FESTIVAL 10"”/LATE
“ml
14/15. 20-22, 28/29 Aug. 4/5 Sept. 10pm.£3.50 (£2.50).
' [ But how accuratelydrawn
are Isherwood‘s fictional INVASION
creations? Did Sally Bowlcs really exist and was there ever a Kit Kat
WEREWOLF
The story's a familiar one: Californian doctor stumbles across missing meteorite. patients having violent fits and half-eaten bodies ofkidnapped scientists. The treatment. though. is more unusual. for this isn‘t a 1950s B-movie but a one-man play on the Edinburgh Fringe. Invasion Werewolfis Johnny Myers debut as
Klub where mud wrestlers
and drag queens shared the stage with singers and satirists to send upthe
Nazis? Who knows? With Z
so much that‘s happened to this city. who can remember? But in the 20s and 305 there was a glorious epoch in entertainment when the Berlin municipality boasted 167 variety theatres, when Caruso drew thousands to the Theater des Westens Kantstrasse and Marlene Dietrich and Claire Waldorfmade hearts beat faster.
The war ended it all. of course. And while Berlin has since rebuilt its cultural reputation through opera. theatre and the Philharmonic. variety has disappeared. Then. last year. just
Last year, when reviewed by The List, five people tumed up tor Kevin Day's
first night. He’s obviously resorted to toughening up his image in orderto
iolies, no gimmicks.’
Overthe last year, Day has starred in Loose Talk, a show in the Radio 1 late-night slot which launched The
' v THEATRE
SAVAGES
Last year, the plaudits were out in force for a young company. Volcano. with their high-powered and physical Medea: Sex War showed just what was possible for a theatre company with youth and vigour on its side. Not ones to closely guard the secret of their success, the company held workshops in their native South Wales, and the result of one such tutoring session is the aptly-named Frantic theatre company.
Frantic are presenting a Volcano-produced and styled version of Christopher Hampton‘s rainforest saga, Savages. Nicki Foster from the new company is in no doubt as to the extent of Volcano's influence on the
fifezi‘ifiiigiliiii’ii '3 3:323:33? M" tome people into the theatre. This will "a" W"“°"°"8° “Wm” "9°" 3" prfighueciizgie cast were
‘ t l . ‘ Chamélwn Opened in the surprise many who saw me unsuspecting public. Never leer, only brought into the b'f}°fi‘?§i°“‘:‘,"df°f‘f*- formerRussiansector. ex-ambulanceman in '91, lorwhile he "touch. he Isconslderablvlunnierthan theatre world by for gfigfiffi? Tucked away in a believes that hanging is far too good lor "'3' CWWd- (thil Pa") Volcano.‘ s’ays Foster. explains‘ .but I did have to gloomy. cobbled the my“; and that permanent What they d seen before
go back and examine the passion in some detail in
courtyard close to Marx-Engels Platz. up a
revolution is the only way to a socialist utopia, he is a genuinely nice guy with,
Kevin Day (Fringe), The Assembly Rooms (Venue 3) 226 2428, 15—25
was too dull. things likeA Man ForAII Seasons:
. o x . ~ I ' p ‘ d, d, t -d - .. ordertosoakin allofthe dank.“,’“,'."‘,g“‘f".v.v".yf as his press release loronce genuinely Auo.10pm,£4.50—£6.50 a?" “V512” “"‘YC'S'W nu, nccs I )t ) t the Chamalcon LXlSISln ‘ , (£3 sci-£5 50) “ma. 0 cane red”),
e i- g (u my amid dance mum,” proclaims, no larl jokes, no willie . . . madcthc company think
videos ofall these films and I wrote down all the plots and all the names. and got into the mechanics behind the writingof them. All the time lwas sort ofstewing my own brew and came up with Invasion Werewolf.‘ Myers hopes that the story will remain clear as he flits from character to character— there’s a glamorous reporter called Helen Shepherd in addition to all ofthe others mentioned — but admits that there have been some limitations. ‘I never have more than three people on stage at any one time. and all
years used for television rehearsals. Today audiences crowd in to see a cheerfully sleazy. sometimes hilarious and charmingly bizarre variety programme presented. naturally. by the omnipresent confreneier. After more than halfa century. the jugglers and clowns. chanteuses. trapeze artists and magicians are celebrating a come back. Wilkommen. bien venue. welcome. (Christopher Bowen)
I Variele Chaméleon (Fringe). Assembly (Venue 3) 226 2428. 14—25 Aug, 11pm. £6.5()/£7.50 (£5.5()/£6.50).
