IN SEARCH OF BEASTIES

l)espite its debt toThe Wizard ()f ()I.. tltis isart origirtal play abotit an iittagirtative yourtg boy called Freddie (played witlt cndearirtg conviction by 3“ year-old .\'eil Macdortald ) w ho becomes a cltaracter iii the story lte w rites for a coittpetition. The beasties In question are a giraffe. a parrot. a cantel. a dragon and l'retltlieis parents. all of w from lie rescues front tlteir varioUs imperfections with the ltelpof his imaginary friends lirmine aitd [iv c.

This is a y ery colourful show . w hiclt is its ntairt asset: tlte masks.costunies arid scenery will appeal to all cltildren. There is also a strong musical element. thouglt tlte singers are sometimes drowned by composer Richard Swatton's forte piano; btit w ltat tlte production really lacks is pace. There are patchesofstatic w ordiness. w ltich are simply not needed. arid tlte dialogtic could be delivered witlt far fewer pauses.

(in en a slicker. shorter pertorntancc. Beasties w ill be fun. (Artdrew Burnet l. I In Search OtBeasties Pedagogix Theatre ('ompaity . Masonic Lodge (Venue 4] ) 225 7294. l‘ntil22Aug.1.45pm: Acoustic Music ('entre (Venue 25) 2202-102. 28 Aug-3 Sept. 4.30pm. £2.5(l(£l .Sll)

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Kids at the (‘ollege of Art were warmed up to perfection before tlte show iii a brilliant competition of llissing. Booing and Yeahing louder than tlty rteigltbour. There were prizes of ielly for all bttt ortly after iustice had beeit done. Arid justice was secrt to be dorte irt full techrticolor witlt lots of sparkle aitd bright costumes. the odd dance. some ligltt live music. and a difficult dilentrna artd terror thrown irt for good nteasure. The Victoriart text drew a sharp distinction between good arid evil - the two ugly sisters duly told the coritiest jokes. Beauty was pure and sweet. her father not too old to learn art easy moral. The space was used to the utmost. with the goodies hiding in the audience and the Beast coming looking for them. And all wishes were

l."

fulfilled. w itlt the Beast being cr'edibly transformed irtto a prince and Beauty rewarded for her lovirtg nature. The performers clearly enjoy the show arid ritake it a delight for child artd adult alike. (Tinch Minter)

I Beauty and the Beast St Andrew s Mermaids. lidinburgh (‘ollege of Art. (venue 73) l'ntil 27 Atig (not Sun) 5.05pm. £1 .51).

THE SWORD IN THE STONE

Merlin is a w izard w ho is always forgetting ltow to work magic spells. btit he did rementber to place a sword in a magic stoite. aitd nobody except the righteous king can lift it out.

This ptippet show tells the legend of King Arthur. secret son of a dead kirtg. Arthur is adopted by Sir l lector.

w hose sort becomes Arthur’s squire. Arthur's nature is pompous aitd proud (not exactly the story that I heard).

The show is suitable for younger children because it is rtot frightening at all. My neighbour‘s little boy w as getting y ery iity olv ed artd excited.

Tlte puppets are \ ery well ntade arid the puppeteer is very good at acting her puppets. I thought the set was just rigltt for a (tth century castle. I think you should see this puppet show if y ou 5 like puppets aitd fun. (Kate Bordwell. age 1 ll I The Sword in the Stone Over The Top Puppet (‘ompany . (‘hurcli of the i German Speaking Congregation (Venue 103) (167 1619.4. 15pm. l'ntil Aug 2" (not Suns) £1.51)

ANNIE

A mUsical is a new venture for Forth ('hildren's

Theatre who usually

TIVAL REVIEW

i st .. perform original material. The experiment comes off quite well. Lorna Murray (Annie) arid (iayin Scott (Daddy Warbucks) are very talented singers and provide a reliable foundation fora production w lticlt has some soggy patches aitd needs rigorous editing. The political satire of Roosevelt aitd his New Deal passes right ov er the heads of most of the audience who just w ant to see the optimistic orphan get a billionaire daddy arid slip front the clutcltesot the delightful villairts. (Norma Bordwelll

