festival
before eventually speakrng to the Parks Department.’ There, the krnd, helpful and aptly named lvlr Park gave the go- ahead for the play to be performed on a different bench each day over the three-week perrod. Performrng rt rn a real envrronment (It Is set In Central Park, New York) not only takes It to a WIder audrence, brrngrng the surreal Into normal lrfe, but also herghtens the absurdrty of the play. '\NhI(_h Is what the Fringe Is all about, dOIng thrngs In a drfferent way,’ says Wood
The Zoo Story was the frrst play he drrected at the Frrnge erght years ago Then, the keeper of the bowlrng green next door may have been the only punter, but at least he came every day. ’Thrs trme we're guaranteed a crowd, even rf they are only walkrng past ' (Vrctorra Nuttrng) 35525; 7 he Zoo Story (Frrnge) l)ouble l‘c/ge Drama, Wardrup COurt (off Royal Mlle). 8 Aug. Grey/oars Krrkyarrl (Floclden Wall), 9 Aug, Princes Street Gardens (Flower Clock (late). 70 Aug. Canongate Krrkyard, 7 7 Aug. New Assembly Close (oll Royal Mlle). 72 Aug. 0477 256 227. 2pm, free (domtrons).
THEATRE PREVIEW Beckett In The Afternoon
Last year the former Dr Who, Sylvester MCCOy, played a clownrsh role In a Classrcal play, the Festrval's Me Is A Dream. This year he's playrng a (lassrcal role In a (luster of clownrs‘h plays under the trtle Beckett In The Afternoon 'In the last one I was phySrcal and In thrs one I'll be mental, because Beckett does lrke to play arOund wrth your hrarn ‘
No walkrng on the ShOuIders of the audrence here, rn fact It’s very statrc The show Includes Eh loe a TV scrrpt frrst televrsed In 1962 and never seen Srnce, lhat l’rme rn whrch McCoy's head rs suspended ten feet above the gr0und, lrstenrng to hrs three yOrces talkrng from three speakers about three drfferent areas of hrs past. and Not / whrch features a televrsed mouth
lvlcCoy‘s love affarr wrth Beckett began frfteen years ago at Edrnhurglr's Churchhrll Theatre But what rs rt about Beckett that rnsprres such devotron amongst actors? 'lt stretches you Insrde Out Beckett demands so much But when yOu get rt rrght, the reward rs so wonderful ere gettrng to the top of Everest My God, the hell you go thrOugh to get there' But wow, the buzz, the feelrng of exhrlaratron Once y0u've achreved rt It's sard that most of the great Beckett actors erther bec0me alcoholics or go mad. I haven't got the alcoholrc bug yet. but after three weeks Of It. y0u never know ' l6abe Stewart) Beckett In The Afternoon (Frrnge) Club WCSt (Venue 782) 337 0748. 9-28 Aug {not 75. 22) 2pm, f6 (E5)
COMEDY PREVIEW A Star Is Tom
Jacquellne Pearce rs best known for her role as Servelan, the sexy evrl one that
sent many a pulse racmg, In BBC's late 70$ low-fr scr-fr Blake's 7 It's a role she
Clthyed. ’Baddres,' she says, 'are much more Interestrng to play than goodres usually, because most of us have some bad In us and most people Identify wrth that ' Not that she herself rs a baddre, although one suspects there rs somethrng ever so slrghtly wrcked, rn a classy way of course, about her. It may be the way she laughs and constantly calls me 'darlrng'
Her autohrographrcal show, A Star Is lorn wrll, we are told, be crammed full of anecdotes and scenes from her three decades as an actress; from Harrrrrrer Horror to Hollywood, where she was orrgrnally harled as the new Audrey Hepburn The show promises to share the lowdown on the men, the mayhem, the mental homes, the hrghs — Hopefully the best rs yet to come' — and the lows -- 'WaItressmg In Hollywood rs Irke wartressrng anywhere clarlrng, It's borrng.’
Expect an hour and a quarter of adult, but absolutely charmrng, entertarnment (Ross Holloway)
25335 A Star Is Tom (Frrnge) Madame And But/er, Grlded Balloon (Venue 38) 226 2757, 6—30 Aug. 7pm. [7 (£6)
COMEDY PREVIEW Coffee with Dave Williams
: Frndrng the acclarrned wrrter of last
year's Caller/re In a cafe frantrcally puttrng frnrshrng t0uches to thrs year's Coffee begs the guestron. ‘Do you come here often, then7'
‘OK, so coffee's my pOrson, It's the drug that I do,’ aclmrts a rather stImulated Dave erlrams Cafferne- crazed and scavengrng, erlrams plunders the murky depths Of cafe culture to brrng hrs new observatronal comedy to Edrnburgh 'I do Suffer for my art — but cafes are fascrnatrng places In whrch to study the human condItIon.'
But Dave's dOIng more than Just an
: hour of stand-up about grrlfrrends and
lager 'That's been done Iwant the
audrence to become more Involved ' As well as character sketches, speCral
T guests wrll also be dragged In and ; drugged-up for a brt of ChIt-chat
(,‘oflee ~ a lunch-trrne show wrll be
i best-served by the Grlded Balloon's Wee
Room 'lt’s Irke a lryrng room Iwon't even use a mrc,’ he says But be
warned Vr/Illrams erl be pushrng hrs porson the cultured among you wrll get
free coffee, whrle the unrefrned may grudgrngly get some tea (Alison Chresa)
v Coffee Wrth Dave WI/lrams (Frrnge)
Dave Wr/lrams. Grlded Balloon ll (Venue 36) 226 2757. 6—30 Aug. 7 75pm. to 50 (£5 50)
. COMEDY PREVIEW
Who The Hell Is Cathy
3 Dunning?
herself wetrld know the answer to that.
You'd thrnk that, of all people, Cathy
She doesn't 'I've no rdea,' she grggles. 'l’m gOIng to have to come up wrth somethrng though, aren't l?’ It's certarnly a questron she'll be asked Incessantly, grven the trtle of the show, and It would be useful to have an
theatre ° dance o comedy
Personality crisis: Cathy Dunning
answer prepared. ’Well,’ she trres again, 'l’m a writer/performer. I used to do stand-up years ago, before I deCIded to do thls monologue show I'm much better at thrs' She's also had her frnger rn many other medra pres, includrng wrrtrng sketches for Smrth and Jones, and workrng for comedy Club TBA.
Her 60-mrnute show rs bIIIed as a comrc look at lryrng wrth a multrple personalrty drsorder, but thrs Isn't strrctly true. 'l’m not mad,’ she categorrcally states. We“, only somehmes.’ The show rs very much
character drrven, and does require a certain amount of acting on Cathy's part, something she's more than happy with. 'With stand-up, I c0uldn't control the Quality of the perfomance. Everything depended on the response of the audience. This is very different.’ Making a drama out of an rdentity crisis Indeed. (Kirsty Knaggs)
g Who The Hell ls Cathy Dunning (Frrnge) Cathy Dunnrng. Grlded Balloon at the Honeycomb (Venue 739) 226 2757, 6-30 Aug. 7.30pm. £6.50 (£5.50).
Continued over page
Tilt BlllE llmst litmus tumour presents
I'll!
HVPDCHONDRIAB
Moliere's bitingly funny classic play which satirises our obsession with our bodies and illness — and those who exploit it.
August 9-15, 13.45
tickets £5 (£4) Breylriars Kirk llouse, venue 28.
the word
publicity distribution in Edinburgh and nationwide
Tel 01 31 555 'l 891 www.cue.¢o.uk
5—12 Aug r999 TIIE usr 35