Glad
When they first discussed their idea with potential backers. the Grassmarket Project came up against total scepticism. But with their enormously successful Fringe Show Glad. they have proved that risk taking can pay olt Not only have they managed what w as deemed impossible. that is. to receiye total commitment from a group of homeless people whom nobody believed worthy of trust. but they have elicited from them a standard of performance to rival the work of any professional actor.
Glad is oftremendous human consequence. but it has also. with justification. been hailed as an artistic triumph. The two. it would seem to prove. are inseparable. l’he power of the show is due as much to
with immediate significance to the individuals involy ed. as to the undoubted talent ol'its director.
The play offers an over riding challenge: it demonstrates unequivocably that people have intrinsic worth. and that this is quite distinct from any potential to conform to conventional ideas of success. What is more. it is probany ‘the comfortable‘ w ho benefit most from recognising this.
It would seem a sad indictment of the plays audiences if they were prepared to praise it. but not to ensure the surviy al of the project. To take the show to London. the company need only ten people willing to put their money where their hearts are and donate 151M). But even the smallest contributions are surely worthwhile.
Catherine Fellows
Contact: ()836 540 503. or Charity Support. Fundraisers. on 0313152127.
Food Lest any of your readers be tempted to make lasagne using the recipe printed in your Food section last issue. I am writing with some alternative suggestions on how to make this nonpareil of the pasta tribe. First of all. chicken livers and bacon are out. Best mince is the only meat to be used — one pound for every four people. Carrots and celery are just a joke. too: onions and green peppers will do fine. but the indispensable vegetables are mushrooms and courgettes.
Thirdly. pre—cooked lasagne will suffice: provided you give it long enough in the oven. there is no difference in taste or texture. I do. however. advise that lasagne verde be employed. mainly because (and this brings me on to my last point) its colour goes so well with that of cheddar cheese. which should be used in abundance — not only in the sauce. but also grated as the top layer. This gives the lasagne a good crispy finish.
I would be grateful ifany other
MHIRA N'II'UI
the fact that it has re invested theatre
Those who came to scoff
LETTERS
The best letter next issue not written by David M. Bennie will win a Jose Cuervo tequila T-shirt. Letters. which may be edited for publication or subjected to random censorship. should be sent to The List. Old Athenaeum Theatre. 179 Buchanan Street. Glasgow GI ZJZ. or 14 High Street, Edinburgh EH] lTE.
readers could write in with interesting variations. A friend of mine once substituted bus tickets for the actual lasagne. but this was more a futile attempt to be wacky rather than a proper culinary experiment. Angie Ward
New College Lands
1
Glasgow. You win the bottle of]. rye ( 'uert'o tequila. .‘lngie. for t/ieji'rsl letter H e have received that tsn '! about It lu'ntng and dining.
Yes. yes. I know I wrote before and complained about Bennie but now I write as one w ho is slightly converted. I missed my Usual Bennie
dose during your Festival issues when you didn't have a letters page. I must admit. I‘m a little glad he's I back.
After reading Patricia Mc(ioy ci n's letter. I rushed upstairs and searched through my pile of Lists for issue 120. Yes. this could be a fair rendering of Bennie‘s fizzog. Yet the cover of issue l()1 might be more appropriate: certainly smothering Bennie with a blow-up globe is tempting. I‘m sorry. that‘s nasty. I apologise. Mr Bennie.
No. I‘m afraid I can‘t be convinced that one of your correspondents is really called Joseph Spoon.
What a shame that Mr Bennie has had little success with his correspondence. I‘m sure that the fruit sherbets went down a treat.
I‘m so glad to hear he got a name-plate for his front door. A piece of paper stuck to the door is so inappropriate for a man of his status.
Anyway. I must grudgingly admit that I‘m happy to see he's back. but it would be nice if he could just send in a synopsis of his letter instead ofthe whole thing. I know it‘s a lot to ask. but I‘m sure his letters are better in small doses. 'I'hen who am I. mere mortal suppliant. to ask such a thing?
96 The List 14— 27 September 1990
If there‘s still the position ofguest columnist available. . .‘.’ No. I guess not. Oh. well.
