THEATRE PREVIEW DEVISED PLAY [SEEI— ,grggnzggggpygggggg;53‘0"” NEW PLAY " k Id th var i eren sense WRIGHT aofc rilriignecegzndiespeyct for royalty, yet
_ near enough to be recognisable in a ‘ way that cod-pieces and tights are 2;" ¢ not. ‘Once you get past the difficulties . . to do with language, Shakespeare’s people and what they’re saying are
surprisingly familiar. Audiences recognise them.’
The play is one of Shakespeare’s i ii, ‘women on top’ scenarios, focusing on i the follies of masculine youth. But it’s Told By An Idiot in rehearsal
not another case of poor men being got at. ‘They simply throw themselves into things with such genuine enthusiasm . . .’ Agutter flounders generously. ‘They clearly don’t have the maturity of the women. Men can , , . very easily not think about the future,’ A her01c interpretation Of she adds with some seriousness. . a . . . .
‘Women have to stop and think. It’s in Macbeth 5 an eel COUld their nature.’ The comment reflects help llbel‘ale the SCOIS
her own relatively new-found family sou 1. Rona“ Q’ Donnell responsibilities. Only four years ago, found out why.
'lfyou don‘t believe in anything. God will turn his back on you'. That‘s a line from the hauntingly lovely In The 7ime Of The Gypsies. part of the inspiration behind the latest devised work by Told By An Idiot. formerly known simply as The John Wright Company. _, Despite the name I ' " "
Celtic crossover: An Gaisgeach/The llero
’t
change. John Wright is ' Jenny Agutter: ‘women have to stop and think’ She "Pet and mamed wealthy Shams“
still effectively the man in i . hatchet Jana" Tham and! mull" a few .
Charge of this mum“ i Jenny Agutter, steam trains and months of maniage, gave birth to their Taking the low road to Glasgow and
pronged ensemble. which : Edwafdlan costumes- The {Wee son Jonathan. So when her character Edinburgh “{"h me” “CW Show A"
wowed I993 Fringe ! Images are so intertwined In the demands serious commitment "am he, (JaisgeacIi/Ihe Hem. north-custom
audiences with On The imagination they can only amount man, it’s a commitment that Agune, company Invisible Bouncers offer a
Verge OfE-YPW/ins 1"} to one thing . . . love’s labours Lost? also can relate to. in the past, she fresh take on Macbeth. Based on the
explorauon 0f the "at—71C Twenty-five years after The Railway says she only ever had to worry about ideas 0f ilnllIFOPOlongI Joseph
ClOWll figure. The - s ’ l ., , I , . h
mm my, new pm ,.,,, 3 Children Aoutter 3 back on track herself. Now she has two other people _ amp s . W to w d W my! 8 as
50 hc‘mlds a marked i again, so it seems. ‘I make my first to considen ‘I’m coming to mamage Journeys of personal and cultural self-
Styiis‘tic departure. entrancearriving at a railway station and mothemood so iate, i want it to discovery. Ike [saltseii's script makes. a ‘lt’s more expressionist. ; by train, In a wonderful cloud of work_’ (Gabe Stewart) hero of the historical Macbeth, ignoring
and is about violence.‘ l steam,’ she says of her performance his Shakespearean counterpart.
says Wright: The story. at as the Princess of France, in the Royal Love’s Lahours Lost, Edinburgh Using a unique combination of Gaelic.
1838180 far» 150* “V0 ? Shakespeare Company’s touring Festival Theatre, Tue 28 Mar-Sat 1 Doric and English. dance. music and
brothers. The elder leads
production. Apr. workshop-style performance. the company aims to create a ritual in which Macbeth reflects. and may
Egeagriziigndgllcadsw I I \_ activate. the hero inside ourselves.
the younger into the City where they meet a whore.
