FESTIVAL PREVIEW
i Radio Slog Sing
NEW PLAYS
Livre. winging its way up to Edinburgh from
I .ondon where it won a clutch ofgood reviews. even from those who spoke no Portugese.
The play follows the relationship between a male nightclub performer whoplanyr‘cta(iarbo. his girlfriend and a ,ournalist. through them it explores sexuality and image. ‘ I he inspiration tor the play was ( ireta tiarboherself.‘says Alejandra ( iuibert. who ‘.()-“ rote it with perforruer Roberto('ordovani. ‘And why she abandoned cinema. She saw herself as .1 man. she wanted to play .oleslikeJoan of Arc. but -he was not allow ed to. We wanted to speak about aiythxand images. Ilere the journalist falls in love with the image olthisyery‘ strong woman. not the woman herself'
In the end the question of whether ‘( iarbo' is a than play ing a woman or \ ice-y ersa becomes blurred. and ( 'ordovani's extraordinary performance has clearly added to this. Audiences nay e seemed to under stand the play 'x themes. depite language barriers. partly . (itiibert leels. because the company xxtyle is so visual and pow ertul. ‘It is very different irorn Izuropean theatre.' she says. 'Wc are not alr'aid to explore emotionxand shock the audience ‘ lSarah l lemming).
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NEW WORK
~\nyone who saw Pen/11ml] or Stilt‘rrp/mgux at last year ‘x \Vords Beyond \Vordx w Ill be awat'eol lom .\Ie(irath'x preparedness to take
risks. The Words Beyond Words venture last year was a showcase for work in progress. presenting new plays in readings and workshops. some ofwhich
have been developed
because of that. 'I hisyear there will be lunchtime shows for two weeks and evening shows in the last week. and play x being shown include li’r/dnran. a contemporary ('hinese play; ()n the Nature of Dar rd Hume by Hank Kuppner and .llenmrrev The Hard and The Wait. two new Scottish plays being wor‘kxhopped simultaneously . so that the audience can mov e between them. ‘We‘re still trying to get over the idea of the play as fixed
i objectfesplains
be I .th I: IS .-\tigtist IUS‘S
Mc( irath. ‘We really do want the audience to have an input - they canstop and start scenes.‘ I Ie ix also trying to keepthings fluid enough to be able to respond to possibilities -* ax he did last year with the twocontroversial plays. If someone turned tip with a script I thought wax tremendous I would ptit it on.‘ he says. throwing caution to the winds.
At 'l he tidgc. 'l'he fringe of the hinge Society" are also encouraging spontaneity. 'I hey hay c lelt tree space all day between llarnand Ipm for performers to come and instantly (for no charge I perform l5 minute pieces of new work. The slot will be called Ihmrmrlrves. Audiences will only be charged :llp. Interested performers should phone I he Iidge or jUst turn tip (Sarah llemmingl.
I Words Beyond Words
IS 27 Aug (not Suns). I.l5pni. 1.: til I. ' I\\'ord I’er'lect Z‘IAug 3Sept. "pm. UStllilSll). Both at I yceurn Studiotvenut- RSIZZU‘WF ‘) [I r];
I Diminutives II he Iidgc. I)r ummond Street. 5‘7 (i‘llll.15.-\trg 3 Sept. llam Jpn: [I r]
FESTIVAL THEATRE
FORDING , FRONTIERS
In I985 Ninagawa‘s'l‘oho Company stunned Festival audiences and heralded the way for the World Theatre Seasons. Frank Dunlop‘s triumphant innovation as Edinburgh Festival director. This year the Japanese company return with a production of The Tempest. Helen Davidson talks to them and below. we outline the highlights of this year‘s World Theatre Season.
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I BLOOD ON THE NECK OF THE CAT: The line Schiller Theatre Companylrom Germanyin Fassbinder's surreal play about Marilyn Monroe. 25—27 Aug. 7.30pm. Mat. 27 Aug. 2.30pm. St Bride‘s Centre. I PERICHOLE: The Schiller Theatre in lighthearted mood with Oflenbach's operetta. 29—31 Aug. 7.30pm. King‘s Theatre.
