‘THE RAGE AGAINST THE
MACHINE HAS TURNED TO RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE-GUN'
A new politics
As the ARCHES gears up for another Jamboree of new work, Steve Cramer considers the new politics of theatre.
s I write this. I'm reilecting on the sight oi .\'oam ('homsky. who I recently saw address a large assemth ol' l'olk at the Mcliwan Hall in
lidinhurgh. The last time I‘d seen this cogent mice of
rational dissent was a decade hcl'ore. in a not nearly so crowded hall tar away. I was. at ahout fill. one ol the youngest people present. Yesterday. there were still a good number of grey. pt‘olessorial heads to he spied. but what was surprising was the numher of young people in their Ills of at least equal number.
It shouldn't he surprising though. l'or recent eyents
haye ensured that the internalised. indiyidualist issues of
(ieneration .\ haye been replaced by a more articulate rage lrom (icneration X-ti'einely angry. For two decades the sell-parodic suhurhan existentialism ol~ the Smiths was mirrored by a young. sell-obsessed generation ol' e- scol'l'ers. their teeth drawn by chemicals. their anger displaced upon the straights and suits who wouldn't club with them. their energy absorbed by postmodern irony. an articulation of despairing nihilism. These days. the rage against the machine has turned to rage against the machine-gun. and the enemy has names like Bush. Rumsl'eld and Blair.
The place most reflecting this phenomena. with its \‘igoi‘ous. l‘ocussed and youthful anger. is .-\ndy .-\rnold's Arches. a creatiye l'reespace l'or experiment unparalelled in this country. This year‘s .~\rches liestiyal boasts a
cacophony of such yoices. t'oremost among them that ot .‘oung l)a\'C_V .-\nderson. who as writer and director ol~
Snail. presents us with a tale of urban \‘iolence with multinational roots. In it. a skinhead and an army deserter trapped together in a tower hlock present metaphors of alienation and \iolence through the \ery entertainment they choose.
Violence is also at the heart of Sell/oil. an exploration hy the .-\nglo-(ierman company l'ninyited (iuests ot‘ our
lascination with Violence. and our detachment from it. arguath created hy the media. .-\ppropriate|y enough. this piece l‘eatures a good deal ol experimental multimedia techniques in an exploration ol such casually traumatic t‘orms as horror films and hospital drama. Meanwhile. Kali Theatre (‘ompany hrings tales ot' a
Very contemporary nature addressing issues ol'
multiculturalism and post ‘)/I l racism to Scottish stages. In a double hill. .-\/ma l)ar'.s ('lmm speaks to a Muslim experience ot contemporary Britain. exploring the story til at local councillor in London. and his son's announcement that he intends to light against the
imperial project in .i\l‘ghanistan. Yasmin Whittaker
Khan's lie/ls deals with the sexual abuse ol .\lujra girls. women. increasingly brought to Britain. as courtesans.
Die I'D)” l'irc. l)a\’id Priestley's play for Lahoratorium 33. also explores themes ol war and sull'ering. tiltered uneasily through \Vestern middle-class discourse. In it. a couple hiding in the basement ot' a building in a war damaged city are juxtaposed with a modern hourgeois couple oi‘ something like our own society.
.-I Lin/c Lung/I I 1.0.x! Suntcn'llt'n'. brought to tls by the thought-proyoking Anstralian pertormer Skye l.oneragan. explores a text which is both mythic and
quite political. The Little l’rinre. In it. a succession ot'
scenarios are improy ised hy perl‘ormers l'rom storyboards. Sean 'l‘uan .lohn‘s 'I‘ltc Brut/1cm \i'ry (irimm also suggests fairy tales in its title. hut the Welsh physical theatre man‘s work has a political edge. retelling his stories through tales of urban depriyation and squalor.
All this. and l)ere\’o further ahead'.’ (iet motitated. get angry and go.
Arches Theatre Festival, The Arches, Glasgow, Tue 5-Sun 17 Apr
Theatre
Hit
THE BEST THEATRE & DANCE
* Anna Karenina Muriel Romanes stunning production of John Clifford‘s adaptation brings Tolstoy's novel alive with beauty and passion. Complex in both its emotional and social disc0urse and visually very beautiful, this is an exhilarating night of theatre. Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 16 Apr.
* The Visit Peter Arnott's adaptation of Durenmatt’s modern classic is as relevant today as it was at the time of the play‘s first production in the 503. In it. the richest woman in the world bribes a town with endless consumer goodies in order to exact her revenge on a former boyfriend. Dundee Rep, until Sat 2 Apr.
* Snuff The Arches festival of theatre presents a succession of political plays in its latest incarnation, notable among them this piece by Davey Anderson. in it, a skinhead and an army deserter get up to some ugly games in the deprived atmosphere of a modern tower block. Arches, Glasgow, Sat 2—Tue 5 Apr
=i= If Destroyed True Douglas Maxwell's new play at Dundee Rep. directed by John Tiffany, has some resemblance to Gogol’s The Government Inspector. in it, the official Worse Town in Scotland struggles to maintain its lowly position in order to retain a government grant. A dark. socially analytical comedy. Dundee Rep, Sat 2—Sat 23 Apr. 3!: Dracula Bram Stoker's spine-tingler is brought to life once more in Bryony Lavery’s adaptation. with Richard Bremner leading. Expect plenty of atmosphere, and a dark. fatalistic but sexy subtext.
King ’5 Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 12-Sat 76 Apr
' '.',:' '-'- .2’. THE LIST 91