THEATRE | Previews 118 THE LIST 1 Nov 2017–31 Jan 2018
VISUAL THEATRE MANIPULATE Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 26 Jan–Sat 3 Feb
After Christmas and the quiet of January, manipulate has become the annual herald of Edinburgh’s spring theatre programme. Now in its eleventh year, and still curated by artistic director Simon Hart of Puppet Animation Scotland, the festival champions Scottish and international visual theatre, a label for a collection of performance genres that encourage experimentation. 2018’s programme includes puppetry, choreography and physical theatre: as project manager Melanie Purdie observes, ‘it’s interesting to see the wide range of the remit. Visual theatre is what it says on the tin: it doesn’t necessarily have to have dialogue. But it is always eye-catching.’ With a mixture of returning guests, developing work from local artists, animation and the workshops that accompany the shows, manipulate is an intensive introduction to visual theatre that also demonstrates the state of the art.
For Hart, manipulate has encouraged the growth of Scottish- based artists: ‘I think the biggest single change is that we have so many Scottish artists in the programme. It took until year four until we had any. This year we will have three full productions, and in our Snapshots programme we offer opportunities for Scottish artists, so we have 13 performances in total.’ Visual theatre offers a powerful engagement with the intellect as well. ‘Audiences do have to work a bit harder to create their own narrative with all the elements on the stage,’ Hart adds. ‘It’s a much more active way of engaging.’
Through an ongoing collaboration with the Alliance Française, manipulate will also be presenting four Francophone shows this year. While full details of the programme are still to be announced, the atmosphere and dynamism of previous festivals has made manipulate a unique opportunity to sample the best international theatre, and has established the importance of plays that don’t always need words to entertain. (Gareth K Vile)
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CO-PRODUCTION TABULA RASA Platform, Glasgow, Fri 3 & Sat 4 Nov; Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 8–Sat 11 Nov; Tramway, Glasgow, Wed 22–Fri 24 Nov
Theatre makers Vanishing Point and Scottish Ensemble have teamed up for a new production, Tabula Rasa, set to the music of the same name by revered composer Arvo Pärt. It imagines two characters, one of whom is dying and the other who has to cope, wondering if hospital visits are really caring enough for them. As Vanishing Point’s artistic director Matthew Lenton explains, the work is an interrogation into
why Pärt’s 1977 composition still emotionally resonates: ‘With audiences, they connect to it and you don’t always understand why. It is so delicate, and it exists in a world of its own. To hear variations in it, you have to listen carefully. My role was to think, how does the theatre part come in?’
Lenton worked closely with Jonathan Morton, from Scottish Ensemble, who says: ‘That’s an
interesting idea, that you can take a serious subject matter or series of complex ideas, and present them in a way that people can find a way into them.’ The collaboration was a way to bounce ideas off each other, he adds. ‘It’s very much a two-way process, and in the rehearsals of the shows, the musicians and myself very much feed into the process and affect it in quite meaningful ways.’ With an ageing population, and cuts to the NHS and creative industries, the piece is timely. Music
often has the power to comfort during dark days. Lenton concludes, ‘We want to see how art can transcend our lives, the pain and the suffering’. (Lorna Irvine)
DARK COMEDY HOW TO DISAPPEAR Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 8–Sat 23 Dec
Gareth Nicholls is a perfect choice as the new associate director of Edinburgh’s prestigious Traverse Theatre, bringing a distinctive voice, keen wit and a youthful dynamism to the role. Following his recent directorial Fringe success with Gary McNair’s Letters to Morrissey, and another sell-out run of Trainspotting at the Citizens Theatre, he is now helming critically acclaimed playwright Morna Pearson’s Traverse show, How To Disappear. Delighted with his new role, Nicholls says the Traverse has ‘a real energy that’s quite infectious, the
output of the building is extraordinarily high and the whole team care deeply about the work.’ And he’s keen for audiences to see How To Disappear, as it is particularly of the moment, addressing the big human issues of alienation and sadness. But it’s not all about the angst, he explains: ‘It is a darkly comic drama, focusing on three characters all struggling to make their way through life. It mixes pitch black comedy, biting social commentary and some highly theatrical magic realism to explore the lives of those abandoned on the fringes of society, both politically and personally. ‘Morna Pearson has managed to create a world that is very funny and deeply moving,’ he continues, ‘whilst also raising important questions about austerity Britain and what type of society we want to live in. I hope it will resonate with people – especially around Christmas time’. Officially part of Edinburgh’s Christmas programme, How to Disappear should be a thoughtful antidote to entertainment for its own sake over the festive period. (Lorna Irvine)