I Annie forth (‘hildreii‘s Theatre. lriyerleith ('hurch l lall. ( Venue l2lll l'ittil Aug -2 (not Sun). ".Rllpm. L2.Sll(£1.51ll

_ SCHOOLFOR CLOWNS

l-‘ouryery rebellious artd naughty apprentice

clow its pi‘oy ide a cheering afternoon of entertainment iit this year's ()T( i children's show The liberal quantities ofsweetieson offer arid the endearing nature of the four goofy tearaways soon won over all the kids iii the audience. arid the parents looked as if they were haying quite a good time too.

The long-suffering Professor Molereasons. played by l-‘ergus Flanagan. caused helpless riiirtlt w itli ltis doomed efforts to control the anarchic artticsof \Veasel. Pimple. [)rippens arid

Puff. Particularlyfunny was the poor Professor's predicament as he found himself chased around stage by a large. Nessie-sly le monster. under w lticlt his four little charges were hidden. Anybody w ho‘s looking after children artd can sympathize with Professor Molcrcason‘s plight would do well to ferry the kids along to St. Mary's

Freddie (Neil Mlacdonald) with Beastie

llall one afternoon to see Dan Burningham's production of this Ken (‘ampbell play. lit fact. use the kids as art excuse tosee it yourself. .. (llcleit [)ay idsoitl

I School forClowns ()xford Theatre (iroup. St. Mary 'sllall.(venue IV) 557 482‘) L'ntil 3 Sept (itot Mons) 4.01) pm. £3 (£1.50)

WHODUNNIT There is a scartty audience for the first Fringe performance of li'limltmml. by this youthful lidiithurgh-basec company . btit its young contingent is quickly enthralled by this fast-mot iitg crime thriller. arid one boy at least is willing to participate with helpful suggestions.

The case concerned is a red suitcase containing the ill-gotten gainsof a gartg of v illains. artd it changes hands many times before being tracked dow it by detective Nosey Parker. This allow s the cast of three to introduce a rapidly-changingarray of characters. arid art energetic display of tumbling. choreography aitd audience provocation. The staging is simple btit colourful. and at 5“ minutes this show is rtot too long for younger cltildrcrt. (Andrew Burnett I Whodunnit- Or The Case That Nearly Got Away ( 'atch Theatre ( ’ompany. Diverse Attractions (Veiitie l l ) 225896]. l'ntil 2" Aug. 2.44pm. £1tchildren). 25p(adu|ts)

_ MEG’S EGGS.

Meg is a witch w hose spells invariably go

w rortg. This time. iii an effort to conjure tip supper she mistakenly rttaterialises dinosaur eggs. Slte arid her friends Mog the cat and 0ny have to find sortie way of sending them back to where they carite front before more catastrophe is caused.

A traditional puppet show with lovely puppets. it maintained the interest of all but the very youngest. The show w as hosted by Nicola. w'ho greeted the children when they arrived and seated them iii the rttiddle ofthe floor. Slte then filled them in on a bit of the story lirte before the show started and sat with theiit dttrittg it. encouraging them to join irt. This seemed to erttholdert everyone artd there was alot of shouting

arid yelling.

ltltought the story line could have been a bit ntore adv enturous. though nobody appeared disappointed. \Vorth seeing. especially fortlte dinosaur puppets. (Linda (iibsonl I Meg's Eggs John Peel Puppets. Buster Brow it's. (Venue (11)) 226-1224. l'ntilAugJ. £2. 11.15 am

TWIGGELBIG’S TOYBOX

The set is very simple. A

huge yellow and red

toybox. ()ut comes Rosie the clown. Rosie and the toy box ltave beconte lost front (iiantland. They hay e to get back before Tw iggelbig discovers it‘s missing. bttt first she

BEYOND‘THE FRINGE

IThe rollerdlsco at Coasters. West Tollcross. takes place on Sat. 1pm-4pm. and costs £1.50 including hire of skates. Clientele isfrom 5years upwards. but mainly teenage. Music is mostly current chart hits. Buses from Princes St:11.15-19. 23. 24. 27. 45. Enquiries 228 3252.

