THEATRE | PREVIEWS
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GERMAN SATIRE THE UGLY ONE Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Thu 4–Sat 20 Jul
The Tron’s July production – usually humorous and playful – wraps up its spring season with the Scottish premiere of a German play. Following the adventures of an engineer who finds himself ‘fixed’ into an impossible beauty after plastic surgery, The Ugly One mocks the capitalist preoccupation with beauty as a signifier of worth. Marius von Mayenburg’s script juxtaposes broad humour, absurdism and satire to poke at contemporary values.
‘I read The Ugly One maybe seven years ago – it was written in 2007 – and I loved the form of it,’ says director Debbie Hannan. ‘The things I love always have a fairly big imaginative gap for the audience, so there is a lot of work to be done: following how the character has surgery but nothing changes about the actor’s face, you are having to play a game of what is happening in your head versus what is being said. To me, that is one of the most interesting things about theatre.’
The play does have a strong vision, she explains. ‘It is quite
high satire, it is absurdist, but there is a truth to how utterly warped and bizarre our obsession with homogenous beauty is. It takes a thesis and stretches it to its absolute end conclusion.’ Born in 1972, Von Mayenburg follows a typical German pattern
of working as both a dramaturg – the often ignored role that engages with the live production of a show – and playwright. This sensibility encourages the kind of complex interplay of language and theatricality that structures The Ugly One, which uses a visual motif as a platform for comedy and commentary. Hannan is excited to see how the Scottish cast’s sensibility will
mesh with the German humour, but she believes The Ugly One has a distinctive flavour that is ideal for Glasgow, with gallows humour, a critique of capitalism and a lively, emotion-filled and restless dynamism. (Gareth K Vile)
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EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE THEM! Tramway, Glasgow, Thu 27 Jun–Sat 6 Jul SKETCH COMEDY HORMONAL HOUSEWIVES Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Sun 2 Jun
For Them!, Stewart Laing draws together many of the team from his previous company Untitled Projects, music from Teen Canteen’s Carla J Easton, an irreverent attitude towards predictable theatre structures and 150,000 leafcutter ants. Operating as a reinvention of the classic 1950s paranoid science-fiction film, Them! is a reflection on contemporary floating identities and a subversion of the TV chat show. A Scottish theatre-maker arrives on-set to discuss his remake of the ‘seminal creature-feature’, but discovers (through a sudden shift to a nightclub at the end of the world) that issues of class, race and culture can never be ignored. ‘About four years ago, writer Pamela Carter and I started to work on an idea about personality identity and the possibilities of change,’ Laing says. ‘I came across Them! in a list of JG Ballard’s sci-fi movies. And I love that movie!’ The film operates as a foundation to contemplate ‘change and remaking: the plot of the show is about how one could remake it,’ he continues. And while this production follows Laing’s familiar interests in science-fiction and meta-theatrical commentary, he’s also interested in ‘creating a complete world in the theatre: we are not trying to convince anybody that anything is part of something else.’
Although it is story-led, Them! promises Laing’s distinctive combination of the fantastical and the naturalistic, presenting a theatre that recognises the multiplicity of identities, makes claims for the importance of inclusivity, and maintains a cerebral power without losing immediate and visceral thrills. (Gareth K Vile)
118 THE LIST 1 Jun–31 Aug 2019
Hormonal Housewives is a rare production, concentrating not on the esoteric anxieties of usurping kings or tragic protagonists, but on taking a bold and revealing look at contemporary women’s lives. From sex to celebrity gossip, its cast of familiar actors offer a funny and heartfelt alternative to the theatrical dominance of Shakespeare, Ibsen and other dead white male playwrights. Yet for Josephine Partridge, who has joined the cast (completed by Vicki
Michelle and Julie Coombe) for its national tour, there is an immediacy and energy that comes through the fast-paced broad humour. ‘The audiences have been incredible,’ she says. ‘We are in constant awe of the response we get. There is something profoundly moving and humbling seeing that many women weeping with laughter at various points. It is such an uplifting and empowering show; it’s all about friendship and acceptance, and we can see that translating to the audience. It’s just amazing to see them leaving with an added air of confidence.’
With its lively atmosphere and sketch-based scenes, Hormonal Housewives is an unpretentious reminder of theatre’s immediacy and intimacy. Partridge describes the production as ‘just three mates having a night in my living room sharing our experiences and conversations with hundreds of other women (and the odd man!).’ Its refusal to bow to politeness – nothing is taboo – and willingness to discuss those awkward subjects through humour and fun make Hormonal Housewives a night of celebration as much as drama. (Gareth K Vile)