Theatre
I am the Walrus 0000 Theatre llorkyhop. until 25 Aug. times vary. Nabil Shaban is breathtaking. a tortured torso rolling about the stage. A disturbing tale of extraordinary madness.
I Have Been Here Before 201/2 ('entury Blues. (' too. until 2.5 Aug. 11.45pm. 1.13. Priestley"s drama about the nature of time. Three stars in The .S’eotsman. I Know What You Want 0000 ly'ometlia l’rmluetions. Kometlia Roman liagle Lodge. until 26 Aug. 5.55pm. A drug and alcohol-fuelled perversity of self- dcccption and depravation. Maddcns‘ play is a black comedy that redefines bad taste in the form of camp noir melodrama. Back in lidinburgh after a sell-out season last year. this play is bound to be a hit again.
I Know What you Want is a fast-paced. energetic take on flat-share comedy played out by the moody. irritating Penny. the erudite and charming (when pissed) Tony. and the superbly bitchy Joan. Watching these two women weave their tangled web of neuroses around the hapless Tony is akin to having teeth pulled. But with high-class acting and a tight script. this play will appeal to most just not me.
(Olivia Wright)
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change l'es'tival 'I'heatre ('S(' (ISA. I)rummontl ('ommunity 'Iheatre. until 25 Aug. IU/mi. .\ltisical about dating and romance that's been popular Stateside.
I Vant to be Alone ’I‘Iie Bongo ('lul). until 25 Aug. times vary. Ailie (‘ohen indulges in radio fantasies to pre-recorded scores and with the aid of puppets. l-‘our stars in The St'Ulsltitltl.
Ignorance The Never Mind Theatre (o. Komerlia .S'outhsiile. until 25 Aug. 2.45pm. Triple bill of nightmarish modern fairytales. Three stars in The .S'eotsman.
Imaginary Prisons Angel-[iii] Theatre. The ('tulerln'llv. until 26 Aug. .i’..i()/mt. Lewd-trained ensemble gives the physical theatre treatment to Sleeping Beauty. l-‘our stars in The .S'eots'man: three in The Guardian.
The Importance of Being Earnest ///yria. Ber/lam 'l'heatre. until 25 Aug. 8pm. Return of the highlywrated treatment of Oscar Wilde's most fainotis play. with men playing women and vice versa.
In Bed With Sue Lawley Nottingham New Theatre. (' too. until 25 Aug. llam. ('omedy about a man obsessed with Desert Island Dives. Three stars in The Scotsman. Innocent (when you dream) (iranary l’roiluetions. (' o2. until 26 Aug. .i/nn. lrish company in a play about eight people coming to terms with an explosive event. Three stars in The .S'eots‘man.
Inside Leg (ientle I’ulse. (' too. until 26 Aug. 4.50pm. Passion. fashion and building sites are the backdrop to this new musical comedy. Two stars in The .S'eotsman.
It was Henry Fonda’s Fault 0000 Assembly Rooms. until 27Aug. 3.55pm. Nearly all children dream of becoming famous. However. most of its give up the dream. settling down to the process of getting a ‘real' job. Written and performed by Owen ()'.\'eill. this play is a biographical
out of canada:
see Rural North America
look at one young boy‘s desire to make it in Hollywood. ()1) the way to LA he meets a perm-haired. over-grateful fan. a technician going cold turkey. and an obese. bald. PVC- clad. lesbian theatre manager. ()'.\'eill is passionate in telling his story and re- enacting the colourful characters involved. ()1) the whole. the play is very funny but there are also moments of self-despair when ()'.\'eill's dream starts slipping away. A great play about realising when it‘s time to let go. (Kik Reid)
It’s Me Sylvia - Live 8: On Film ... .lliss’ing Ruling (‘racy Lat/it's. l’leasanee l)ome. until 27 Aug. 4.45pm. Sylvia Miles' costume is a mistake. giving the impression of a freak show. Instead. we're in the company of a remarkable. mature performer. famous for taking all the eccentric roles which no other actress would touch. Sylvia shows extracts from her extensive movie career. including her six minute ()scar-nominated cameo in .lrlulnight (‘()Il'l)()_\'. her self-penned. improvised turn in Andy Warhol‘s Heat and the delightful. Jewish matchmaker in (’mssing l)e/aneey. There's no material. Sylvia is the show. After a ragged start. she's a wise. witty. gracious hostess. and is knockout at delivering a long. funny poem about the highs and lows (and incredible lengths) an actress will go to in order to get a part. ller comments about ageing and appearance are really moving. lidinburgh. go see a legend. Sylvia. ditch the skip cap. satin shorts and cowboy boots. (John Binnie)
Jack the Ripper Diverse :lllt‘urlimt.\'. until 25 Aug. [RU/mt. l’atrick l’rior digs at the truth. Three stars in The live/ting News. James Joyce, Marcel Duchamp, Erik Satie: An Alphabet Royal Lyceum Theatre. 57) Aug l SUI), 7.30pm. World premiere of a staged version of composer John ('age's 1982 radio play. Jerome K. Jerome’s Novel Notes lieset l-lu'ttlt'e (o. (it‘evll'itll's Kirk House. until 27Aug. l2..\’5pm. A tale of sex. death and turnips.
Jessie Kesson Aether/tow Theatre. until I Xt’p. 8. l5/nn. KCssoti‘\ l‘)2()s backstreet Scottish childhood.
Jesus Hopped The A Train 0000. (ii/(led Balloon at 'leviot Row House. until 27Aug. 4.45pm. It's rare performances that charge the air with electricity. but there are at least two faces-offs in this show that‘ll tnakc your hair crackle with static. liringe l’irst winner.
