THEATRE
lISTlNGS
DISABLED ACCESS KEY
Access: P = Parking Facilities. PPA - Parking to be Pre-Arranged. l. = Level Access. R = Ramped Access. ST ': Steps to negotiate.
Facilities: WC 7 Adapted Toilet(s). WS 7 1
Wheelchair Spaces. AS * Adjacent Seats. F. 2 Induction l.oop System. (i =- (iuide Dogs Allowed. R 1‘ Restaurant Accessible. B = Bar Accessible. T 2’— Adapted Telephone.
Help: A '4 Assistance Available. AA ‘4 Advise Venue in Advance.
Theatre is listed by city first, then by venue, running in alphabetical order. Touring shows are listed separately under the relevant heading. Prices in brackets are the concessionary price. Long running shows. unless specified otherwise. do not run on Sundays.
GLASGOW
I AHNEXE WRITERS' GROUP 37()tago Street. Kelvinbridge. 445 209‘).
Talk and Workshop Mon 17 Sept. 7.30pm. Free. Leading (ihanaian playwright Ama Ata Aidoo leads this rneetingopen to anyone writing. or wanting towrite. drama. The group. w hich ranges from beginners to professionals. has meetings every Monday featuring a mixture of visiting speakers. courses. information and socialising.
I THE ARCHES THEATRE ( ilasgow's Glasgow. Midland Street. Tickets from Ticket Centre. Candleriggs 227 5511. [Access: 1.. R. WC. (i. C]. Daytime prices (9.30am 8pm) include entrance to whole exhibition. while evening prices(after
8pm) give access to the bar. restaurant and free entertainment.
Promenade Performances Daily. 1 1am. 2pm & 5pm. Free with admission. ()neof the many attractions in Glasgow‘s Glasgow is a changing programme of performances by a special in-house Company who bring the exhibition space alive with their short sketches on Glasgow life. Performances include the story ofSt Mungo and The Grave Robbers.
The Boy Who Wanted Peace l7ntil Fri 14 at Sun 16 Sept. 7.30pm. Thurs & Sun £4(£2); Fri £5 (£3). Another show back from the Edinburgh Fringe. this is Fair Friday's adaptation of George Friel‘s humorous 1964 novel. The book doesn't properly make the transition to the stage. but the company does much justice to its colour and rhythms.
What The Butler Saw Tue 25—-Sun 30Sept. 7.30pm. Tue Thurs & Sun £4 (£2); Fri & Sat £5 (£3). The Arches Theatre Company dives into Joe ()rton‘s last splendid black farce set in a psychiatric clinic where the staff are rnadder than the patients. Should be well worth a visit.
Talking Hearts Wed 26 -Sun 30Sept.
10. 15pm. £3 (£2). The ArchesTheatre Company keep busy with a late night premiere of Paula Macgee's music. movement and monologue piece which looks at the many faces of live.
I CITIZENS' THEATRE (iorbals Street. 42‘) (X122.Box()ffice Mon- Sat 10am—8pm.
Bar. [Accessz P. 1.. Facilities: WC. WS. E.
(i. ifk‘lpl AA]
I Mrs Warren's Profession Until Sat 29 Sept. 7.30pm. £5 (£1 Free). The Citizens' autumn season kicks off with the George Bernard Shaw play originally banned by the Lord Chamberlain because ofthe nature of said woman's profession. Giles llavergal directs. See Review.
I CLYDE THEATRE Boquhanran Road. Clydebank.‘)5l 1200. Box()ffice
Mon -Sat 10am-6pm. Tickets also available from Ticket Centre.
Candleriggs. 227 5511 and all Ticket Link outlets.
The Steamie Mon 24—Sat 29 Sept. 7.30pm. £6 (£4). See Touring and Review.
I CRAWFURO THEATREJordanhill College. 76 Southbrac Drive. 950 3437/3438. |Access: P. R. Facilities: WC. WS. G. R. B. Help: A.AA|.
Portrait of Anna Pavlova Until Fri 14 Sept. 1.15pm. £3.50 (£2.50). See Dance Listings.
Gremlins In The Works Mon l7—Fri 21 Sept. 10.15am & 1.30pm. £2. MoleculeTheatre in a science-based show for children.
I CUMBERHAULO THEATRE Cumbernauld .
(1236 732887. Box Office Mon-Fri 10am—6pm; Sat 10am—3pm; 6—8pm perf. evgs BanCafe. [Accessz PPA.S'1'. Facilities: WC. W8. G. 8. Help: A. AA]. Twelfth Night Until Sat 15 Sept. 7.45pm. Thurs £3 (£1 .50). Fri & Sat £4.50(£2.25). See Touring and Review.
Cleaning Up Tue 18- Sat 22 Sept. 7.45pm. Tue & Wed £3 (£1 .50) ; Thurs--Sat £4.50 (£2.25). See Touring.
Terry Neason a Friends Fri 21 Sept. 10.30pm. £4.50 (£2.25). Terry Neason stays around after Wildcat‘s show to sing her well-received set of torch songs recently seen on the Edinburgh Fringe. Writers Workshops Mon 24 Sept. 7.30pm. Fortnightly writing class.
