Theatre listings
CLASSIC A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE King's Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 27 Apr coo
A person who professes to dislike women is called a misogynist: a person who professes to dislike men is called a woman. Permit me the sub- Wildean observation. It came to me forcibly in watching a scene of EliJah Moshinsky's production of Wilde's classic. in which Mrs Allonby (Deborah Grant) discusses the perfect man. rendering such a creature into a sort of plaything. Men do that too here and are generally worse behaved than their opposites. but we've become accustomed to that.
Wilde's tragi~comedy isn't as often seen as The Importance Of Being Earnest. Lady Windemere or An Ideal Husband. so the brief recap goes like this: into the country house party of old and slightly dotty Lady Hunstanton (Josephine Tewson) comes the bright and puritanical Hester (Sarah Wateridge). whose Henry Jamesian American innocence is greatly affronted by the more worldly Mrs Allonby and Lady Caroline (Catherine Kanter).
Amid the usual array of appalling clergymen. dull MPs and husbands on short leads comes young Gerald Arbuthnot (Cameron Fitch). who seems to be having a golden day. He's been offered the job of private secretary to the witty. dandyish cur LOrd lllingworth (Oliver Tobias) and looks like he's in there with the gOrgeous Hester. What could go wrong? Is he wearing his oldest pants? No. his long—since wronged mother Rachel (Kate 0' Mara) appears. and the dark secret of his paternity emerges. Can all be righted? Well. it is a well-made—play.
The satirical vivacity of Wilde's text remains largely undiminished. with plenty of laldy dished out to upper-class bigotry. gender differences and Anglo-American culture clashes. alth0ugh some of the performances are a little artless. Also. Anne Tilby has made some rather mystifying deSign choices. which distract from the action.
For all that, Kate 0' Mara plays her maJOr moral dilemma of truth or dare with the hypocritical Tobias for all it's worth. and strong supporting performances from Tewson and Grant are worth a watch. It's open to question whether the melodrama of the final act is easily playable to a contemporary audience. but Over all. it's an amusing evening. (Steve Cramer)
Oliver Tobias: Wilde at heart
MUSICAL THE KING AND I ' Edinburgh Playhouse until Sat 18 May oooo
Choosmg a TV star to head your musical cast may guarantee bums on seats. but does it ensure Cluality? John Altman (aka EastEndt-zrs' Nick Cotton). currently doing the rounds With Chicago. was undoubtedly the show's weakest link — was Stefanie ‘Hart To Hart' Powers geing to be yet another example of fame triumphing over talent? Happily, no. Powers' Singing mice may lack punch in the higher octaves. but given the standard of her acting I think we'll let her off. In fact. the singing is the only thing which drags this show down from five stars to four. Powers aside. the other female leads are both sopranos. and while they sounded beautiful. this is Rodgers and Hammerstein not Verdi ~ calling for belt-'em-out voices not operatic divas. The King and/ is littered with memorable numbers and it was a shame not to hear them at their best.
But Onto the good stuff — of which there is plenty. Powers' co-star. Ronobir Lahiri plays the King With just the right blend of menace and mirth. Jo-Jo De La Cerna as Lun Tha almost makes up for the afOremeiitioned vocal problem, With the finest Singing the Playhouse has heard for a long time. The ‘Small House of Uncle Thomas ballet is superbly choreographed. and as for the children — somebody has searched far and Wide for this impressive display of talent and Cuteness. But it all pales into inSignificance next to the opulence and splendour of the sets. which somehow even manage to outshine Stef's trademark smile. (Kelly Apter)
84 THE LIST All—(J May 12(7)?
Drama is listed by city, then alphabetically by venue. Dance is listed after drama for each city. Shows will be listed, provided that details reach our offices at least ten days before publication.
Drama 8: dance listings compiled by Kelly Apter.
DISABLED ACCESS KEY
WA = Wheelchair Access; P = Parking Facilities; WC = Adapted Toiletls). TICKETLINK
Tickets for major yenues in (ilasgow are available from the Ticket Centre. Caiidleriggs. Mon-~Sat l0.3flain-6.30pm1 Sun noon~ 5pm in person or until 9pm by phone on ()l-ll 287 551 1. Any Ticketlink box office can sell tickets for other venues. THEATRE TOKENS
TT indicates venues where Theatre Tokens can be exchanged for tickets. Tokens can he bought from the Ticket (’entre. Candleriggs. (ilasgow. 0l4l 287 5910; most branches of W”. Smith. John Menzies and James Thin Booksellers; or by credit card from Tokenline. 0171 240 8800.
Glasgow Drama
THE ARCHES
253 Argyle Street. 0901 022 0300.
[W( ‘. WA]
Four Dogs And A Bone and Lord Byron’s Love Letter Hi 26
Apr- Sat ll May. 7.30pm. £7 (£4). Double-bill of' American plays. featuring John Patrick Shanley‘s fast— paced look at the making of a movie. l'imr Dogs And A BUIH' and the Scottish debut of Tennessee Williams' one-act play. Lul'r/ Byron 's I.()l'(' Letter. See preyiew.
Cabaret Sauvignon Sun 28 Apr. 8pm. £6 (£4). An evening of performance. music and drama.
