front of house
PUBLICITY SHOT OF THE WEEK
WE HAVE ACTUALLY been a little disingenuous and turned this picture on its side so that it looks like a pantomime horse or a Scottie dog. In fact, according to a sticker on the back, it’s a picture of ZOtoTHEATRE’s production of Strindberg's Miss Julie. What we particularly liked was the way in which the photographer has captured the essence of Strindberg's play, the power struggle between the classes, in just one
concise shot. Or not.
Mind you, last year round, The List recommended ZOtoTHEATRE’s efforts so don't let the photo put you off. Even if it does look as though the quality control sticker has
fallen off it somewhere.
Miss Julie (Fringe) 20toTHEATRE, Bed/am Theatre (Venue 49) 0737 225 9893, 25-30 Aug, 72. 75pm, £5 (£4).
the military tattoo figuring that Her Majesty's Forces could use a little revamp in the costume department (something about a splash of PVC not going amiss). Unfortunately, when they tried to make their way towards the Castle to offer their services, they found their route barred by two burly rozzers and a bemused looking Black Watch soldier. Despite their protestations that they could just join in at the back of a marching band and liven things up a bit, the forces of law and order were having none of it. Politer but firmly our would-be heroines were refused entry and told that if they swopped what little there was of their outfits for kilts and came back with tickets then they would be allowed in. Dejected, the ladies were just turning away when a
gentlemen in civvies strode through the barrier, looked at the skimpy outfits and declared: ‘Ah, are they for Brigadier James?’
At which point the Rhonda Movement wisely beat a hasty retreat.
Drag
' Spare a thought for the
5 local newspaper photo- grapher who turned up for a shoot at the Assembly
: Rooms. Kerry Shale strode ! on stage and started
l performing an excerpt from ' his show, The Prince Of West End Avenue. After about ten minutes the bewildered snapper leaned over and meekly asked the PR woman when the star was going to strip off and
! start doing his cabaret. It
2 seems the poor man had
i somehow mistaken Shale
; for the Kiwi drag act, Mika I who is also appearing at
l the Assembly Rooms. Now
Shale plays eighteen
? characters in his play but as 3 far as we know, none of
l them are transvestite cabaret singers.
I Help
I On a serious note for once, . a silver House Of Frasers
i bag went missing from
j Glasgow's Queen Street
I Travel Centre last Saturday
l afternoon at around
1.20pm. The bag contained vital publicity photos for Celle-La at the Traverse and Parallel Lines at the
Famous Grouse House. While useless to anybody else, the photographs are invaluable to the companies concerned. Anybody with any information to their whereabouts should contact 0421 760 151.
Here for the beer
Al Murray, top bloke, top comedian and proud owner of an award from the The Beer Writers' Guild. Here are his favourite Edinburgh pubs. Stop him and buy him a pint.
I HAVE SELECTED three boozers, 'bars' as they call them up here, all of which are fine examples of the hostelry and offer good cheer to everyone. Kids wait in the beer garden of course. The first place is pretty special, raised as l was by pub dogs. Greyfriars Bobby is one of the city’s best known bars and a shrine to the devotion of dog to man. Featuring traditional decor but the latest in bar technology, you can expect smooth service, hot and cold food, crisps, nuts and assorted memorabilia celebrating the world's most famous grave-guarding hound. A must for all dog and beer lovers and that’s just about everyone now isn't it?
If it's leather seats, moody lighting and a breakfast the size of Latin America you’re after, The Living Room is the place for you. There you will find a breakfast that calls itself the ‘trainspotters” breakfast, exactly the sort of hearty meal to equip you for a long day watching the Flying Scotsman hurtle through Waverley Station. There is also a vegetarian option that comes highly recommended and makes a change from my gaff where they get a veggie samosa fried up in lard for flavour. Well you've got to make folk feel welcome, haven't you?
Finally, there’s Bannerman's Bar. Cavernous, studded with barrels and with a cosy subterranean feel, Bannerman's is top notch, no question. The sort of place where you expect to turn a corner and chance upon The Beatles in 62. It's a dead cert, sure fire, cast iron, 100% good time, nowhere does the light of the pint cosmic burn brighter. Seek it out and drink deep from the lager of life. AI Murray The Pub Landlord -
The King Of Beers I. I
(Fringe) Al Murray, iii}. The Pleasance -'; (Venue 33) 0131 556 6550, until I 30 Aug (not 26) £8I£8.50 (ET/£7.50).
Al Murray: likes a drop or two 15—21 Aug 1997 THE “ST 13