I Also at Coasters (see above). Under-18‘s disco. Sat6.30-10.00pm. admission £1.50.

I ‘A Great Family DayOut' is promised by the East Lothian Highland Games. to be held at Meadowmill Sports Complex. Prestonpans on Sun 28. starting at noon. Ronnie Corbettwill be Games Chieftain. and events include Tug o'War. Highland Dancing. Sheepdog Trials and ‘Children's Corner‘. though the emphasis is on adult sporting events with prize money. Admission

£1 .50(50p). Car park 21. Buses (124,125) on the hour and ‘/2 hour from St Andrews Sq bus station. trains every other hourstarting at 10.08 from Waverley. Enquiries 6653711.

I The vast and impressive Royal Museum olScotland in Chambers St has much to ofterto visitors of all ages. from a huge whale skeleton in the main hall to working models of steam and other engines. Several educational hours ata stretch may be happily spent here. 10am-5pm Mon-Sat. 2pm-5pm Sun. admission free. Enquiries 2257534.

I The largest swimming pool in town isthe Royal Commonwealth in Dalkeith Rd. Open Mon-Fri Sam-9pm. Sat/Sun

needs a bit of help. Her friends are iii the box arid they all seem to ltave sontetltirtgwrongwith them that may be a child can fix.

Rosie's friends are art assortment of different hand puppets. ranging front a small pink mouse to a large orange beacltball. Rosie moves the show cleverly around w hat is iii the box. ittyoly ing all the children aitd answering all the questions. It's asimple. colourful show where children can feel at ease and not intimidated. Well worth seeiitg.(l.inda (‘iibsonl ITwiggerig‘sToybox ('hurch oftlte (ierman

Speaking(‘ongregation (Venue 1021) (so? 161‘). l'ntilAug_7.1.30pm. £1.50.

8am-7pm. Admission 90p(60p) including 10p returnable deposit forat Ieast1 hour's swimming. Besides the main pool built forthe Commonwealth Games. there are a deep diving pool and a shallow splash pool for children. Lessons are available. but only in a course 018 (u 216(211). Buseslrom Princes St: 2.14.21.33. There are also smaller pools at Caledonian Cres. Glenogle Rd. Infirmary St. Junction PI. Portobello and Thirlestane Rd. Enquiries forall pools 667 7211. I Kennedy's Fun Centre at Windsor Pl Lane. Portobello. offers trampolines. an inflatable bouncerand a ball pitto parties of up to twenty kids for £20 an hour. plus £1.10 per head for catering. Individual trampolines lor1 or2 children are available at £1 .50 for 45 mins. though it is wise to book several days in advance: demand is such that an extension is currently underway. dueto open nextyear. Open Mon-Fri103m-noon and 2pm-6pm. Sat 103m-6pm. Sun noon-6pm. Enquiries 6691075. I The 200-seat ‘Maid ofthe Earth will take youlrom Hawes Pier. South Queensferry to lnchcolm island in the Firth of Forth. leave you there for around 80 mins. then return you to terra firma (round trip 135 mins)tor£3.95(£1.95/£1 for child accompanied by parent). The island is part bird sanctuary. and is inhabited by grey seats. The 12th Centruy Abbey is also open to the public. Sailing times 2.00pm Mon-Fri. 12.30 and 3.00pm Sat/Sun. Bus from stance 016 at St Andrews Sq bus station. or train from Waverley or Haymarket to Dalmeny. Enquiries 331 1454.

The List 26 Aug— 1 Sept 1988 25