FESTIVAL 1m/3m
hunt in their Ford Fiesta. Then in the film there is a romantic 30s Bing and
Talking Bide. Tht‘flm‘ documenting the times as Work-Shop (VCHUC 30) 336 ( much as arty news report.
V COMEDY
B-Road Movie!
4 4';
lip Service: stretching the bounds of theatre
Combining a live play with big screen action has been tried in the past, but never quite like this. In B-lioad Movlel, Lip Service — the team which brought you Withering Looks, the complete condensed version of the Bronté sisters’ lives - have gone all out for the live recreation of that cinematic experience with a sort of
Bob-style road movie. At different points in the contemporary characters’ lourney they keep coming across this romantic 30s film. Eventually they get into the film and the characters from the film come out on to the stage.’
While the Lip Service duo took on all the parts in Withering looks, the use of the film, shot using a professional crew last February, allows up to four characters to be ‘on stage’ at any one time during the show. However, having half the play set in celluloid is not always easy, especially for a company who positively thrive on ad lib.
‘I must admit there have been moments when I think: “I could just slip in an extra gag here”, but of course you can’t because the screen characters turn in the same performance every time,’ says Byding. ‘But there is something quite nice about having the discipline of something that is set because you know they are not going to cock-up. All the 30s footage is in black and white and we are in colour, so when
the characters step out onto the stage
they are amazed at the Technicolor.’
FISHBOWL
‘lt‘s about a woman with a terrible secret who arrives in a place where everyone tells stories. In the middle of this a man‘s parachute refuses to open and he plunges from the sky into her garden.‘
That is how Fishbowl starts. according to the impressively-lunged Nicholas Walker. After that it builds to a frenzy. with Walker playing the man‘s parachute. ‘Part of the terrifying spectacle of seeing a man falling to earth with a parachute on his back which is reluctant to open.‘ he says.
All this high octane anaerobic entertainment has a rather noble motivation. he explains: ‘The company lives in the shadow of Coventry City football ground and week after week we see crowds of people going to see popular. high energy. structured improvisation. We wanted to create a play which illicited the
I l l
5425. l3—27 Aug. ’
2.30pm. £5 (£3.50).
SKAVILLE
The popularity of The Rm‘k 'n' Roll Years
(probably on its 17th
repeat run by now). which { backs news footage from
a particular year with a soundtrack of
I contemporary pop hits is a
testament to the way music can be inextricably
, a particular time and even f help to define that era.
The most successful episodes of the show came when sound and pictures seemed to be made for each other.
Like in 198! when ska label 2-Tone had its greatest success with The Specials‘ ‘Ghost Town‘. As it occupied the top slot
in the singles chart with its grim account of urban decay. the streets of
Brixton and Toxteth were
Paul Sirett's Skuville
aspires to do more than
; VTHEATRE 7
offer some cosy pop nostalgia — ‘I don‘t want to hijack some kind of
appeal by trotting out
another list of hit songs in the hope of dragging people along to see it.‘ says the writer. a former member of Z-Tone band The Selecter along with director Adrian Middleton. The aim is to reflect the climate experienced by Britain‘s
“nde with the memory of : youth in the late 70s and
. early 80s .
The play is set in a Brighton record shop and
1 traces two years in the life l of the owner. the shop
assistant and two customers. exploring their relationships and the
. wider social spectrum that
perverser saw ska — a multi-racial melding of reggae and punk ~ being
adopted as the favourite
music of the National Front. So although the play is a comedy. it‘s advisable to leave those
alight. Britain had
endured two years of
Thatcherism and the
festering malaise boiled
over in a series of
. suburban riots. The
' Specials and their politically-aware ilk were
Thelma and Louise for the Midlands. ‘It’s two road movies in one,’ explains Lip Service’s Sue liydlng. On stage there are two contemporary characters who are off on a treasure
mim- Off Out
When playwright Gill Adams stepped out with llull’s vlce squad to observe the shrouded world of prostitution, she expected to have her eyes opened.
She admits she got more than she bargained for, discovering more tragedy and humour than she knew existed in the twilight world of the streets.
At the Fringe for its premiere, Off Out is Adams’ ground-level look at prostitution - its dangers, its unwritten rules and its bizarre humour. The result of some unorthodox research techniques, it promises to lift the lid on a profession plagued by stereotypes and urban myths.
“When I was first interested in writing about prostitution I found it difficult to make contact with the women - they were suspicious of anyone asking questions,’ says Adams.
(Thorn Dibdin)
B-lload Movie (Fringe) Lip Service, Assembly Rooms (Venue 3) 226 2428, 14 Aug-3 Sept (not Tue 23 Aug), Eli/£7 (ET/£6).
sepia-tinted specs at the door. (Fiona Shepherd) , I Skaville (Fringe) Abacus Arts Theatre. Bedlam Theatre (Venue 49) 225 9893. 15 Aug—3 Sept. 2.15pm. £5 (£4).
same kind of passion.‘ The result is a manic
atmosphere suggestive of
a derby match about to go
into extra time. (Stephen
Chester)
I Fishbowl (Fringe)
G 8: J PRESENT
j,“ 'J r ' at,
A I ‘ Di!
From' the team that brought you last year’s cult smash ’ANORAK
OF FIRE’
Off Out: lifting the lid on the sex industry
There are no moral overtones in this play, insists Adams, who describes it as a story about family relationships. ‘I don’t think I ever started to think this is disgusting and wrong. I got to know some of the women so well that
a wild new comedy
‘l went to the HI!“ Vice Squad and the! what they did didn’t seem as . . A. ' i by STEPHEN DINSDALE were brilliant.’ important as what brought them to the '___\ - directed by With the support of the police. streets.’ '- SARAH FRANKCOM
Adams managed to persuade Ultimately, prostitution is just the Ptosmlltes and the" CNN!“ tt3 Speak , backdrop for what should be a funny
to her. “We did a deal - fl "'0! “Med ' and poignant story about family
to talk to me the police wouldn’t do a “rational”, sh. says. But prepare traco.’ she says. addlno woefully: : for a hard-hitting play from the writer mom“! ' calls“ the” "'0" "ml "‘0" who exploded onto the Fringe in 1991 trousers down.’ She mot WOW" "0'" i with the critically-acclaimed Taking
all backgrounds selling sex for can or Business. (Kathleen Morgan) different reasons, from young drug ;
users desperate to sustain a 0ft Out (Fringe) llull Truck Theatre demanding habit to old-timers TOTOOd i Company, MM, Room; (Vanna 3) onto the street after the bubble burst i, 225 2423, 15.13, 23—25 Aug, so Aug—3 L on llull’s fishing industry and its spln- E 3.9:, 29.“, £7.50 (£5.50); 19.21 , 25.29 f off brothel trade. Aug, 2pm, £8.50 (£7.50). '
THE UP! AND TIMES OF CLIVE NEON: WARN“ SUPERSTAR
12 - 21 AUGUST 24 AUGUST - 3 srprmern ASSEMBLY ROOMS PLEASANCE THEATRE
031 226 2528 2PM 031 556 6550 3.30PM FRINGE BOX OFFICE 931 226 5138
The List 12—l8 August 1994 29