MAYFEST DIARY
181 he l.isi 13— 26 May 1988
SO YOU THINK YOU‘RE FUNNY: SEE WED 19/CABARET. Well. do you think you are tunny? Could you do better than the likes oi Elton (Ben. notJohn). Connolly (Billy. not Cyril) or Henry (Lenny. not Claire)? llyou could. you have the chance to expose your talent to the world and make your break tor stardom at Maytest. where stand-up comic Simon Fanshawe, tounder ot the new International Comedy Festival. is organising a competition to discover tledgling tunny-people. The competition takes the lorm ot three heats (18—20 May) lollowed by a Grand Finale on 21 May torthose who have been selected trom the heats by a panel ot judges. Entrants will have a chance to work on their material with the comedians who are present lorthe Comedy Festival. and the successtul ones will go on to booking some live gigs. At the time oi goingto press. Simon Fanshawe had received about titty entries. all trom closet comedians amongst the general public - including deceptively serious bank clerks and even a weights and measures inspector—and was impressed bythe standard at entries: ‘l'm
loam-12.30pm limel back in time See l-ri l3. 11am onwards Sunday is the day loi telling tales— and listening tothem. lheic w ill be storytelling .ill day . with lolk arid tiaditional talesii'om all m er the wotld. and any child who hasa story to tell is my tied to tloso. For all ages
12.15pm \tithoi .lohn (ii‘ant w ill be talking and drawing tot (» Ill ycat-olds
1.30—4pm 'l ray cl back in lime. Sec I'l'l l.“
2pm l)uncan \Villiantson. atitltot ol I'ii'csidc IaICsol tltcl rayellingChildren.is a gical slotylellcrand lteill l‘eswopptngltilk talcswith cltildienon Sunday I oi " yearsplus. 3pm I)a\ id \cy tllc will be peitoiming hispopttlar and w cll know it Book Sataii w hich plots the coin se ol books li'om cayc drawingstotypewriters
and \ntstiads
MONDAY 16
THEATRE
I Lady Windermere‘s Fan ('iti/eiis' lheatie. L'ntil Sat 2| (not Suns) 7.30pm. L i ( Ll I'tL‘c‘l Sec liri I3. IThe Clyde Is Red
( tawiuid llteatrc. I'lri
l.‘ Sat .‘l (not Sun IS). “fillpm See I’ri l3.
at
st delighted at the originality ot them.‘
Fanshawe hopes the idea will become a traditional element in Maylest. part at the Comedy Festival. which he aims to expand and develop next year. to include more comedians trom abroad and a wider variety oi solo showsthat are iunny. He still hasn‘t closed his books on entries lor this year‘s ‘So You Think You‘re Funny'. however: ‘We want as many entries as possible.‘ It you tancy your chances. take your courage in both hands and send in some otyouriokes ora tape oi yourseli to: Maytest. So You Think You‘re Funny. 46 Royal Exchange Square. Glasgow. by Wednesday 18th. (SH).
I The CBIIiC SIDTy l’ay ilion
Theatre. 'l'hi'oughout
May test ( not Suns). 7.3tlpm. See Fri 13.
I No Mean City Kings
l'lteatre. Mon lo Sat Zl 7.3Upm; Sal 3| at 3pm and 7.30pm. LSSlllHl. U 5“ (£3); DMZ). TM Scotland‘s now traditional appearance at May test. This year they present a stage adaptation oi the novel by .-\. McArthui and H. Kingsley long about(ilasgow Ales Norton has w ritteii the play . Day id I lay man and Gerard Kelly direct. Sce Feature. I The Virtuous Burglar and An Ordinary Day Mitchell "Theatre. Mon lo Sat ll. 7.30pm. EMBED). Borderline'l'ltcatre Company in a double bill oi Dario lio comedies. translated by Joseph Farrell. ()ne w rilten iii I959 and the other twenty -cight years later. they both dey elop larce around ntarital situations. IAChild In The Heart Mott Hall. .Mon lo and Inc I". 7pm. £5 (£3.50). Joint Stock Theatre (‘ompany in their controy'crsial latest production. See panel.
CLASSICAL
I Yoshi Dida. Diamchid Chemirani and Kudsi Erguner (‘handler Studio.
RSAMI). lpm. £45”
(£3 5“). Basedona 13th century Chinese text. A Buddhist monk asks his students questions. arid they try to iindthe
answ ers through meditation. In this yersion the students are tlte audience and while they think ot the answers. the pertormei'splay musicand dance.
