1pm - 3"" festival
The Cruel lland 0t Fate: the audience chooses its victim nightly
oomaov PREVIEW
The Cruel Hand of Fate
A cheating lover, your boss, a politicking low-lite - who would be top ot your assassination hit-list? ‘You’d probably make the wrong choice,’ reckons Glen Richardson, co- writer of The Cruel lland Of Fate, retlecting on his snutt theatre show. ‘Most people would kill someone really irritating rather than a more dangerous dictatorial type’.
But comedy’s the order ot the day as tour candidates are wheeled on, each played by Richardson, pleading their
; case to the audience, who get to put
thumbs up or down on which one gets the shove. A line-up which includes a war pensioner and a pre-pubescent boy might seem unworthy of such a penalty, but according to Richardson they’re a pretty hatetul bunch. The foul-mouthed Jerry Sadowitz also pops up as an Indian restaurateur(?).
‘We’re not trying to make any serious points, although it does arouse a lot of strong teelings as we are basically handing over the verdict and telling the audience they’re responsible tor what happens to these people,’ says Richardson. The choice, as they say, is yours. (Claire Prentice)
The Cruel Hand 0! Fate (Fringe) The Cruel Hand Of Fate, The Pleasance (Venue 33) 556 6550, 15 Aug (preview) £3.50, 19-31 Aug, 2.05pm, case/£5.50 (ES/1‘4).
THEATRE REVIEW *** I
LIKE A VIRGIN
Adolescence is all about drowning heartaches in a bottle of cider and ten Regals. That’s what Madonna-mad good-time girls Angela and Maxine do. In true teenage tashion, they play hookey, row with their parents, party and gossip endlessly about boys and sex. Angela has got the kind at home lite that would get the back-to-basics bunch mounting their moral high horses. To escape such glum reality, the two girls don Madonnaesque outtits and prance ardund with hairbrushes in hand, lorming a band and dreaming ot stardom. But when Angela lalls prey to a debilitating illness, her tun-loving outlook
Like A Vir
gin: funny and heart-warming
changes and, amid tears and tantrums, she learns that hitting her head oil a brick wall at her own making won’t heal the wounds.
Jill ltaltpenny as Angela turns in a gutsy pertormance, allowing the welter ot pubescent emotions to come through, while her sidekick Vicky Entwistle’s Max is a nippy wee bulldog with a mouth to match. The tenement set is easily transtormed trom bedroom to lounge, but lots of short scenes and set-changes make the action seem bitty and the 80’s music and Diamond White-supping date the piece a tad. All in all, though, they strike a good balance between comedy and poignance, making tor a funny and heart-warming romp. (Claire Prentice)
Like A Virgin (Fringe) ltull Truck Theatre Company, Assembly Rooms (Venue 3) 226 2428, until 31 Aug (not 19, 27) 2pm, £8. 50/27. 50 (£7. 50/736511).
l *‘k‘k I
ENTERTAINING MR SLOANE
Inc Orion is still .i trust} stantlh}. three decades alter his plays were first produced. but all too often his (It’ll/llt’ outrun/reduced lines can dannt actors. who gahhle through them. wasting the _)t)l\'L‘.\. Tangerine. however. make
the most ol the script. and keep stantlttt'tls til (k‘l'ltll'llltlllCL‘ high. (iortlon Munro is particularly splendid as the gnarled oltl Darla. l'tilltm etl closer by Ross Stenhonse its the tltilltillL‘L‘l'lllg. manipulative closet-case. lid. Rah Christie l'nll)‘ understands that his role. Mr Sloane. is to he a blank screen l'oi' others to protect their desires (ill. but to give plent) L‘\'I(ICllCL‘ ol' the cunning \\\ inc underneath. And.
lot these more knowing nines. 'l’angei'ine have pumped up the polymorphous pen ersin ol ()rton's original h} casting a man. amply- proporttonetl (irant Sineaton. as the pathetic Kath. A xx ell-played \erston ol‘ a classic lai‘ee. (Alastair Mahhott)
I Tangerine Productions Presents Entertaining Mr Sloane ll‘i‘iiige) (iiltletl Balloon (Venue 33) 236 ZISI. tllllll .‘sl Aug.
2. ISpni. {6.5” (£5.50).
.,
THEATRE REVIEW * * ‘A' * BRANDED
You won‘t experience a more intense hour on the Fringe this year. Adrian Osmond (whose Three In The Morning is worth seeing at C Venue) has written and directed another sharp. smooth. macabre angle on the psychotic side of the
North American consciousness. He is. perhaps. Edward Albee‘s natural heir. exploding domestic situations into a more intense moral reality where fantasies. dreams and lies compete to define what is real. Jason Gingold and Jason Lott once again give two virtuoso performances as the college buddies with a shared past to exorcise. The plotting borders on
shock for shock's sake. and occasionally the piece‘s rhythm is lost. but Osmond has pulled off another great little play. Jason Gingold screaming his dead girlfriend‘s name will chill me for a long time. (Grant Gordon)
I Branded (Fringe) Double Edge Drama. Moray House Studios (Venue 169) 556 ()IOZ. l4. l6. IS. 20. 22. 24 Aug.
2. lOpm. £5 (£4).
Review star ratins
* at w ‘k t t ‘k * t t *t *t
t You’ve been warned
Unmissable Very good Worth seeing Below average
demand. Humour and sadness are
secret, featuring Trestle's renowned
Tickets: £6 and £4 concessions
—— l/////
’An individual and winning slyle’
TRESTLE THEATRE COMPANY
Continental Shifts at St Bride’s Orwell Terrace, Haymarket (Venue 62)
Passionfish
Mon 12 Aug to Sat 31 Aug
(not 18 and 25) 3.30pm
PASSIONFISH is a darkly comic, passionate play that speaks directly at the Nineties. It explores themes of time, being adrift and rites of passage, combining masks, text and choreography with music from Bach to Bacharach. It is a show that spans two hours, one day or one year.
ugtoSat3l Aug
(not is and 25) l.30pm
TOP STOREY first performed in 1987 is back due to popular
combined to produce a drama of two brothers who share a guilty
and original style of mask.
(double bill of both shows £1 I and £7) Box Office: 0131 346 i405 (iOam to 10pm)
- / \Dz ' \
flue Scotsman
The List “3-22 Aug tour» 29