This month seesabold new move on the partolEdinburgh's Lyceum Theatre. Forthe tirsttime since Ian Wooldridge was appointed Artistic Director. the companyismountingan entirely newplaybyayoung Scottish writer(althoughtheyhave produced several new adaptations and translations overrecentmonthsl. Mounting new workisa box-otticertsk thatnotmanymain stagetheatres are preparedtotake. particularlywiththe presentshortageottunds. and no-one is more aware otthisthan Stuart Paterson. whose newplayMr Government. istheworkinquestion:‘l hopepeopledocomebecausethey havetakensucharisk bydoinga new play—butit'sa riskthatshould be taken more ottenlsuppose. lt's trighleningtothinkthatit'sthelirst new onethat'sbeendone hereinS years. andthatthere are sotewdonein Scotland generally. I hope itworks as a policytorthistheatre. lthinktheteisa specialkind otadrenalinaboutdoinga neWplay—andyousomehowgetthe teelingthatthe audience is sharing in thatadrenalintoo.‘
The project. Paterson's tirst playtora main stage. tookhim eightmonthsto complete. Aquiet. gentle—spoken man from Ayrshire. he first began writing small-scaletouring playstorlan Wooldridge. then DirectorotTAG company. Whilemanysmall-scale companies andtheatres. notleast Edinburgh‘s Traverse. are energeticallyand bravelyprornoting newdrama. the experience otwriting toralarge stage andtheatre must eventually become essentialtormany playwrights. Scotland at the moment harboursagrowing numberotvery promising new writerS—doeshethink theymay drittawayitnotgiven an outlet up here? 'Yes. I mean there are so many writers upherethatcouldbe writing goodplays.
Writing a full length play it is hard to sustainapiece overthe lengthand keep the rhythm and structure. Butl don'tthinkthereisthatgreata ditterence exceptthatpeopleviewit very ditterently. l did a half hour play at the Traverse atew years ago and
sister—in—taw. a eit_\ girl ltndmg it hard to adjust (pta_\ ed b_\' L 'at'ottne t’atetsonl. t)it'eeted by t tugh ttodgart. (See panel l.
0 SPRINGWELL HOUSE .\t‘dittittan
't erraee. ( iorgie.
Victorian Values‘l‘tte 1 Sat 5 .\pr. ifwllpm. L15“ (Ll l. t'tetxets lrotn Sprinwell Home. RV Wat and (‘ommuntty Workshop. Zl Ll t);ttl'\ Road. .\ new eo—pr'ottuetion b_\ 5S4 Seottand and Springw ell t louse ('entre ot a play b_\ Donald (‘ampbetl show mg tile in Spt'ingw ett House. a retuge tor ‘latten women in the Vietot'iatt era (See (ieorge Square theatre ;tbo\ e l.
0 ST MARY'S CATHEDRAL t).ttlltL'T\tttlt t’laee.
BOW Gamelan t'hurs Ill and Hi It .\tar. 73tlpm. L: ( Lt l. Students Ll. L'tS—ttl. ehitdren and ( ).-\t’\ t‘ree. 't‘iekets trom theatre \Vortxshop. ttamttton t’taee. 2315435 and tidinburgh t)istriet ('ouneit.
THEATRE LIST — PLAY FOR TODAY
people weretremendouslysupportive —andalmostreadylorittotail. Whereas. as soon as you go on the main stage. people. lthink. are much harsherbecause otthe scale and privilege otit. l'mterritiedwalking pastthatsignoutthere with Tennessee Williams and Moliere and me onitl But you havetogetthroughthatand get tougherf
The Lyceum has recentlybecomea tocustorthepromotion otnewdrama loranotherreason:theappointmentot Sean McCarthy as Associate Literary Director. whosetaskitisto helpnew writingto gaina hearing. ‘lthinkhe can helpagreatdeal. justbecause he‘sgot experiencetrom all angles. Allthose years atthe Abbeyandthetactthathe's awriter. actoranddirector. He‘salsoa charming man. andlthinkthathelps because hedoeshavetopersuade people otthe value otnew writing—
Reereatton Department. l t’oekburn Street. 335 3424 .‘x’ hols. .\tsoon the Ltttttt'ttll the night. Serap metal musie llt\ett with the eomie and the unexpeeted l't'om the weird and wondettul Bow (iamelan tinsemble. 0 THEATRE WORKSHUPR1 ttamilton t’laee. 21o 54:5. ttox ol'ltee .\ton - Sat ‘l..‘\lt.tttt- 5 .‘stlpm. Bar. ('ale. [D] Easter Fun Feastiwl Mar 74 .\pr. t9or
.‘l ‘) tear tttLtS.
