heatre
The total guide to total theatre
Hf .'.' ;". /“ / OFFICE Festival, Royal Lyceum, Mon 13-Sat 18 Aug, 10.30pm
When Shan Khan called in on the Edinburgh Festival last year, he and his mate were so down on their uppers they ended up sleeping in Waterstone’s. They gave each other twenty minutes at a time under a table in the children’s department, one keeping lookout for the assistant, the other dossing beneath the Harry Potters.
Changed times indeed. This year, having picked up the Verity Bargate Award for new writing, the former Glasgow actor is making his playwriting debut with Office in the Edinburgh International Festival no less. lt’s sponsored by The List to boot
That’s not how it happens, I tell him when we meet at the Soho Theatre, a stone’s throw from Oxford Street in the heart of London’s trendy media land. ‘I know, it’s not really hit me,’ says the 30 year old, who was once signed to Elliot Davis’ Precious Organisation alongside Wet Wet Wet, but gave up music when his acting career took off.
‘l’ve done Fringe shows before as a performer, and
done all the shite at the top of the Mile
leaflets. And this is the Festival, for real. At first, I felt a
bit of a ponce, because it really should
but then I thought, well, no, fuck that, it’s a big festival, you know. They’re going to see the Vienna Burgtheater
and The Magic Flute on one hand, and
play about two drug dealers at the Lyceum. That’s just
so brilliant.’
Khan’s play was inspired by his experiences living in London’s King’s Cross where junkies routinely shoot up on the stair outside his flat (at least, main door fixed) and where dealers operate out of the public phone box. ‘When I still lived in Glasgow I
always used to think King’s Cross was
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FRANCOIS GIRARD Novecento (EIF) Royal Lyceum, 13- 15 8.17 Aug; 7.30pm, 18 Aug, 2.30pm & 7.30pm.
One-man band: Novecento
with your
be the Fringe,
then there’s a
Phone box drug deals in Office
to arrive in London,’ he says, looking chic in his khaki Che Guevara T-shirt with matching cap, wooden beads and three-quarter length trousers. ‘You get tourists, locals, junkies, hookers, undercover cops, you don‘t know which one’s which. It’s a crazy area and I live literally 30 seconds from King’s Cross station.’
He adds: ‘l’d go to the gym every morning and about 50 yards from my front door there are two public call
boxes. I’d always see two guys and you’d approach
until he got the
an amazing way
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52 THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE :' ‘1' Aug .1. . '
them and the phone would go. It was obvious what they were doing. They’d pick up the phone, chat, the phone would go down again and, walking 50 yards, the phone would go about six times. When I came back from the gym at 2pm, they’d be knocking off. They were using it, in effect, as their office.’ (Mark Fisher)
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I The Well Being Mouthpeace presents Andrew Buckland's stOry of the trauma of a rape vrctim. told as a semi-mythic fairy tale. Might be the best story you‘ll see told by frogs this year. See review on following pages. Traverse Theatre. until 73 Aug. times vary
I Gagarin Way Violent and very funny, Gregory Burke's first play and John Tiffany’s last at the Traverse deals with the abduction of a businessperson by factory worker. See review on following pages. Traverse Theatre. until 25 Aug, times vary.
I Cirque Surreal Thrill to the skills and theatricality of alternative circus. It’s about the experiences of four wanderers who discover new skills and abilities after being taken in by the circus. See review on following pages. The Meadows Big Top, until 26 Aug, times vary.
I Quentin Crisp: Resident Alien Bette Bourne is captivating as Quentin Crisp in this endlessly funny and engaging monologue. pOrtraying a morning late in Crisp's life. See review on following pages. Assembly Rooms. until 27 Aug, 77.50am
I Tiny Dynamite Abi Morgan's simple stOry about friendship, love and guilt is realised by a combination of the physical skills of Frantic Assembly and the astute textual awareness of Paines Plough. See review on following pages. Traverse Theatre, until 25 Aug, times vary.
I Wiping My Mother’s Arse Iain Heggie's comedy about age and responsibility shows no shortage of ripe language or wit. But there's a lot to say about responsibility and caring, too. See review on following pages. Traverse Theatre, until 25 Aug, times vary
I Bedbound Compelling drama about twisted familial relationships and blind public ambition from Enda Welsh, whose Disco Pigs set the Fringe on fire in 1998. See review on following pages. Traverse Theatre, until 7 2 Aug, times vary.