HIGHLIGHTS
I TRAFFORD TANZI: Nieuw Ensemble Raam Theaterot Antwerp in Claire Luckham‘s play about wrestling. 21—24 Aug. 7.30pm. St Bride's Centre. I B-MOVIEzTHE PLAY: From Canada. Tom Wood plays a wacky movie director. a la Woody Allen. 15—20 Aug. 7.30pm. Mats
. 18&20 Aug.2.30pm. IMISERIAENOBILTA: a Lyceum Theatre. From Naples. Mario I THE n52 SlSTERS:AIso Scarpetta directs his
loretather. Eduardo Scarpetta‘s populariarce. 25—27 Aug. 7pm. Mat28 Aug. 2.30pm. Lyceum Theatre.
I PEPPE E BARRA: Also lrom Naples. thetamous mother and son act. in an evening olNeopolitan comedy. 14 Sept. 7.30pm. MatdSept. 2.30pm. Leith Theatre.
I SICILIAN PUPPETS: The traditional Sicilian marionette theatre. 23—27
from Canada. Tomson Highway‘splayaboutafled Indian Reservation. 15-20 Aug.7.30pm.Matsi‘l&20 Aug. 2.30pm. St Bride's Cenhe. I DISTRICT SIX: Baxter Theatre at Cape Town in an exuberant. musical tribute to District Six. bulldozed by the South African Government22yearsago. 22—23Aug.7.30pm:25—27 ; Aug.10.30pm:Mat27Aug. l 2.30pm.LyceumTheatre.
WORLD THEATRE
When Yukio Ninagawa directed Macbeth and Medea for the 'l‘oho company at previous Festivals. both shows met with enormous critical and popular acclaim. Not even the vagaries of Scottish weather could dampen audience enthusiasm for the open-air performances of Medea. This year's ‘l’empes‘t. presented by the touring company which Ninagawa formed recently under his own name. promises to be no less successful. Paradoxically. since their elaborate set can only be housed in the I’lay'house. this is one show which will escape water-logging.
The company will be using a translation which keeps fairly closely to the original text but as producer. 'I‘adao Nakane. points out. ‘We are not going to compromise our style in order to charm British audiences.‘
'l'hey"ve added a scene to the beginning of the play so that it will appear as a production of The Tempest by the Fugi islanders of the Japanese ; Sado Islands. Nakane explains the relevance of this insertion. "I'he Sado islands are the isolated part ofJapan. where they used to send any political figures. artists or writers who were considered dangerous. Setting the play there meant we could link the well-known themes of The Tempest with modern Japanese history.‘
Ninagawa has always emphasized the visual aspect of his work. The enormous set he had constructed for Macbeth in 85 had to be drastically and speedily reduced for the Lyceum stage. The Tempest will be set on the kind ofstage used by traditional Japanese Noh theatre. one of the forms with which Ninagawa feels much affinity.
However the final impression that audiences will receive. promises Nakane. is of a style which is international rather than narrowly Japanese. Ninagawa himself names Italian film director Fellini as one of the major influences on his work. Whilst all his productions are stylized and exaggerated Nakane describes them enigmatically as ‘richly' baroque and kitsch‘— they are distinguished by a vitality and energy which will inevitably appeal to theatre audiences. regardless of differing cultural backgrounds. (Helen Davidson).
I The Tempest Ninagawa 'l'heatre (‘ompanyu Playhouse ’l'heatre. I7 21 Aug. 7.30pm. Matinee 20 Aug. 2.30pm. {5.504; It). Tickets from Festival Box Office. 225 575(1.[ILIF‘]
Aug. 11am. 22-26 Aug. 2.30pm. Church Hill
I LES PETITS PAS: Jerome 3 Deschamps‘ Iunny. moving
Theatre. play setin an old people‘s IDANIELAND THEUON33 ; home.ahuge hitin Paris. From the USA the Ensemble I 31Aug,1_4 Sept, 7.30pm. lorEarIv Music ina f Lyceum Theatre. spectacularretelling otthe i ITicltets torallthe above Old Testament story- 20. are obtainable from the
22—25 Aug. 8pm. 22. 24 Aug. 10.30pm. Mat25Aug. 3pm.
Festival Box Office. Market Street. Tel: 031 225 5756.