Fun Factories: The Twenties Mon 31. \Vedl. t5ri~1;\pr.3 the theatre Workshop team take a group ot’ young ehitdt‘en (and willing parentsl l baek to ehitdhood in the Ills. .\‘taximum Silehitdren so book. Kids Singalong with Mr Boom title] and 't burs 3 .\pr. 3 2.3(lpm. 75p. :\ ehanee tor .9 U _\ear-old\ to join in a singalong with Mr Boom (aka .-\nd_\ .\tunro).
Toetng the Line: Gregory Nash Group 'l‘hurs 3 and Hi 4 Apr. S'pm, L25“ (Ll Flt). ( 'ontempot‘ar} Danee
Collpnt. 75p.
thereisn‘tmuch otatraditionolithere. there isn'ta ready acceptance otnew plays. in a way it‘s a very conservative town.‘
The playitseltrevolves around what happens whenJake. awarveteran. returnstohishometown attermany years away. 'lt‘sa complete liction. but it is hung around a skeleton ottruth. i didhave an uncle whowentawaytothe warwhen he wastB. survivedthe war. butdidn'tcome homeuntil tfiyears later. When he cameltome he was on his last legs. partlythrough the ettects otmustardgas. butpartlythrottghthe humiliation olnothaving hadworkor anykindoldecentstatustorallthose yearsAnd it‘sreallyabouthis attempt to achieve some sense otdignity throughcoming home.
l'mveryinterestedto see howpeople will reacttothe language. It's very simple—lsuppose itcould looselybe described as ordinary Ayrshire dialect. But I've tried to make it do a lot. be a touch poetichereandthere without seeming contrived. andljustwonderit people willallowthat. lt‘savery emotional playtoo. lt's not quite a good laugh and a good greet. but there's that elementinit. l reallydothinkthat unless people getattected emotionally byapiece ottheatre. then it'snotmuch use to anyone. because itall you're presenting isideas. youcangetthat from books. novels. journalists. whatever. . .'
ltiswiththeatrethenthatPaterson wantsto stay. torthe present. whether MrGovernmentisasuccessornotvhe harbours no secretleaningstowards othertormsotwriting: ‘Writing'sa tairlyinsulated and isolatedjobto do. butatleastwhenyou writeaplayyou gettomeetawhole lototpeopleatthe end otit.And l'mreallytascinated by plays.Thegreatthingabouta playisit has a tile and it has a death. It goes on andthen itstops. That‘sthewayitmost mirrors lite. lsuppose~ it has justthat span of lite of its own. And that. lthink. makesitquiternagical. lttascinates me. No, lthinkthis is me tor lile~ iti cankeepmy bottlel'. (Opens Fri2t Mar. Royal Lyceum Edinburgh). (Sarah
Hemmingl.
the ( itet.‘ \.t\-tl ( il'titll‘
theatre trout (See t )attee l. . l t: \Ve‘d tt<t\\ . :3th 3b}? tto\ olliee tlle\ Sun
lllam Spin Hat. Rest. ttet elx also available the t'tetx'et ( 'entte. 1‘. Market Street.
Scottish Student Drama Festival Productions t not Sun 1.1 Mat. t-inat l'ew da_\\ol the tra\et'\e\ \eteetiott ot plays lrt um llllS _\ear K Settttxh Student Drama textual, .-\tt lll t'pstairs theatre. t’rteex:
tieon Student members L3 fill. l'tllt members L3. ( itteSlx L4. Student Standby L35” ( tttetttbet'x L2) tttlltllh betore pet'lttttttattee\lat'l\.
ltltHad Pleased GUdtttttlThe Rain thttrs Ill 7.3llpm, two plats lll the round b_\' txdinburgh l 'ntxet‘sitx. Me Too t’ri It Sun I} “St lpnt. :\ new musteat play by t._\'nn ttatnes. presented b_\' Kit kettld}. ('otlege. prL'Setttet‘Mtl t;t\l _\’e;tt‘\ \tleeexslttt
tet\'_\ \ ah.