Alasdair Sheard Lyle Place (ireenock.
Alcohol Summertime. and the living is easy. Well actually. it's not; it‘s bloody difficult: terminal cash flow problems and all that. Spent my last quid on The List and a 'l‘wirl. 'I'he jingle swears that you can‘t top the taste of one. (No it doesn 't. It says '(ilasgow and Edinburgh Events (:‘uide'J I'm gullible that way. Turned to the article on the Women‘s Festival in Glasgow.
Interesting. Esso‘s prices permitting.
maybe my other half would drive me through'.’ But he'd soon be redundant it's partially women
only. To quote one of the organisers;
‘lt‘s either that. or not eshibiting.’ Oh yeah'.’ Suddenly I remember why (whilst retaining strong egalitarian views) I left the Women's Movement.
Flick to TV listings. Russ A Mini. Baywatch. Breast Is Best. Wonder if I can get a partial refund on my 'I'\' licence. swim after The (‘arrick and become a stowaway. But wait! Life has renewed promise! Free wine up for grabs at book signings in Waterstones and She rratt & Hughes. The gods are good. I might even become a born-again Christian. ..(}ie‘sadrink.
(‘arol Anne Davis Marchmont (‘rescent Edinburgh
Architecture
The subject of this week‘s diatribe is architecture. the next entry after aesthetics in the chattering classes' lexicon ofconversational gambits. A: I no longer think Glasgow‘s nearly completed opera house even merits the description ‘Neo-(‘eaucescu-esque'. In his hubristic construction programmes the ex-dictator at least built on an epic. ifmegalomaniacal scale. His
5 than an Unemployment Benefit 1 Office. uprooted from its natural
monuments may not have reached Pliaraonic grandness. but they did achieyc a certain 'l'hird Reichian presence. The Buchanan Street monstrosity resembles nothing more
milieu in a New Town like (‘umbernauld
(ilasgow simply cannot compete with Edinburgh‘s classical grandeur. but it could erect modern structures of avant-garde imagination. Instead of offensively bland buildings designed iii-house like the St Enoch Centre. the new RSAMI). the SE(‘(‘. the Forge (all I.egoland disasters). Glasgow‘s City Fathers should be commissioning architects to design controversial show-pieces that would have Prince (‘harles apoplectic with rage; and if this means paying large fees commensurate with their reputation
for the services of giants like Foster. Piano or Pei. it's a price the tobacco barons wouldn‘t have battlked at.
B: What are the big black balls that have appeared on the recently boulcvarded l.cith Walk for— are they symbolic works of art or traffic bollards designed to kill illegal I Hunters?
The return of the Letters Page is most welcome. and not just as an outlet lot my diurnal ravings. Two letters to which I must respond:
1. Re Barry Dubber's plea for rescuing the refurbished ’l‘ron theatre ’bar from the invasion of yahooing yuppies and tramontane trendies. In my opinion it was high time the door policy was tightened up at this particular establishment; prey iously when (‘liiel' Dubber and his North American Indians rain-danced in. the tone ofthe place plummeted. What the hell is a ‘gong night‘ anyway'.’ ‘Many old friends have left or been removed. ' (My , il‘dllc‘s). By whom and for what? More details please. Barry. because the mind boggles. . . Guardian readers ejected for caring too much‘.’
2. Mil/e grazie Patricia McGovern for your puzzling but entertaining contribution. Since 'I'liirtysomething finished I‘ve switched to LA Law. which is also about whining yuppies who contrive to be unhappy on six-figure salaries. I trust you had a good time in Italy. even if it was Lido i di Jesolo. Pie. beans and chips. per
favore. I hope you didn‘t expect i change from the Li-Lo vendors either. Patricia.
Father Flyte had some kind of ‘mental divorcement from reality" (betting heavily on Celtic to win the League. even after the Aberdeen result. with the chapel‘s Peter‘s pence collection). The fixtures have i just come out for the new pub-league ; season. and our first match for the Papal Bull (ofGlasgow's ‘notorious‘ East End) is away to the Happy Hun (of Govan) in the Eldorado Cup. ' Match report next issue. . . , David M. Bennie l Haddington Place Edinburgh.
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