FESTIVAL THEATRE

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EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 1989

Monday 28 August 8.30pm Sarah Walker and Roger Vignoles Cabaret Music Tickets £ 7. 50 (concessions £5) Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 August 9.00pm Tom Robinson Tickets £6. 00 (concessions £4)

Edinburgh International Festival recital series at 11.00am

Classical, Jazz, Folk and Rock concerts at night Vintage ’89 Exhibition Spanish Cafe’3.00—5.00pm

Full detailsfrom The Queen’s Hall Box Office, Clerk Street, Edinburgh Tel: 031 668 2019

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EDINBURGH PLAYI-IOUSE THEATRE (Venue 59) 2 18-22 GREENSIDE PLACE, EDINBURGH

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Tickets £8.50/25.00 (concessions) Available from PLAYHOUSE THEATRE BOX OFFICE:

031 - 557 2590

ASSEMBLY ROOMS: 54 GEORGE STREET.

031 - 226 2428 (Credit cards) ' FRINGE BOX OFFICE: 180 HIGH STREET. i‘ ' 031 - 226 5138 (Credit cards) -. ..

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DANCE

ANTICS/ABEA ONE

It seems as though a muted. considered style is prevalent in dance at the Fringe. Antics' dancers. Elaine Knight and Brigid McCarthy. have their own version. In their first piece the muted mood has its own peculiar charm. reflected in simple costume and atmospheric music. However the movements are so relaxed that one begins to yearn for boldness and definition. The dancers do

not have the skills to imbue such an abstract performance with enough visual interest; the piece lacks inventive choreography.

In their second piece. choreographed by Frank McConnell. the narrative content is sensitively translated into symbolic movement. By working well together they heighten the expressive quality ofthe dance so that the performance demands our attention. Overall, these two are worth seeing for an honest and at times. successfully subtle performance.

Area One are a Community Dance group with lots ofenthusiasm and unadventurous choreography. who perform best in theirlast piece when the content is more imaginative.

I Contemporary Dance Theatre (Fringe) Antics/Area One, Chaplaincy Centre (Venue 23),6671011. until 26 Aug. 2.30pm,£3 (£2).

WHALE

Braver setting the scene. the extraordinary looking David Glass fixes his glittering eyes on the audience. the light catching his face to exaggerate its dramatic hollows. Eerie sighs from a tuneless accordion break the silence like the sea. A daring entrance for a piece which has many moments.

but which fails to shine

throughout.

Assuredly in its favour. bold imaginative lighting and a carefully designed set are used to marvellous effect. Glass and Lin create beautiful images with two whalebone-shaped boards which transform into rocking boats. The two move together with an unusual understanding.

However the piece suffers from the problems

oftranslating Melville‘s

epic novel into an hour long dramatic performance. Strangely enough the result isa frustratingly static performance. Glass‘ narrative skills and mobile face are stunning. but this is not enough to rely on. When the two do get moving they are wonderful but the long pauses between. when the story is carried verbally. tend to flatten the overall effect. (Jo Roe)

I Whale (Fringe) David Glass and Peta Lily. Assembly Rooms (Venue 3). 226 2428. until 2 Sept. 1.45pm. £5 (£4).

I See llitlist for venue details.

SUCH FURTIVE SUBLIMATIONS

Under the umbrella heading of Such Furtive Sublimatiom‘. an interesting double-bill of dance theatre is shared by two verydifferent London-based Companies: Theatre Encorps and Maverick Theatre.

Drawing from the female characters of Lewis (‘arroll‘s Alice novels. Theatre Encorp‘s ‘Alice. Alice. Alice . .. are you a child ora teetotter'." represents an intriguing. personal and essentially melancholic exploration of Woman. exploring her cyclic development through Time and in particular the transition from childhood to maturity. It‘s a densely-layered piece with which follows in the tradition of German Tanztheater. Far from being aggressively confrontational or overtly feminist however. this

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work has moments ofpurc dancing beauty and will easily withstand questioning and a return visit.

Most promising for Maverick Theatre. the second halfofthe double-bill. is this company‘s strong desire and obvious ability to perform. Whilst their debut piece. Hfl. would certainly benefit from a more tangible theme. the foundations for good work for the future may well be laid. (Katrina McPherson)

I Such Furtive Sublimations (Fringe) Southside International (Venue 82). 667 7365. 22—26 Aug. 3.45pm. £3.50 (£2.50).

ALICE AND LORRAINE

Although not strictly a story. Alice and Lorraine centres around the relationship of two characters and was originally devised through improvisation work using masks. As a memberof the audience one has the unnerving sense of being a voyeur watching a private and intimate scene.

Still Scott Sharples convincingly portray the complexity of female friendship. Girlish innocence becomes increasingly suffused with a potent and vulnerable sensuality. Through the unschooled vitality of their dancing they manage to sustain this level of emotional intensity.

Lack of attention to presentation lets them down and the performance has a decidedly makeshift feel to it. The dancers' relaxed. free-flowing style is sometimes sloppy as they make some uncomfortable shifts in and out of character. Despite the weaknesses. this is an honest and very committed performance. (Tanya Webster)

l Alice and Lorraine (Fringe) Still Scott Sharples. York Lively Arts Company, Festival Club (Venue 36). 225 8283. until 2 Sept. 9pm. £3 (£2.50).

38 The List 25 31 August 1989