of a really boring film with James Mason where he goes round all the old vaudeville theatres.‘ Unsurprisingly. C ockles
is in two minds about going back to doing his stand-up routine. Having made it into the big time in nine months via a pub talent contest judged by Vic Reeves, he feelsthat ‘I’m not really an honest working stand-up. There‘ll be people on the Fringe who have been going there for six years
.. .that‘s part ofthe reason why I‘m only doing
6550, 13—23 Aug, 10.20pm, £6 (£4).
7 CABARET
RU12?
Between the Lines. veterans of many a gay review on the Fringe, are back with RUIZ? an all-new selection of sketches. ‘We are now the Between the Lines Broadcasting Corporation, broadcasting to the gay nation.’ says founder member Paul Trainer.
celebrating the ten years of gay and lesbian presence on The Fringe which has been associated with West and Wilde bookshop. From 17—22 August they will be selecting the best from the last decade. Also during that week, performers and writers will be dropping into the venue duringthe day to read from already published books and work in progress. Daily details from West and Wilde on Dundas Street. (Thom Dibdin)
I RUIZ? (Fringe)
about everything we did; every role is created from scratch and then Volcano work on the development ofpersonalities and the physical being ofeach character. Having worked in this way. I really don’t think that it would be possible for any of us to go back to conventional theatre ever again. ‘Savages is a very bizarre piece. It makes you think an awful lot and doesn‘t patronise in any way at all — it puts across a very serious message about how we‘re destroying. . . everything.‘ (Philip Parr) l Savages (Fringe) Frantic, St Columba‘s
. - - - . - Between the Lines
to ‘ 9 e . - e . i (ilenrgy ‘cgggfiés 5,10,”an be (Eifigsjflfécagshmdsh of Maggie Raye‘s Cabaret (Ventig41)5225 7993, 16—29
‘ . . . A , . , 4 . .
other. he says. (Philip V too damned bythc hewmdismalwng coma“ Club (Venue 86) 5560079, Ug pm £ (£3 50) Parr) old—timers though. His along the lines of agay I invasion Werewolf show looks to have a Round the Horne.‘ From a (Fringe) Johnny Myers. Things have been going strong line-up with version of Life on Earth.
Festival Club (Venue 36) 650 2395. 15 Aug—5 Sept. 10.30pm. £5/£5.50 (£4/£4.50).
V CABARET
VARIETE CHAMALEON
Satire, sin, divine decadence and green nail polish: Hollywood gave us one of its most potent images in Cabaret, the musical adaptation of Christopher lsherwood‘s tales of the city ofBerlin.
well for Tommy Cockles since his appearance at last year‘s Fringe warming up for Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer. His bizarre line in music hall banter and reminiscence has obviously caught the
public imagination. or at
3 least the eye ofthe
l producers. because
' there‘s a BBC series in the pipeline as well as a record
I and video in which Cockles tours the streets of London talking about his favourite buildings and music halls. ‘It’s a take-off
ventriloquist Terri Rogers and ‘mystery guests‘ like Malcolm Hardee. as well as some intriguing new sketches. He promises Tommy And The Rolling Stones, Tommy On drugs and Tommy In America. And there will always be people in the audience
just waiting to hear those
immortal opening lines ‘1 was born and raised in the music halls . . .‘ (Frances Cornford)
I Alive Alive-0h (Fringe) Tommy Cockles, Pleasance (Venue 33) 556
looking at the various species of Homosexus to be found around Edinburgh during the Festival. to a sketch about pe0ple who devel0p ‘therapese‘ — a nasty complaint where you become incapable of talking in anything but the terms used by therapists and councillors, RUIZ? laughs at the facets ofa gay lifestyle which the likes ofJulian Clarey are incapable of reaching. Besides RU12?,
l
1
Between the Lines will be I
The List 14— 20 August 1992 53