Theatre
MACBETH
Anyone for Big Issues?
Consider Macbeth, a power-hungry ruler whose decisions have disastrous consequences both on his career and his people. Ring any bells? For someone writing 400 years ago, Shakespeare’s observation of this political situation has scarily strong resonances. But is this really why it continues to be performed, with three productions at this year’s Fringe?
‘It’s utterly vibrant, yeah, but because it’s talking actually about the human condition,’ says director Graham Mclaren. ‘lt’s going deeper than simply “Isn’t Blair a cunt?” I want someone to say a bit more than that. So if it’s that plus the spiritual, plus the sexual, plus the religious . . . and all those things then you can say, yeah he’s like Tony Blair but he’s also like Judas.’ It appears that this production, with Mclaren’s background in Greek and Roman tragedy, will explore the ‘biggies’ that make up the archetypal classic drama without going overboard on the contemporary analogies.
On how the eponymous anti-hero will be portrayed here, Mclaren gives little away. ‘What makes the different Macbeths interesting is that most people don’t just simply play him as ambitious,’ Mclaren says. ‘Ambition isn’t actually good enough, it’s something deeper.’ But with award-winning actor John Kazek in the title role, supported by a cast including lan Grieve and Sandy Nielsen, this particular production looks set to be a well- performed show, addressing the complex subject of what it is to be human. And not forgetting the promise of suspended swords from the ceiling. Be
there, or be Blair? (Meg Watson)
I Scotland's Theatre Gateway, 377 3939, 7-29 Aug 8pm, £7 2 (£70).
SISTERS SUCH
Devorab Offline 300MB!)
SISTERS Book Festival www.edbookfest.co.uk
Sisters doin’ it for Fringe www.edfringe.co.uk
themselves International Festival www.eif.co.uk Film Festival www.edfilmfest.co.uk
Russell Barr
seems a world away from his character. Gary. in Mark Ravenhill's cult smash. Shopping and Fucking. Barr's incarnation this year, as a young man ensconced in Glasgow's
gay underworld in Sisters, Such Devoted Sisters. seems equally ridiculous. Or not.
a confessional
AND IN THE END John Lennon biography play gives whole story
perhaps. ‘Sisters . . . is
autobiography of sorts;
but I won't tell exactly which parts are true.' says a playful Barr.
‘He's collaborating with Max Stafford Clarke‘s Out of Joint for this seedy piece.
‘I love the energy of the Fringe; the very thought of it inspires me to think of my next writing project.‘ After Fucking and Sisters . . . is there anything left to shock us? “Right now I‘m working on a piece starring 12 Jack Russell dogs; one of them is going to play the baby Jesusfi (Victoria Hammett)
There might, as so much postmodernism has reiterated, be no such thing as truth, but there are lies. Our prime minister himself, with a recent outrageous succession of porkies, might have helped to change our attitude to relativity, and ‘versions of truth’, for increasingly we might seek factual accuracy in the stories we tell each other, having been burned by those in authority.
And factual accuracy is one of many benefits brought to the Fringe by New York Emmy Award winning writer Sandy Marshall, with a biographical piece on John Lennon. ‘I did massive research, read 168 books on Lennon and the Beatles, and then had to sort out all the discrepancies between them. They contradict each other all the time - I had to find out what the real story was. Plus, John and Yoko decided, somewhere along the line, to spin their lives, I understand it, but as somebody who wants the truth, you have to even take what they say with a grain of salt. When his sister Julia read the piece, she said it was the most accurate piece she’d ever read about his life.’
But it’s not just the facts. There’s a spectacle about the show, complete with laser lights, which adds a tremendous narrative drive, as well as RSC actor Valentine Pelka, who recently appeared in Roman Polanski’s The Pianist. His research has uncovered a key to our fascination with Lennon: ‘He was the first real British star to become political, which made him fascinating, but at the same time we couldn’t quite cannonise him. It strikes me that he’s awkward squad, and people feel uncomfortable with that. It’s like the poet Shelley, who’s not on any syllabus, because he doesn’t fit in; there are too many dark Ieanings.’ Imagine. (Steve Cramer)
86 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 5—1 2 Aug 2004
I Traverse, 228 7404, 5—28 Aug, (not 9, 7 6, 23), times vary 2 77 (£8) (£4.50).
PEACEFIRE
Black comedy set against Northern Ireland peace process
‘l‘ll do your knees in wee lad‘ is a phrase not too uncommon along the sectarian divides of NOrthern Ireland. I myself have said the very thing in my best Belfast accent to entertain my Scottish friends. But when paramilitaries are dealing out death and punishment. it's no laughing matter. Macdara Vallely's one- man show Peacefire is a black comedy that takes place against the backdrop of the Nonhern Ireland peace process. It follows the personal experience of a teenage bOy whose chance encounter with a British Army checkpoint turns him into an informer and a target for retribution from the IRA. ‘The problem of anti-social behaviour among urban youth culture can be found in almost every major city in the world.‘ says Vallely. (Andrea Harkin) I Metro Gilded Balloon Caves, 668 1633, 6—30 Aug, 7pm, $850—$760 (7.50—6.50).
EACH AND EVERY INCH
Smart use of space With the media bombarding us with images of Jordan and Victoria Beckham, it's
hard to find more intellectual female role models. Here Theatre Cryptic celebrates the late Elizabeth Smart. author of By Grand Central Station / Sat Down and Wept and someone who director Cathie Boyd believes to be a true inspiration. ‘She was a completely passionate. determined woman,’ says Boyd. ‘She read the poet George Barker's work and she decided. “I shall have that man," and she got him. I think that‘s absolutely fantastic.‘ Representing an extraordinary life in an unconventional manner. the show takes place in different areas of the Gateway building. ‘The spaces reflect her passions. her obsessions, her love affairs. her relationships.‘ says Boyd, ‘We’ve addressed all the senses from being in the dark and just listening. to things you can smell. to things you can touch. It's very much an emotional jOLlrney.‘ With multimedia and live cellists promised. this looks intriguing. (Meg Watson) I Scotland's Theatre Gateway 317 3939. 7—29 Aug, continuous performance between 2pm—5pm (admissmn every 70 mins, runs approx lhr), £l2 (£70).
for GLASGOW THEATRE see non-Festival magazine