a mother / daughter relationship, April De Angelis’ script is a comic look at the generation gap that echoes the traditional comedy of manners with a contemporary twist. With Pauline Knowles, fresh from her award for best female performance at 2016’s CATS, playing the mother, Bissett’s production unashamedly identifies the deeper themes beneath the humour.
Her imaginative use of music on stage is reflected in the soundtrack, adding an edge to the action. ‘I’m deliberately playing with past and present representations of ‘‘strong women’’ in music,’ she explains, mentioning a playlist that includes Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, Kelis and Nicki Minaj. ‘The play asks the question ‘‘how does each generation understand the term ‘strong women’?’’
‘You might think at first this play doesn’t deal with world
shifting narratives,’ she continues. ‘And yet it’s about growing older, growing up, rearing children, losing children to the world, losing yourself, finding a point.’
Bissett’s previous work – as both an actor and director – has revealed an intelligent sense of humour alongside the incisive political commentary and while this play may sit in a different genre, her intention to use the theatre as a place for public discussion still drives her ambitious and accessible approach. ‘It’s about struggling on through and actually these are the
epic stories of all our lives,’ she concludes. ‘I hope people feel ‘‘not alone’’ when they watch it, and see the humour in their own lives.’ (Gareth K Vile)
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118 THE LIST 3 Nov 2016–31 Jan 2017