Joan [TIN/lll‘tlllt‘l’ iii/H’Ufl't’. (Jim). [mill 2/) Aug. 3pm. linergetic New York ensemble reimagines Joan of Are for the new century. Joe Stalin’s Empire Dentart'o Rocket I’rmlui‘tions. Roe/vet ((1 Royal (‘ol/ege of Surgeons. until 27Aug. 7,.i’tl/im. lixploration of the arts under the president's malign rule. Journeys and Memories Kama/ta .S‘i Stephens. until 26 Aug. times vary. Sec tlilliL‘L‘ section for review.
Justified Sinners 0.0 (ii/(It’ll Balloon at 'Ieviot Row llouse. until 27 Aug. 5pm. Alan .\lillttt“s tlotihlc hill of short plays by Tony Thompson and Mark Kelly is patchily successful. but both could Use more variety in terms of pacing.
through
the eyes
The Kaos Volpone COO. Kaos- Theatre. Theatre Workshop. until 25 Aug. 6.30pm. It’s been two years since we saw Kaos's excellent lmpm'tanee Of Being Earnest in Edinburgh. Two years too since the last British Council showcase tilled the Theatre Workshop with Fringe time cheer. It's incredibly good to have them both back. Sitting in a relaxed and comfortable theatre space watching an intelligent but ballsy theatre company is pretty much what this whole thing‘s about after all.
It takes a while to relax into Kaos's style however. bold. exaggerated mannerisms and heavily ennunciated verse delivery can seem like simple over-acting at first. but the style is soon revealed to be perfectly suited to its text. Volpone is at heart not a detached corrective to the foibles of a society as its author liked to pretend it was. but a lurid. unashamcd wallowing in its lower levels of depravity. Director Xavier Leret gets his reading of the play absolutely right when he draws out the unpleasant sex-money nexus at the core of Jonson‘s masterpiece. He may later adorn the play with some frankly unneccesary flourishes but his vibrant. effervescing ideas are tnore often on than not hang on the money. The cast. as we should now expect from Kaos. turn in a superb ensemble performance. Highly recommended. (Tim Abrahams)
C9 The Kaos Volpone 0000 Kaos Theatre. Theatre llorkshop. until 25 Aug. 6.30pm. See review panel.
The King is Dead and Other Tales (iilrlerl Balloon at 'Ieviot Row House. until 27Aug. 2.30pm. The birth. flowering and death of the old Scotland.
Knots Shifting Titles Theatre l’rojeet. ()ltl St l’aul's ('hureh A" Hall. until 25 Aug. times vary. Inspired by the work of RI). Laing. Lady Chatterley’s Lover coo .llitllanrlActors 'Iheatre. (' l’enue. until 26 Aug. 9pm. The appearance of a naked woman might add to the bankability of David ('alcutt‘s adaptation of Lawrence‘s novel. but it has some other merits. The quality of performances. though. is varied. Lady Macbeth Rewrites the Rulebook Broads H'illt Snort/y. (' too. until 26 Aug. It). l5pm. Shakespeare meets martial arts for the Lara ('roft generation. Three stars in The .S'eotsntan.
Lambton Kent 'Iravers'e 'l'heatre. until 26 Aug. times vary. 0.. Anyone who saw Spike Milligan do his David Attenborough-style anthropological study of the cock-a-knee tribe of liast London in Q8 will be familiar with the basic joke of this Andre Alexis play. It is‘ only one joke. but a good one. with many variations on a thetne. Here. an African anthropologist (Yanna McIntosh) delivers a lecture to her academic peers on the fascinating people of South Western Ontario. Canada.
Some of the gags might seem more relevant to a local audience in Volcano's (‘anadian home. but there was enough good material to keep the show going. References to forms ofcolonialism are inherent in the
of an Afgican Anthroplogig‘t
’cownc & UNNERVING, INFALLIBLY DIRECTED...
A MUST-SEE!
EYE WEEKLY, Toaoiviro
'i‘i . .
E@f 2:45,} SAT "@1321 5
many Iinglish place names referred to in the woman's story. but she too is seen as colonised by the suspicious locals. and seems to be subjected to various mild. and sometimes more scriotts. forms of abuse. But the tone of the piece is generally kept light. and there are several wonderful stories told. particularly the one involving her observations of a local funeral. The Scottish Presbyterian origins of the natives she sees gives the audience a few familiar moments. and her reflections on the insect life of the county are particularly crisp in comic invention. By no means a theatre heavyweight. this piece is nevertheless entertaining throughout. (Steve ('ramer) The Lear Lesson coo Mai/em Times Theater: Theatre llin'kshop. until 25 Aug. times vary. An enigmatically engaging half-hour of cerebral theatre that fuses Shakespeare's King l.cer with lonesco‘s The Lesson. A young female student with a pretty severe stammer. and who suffers from mysterious nausea attacks when she recites the bard's lines. enters the home of an ageing male professor fora lesson in how to play Cordelia. The professor's daughter doubles as (ioneril and Regan. But things become far from straightforward when the somewhat nutty professor begins to take his character to heart. “oven with subtle humour. this is a strangely moving piece of intenextual theatre that is performed with some style as it hurtles towards its unexpectedly violent conclusion. (has ie Archibald)
Let Me Out! .0. Ken (‘am/tliell Presents. lv'omeilia Sout/tsiile. until 26 Aug. 7.45pm. New ventriloquistic blood has
LAMBTON KENT
by Andre Alexis starring Yanna McIntosh directed by Ross Manson
A European Premiere by the Award-Winning Canadian Company. Volcano
“Yanna McIntosh - the Actress of her Generation" - The Toronto Star
@ the Traverse Theatre y Venue 15, Cambridge St., L, NU Edinburgh Fringe
August 14 to 25 tickets E9 (E4, E6 conc.) Box Office: 0131 228 1404
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