THEATRE LIST

Perthshire. to launch new books being published by Bloodaxe this autumn. Also see Netherbow. Edinburgh.

0 TRON THEATRE 63 Trongate. 552 4267 8. Box Office Tue—Sat

Noon—8pm; Sun 12.30—8pm.

(‘afe Rest. Bar Tue—Thurs

Noon—l 1pm: Fri and Sat Noon—midnight: Sun 12.30—11pm. Philadelphia Here I Come Thurs l—Sun 25 Oct. (Closed Mondays) 8pm. £4 non-members. £3 members. £1 cones. The Tron begin their autumn season with Brian Friel's comedy. directed by Michael Boyd. Poised on the brink ofa new life in the land ofopportunity. the young Irishman Gareth O‘Donnell suddenly looks for reasons to stay in Ireland. With Mannix Flynn. James Durrell. and Tony Roper. author of the hugely successful Wildcat show. T11 e .S’Ieumie.

EDINBURGH

0 ASSEMBLY ROOMS 54 George Street. 225 3614.

Women Celebrate-Weekend Workshops Sat 3 and Sun 4 Oct. 10am~4pm. 2 days £10.50(£3). 1 day £7.50 (£2). per workshop £2. The Assembly Rooms‘ autumn season continues with women's workshops on a wide range of themes from painting and playwriting to finance. mothers and daughters and compulsive eating.

Cabaret Sat 3. 8pm. £3 (£2) Advance booking L'sher Hall. 228 l 155 Mon—Sat 10am—5pm. and at the Assembly Rooms on the day. Sensible Footwear. a 3-woman comedy act and jazz soul singer. Hope Augustus. Tea Dance Wed 7. 3pm. 75p including refreshments. With the Douglas Wyllie Trio. Swamp Trash and Good and Gone 9 Oct. 9pm. £3 (£1 .50) The local and popular Swamp Trash. whose music veers from bluegrass to cajun and creole. join forces with the edgy blues-based sounds of Fifeshire band. Good and Gone.

Nicky Hind ‘Hindsight' Wed 14. 8pm. £3 (£1.50). L'nclassifiable minimalist composer from Edinburgh with l3-piece ensemble playing tracks from his debut album. Him/sight. The Country Doctor Thurs 15—Ser 17 Oct. 8pm. £3 (£1.50). This pastoral-sounding play is in fact the latest dramatic offering from the Merry Mac Fun Co who having changed direction and moved into drama with their successful Edinburgh Festival show I Love You Baby But I Gotta Run follow it up with this new comedy. Also see Dance.

0 BEDLAM THEATRE 2 Forrest Road. Box Office 225 9893. Mon—Sat lllam—late. ('afe. To coincide with Freshers Week. beginning Mon 5 Oct. the EL'TC present a series of ambitious evenings ( £1 .50 non~members. 50p members) and lunchtime (Free to members. 50p non-members) shows.

Lovers Mon 5. Thurs 8 and Thurs 15 Oct. 8pm. By Brian Friel. (‘harles Barron directs.

Sleuth Tue 6. Fri 9 and Fri 16 Oct. 8pm. Stewart Botting directs

L Anthony Shaffer‘s complexly

THE LONG MARCH

It might be interesting to monitor tennis racquet sales over the next few months. The Long March, running at

the Traverse from 13 October, as part of :

a British tour, spearheads a campaign to dissuade us from buying Dunlop and Slazenger sports goods.

It may sound far-fetched, but no more so than the story behind the company who present the play. The SARMCOL Workers' Co-operative are not actors, but sacked workers from a factory: The South African plant of the British Tyre and Rubber Company. The play, devised and performed by the workers, is a hot and passionate reconstruction of their continuing struggle against their employers.

Nine hundred and fifty workers were dismissed by BTH in 1985, following a strike which attempted to gain management recognition fora trade union. The union had battled foryears to improve the poverty wages and harsh conditions at the BTR plant. Despairing of justice, after blackleg Iabourwas brought in, and vigilantes kidnapped and murdered the strike organisers, the sacked workers set up a farming and T-shirt printing cooperative to support themselves and their families, and with a mixture of dance and drama set out to take their story to the people.

Hundreds of performances later, they are still fighting. “The strike is now a

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household name in South Africa; the play has been everywhere,‘ says Mike Murphy, organiser of the tour. Yet recognition of their plight has only served to worsen it. Vigilantes terrorise their community, and BTH refuse to speak to either strikers or union. Their British tour is an attempt to bring consumer pressure to bear on the company. They hope to persuade local authorities not to deal with BTR’s construction industry subsidiaries, and to embarrass stars like Steffi Craft and Jimmy Connors into abandoning their advertising links with the company’s sporting products.

The Long March is a living document: ‘It reflects reality, nothing is made up,’ says Mike Murphy, ‘but it‘s more than a political rant.‘ The play reflects a mixture of influences, from traditional Zulu dancing to a pantomime-like approach to characters including Mrs Thatcher and Sir Owen Green, British president of BTR.

BTR in Britain have tried to distance themselves from the South African wrangle, claiming that decisions were taken by the local management. The players are convinced otherwise and portray their struggle in an international context.

