THEATRE REVIEW
m enough variety oi personality to dispel m monrayal or! a gay|istereotype|k ' I." aremen roma we so , THE NORMAL HEART as in danger oi losing their jobs, 8 OF MICE AND
esteem, lives, lovers as the actors are oi losing their precariously- maintained accents. Overall though, the actors acquit themselves well, doing justice to this work oi pride and integrity. (Fiona Shepherd)
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
lloyal lyceum, Edinburgh, until 13 llov. Also Theatre iloyal, Glasgow, 15-20 ilov.
it’s a curiously old-iashioned production this. Curious, because so many oi its collaborators — musician lion Shaw, designer Rae Smith, new Artistic Director Kenny Ireland and a generally young cast - are associated
. with the iresh and the modern. i do The “ma salute at "to raw mono", Minn" and mean seflous” oIdJashioned.
DOUGLAS ROBERTSON
The title of Steinbeck's
l novel was apparently derived from the Burns poem To A Mouse: ‘The
best laid schemes 0’ mice
5.339“- "mn 53‘ 5 l"- "19"“ h'iiiilmmss- V0" 99‘ "'9 Scotland on Sunday put it at 1950, but a . an' men/Gang aft a
llow hailed as a modern classic, Larry sense Kramer was tumbling about in rd say it’s the kind at thing that mum gley/An’ lea‘e us nought Kramer s The ilonnal lleart was the the dark as much as his promgonists. test have been considered radical it : : but grief an‘ pain/For ilrst play to address the AIDS epidemic David de Oroy, as led Weeks, the attempted at the tum.of.the.centmy promised joy!’ And it‘s head-on. Written in 1935, at a time bundle oi neurosis, love, iervour and by "omen Bambohm "ea How It probably as succinct a when AIDS was still regarded as some 1 commitment who is the group’s apnea” "0,, ts as 3 mm", of am. comment on the stage sort oi gay pestilence, it traces three 2 emotional, it not nominal, leader, is an ti . t, kt tee tt mm” as. you can g“ 3° "9: WP "P 00 a" V 3" Preparations were made years in the lives oi a group oi llew actor who can convince you that his cmtstmas Show theames "one at m w ,n 39 could be York homosexuals who move irom every ieellng and utterance is which settles into an inte’gmted c'x eccwd‘ with the ignorance and apprehension to heartfelt, even though the character whole. enfployment of a large concern over the mystery aiiliction minim him ‘0 ""0" 8 WOW! "I"! imam] has already caused a stir by and high-calibre cast, but culling their iriends. They mobilise as ‘ time he conironts a new member oi casting uppe,_c'ass English and to“...
it‘s the subject itself
a campaigning body agitating tor civic » the cast. class scomsh an elemenm em" , 5 which seems to gang this
support and recognition, providing . ills cohorts - James Beggs as Mickey i not least "he; decentralisation is ‘2 glcéigcabenluf a-gticz- i ' [a s r s
what help and lnionnation they can to Marcus, lan Skewis as Tommy ; such a burning issue. the “new hiéttnc right! a
a growing mailing list oi irightened Boatwright and John Comeriord as t t t dt - m h- It th gays. The play is a keen balance oi Bruce lliles - interact well and with ,Lfienfly'fi pzinm?ou:=ha:tredio
; iorthcoming Master Builder will be
, depression-hit place. but 7 his themes of poverty and 3 hope are dipped in such
. "formed in Scottish accents, an . saccarine-enriched treacle ’PROVIDING A RADICAL ,2,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,., WWW,” a that as cnaagn a set 5065... AN |Mp0RTAN1 ipoint. Any directorhasthe periect : 3213;3"mgmma‘ m“ AND lNFLUENTIAl. = 33mgsufilrggfgLfiIf$$ the : i the backward
7 t i i d t.‘ entl ’ant. ARTIST“ HOTHOUSE’ E problem with this particular balance is g -' {(1310:}; intosgcnrerc, Erie
- THE LIST that all It serves is ossiiied tradition. 3 uncaring agrarian. i We can’t deny that Shakespeare gave ; economy the brutal master
which drives them from job tojob and eventual tragedy — they are
his most proiound thoughts to the l upper-classes, but we can take issue
OPEN MONDAY TO SATURDAY 9AM - MIDNIGHT ; 3:35;;1:311:133,::;,15,11?,,m drawing: as? 3r \NITH A NEW CAFE/ BAR AND BOOKSHOP English. ; Efigiggéé‘kan'fié‘m ha‘v: won : Accents are not actually the real ‘ a Nobel Peace Prize, and ! obstacle though, it’s more the way the 5 hit not denying that the i language is barked out with energy ; novel might be a . . i but little sensitivity. And the two sets g masterpiece. but Sitting i oi lovers, always diiiicult to make 3 I EXHIBITIONS: 23 OCT - 27 Nov (FREE) 3Lflffifigfifimnpfn'i'ii'iaiirimen are glimeinggibgfiq to C Q a touch more plucky than the men, but Bet-ziltlain,y\:ii:ieswe air” I cared little whether they sorted out a repressed about things and A I ' t 5 their love lives or not. The junior ' engage in explosive 1 dance-display iairies bring little ', drinking boutswhich i magic to the iorest and although liae 1 culminate 1" “018"”. and
Of Mice And Men is a play about America. where people talk about their feelings and think
Smith’s set - a towering organic , cavern skirted by a black elastic ! warren oi rabbit holes into which
! d:flp?fnin :dth'i'“ a: t that irony is something to V9, er s m ar ea or so do with metallurgy. We JOIN THE FREE MAILING HST i oi Shameless! was put to much more might be undergoing CALL IN OR SEND FOR INFORMATION : imaginative use by Opera Circus. . cultural colonialisation ' It I add that Ron Shaw’s piano score but thin 90%“ mean , lends the play the air oi a gentrliled mere ‘5'? Lagumrc gap: ‘ chamber place, I’d be giving the m‘ygve‘fine. over there 350 SAUCHIEHALI. ST lmpresssion that the show is a total is define], five, the top. GLASGOW 62 310 disastei- " isn’t that- ",3 his”! here. (Stephen Chester) “l: 04‘ 332 752‘ executed and enlived by the I mechanicals’ scenes, but iar irom Of Mice And Men. FAX: 0“ 332 3226 dreaming, it‘s a production that stays Brumon Theatre, Subs/disedby (he Scottrshnrts Council a Glasgow City council a . wide awake, ieet iirrnly on the ground. Musselburgh. Until Sat 6 , " ' r (Mark Fisher) NW
48 The List 5-l 8 November l993