liliVIVAl, LOOK BACK IN ANGER Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh,
Don’t take my word for it. The legendary theatre success of John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger, first produced in 1956 at the Royal Court altered, according to the last generation of critics, the theatrical landscape of Britain for ever. I've never quite believed this myself, and, having been on record on several occasions over the years on the subject of my dislike of the play, I’m not going to pretend I love it now. All the same, as a detractor, I’m in the minority, so the best advice I can give you is suck it and see.
Certainly, director Richard Baron finds much to love in the story of the original angry young man, Jimmy Porter and his rants against his partner, his Welsh pal, and the world in general in this seminal bit of 50s theatre. Not least among the play’s attractions for Baron is the play’s contemporary relevance: ‘There is a kind of political vacuum right now, and a feeling that the establishment and our political leaders aren’t leading us down the path we like. People feel slightly voiceless now, and I think that allows the play to speak to them. There are some real parallels of course, between Suez and the current, unpopular war. So when you hear these rants, this directionless anger from Jimmy, it’s really striking.’
The essential sense of urgency at the centre of the play is something we can still feel, Baron tells me. ‘There’s a great passion and vitality to the text, but it's also very funny, and that’s something we sometimes forget when people think about the play.’ And as to the misogynism of Jimmy, well we can’t just take it at face value. ‘Some of his attitudes are quite shocking, but you are prepared for them by the play. It gives us a profile of him, where we understand where all that stuff comes from. We aren’t necessarily meant to agree with him,’ Baron says. He’s convinced me to look again at this piece. How about you? (Steve Cramer)
REVIVAL LOVE, SEX AND CIDER Tron, Glasgow, Thu 13 - Sat 15 Jan
drink first? iSteve Crameri
Review
THE NUT‘C‘R‘ACKER «u Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Thu 6-Sat 15 Jan
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announce the set pieces; each with its,
separate international favour. Patter. (leéllilClOl'lfiilll()ll is equally unconventioiial. Against such a backdrop, T(:liaiko\.lsky's exquisite score (:oulrl seem a little out of plate But by keeping; l ev |\J£ili()‘,"f; lilltllllill Cranil Pas (le [)eux fully intact. f’alie reduces the risk of inconuiuitv and serves up a show rich in flavoui, whatever the season. Melly Apteii
Too many drinks. too much pressure leitl who knows what can happen’.’ I remember the last works function I went to. A few frustrations. some atcohol and a clumsy sexual advance — and that was iust the editor. Still. were all wont ti, act like teenagers when alcohol and tension come together.
And that's why this piece by Paul Charlton might appeal to folks beyond the fourteen-yeai-olds it's written about. The 2003 Fringe First winner front Jamil/x: Theatre examines the lives of tour kids in COunt,’ Durhan‘, anu proii‘ises ,iiw: real entertainment. Theresa quest for love. a scramble for sex. illi’l SCH“; 'i‘ore elevated dilemmas involved in the lives of these alienated ,ounusters. ate hair} about in the local park. Charlton. who also perforn‘s is interested in till,- .": which we use booze as a faCilitator for most of our ll‘OSl ii'iportan’. life ’l‘:'l When was the last time yOu slept with someone tor the first tin‘e '.‘/17_"’,_ii "
Theatre
StageWhispers
I As Whispers prepares to rest his wearies for a week or so over the festive season memories of what has been. so far. a fine theatre season return. Most of the time it's left to Whispers to rant and rave about one funding crisis or another in this column. so it's easy to forget the talents and exciting potential that Scottish theatre contains. something well worth celebrating.
We've seen a tremendously strong season so far at the Lyceum, with Mark Thomson's productions of A Madman Sings to the Moon and Othello chased by Tony Cownie‘s splendid reworking of Stuart Paterson's Sleeping Beauty. while the Tron has also excelled in its experiments in smaller scale productions such as Habitats. Up at Dundee Rep. artistic directors James Brining and Dominic Hill have continued where they left off last season, with a strong Macbeth and a thoughtful production of Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind. There looks to be more to come from this slick combination.
The Citz has not been idle either, with the terrific season of shorts. A Little Bit of Ruff, as good a succession of small—scale studio productions as you were likely to see anywhere in the UK this autumn. It was shown here that a truly inventive ensemble could make very little money go a long way. While the Trav has been tragically unable to put on a house production of its own, it has played host to some lively touring theatre. Meanwhile. at the ever industrious Arches. Andy Arnold has also played something of a blinder with his studio work. capping off the season with a splendid first Christmas Show, a version of Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid. Arnold continues to show immense creativity at this engaging venue with an ear for youthful voices. There's every reason for optimism in the theatre for the new year, and one hopes the folk who produce this gorgeous least for us afford themselves a pat on the back.
We have a great deal to be pleased with as audiences of the Scottish theatre. Funding shortages notwithstanding we might well look toward to a healthy state of being for the theatre as we move toward the creation of a new National Theatre.
4:48 Psychosis at the Citz
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