I Kudsi Erguner(Turkey) Ney Flute Music Chandler Studio. RSAMD. " 45pm. {Mi-l). Kudsi Erguner from 'I urkey . one otthe musicians in The Mahabharata. play s mUsic lor tlte ney llute.dating back to the l3th century I BSAMD Wind Band (Scotland) Steyenson Hall. RSAMI). 7.3tlpm £3
(L'l ). (ietttng into the Candide spirit. [Elgar \thliams conducts an eyening oi music by leonard Bernstein.
FOLK/JAZZ
I The Blues Band
Mcl2w an's Mitsic ('cntre. (ioyaii Iown Hall. .S’pm. L5 ( 12.5”). Famous group ol successlttl pop
stars blues tans got together to play the music they loye. (ireat electric key M. ironted by e\-Mantred Mann. l’atil .Itillc‘s.
IThe Ink Spots (‘in Hall. 7 .‘tllpm. L5ti§2.5tl). New laces but the melody lingerson. Nostalgia trip with this rich harmony siitgiitg group.
I The Kalinka Quintet and The Rudichenko Ensemble Henry Wood Hall. Mon lo and '1 tie l7. Spin. £5 (£2.50). From
Rostoy -on- Don come tour balalaikas with an
accordion. playing
(‘ossacls' folk tunes. Also the Rudichenko Ensemble. sey cit ol the best lolk singers oi the region. and Virtuoso accordionist Vladimir Zatsepin.
CABARET
I Arnold Brown Beck‘s Spiegcltcnt. Sec Sun 15.
KIDS
I Great Glasgow Book Bonanza McLellan (ialleries.
9.45am A special hour tor handicapped children with David Neville (see Sun l5) arid a puppet sltow. 10am-12.30pm Travel back in time. The Haggs team is expanded on Monday to include author Ann Scott. She will be bringing to lite the Edinburgh Mary Queen of Scots would have known and will he sketching what she describes.
11am A slide show and talk by Shirley Hughes about how she makes her
books. I-or S“ I: years. 1.15pm BB( ‘ producer and author oi the Dr Who books'lcrraltcc Dielssyy ill be talking toSyear-olds upwards.
2-4pm Tray el back in time. See [it l3.
2.15pm Since the mid (ills journalist Michael Hardcastle has touiid the time tow rite astagget‘ing llltlbooks, oy er Silol which are tor children. They w ill know him best through his spoitsnoy els. about cricket. goll. race horses. ittotocioss. netball and ol course tootball. This month he scoies his century with his llllltll book. [he Rim/(iimtcs. about an ‘( )ly mpics‘ tor the \illageisol .-\itieiton
Riyal.
TUESDAY 17 THEATRE
IThe Mahabharata'l he ()Id ‘l‘ranspoit Museum. Various timesandlimited ticket ay atlability
contact 'l'icket (‘entre (ll-II 33-7 55l l l I‘UI'LIL‘ItllIS I Shanghaied Mitchell 'I‘IIL'iIIrL‘. See Ktclssc‘elttiti Iordelails.
I Lady Windermere‘s Fan ('iti/ens' 'I heatre. l‘ntil Sat 3| (itot Suns) " 30pm £3 ( Ll I‘I'L‘L‘ l See I'll l3 IThe Clyde IsBed (‘rawltiid I‘heatie I'l'l l3- Sat Zl (not Sun l5) 7.30pm. Sec I‘ll l3.
IThe White Bird Passes 'l‘ron Theatre. Throughout Maytcst (not Mon ltil Spin. See I‘l'l l3 IThe CBIliC Story l’ay ilioti Theatre 'l’ltroughout May lest ( not Suns) “Jilpm. See I‘ll l i
I No Mean City Kings Theatre. Molt lo Sal ll 7.3tlpm; Sat II at 3pm and 7.30pm. See \Ioll Iii.
I The Virtuous Burglar aitd An Ordinary Day Mitchell 'I'hcatre. Mon lo Sat ll. 7.30pm. See Mon lo.
I Whale Nation 'l'hird t-iye (‘entre (Sttidio). Ith l7 and Wed IS. Spin £35“ (£2.50). Roy Hutchins. probably best known asa comedian. in a one-man staging oi an acclaimed poem by Heathcote Williams following the lite oi the wltale through the earth‘s oceans. See panel. I A Child in The Heart Molt Hall. Mon lo and 'I‘ue l7. 7pm. See Mon lo.