New Writing At The Monday Lizard: Kate Nelson Tue 30 Apr. 7pm. £1. Kate Nelson. co-ordinator of the Monday Lizard new writing nights at lidinburgh’s Trayerse Theatre. giyes a talk about what the Lizard can offer new writers. performers. directors and musicians in Scotland.
CCA
350 Sauchiehall Street. 352 4900. lWC. WA]
Animal Farm t'iitil l-‘ri 26 Apr. 7.30pm. £5 (£3). Students from Reid Kerr College present their adaptation of (ieorge ()rwell's classic political allegory. in which a group of animals attempt to oust human beings and operate on their own.
CITIZENS’ THEATRE
ll9 (iorbals Street. 4290022. IP. H. TT. WC. WA]
Singles Night l'ntil Sat 4 May (not Sun/Mon). 7.30pm. £|() (£3). l.ook()ut Theatre Company explores different attitudes to being single. through four short plays by contemporary writers. See reyiew.
William Burroughs Caught In Possession Of The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner Fri 26 at Sat 27 Apr. 7.30pm. £ l0 (£3). Tam Dean Burn stars in this adaptation of Coleridge's classic poem. featuring music from the New York Dolls and punk poetry by Kathy Acker. See preview.
Jive! Jive! Jive! Tue 30 Apr-Sat l I .May (not Sun/Mon). 7.30pm. £|() (£3). Musical comedy from Take Two Productions set in a l950s (ilasgow dance hall and packed with hits from the decade.
A Fresh Pair Of Pants Tue 7 Sat ll May. 7.30pm. £10 (£3). Comic storytelling with Michael Kerrins.
CLYDE AUDITORIUM
Finnieston Quay. 0870 040 4000. IP. H. WC. WA]
Pokemon Live Thu 2 & Fri 3 May. 6.30pm. See Kids listings.
COTTIER THEATRE
93—95 Hyndland Street. 357 3868. [TT. WC. WA]
Boy Gets Girl Sat 4—Sat l I May. 8pm. Tickets £3~£8 from 01355
23665 I. Rapture Theatre stages this new production of Rebecca Ciillman's thriller. in which a Manhattan journalist accepts a blind date only to find herself a victim of stalking.
GILMOREHILLG1 2
9 L'niyersity Avenue. 330 5522. Movement Is Freedom Thu 25—Sat 27 Apr. 7.30pm (Sat mat 3pm). £10 (£5—£7.50). A mix of dance. music and drama from Dancepoint Musical Theatre School.
Quest Thu 9 & l‘ri H) May. 7.30pm. £6 (£4 ). Theatre Ruban uses the results of hundreds of questionnaires to explore what it means to be young. female and fixing in Scotland.
KING’S THEATRE
297 Bath Street. 287 55f l. IH. WC. w..\|
Blood Brothers Mon 29 Apr— Sat l I May (not Sun). 7.30pm (Wed 8.; Sat mat 2.30pm). £5—-£26.50. Touring production of Willy Russell‘s tear- jerking Merseyside musical. in which twins. separated at birth. are reunited in adulthood.
PAISLEY TOWN HALL
Abbey Close. 887 1010.
Double Scotch Thu 2 May. 7.30pm. £8 (£6). Singer Peter Morrison and comedian Johnny Beattie team up with the Peggy ()‘Keefe Trio for an eyening of Scottish Variety.
PAVILION THEATRE
l2l Renfield Street. 332 1846. IP. WC. WA]
Des O’Connor Thu 25 Apr. 7.30pm. £l8-—£ l 8.50. Taking a break from his celebrity-strewn TV couch. ()‘Connor dishes out music and comedy in the live
The Chris McClure Story Fri 26~Sun 28 Apr. 7.30pm. £l0—£l2. Biographical musical starring Christian. charting his career with the Section in the 60s through to the present day. Misery Mon 29 Apr-Sat 4 May. 7.30pm. £l0---£l2. Leslie (irantham (Iz‘usmir/ws' Dirty Den) plays the best- selling author and Sandra Maitland (Brrir)k.\'i(/(".\' Mandy Jordache) his psychotic number one fan. in this stage adaptation of Stephen King’s thriller. Reservoir Dogs Thu 9—Sat l I May. 7.30pm. £ 10. 'l‘arantino‘s cult moin leaps from screen to stage. as a gang of hoods figure out how their planned heist went so wrong.
RAMSHORN THEATRE
98 Ingram Street. 552 3489. IP. WC. was. WA A]
Locals Sat 27 Apr. 8pm. £8 (£4). Steyie Carella takes a swipe at family. religion. politics. sex and football in this raucous comedy about a Celtic fan and a Motherwell fan sharing the same flat.
ROYAL CONCERT HALL
2 Sauchiehall Street. 353 8000. IP. if. we. w..\|
Vaisakhi Da Mela Sun 5 May. 7pm. £3. A multicultural concert of music. dance and drama from local and national artists.
TRAMWAY
25 Albert I)riye. 287 3900. IP. TT. WC. WA]
Lisa Watts - More Funny Feelings L'ntil Sat 27 Apr. Tue-Sat noon—8pm; Sun noon-6pm. l-‘ree. Artist and performer Lisa Watts presents three