Algae Nitrogen andthe mad dog ina sheep tlock: Playreading Sun 3.» Star 5..‘~llptrt. L2 ( Sllpl. .-\n tidinburgh Playwrights Workshopreadtngota playtw t eonard (irendel.
The Tropic of South Kenton: Rehearsal l‘ntit t‘ll It .\tar. lfillpm. 5(lp. ()pen rehearsals ol the produetton to be shown trom title 35.
The Tropic of South Kenton: Workshop Production lite 35 Mar Sat 3‘) Mar.
” 45pm. L3 (Sllpl. .-\n tidinburgh t’la_\'w rights~ Workshop produetton ot a ptax by Stornowat t)tllt\. tnxesttgatmg the habit\ and behaviour ol a eet'tain t tarnish .\taektt inogatm a \peetmen ot the
t ngtish bourgeoisie reputed to be tun, A Woman Alone/Una Feminina Fatale \\ ed It» Sun .lll .\tat. fiatllpm. t’riees as Student t)l ama t-estix'at. .-\ eoeproduetion betw een tte\itate and t)L‘ltl(tlt\ll';tlL' .tttd t tt‘ l'eatt‘o. ttotognat oneenlt'attng on tttoxetttettt and \ lStlttt el'teets. the [lltttlllettt‘ll presents the tile otia woman. \w itehmg between dream tile and realm . t tL'SltéltL' and t)e'tttttitstr';tte-'\ \l'tlStlL' Director. tier .tldine t’itgrtm. started lll \‘lStlttt arts and her ear iiest theatre work is deseribed as ‘mox mg painting.‘ McClusky's Lament: Playreading Sun .tll\1.tr.5..‘wllpiti. t._‘.(5(lpl. .-\n t‘dinbuigh Playwrights \‘xortkshop t't. .tdittgol a plat bx tint ( itaete. Norman and Elsie's Macbeth t'tiet .\pr Stilt b -\pt' “.Rllpm. t’r'ieesas tot Student [Mama I estixat, Bristol t'\jtt<_‘\\ theatre ( 'ompant in art unorthodox prt .ttitetton ot the tinntenttonabte plat . \ornt and titsie
0 MrGillie Seottish theatre (‘ompant t‘ex‘ix e thetrsueeesxtut pt'odtietton ol .Iame\ ttridtek .\lr (ii/tie. with tom t'teining again in the title role ol .\tt‘ ( itttie. the small town Seottixh \ehoolmastet‘ w hose philanthropieideahlandhim in pt;t_\titg the unnzentionabtethane and exei‘tt lllt‘ else til their own tront room apparentb a tessthan serious
approach.
TOURING
0 Please check all venues it possible — they may be subject to change atter press date.
as Beneath One Banner “St .\‘entlantl in a play tw \L‘ittt \tet .ttth\ about the dTlSlllg‘ ot .lo l\l\tll the-Hagen the llt'ange ant the ( iteen lll .t \niatt Seottixh pit—town tn the nineteenth eentttrv .\ \L'l lttllS theme. a
\ltl'llllx ting ol lttlttlt ttll and some
spot t‘tt perhu’tnattew ttlitth‘ lot a pt'eto good night out.
.ltltt /te// Hint/re. (it’ttxguw l'ntit Sat .33 Matt a. :ttl‘ttl; t/ttt'zttmt tenure tent/e //'l me Mr In 3:1 o; tues 35 Mai”. ".Rllpnt; tlewx Him/re.
[.Il t'rttgxtmz \Vett 2b \tat. fl. tllpnt: .-t/u'rt/eert 'l/‘[\ ( erttre t'l'l IS tk Sat 3‘) .\tar. a. tllpnt. Keri/n a Ion/t lltI// tiles 1 .\pr. lllpm. l’ttt'tzt'e lheatre. A't/nittnim'k \\ ewt ..‘ \pr, Halllpm; (true/t Itiettt/e. .‘l \I thuts 3 .\pr 73(lpm; lt’t'm At’ttrizt‘x Hit/f. Kt/wt/trtiztet l'l~1¢\jtl It’ttrrt:e/ttx
/’t1i t/tori. lat/'LW Sat ;~ .\pr a. tllpnt. 0 Please let "7S1 Seottand on lltt 5.? .l-H.‘ lot ant lttrthet' detaitsand to ‘onlirnt.
'the List 21 Star — 3 Apr 11