consequences, though to ~ ‘We all have heroic qualities.‘ says what they are Wright can‘t I I. t 2‘ director Alastair McDonald. ‘and all exactly say. ‘You‘ve got s... h societies rely on heroes to act out their ‘0 “Wise that 3 1‘”? “X ‘.- ~ ’ heroic beliefs. Macbeth is a classic talkmg ‘0 you we 5"“ . ‘ . hero. torn between ideals and his own
haven’t finished the ‘l’m “mg 3 lat Oi [eligious things at demons It's he who reconciles his
thin .‘ he ex lains. ’ ‘ ‘.’ ‘ . . . ‘ ‘
. -g , the “We”, remarks 3 my,S" Derek country s warrinv traditions and who “WES 3“ 5"” Jacobi two days after opening - C ~ -
d 1 - , - - . . v o , . ultimately stands for all of us. His call eve Omng ‘md ” 1”“ Hadrian VII in Birmin ham Soon after ‘
happens that that f _ h th, t9 I 'f to adventure is the people's call to an
particular theme or notion he ""5 es '5 pm my? 0 a mall adventure in which the pessimist
of what people believe in who would be pope! he " be pacmpg identity is overcome. It’s a very
call“? 10 [he f0” mail)“ “'5 “3.95 for BudaDEStt Where they '8 personal journey that culminates in a
This may sound shooting a second series of Caedfael, mythic reward that you take back to
inequnSible‘ hm we're "‘9 te'eViSion drama in “him Jacom your community and thereby enrich it '
{011(3ng our noses and I Stars as a monaStic medieval Sleum' This strugvle for self—discovery seems
do” “Cally know Wh‘" For now though, his focus is on Peter ° ‘
innate to Gacldom. Although in the midst of a renaissance. north-eastern culture still tends to be marginalised as
the piece is about yet.‘ Doubting Thomases wary of such an approach
Luke’s fascinating play, based on an autobiographical novel by the fin-de-
can rest assured. however. Siede "Phleman Flede'ifl‘ none' an aboriginal irrelevance south of As one of the founders of ‘llolfe himself was a man who longed 1mm“; ' ) ' s ' ° 5 . . .
[Let ,Oitpaéla); to be a pnest’t explams J?|c°b" :e \ McDonald sees Invisible Bouncers as of CE ,r-c 2y ‘ix ‘ was .exllelled '0'.“ “lo co eges’ "t “ consciously experimenting with forms PL I “CC ““ er “3‘ all his life he maintained that he had a snoeiek Jacobi bewilders Em in » .... ., .- . , .
belt '1 like to work with . . . . that don t necessaiily belong to the ' . . . divine vocation. In the play he Dead Again , - . ,, . - . .. , actors wuh an msambic . . mainstream of Scottish diama but appetite for play.‘ says lantaS'ses about becommg a pope h , "I ‘ I ,t b which nonetheless explore the whole wright This [ends ,0 be who is so good and so perfect that of, people aven t seen, so a can e countrys identity .Thcrc is no PhySlCal “to”. 50 We course he ls ummate'y assassmated' compared mm 600 actms who '8 Nationalist message in the play.‘ he work very much from a Even on the telephone, Jacobi’s played the part before. I’ll} yetv insists. howcvm. .h explores the Fehxiségflilgplgltf; “Hi: the {awfxpgesswzsgice cam? 3'2""! 3:22:39“ differences and similarities between . . 3 ° '5 “9 5"“ as 3“ 3° °'- 5 i s ‘ottish and. sa 1. En illsh .‘ ‘holou iiilpor'mm [hing ls taken him "om early appremicesmp consmnuy flying - beguse you,” through a univeisal thytsh. iii; all by beifiefnaucsreliizliiewevre a with mme" "noth landmarks like I give“ a" the Opportumt'es to Strut cultural identity is much more powerful - ‘ Claudius and Hamlet, to his current whatever you’ve got to strut - to hone . . t , . . creative cell. What we . , than politics or LCOITOITTICS in try to do is take a status as a prince among theatrical _ it, to make it better. It s really a quest developino nationhood. meaning from the most knights: indeed, his last appearance to get it the best it .can possiny be by A” Gamejwhmw Hem is a, 7mm“ banal of starting points. on Scotland’s stages was as Macbeth, the time you finish it. Otherwise why Glam"; Ht. AP, and ASS em I) 1‘, ' and find] at]: epic in very he that 8m" be “"9 "arcane" do it? It’s a pretty arduous and hating Ron/its ["(li'nburX/l [1—15 Apr it three- ' - ‘ j o ’ C 0 ’ ’ o I 4 , . E65332?) t mgs' (Nell I '9 do)” a If" 0' elass'cal won‘t he I“ '1 you don t' (Andmw Bum“) day nor/(shop exploring issues of I'm so Big, Told By A" 397993 I love it: but my big bugbea' heroism will be held at each venue. For Idiot, Theatre Workshop, 3' "'8 moment Is that I won” like to “add” v"! King’s Them”! Edinbulghv details. contact Invisible Bouncers on Edinburgh, 6—8 April. ‘0 mm °°nl°umW Wm, "Wk "‘3‘ 27 Mat-1 Anr- 01463 716946.
52 The List 24 Mar-6 Apr 1995