‘If we can hurt the company, even a little bit,’ says Mike Murphy, ‘that will be enough.’ (Julie Morrice)

plotted thriller memorably filmed in |

the early Seventies with Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier. Bedroom Farce Wed 7. Sat 10 and Sat 17 Oct. 8pm. By Alan Ayckbourne. David Gray directs.

Funny Peculiar Wed 7. 1pm. By Jeff llowitt. A comedy in broad Scots. Mon 5. Thurs 8 and Sat 10. 1pm.

0 BRUNTON THEATRE Musselburgh. 665 2240. Box office Mon—Sat 10am—8pm. Bar. [D]

Cabaret L'ntil Sat 100ct. 7.45pm. £3.75 ( £2.25). The bitter tale of embryonic Nazism in Thirties Berlin scanned by the mocking irony of the Kit Kat (‘lub with John Kander and Fred Ebb's memorable score is the ambitious start to the Brunton‘s autumn season. See Review.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 14—31

Oct. 7.45pm. £3.75 (£2.25). Miss Brodie. unorthodox Edinburgh schoolmistress. considered the fuller flowerings of the mind were not to be reached through the conventional school syllabus but she and the ‘Brodic set‘. her creme de la creme. paid a high price for her philosophy. Dramatised by Jay Presson Allen from Muriel Spark‘s acutely-observed novel.

The Steamie 16—21 Nov. This show is already sold out. so if you want to catch it in Musselburgh put your name down now fora return.

0 KING'S THEATRE 2 Leven Street. 229 1201. Box office Mon—Sat l0am—8pm. Bar. [1)]

ATouch of Danger Until Sat 3 Oct.

price Mon. (‘oncs Tue—Thurs £2 off

stalls and grand circle. A Francis Durbridge thriller with Derren Nesbitt. See Review.

The Chieftains Sun 4. 7.45pm. £6.50.

£6. £5. £4. No concs. 'l‘raditional Irish

music.

3 Scotland the What? Tue 6—Sat 24 Oct. 7.30pm. £6.50. £6. £5.50. £5. £3.

(‘oncs £2 off stalls and Grand Circle Mon—'I‘hurs evgs. except Tue 6. Gala

1 Opening Night'l‘ue 6in aid ofthe (‘ystic Fibrosis Research Trust.

Comedy in the form ofsketches and songs from Buff l lardie. George Donald and Stephen Robertson directed by James Logan.

The Corries Sun 1 l & 18 Oct. 7.30pm. £6. £5. £4. No concs. Scotland‘s

popular folk group in concert.

0 MANOELA THEATRE Gateway Exchange. 2—4 Abbeymount. 661 0982. Cafe and bar facilities during performances.

Bing Hitler and Harry Enfield Thurs 15 Oct. 8pm. (Baropens 7pm). £3.50 (£2). The Mandela are looking to establish the theatre as a popular venue on the cabaret circuit and begin a series of three fortnightly slots with Bing Hitler and Harry Enfield. See Guestlist.

O NETHERBOW 4311igh Street. 556 9579. Box office 10am—4.30pm: 7—9pm perfevgs. Cafe. [D] [E] Bloodaxe Poets Tue 6 Oct. 8pm. Four

Scottish poets. Geoffrey Dutton.

Stewart Conn. Andrew Greig and Kathleen Jamie will be reading from

their work. See Third Eye Centre. Glasgow for full description.

La Deuxieme NuitTue 13. 7.30pm. £3 (£2). The Festival begins with the

French company Theatre d‘Epinal. first seen at the Avignon Festival this year. Also see Theatre Workshop. Guitar Classes Wednesdays from 7

Oct to 18 Nov. 7pm—9pm. Fee £12.

(noclass21 Oct). Folk. classical and popular guitar for beginners and recent beginners. Numbers are limited. so please book early.

0 ROYAL LYCEUM Grindlay Street. 229 9697. Box office Mon—Sat l0am—6pm. 10am—8pm on perfevgs. Bar. Rest Cafe. [DHE]

(TheatreSaver (‘oncession (.‘ards cost ?

£1. last all year. give £1 offthe full

price each time you come for you and a friend available to OAI’s. LIB-10s. Students. disabled. under 24 railcard holders. YTS scheme and young people under 18).

A Doll's House Fri 2 Sat 24 Oct. 7.45pm. .£2.70—£6. FREE

. PREVIEW on Thurs 1 Oct. 7.45pm.

Sat mat 17 Oct. 3.15pm.

Ibsen's late 19th century play dealing

with one woman's messy search for self-identity in a man's world.

0 SPRINGWELL HOUSE Ardmillan Terrace. Gorgie. Edinburgh. 337 1971.

Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Oil 13 Oct. 7.30pm. Along

with Wildcat’s The .S'Ieumie and

TAG’s ()Iltel/u. this version of Mary performed by (‘ommunicado is one of the most popular Scottish plays around at the moment. with all dates

rapidly sellingout. Liz Lochhead

retells the familiar story. scanning it for the essentials and describing a

f caluclating Elizabeth. 21 7.30pm. Silt 5 & 8pm.£3—£5.50.11all '

strong—minded Mary and a wimpish Darnley. Also see Touring.

18 The List 2— 15 October