Bold Girls Thurs 27—Sat 29 Sept. 7.45pm. Thurs £3 (£1 ): Fri & Sat £4.50 (£2.25). See Touring and Preview.
I EAST KILORIOE VILLAGE THEATRE Maxwell Drive. 03552 48669.
Roar Like A Dove Until Sat 15 Sept. 7.30pm. £3.50 (£2). Drama from E.K. Rep Theatre Company.
Grease Wed 19—Sat 22 Sept. 7.30pm. £3 (£2). 50s musical nostalgia from ()ffkey productions.
Cleaning Up Tue 25—Wed 26 Sept. 8pm. See Touring and Review.
I GLASGOW ARTS CENTRE 12 Washington Street. 221 4526. [Access: PPA. R. Facilities: WC. R. G. Help: A. AA].
The Return Until 15 Sept. 7.30pm. £2.50 (£1.50). An appropriate title now that Glasgow Arts Centre is back in operation after a long period of renovation. Fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe. Actors Lab presents a moving and challenging new play by the prolific Robin Lindsay Wilson. Based around the Second Coming of Christ. the play explores the nature and need for belief. Variations On A Fruit Machine Wed 26—Sat 29 Sept (not Fri 28). £2.50(£1 .50). 7.30pm. Beautifully performed new play. again by Robin Lindsay Wilson and this time staged by Glasgow Arts Centre. A collage of movement and ideas performed by seven women. explores themes of self and selflessness. love and marriage. Full of humour and pathos. it was well received on the Edinburgh Fringe. I HARLANO AND WOLFE Clydebrae Street. off Govan Road. Govan. Phone bookings. Ticket Centre. Candleriggs. Mon—Sat 10.30am—8pm. 227 5511. The Ship Previews until Fri 14 Sept. 7.30pm. £3—£20. Sat 15 Sept—Sat 27 ()ct. 7.30pm. Mats 2pm on Sat 22. Wed 26. Fri 28 Sept. Wed 3. Fri 5. Wed 10. Sat 13. Wed 17. Wed 24. Fri 26 & Sat 200ct. £3—£25. The epic story ofa river and its
MRS WARREN’S PROFESSION
Citizens’ Theatre, Glasgow. Until 29 Sept.
One characteristic of Giles Havergal's direction is his comfortable and fluid sense of stage space. Strange then that he should take the lead of George Bernard Shaw who, quoted in the programme notes, observed that ‘when a play is first put into rehearsal . . . the scenes go more easily and naturally than when the actors find themselves surrounded by scenery.‘
Shaw was reacting to the hampering clutter of the late Victorian stage, something from which in recent years the Citizens’ has rarely suffered. So when Havergal presents Mrs Warren’s Profession on a makeshift set, the actors hanging about in full view after their scenes, the lights never completely dimming. it suggests not so much liberation, as a shallow echo of 1970s studio theatre.
As ever, it’s an interesting risk for Havergal to take, but not a particularly productive one. And that’s a shame, because this strong company—full of rounded characters— brings much life to Shaw’s treatise on prostitution.
Shaw has the incredible knack of painting a complete social picture while apparently confining himself to a narrow strata of upper class English life. Nearly 100 years on, his analysis of capitalism is perceptive and pertinent and, like Brecht, his sense of theatre keeps his drama human and not academic.
Aline, intelligent cast, a still sadly relevant play, but unfortunately a production which dissipates instead of focusing its energies. (Mark Fisher)
GERBE— TWELFTH NIGHT
Seen at Cumbernauld High School. On Tour.
This month, The Tag Theatre Company is bringing Shakespeare to the masses or rather the misses (why do school populations appear to be 90 per cent female when there is ‘culture’ in the offing?) In October, the ‘proper’ performances will be presented to possibly more understanding, but I doubt more attentive audiences (full marks to the pupils at Cumbernauld for their patience).
The problem is that Twelfth Night should not require patience. It is fast moving, has one of the more ribald fools and plenty of a-foolin' and a-frolickin'. The plot should be fully comprehensible to the viewers well before the twists and turns have sorted themselves out for the characters.
That's a large measure of the pleasure derived from this piece - seeing absolute confusion reign on the stage whilst the audience sits back with a smug grin aimed at the gullible Olivia and Malvolio.
Where this production fails is not knowing when to dispense with peripheral details. When the cross-dressing begins, the characters lay out their plans for future emotional conquests and the basic structure of the play is explained, the audience’s attention must be focused directly on the central characters. Tag have decided to intersperse these crucial scenes with music and merriment which, whilst bringing some immediate enjoyment, subsequently are roundly cursed as they lead to as much confusion in the stalls as on the stage. The fact that several of the leading characters are inaudible (which may or may not have been due to this hall's acoustics) does not help matters.
But this exception aside. the rest of the many innovative touches in this production succeed splendidly. Presenting the play as travelling players (complete with suitcases at beginning and end), having costume and scene changes on stage and integrating music and dance (mostly) to such good effect all display a rare
. boldness. It‘s a shame that the company's desire to be different ‘all' of
the time stopped them from being perfect this time. (Philip Parr)
____J
The List 14; 27 September 199055