FEATURE LIST
SIDEWAYS GLANCE
‘lt’s not in the Fringe Brochure. and anyway I don't know a word of Portuguese.’ Leave your excuses in the bar. for this one is a sensation. Sumptuous simplicity. In a single spot Roberto (‘ordovani does his seductive (ireta (iarbo night-club act. chillingly convincing as the Swedish star. On stage he isalone. adored. sublime; but at home we see the confusion of his personality and (ireta (iarbo‘s. \Vooed by a journalist he is submissive. but the man he is. must ask questions (ireta would not ask. and needs the steady ing relationship with his girlfriend. A hilarious scene in a cinema play s out the emotional shiltsof an identity in crisis. ()v er it all a mannequin presides. disturbing by his stillness. acting both as a coat-hanger and as an alter ego. the final scene
i”
ESTIVAL THEATRE
THE [IST'S TOP SHOWS
where Roberto (‘ordov ani breaks the illusion. is a high point of naked emotion as he comes lace . to face with the dichotomy ; underlying every perloi'mei”s facade. livery lighting cue. ev ery gesture. every glance.
ev ery breath is suggestive and resonant. Forget about the Portuguese. go for the raw lile. ('I‘itich Minter)
I Arte Livre l’rench Institute. (venue 55)
15 Ill Aug. lllpm and Royal Scots ('lub(veiiue 57) 22 Aug 3 Sept. 4pm. 55" 5091. £4 (£3 ifyou bring a publicity leaflet ).
_ THE BRICK
Nigel Swain is an ex army intelligence officer. He
vv rote the script and play s the iL‘ittl. And he has managed to conjure up a disturbing vision of the role that the at med forces
could easily play inany forthcomingoutbreak of urban riots and rebellions. ’l his isan engaging production and it has a dcliciotis pace. the only
real weakness is the lack ol an explanation lor why the riots are taking place. Reference is made to unemployment and poor housing. but the inference is that the explanation lies elsewhere.
It is clear that Swain has no time for either the forcesofthe state orthose ranged against it. but one is left with the feeling that he doesn’t understand the latter. although it is abundantly evident that he has a certain understanding of the former. In all. this isan excellent show and really should be seen by those seeking a radical edge to the fringe. (Steve Briggs) I The Brick ()uestors 'l'hcatre ('ompany . Old St l’aul's(‘hurch and Hall (v enue ~15 ) 557 5(iH-l. t'ntil 2U Aug H.3(lpm and 32 ‘27 Augofillpm. £3.5lllf3)
DOWN. . .BUT NOT OUT
‘You see my lace. lt's ugly . it's rubbery... People want to punch my face .' announces this
particular New Voice from America. Performer and writer Eric 'I‘rules mingles gentle pathos and agressive individualism to present a series ofdarkly humorouscharacter poems. ln quick-fire fashion. he plays out a variety of oddball personae; amongst others. a brain-dead office clerk. the macho lover. the lonesome cowboy and an ll year-old afraid of monsters in the dark. shifting between them all with a disconcertingease. With love and loneliness as central themes. his observation of social mores is often acute and unflinching but also wrny nostalgic. Drawing on a rap-style delivery. 'l'rules maintains a refreshing honesty as he explores the contorted private and public facesofthe American male. Working directly w ith personal material is dangerous theatrical ground. but ’I‘rules invests his finely tuned performance skill with just the right amount of mental toughness to lift it very much out ofthe ordinary. (Simon Bayly) I Down . . . but notout New Voices From America. (‘haplaincy ('entre (venue 23). l'ntil 3 Sept. various times. £35” (£3).
RED MAGIC
Spend one of the most strenuous and rewarding hours of your l-‘ringe at
Red Magic
Sideways Glance
this brilliantly composed and faultlesst performed piece of theatre by Richard ('rane.
The barest of spaces. a movie-camera trolley and four actors project the life story of Eisenstein. the revolutionary film-maker. A perfectionist doomed to live and work in the tainted world of Stalin and amid American anti-Soviet hysteria. he is a rich subject for biography and the spirit of his exuberant genius fills the performance: his humour. his dogmatism. his inspiration are not so much told or shown as understood from the inside out.
The child. the man. the rebel artist. the Soviet citizen. emerge and intertwine in a tightrope of words which glances from mouth to mouth. sometimes a continuous reel of dialogue. then a searing stream of images. now a memory evoked. then the shocking immediacy of reportage. 'l'he impermeable lities we choose to draw between media are broken down; here we have the basic building blocks of communication the voice. the body. music and light used with the greatest economy to the greatest effect. (.lulie Morrice)
l Red Magic
('rane Williams. Assembly Rooms (venue 3) 2262427 5’. t'ntil 27 August (not Suns) Noon £4.50 (£3.50)
g,
THE WOROSMITHS AT GORSEMERE
An affectionately hilarious view of this early adoption of the rural idyll by Southern idealists with private means. The Wordsmiths move. in search of peace to keep his rashes down and creativity tip. to a bijou cottage with internal sanitation (hence the lSllh l’refaee) where. fortuitously. most oftheir friends happen by on the first evening. The increasingly outrageous group embraces Samuel 'l‘ay lor (‘holericke (Toby longworth) in the first falIing-on-the-ground suit to include velvet breeches. lisping giant Lord By ro ( l)an Bradford) in pursuit of all and any flesh. quadri-suicidal failure l’erchelly (Bill ()rton) with staring eyes. upstanding hair and new wife Mary (iodwit. bearer oftruly shocking hand baggage. liver more distracted. Dorothy \Vordsmith (.lo Brttlis) tries to fit her suburban mores round this bunch of eccentric dropouts. A line cast does lull justice to Sue limb's excellent script. (Sally Macpherson).
I The Wordsmiths at Gorsemere Iiye Level Theatre. St Mary 's I fall (venue W). tintil 3 Sept (not Mons). lll. ltlpm. £4.5()(£3.5()).
— BOUM! VOILAl
Reminiscent of
vaudev ille. of children’s theatre. ol theatre of the absurd. Bouml Voila? doesn't strive to be aiiythingother than extremelysilly. In this show anything literal can happen.
little ( ireen Riding
Hood defeats the wicked wolf by not sticking to the original story line. 'l‘rue lov e is nipped in the bud in deepest . darkest A rabia when the hero foolishly becomes a eunuch in order to rescue the heroine. Noah can't persuade any animalsto come on the ark and is forced to make dovvith fish.
()uick. short and wonderfully ridiculous sketches are serv cd upat the ('afe llenri. Here you can drink wine. smoke (iauloise cigarettes. be waited on arid entertained by the staff A ‘ exclusively lirench. of course. An oasisofcomplete (‘ontinental idiocy. (Linda (iibson)
I Baum Voila! Marco's Leisure (‘entre 8. 15 pm. , £3.5()(2.5()l
m- fist 11).:i5-A—ugust 1982? 11
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