ROCK
I Aswad (ioy‘an low it Hall. 8pm. {(i.5tl(i.-l). I suppose Asw ad totally desery'e their recent number one. it only asa testament to ten yearsot dedication and hard work. It will be interesting. therefore. to see the ell’ect of the sale of the single on the audience here. as Aswad don't scent to he too popular among hard
L‘Ulc‘ icggac I.llls
FOLK/JAZZ
I The Kalinka Quintet and The Rudichenko Ensemble Henry \\ ood I [all Mon lhand ltic l" Spin See \Itlli Iii
CABARET
ITerry Neason lion lhcatic ltie l“ Stiit .‘_‘at l 1pm L“ 1 LI iniembeis; t4 noit~inembeis I lie
eyei -popti|ai big lady with
the pow ci IllI y oice takes time oti lioni appearing in liar. l lic(‘ellic Story to
giyc her solo show
I International Comedy Festival Moir Hall.
1 Tonight the compere is
Pete McCarthy and the acts are Mark 'I homas.
f (‘athy' l.adman and Barry
: Steiger. See Fri 13.
I Arnold Brown Beck‘s- Spiegeltent. See Sun 15.
KIDS
I Shanghaied Mitchell Itlc' I“ Sill :I
Illc‘itllc‘
l lam and 3pm; Sat II at Spinniin L3 Stlttl Slit. I.|/ Iocltltead's new play lot the Scottish totii'ing theatre company Borderline is set in (ilasgow dtiring the Second \\ tii’ltl “at. Il looks not so much at the ellccts ot war. bill at the shaip social dilicrences; gi'oitpot children espei'icnce when three tenement kids are esacuated lioin
('ly debank to a country house iii .>\y Nine.
7
WEDNESDAY 18
THEATRE
I Shanghaied Mitchell
I lteatt'e. but I tlc‘ I 7.
I Lady Windermere‘s Fan ("iii/ensd’heatre l‘ntil Sat ll (not Suns) ".3tlpm L“ ( LI liree) See lit 13. IThe Clyde Is Red
(law had 'I lteatre. I’rt
l3 Sat ll (not Sttn 15).
" ~itlpin. See In IF.
I The White Bird Passes
GRAND MAGIC/RSAMD: 2 SEEWEDtB.GrandMagic
is partly the result 01 several happy accidents. First there was the tact that directorJohn Retallack happened upon a. translation oi Eduardo de Filippo's play (not yetseen in this country) in a second-hand bookshop. Then there was the tact that
; he was invited by Bill Burdett~Coutts to work on a 5 production with tinalyear
students at the HSAMD tor Maytest— Hetallack was tounder ot the Actors Touring Company. and. until recently Director at Dldham‘s Coliseum. Then there was the lact thatthe group at students exactly matched in composition (twenty people: eight women. twelve men) the group tor which Filippo wrote the play in 1948.
'This was Filippo's tavourile play.‘ says Retallack. ‘There's a whole body at his plays that have notyei been done inthis country. It‘s a comedy and a very sophisticated one — it‘s like a Pirandello only tundamentally much more humane.‘
The play concerns a coniurer-cum-con-man who has caused a woman to ‘disappear‘. little suspecting that she was really going to disappear. He is left having to account tor this through magic. ‘lt places him in a position at instant improvisation.‘ says Betallack. ‘And the rest oi the play proceeds trom this. It’s a wonderiul scripi— like a detective thriller. you never know until it ends
which way it‘s going to go
next. Partly it‘s about a very possessive and jealous husband and the deadness thatthat sort ot possessiveness can produce. It‘s also about how theatre can be used as a metaphortorthese things.‘
Filippo‘s highlytheatrical text has been tun to work on. but also lairly ditticult. Hetallack has tound the students extremely responsive. however. ‘It was like working with an instant ensemble ol twenty. because they have all been working togethertorthree years.‘
The initial translation.
broadcast on radio in 1975.
was in received pronunciation English — this version has been adapted into Scots. which Retallack ieels makes it tar more real. Alter its hriei spell at Maytest. there are plans to take the production to the Edinburgh Festival. Retallack hopes that he will be back to work with the HSAMD again in iuture years. Forthe moment, however. he’s all to a ditlerent sort ot challenge - directing Hamlet in New Delhi. (Sarah Hemmlng).