MUSIC PREVIEW
VCLASSICAL From ,
Arthur Sullivan
Ever fancied yourselfas the Pirate King or a sweet l little Mabel? lfso. your ' lucky break into the world of Gilbert and Sullivan operetta could come on Friday it). when you might just find that you‘re the only person around to
take the role fora performance the next evening. In a one-off venture. a new Edinburgh based organisation. The People‘s Pirates. is
making available to everyone the opportunity of being in an opera. There will be no
auditions. no pre-casting
and no one is being invited
to sing the major roles. Rehearsals start at 7pm on Friday it) and 24 hours
later there will be halfan hour to curtain up.
‘The show will be
performed with the
human resources that are
to hand at the start ofthe rehearsal .' says director Michael Richardson. ‘so
that means that everybody has the chance to be a
star.’ Set up by
Richardson and
Christopher Bell. a conductor well known
across Scotland.
particularly to choirs and choruses. The People‘s Pirates does not. of
course. only need people
to fill the leading parts.
‘We are inviting
anybody who is interested
to come along to this
event.‘ explains
Richardson. ‘singers. orchestral players.
pianists. stage managers. set-builders and painters. lighting technicians. wardrobe assistants.
caterers etc. Everybody
will be welcome. Even
those who feel they have
no theatrical skills should come along. because there will be something for everyone to do.‘ The aim i ofthe project is to raise 5 money for the Telethon
‘92 appeal. so if you are
not yet ready for your 1 stage debut you can still support the event by being . part of the audience. (Carol Main).
The Pirates of Penzuna’.
Sat 11. Assembly Rooms. l George Street.
i l
DEE:- I wanna
be adored
L ‘No one aspires to
greatness,’ proclaims Piotr Fijalkowski. Craig
, McLean finds out why ' Adorable are different.
Adorable’s adorababble goes thus: ‘We’ve always said we wanted to be
3 pop icons. . . My view isthat ; originality islargely unlistenable . . . 1 I’ve got no problem about failing. . .
I don’t think we‘ve even started
1 talking big. . .‘
. suggest. The Creation contenders
These are the pearls of Piotr Fijalkowski, the personable Adorable frontman who’s nowhere near as vainglorious as his hands well-sketched press profile would
salt their talk with slate-wiping dismissals of most else currently thronging pop’s broad church. ‘It has to be said that the last couple of years have been really barren. and part of what we‘re doing is because we were aware that there are good bands but no great bands. No one aspires to greatness.‘
The Coventry foursome are lippy and bolshie (just about). hotwiring the grey moribundity that passes for 905 pop attitude. ‘We never said that we wanted to save rock‘n‘roll because (a) it‘s too sick to save and (b) I don’t think any one band or personality can save it.‘
And so The Talk looms as large as
The Music. ifnot larger, as Adorable
spend more time deciding on what they‘re not as opposed to what they are. (Reckons Piotr, ‘A reaction against something can be just as positive as putting out your stall.‘) But what they are, ofcourse, is not gonna knock popular music off its weary axis. Most definite, though. Adorable make a noise for which I think the term is ‘shimmery‘. Their ‘Sunshine Smile‘ debut and the new ‘1’” Be Your Saint‘ have burnt-out guitars and Piotr‘s rich timbre. coagulating round Choruses With
Attitude. And ifthey crash and splinter and implode in a welter of recriminations and too-high expectations. that‘s cool.
‘1‘“ be happy ifwe get dropped after making an album that I consider to be truly great. I can go away and live the rest of my life as a recluse being perfectly happy.‘
Like he said. he‘s got no problem about failing. . . (Craig McLean) Adorable play Rico '5, G reenock on Thurs 9.
Out of townies
The iolk iestival season is now in full swing, so iorthose oi you desperate to | escape the metropolis may I ' recommend two events on both sides oi the Tweed that are to a large degree open-air, iree events.
Newcastleton, south oi Hawick, over the weekend oi Saturday 4, and Rothbury in Northumberiand overthe weekend oi Saturday 18 are beautiful small towns, more like big villages with extensive iree camping beside unpolluied rivers, and pubs with liberal licensing and endless iniormal music. Their iestival programmes are based on iriendly competition, ceilidhs and dances. The delicate music oi the small pipes, both Northumbrian and Scottish, is a common ieature oi both, and top names irom Britain's concert stage are to be iound singing or playing under the trees oi the grassy town squares. In both places, the remedy ior too many reels or too much beer is a
simple walk out oi town down empty
back roads to vast tracts oi unspoiled
countryside.
Nearer at hand, in a wilder landscape, Blalrgowrie hosts its annual Folk and Blues Festival overthe same weekend as Newcastieton, and playing the opening night dance are the Edinburgh-based Ceilidh Collective.
The electric/acoustic six-piece have iourwomen musicians. Jica and Mairi complement each other on iiddle, Anne plays iiute and squeeze box, and Lynn is a former rock bassist irom New York.
Pete plays mandolin, and Dave Francis, iormerly oi the Desperate Danz Band is an expert dance caller who wields an electric guitar.
it you suiier irom hay fever, car sickness or are agoraphobic, stay in the city and catch the Ceilidh Collective when they play an Anti-Nazi League beneiit in Edinburgh on Saturday 4. (Norman Chalmers) For iniormatlon on Newcastieton phone 06987 255; Rothbury 0669 20149; Blairgowrle 0250 2960.
34The List 3— leuly 1992