FESTIVAL 3""l6’”
650 2395. 13—27 Aug.
experience. set in a gay
bizarre facial expressions
V THEATRE THE OOO COUPLE
couple‘s flat. Sometimes oppressive. other times refreshingly funny. it explored the ravaging effects of AIDS on the
victim. his lover and their
female flatmate.
Paul Fitzpatrick was memorable as the young ex-rent boy whose youth is stolen by one fateful encounter. while Helen
Devon and Paul Guthrie
were convincing as life- long friends. each with
their own battles.
(Kathleen Morgan)
I Soldier On A Monday (Fringe) Hill Street Theatre (Venue 41) 226 6522. until 3 Sept (not Suns) 5.40pm. £4.50 (£2).
4.40pm. £5 (£4).
' v COMEDY
. ELECTRICITY: TIIE CAGED PONY
and cheeky little numbers on the Yamaha.
This year Shuttleworth was on an environmental tip. Songs such as Karen's
, Tangerine hilariously
. illustrated the way that
retired ex-security guard
i Shuttleworth had taken on the ecological common
parlance. His touching
‘: philosophical tour oflay- bys and youth centres included some truly side-
splitting moments.
The sentimental explanation surrounding his fluffy ‘chirping
5” - chicken' and Doreen
1 Mclody's social trespasses
were brilliant. Gentle and
incisive. Shuttleworth in classic form. (Bethan Cole)
""mmI mm “u : an l‘iohn Shuttleworth SO m (Fringe)The Pleasance A trawl through municipal (Venue 33) 556 6550, bureaucracy after until 28 Aug. 5.20pm. £7 neigbours complain about (£6).
a marginalised. so-called 7 v
T problem family. this is a ' noisy. Brechtian style piece complete with Billy I ; LIGHTHOUSE EXPERIENCE
Braggesque live music. ()ne for sitcom lovers:
The Odd Couple: 8 dynamic duo cartoon coppers and a ‘ hack journo narrator. The Merry Lighthouse Experience features the
.Two and a quarter hours is a long show l of his ex-wife in the other. Together i. , . i _ Neither wet liberal do and Craig Ferguson manage to cany it ; with the breakdown of their marriages l authority know which . off. The tension between the two i and find some sort of camaraderie. ; way ,0 mm, and a final Dogman team m late races towards a cliff-top and teeters i Instead they discover why their wives ; plea for guidance from Lifted”??? Wind-GPWH on the edge for most of the show ! preferred divorce to marital strife. ? above falls qU'lC literally dl" {suzcjg‘é’xif without ever falling off. llell Simon’s ; Despite, or Indeed, because of the : onTiciffi of the raw two nngn stuck out in 5' Classic comedy is set entirely in f sublect matter Ferguson and Kelly 2 energy and wit that only “gmhousc together (Men Oscars "my room, which serves to * keep the laughs coming through sheer ; Community Theatre Behaving Badly style), heighten the claustrophobla and , force of personality and highly ‘ many bring, ,0 me One is straight male despgration of the characters’ ' polished performances. Grand farce man/grump/mlsanthrope, situatlon, blends smoothly with some home 1 the other chlrpy. comflake munching buffoon. The plot. full of the cul-de-sac
stage. and if somewhat rough-edged. it always Ferguson plays the role oi Oscar with l truths to Pmdflco 8 WI? “grin an abandoned exuberance which Is ' I III looking “Mid '0 I"! M "I ' 9 mist, and mm, of pure
Mental lllotormouth. Moor. manics through his insane script in a disjointed coordination of dreams. inbreeding. unlikely happenings and even more unlikely puns. You can't help but laugh: he speaks so fast that even if you can only understand half of what he says. he fits in so many gags a second that you‘ll find one funny.
The bits he hasn‘t learned yet are bad though: You just can't read that fast. But for the aphorisms. his ‘Dixie Aubrey the Beat Weatherman'. the reason Muttley doesn’t speak. and what happened to Hang. the fourth Rice Crispy kid. Moor is worth
manages to stay on the side of the underdog
.l.*t.3 .£6/£7 - , . Festival Club. (Venue 36) azimgtp ) pm endlng up wrth Pernod,
. y predictable stuff. I ‘ As with TV sitcoms. it’s ' obvious that Dowie and
. Davies are capable actors, yet with no monetary
incentives to excuse this
! Resplendant in sta-press piece of banality. the word
. crisis alrea . Jonathan Trew ' without ever once . ,- s t - . . jam packed with verve without c drIl F I a d l n ? pitching for the lowest a \1511. (Thom Dtbdm) l ,,,,d-even,,,g_screenfingr, descending into overblown histrlonics. ; Th0 0“ NIP 0( i "90) 0' I" “0 ; common denominator. . I Electflclty- The 939“ I one man hiding the radio Kelly has been cast in type as the "108% 00min”. MN! 300"” 1 (Neil Cooper) I $311.86}: Nixon n W) ; valve from the other and neurotic, anally retentive Felix, a man I (V8000 3) 225 2428mm" 27 Mo. 39'“. . I 30 Help Me (Fringe) Lasancgt cnue - . ) .3 l the pa” sendmg for a never happy unless he has a ' 29/28 (57.50/33)- i Sliced Bread Theatre (30‘ 6550' Um" 3 SCP‘ (“0‘ ~3 I crate of ‘porno' and
dustbuster In one hand and a picture
picture of what goes on V behind frosted glass shop i fronts. A cracking wee
At a time when culture’s Sho at a ckaing ee ‘ price. (Ellie Carr) on every comer of the
city. it‘s good to see a I I J“ Whom (Fringe) ' slacks and petrol—blue ‘Why‘?’ does spring to Show that deals with what Radge Theatre company‘ polo neck, John mind. (Bethan Cole) lies behind the‘glossy . The wee RCd Barivenue Shuttleworth‘s show I The Merry lighthouse Festival sheen the rest of 61) 229 1003‘ um” 28 pulled no real surprises. 5 Experience (Fringe)
l Aug. 5.20pm. £5 (£2).
the year round. I V THEATRE
Edinburgh-based
company Radge Theatre SOLDIER ON A MONDAY
blow the whistle on the
city‘s seedy sauna trade Looking AIDS in the face is a brave thing to do on
and what goes down on
the red velour couches of stage. but Glasgow‘s KickBack Theatre
the ‘executive suites‘. Just Whores is a down to earth. up front look at Company did it with humour. honesty and dramatic impact. Soldier
the day to day lives of the
girls who work hard for a On A Monday stripped the killer virus of its fear-
living. and the endless induced stigma.
stream of sad. lonely
punters who pass through personalising it and forcing each member of
their well-oiled hands.
Two years of research the audience to ask: ‘What if it was me?‘
with local prostitutes has produced a women‘s co- The three-person show was an intimate
Top quality entertainment. 2 Gilded Balloon Theatre. (Venue 38) 226 2151, until 3 Sept, 5.50pm. £5.
it was; with the usual mix l of suburban perceptions.
operative drama that paints a graphic and sometimes hilarious
The Merry lighthouse Experience: bettering hear
Tackling AIDS face on
The List 19—25 August I994 35