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PLAYWRIGHTS ON . . . POLITICAL PLAYS Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Sat 14 May
For a long time. there was a popular myth that any play that attempted to discuss contemi)orary politics was seen as; (lull and overly vi/orthy. If you hrought the suhiect up amongst the literati of the S)()s;. they would spit such phrases as; “agit prop' at you. a form that well hrought up siriddie class; people saw as; We theatrical equivalent of keeping coal ll‘ the hath. They would cite such pioneering companies; as; i':t’;~2 ll‘: the 70s z s tedious. and yet ai‘yorie who was; there t > see such l) eces; as; The Cher/rot. the Stag and the Black. Black Oil attests; to the pure entertainment yalue of tne work.
There may or may not he a need to revrsit such work — that's still open to dehate w yet the need for a pclit cai theatre as; one strand o‘ a riian‘, facetted art foim is; set evdent. and such work is making :ts; hack to the stage. What hetter time. then. to open up discussion it the l()l'll‘ of a workshop? This; event. to he read o1. Stephen (Sreenhorc Passing Places. Dissent and Hfllfll‘ Scans z'lhe Ara!)- Israe/i Cookbook» Eooks tiiiiezy. It is; hy application only .\.'.’."|l(} to Ne! Couli at the ' ravers;e; see ristings; for address; hut seems of tremendous; interest to me. iSteve Crameri
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SORRY, DO THE TOUR! Tramway, Glasgow, Thu 19—Sat 21 May
Glamour, caharet. s-‘iowy costumes.
plenty of flamhoyai :l t‘.‘()‘.’(}f3 and nothing too understated. No. this; is; not l as; Vegas. It's; the first production hy Marco Berrettini's; new
96 THE LIST '3 ."r :.
company lvlelk Prod. A former disco dancing champion, Italian choreographer Berrettini fuses; 70s; and 80s; classic disco With exaggerated movement to create a piece of Vihrant nostalgia.
It's very much ahout fusing the old- fas;hioned and the hypermodern: challenging what we mean hy contemporary dance. This show hreaks the mould. Forget your i)recoiiceptions of serious; faced hack-clad dancers; performing daring moves which fall Just heyond our tll‘.(l(?'f3l£lll(lllltl. Dance should he liherating. for the spectator and the performer. But there's a real sense of pasSion in Berrettini's work and this is not simply a celebration of an era. it's an exploration of self—image and desire. which unfold through a dance floor competition. Don't dismiss this as; Just another dance piece: it's; imaginative. entertaining and set to a great soundtrack. (Claire Pielal
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ASTRONAUT
Tron theatre, Glasgow, Tue 17-Thu 19 May
As; endless; TV shows; will tell and tempt you. jtttlklllt} it all in and huying a new fife some place exotic is the ai‘swer for any hored nohody. Theatre C) knox'r this; Astronaut is; the story of X. an ordinary guy working as; a salesman for prosthetic legs and ‘.'.’()ll(l(3."llltl at the world heyond his; monotonous; eXistence.
But when the European Space Agency picks; him to he part of their new Mars Initiative. an everyman hecomes; a hero. Until, that is. things go tits; up and life leaves; him in the lurch once more. 'lt's ahout investing ourselves; so much in what we think are the answers; and it's that false pi’ozizts;e: “if I do that everytniiig's; going to he alright". says; artistic director Joseph Alford We're lured into a false sense of security. as; capita.:s;iit dangles; our ideals; Just out of arms reach. As; Alford puts; it ‘not everyone achieves; what they want to out ‘.'.rhat's important is; the way we respond to that". iClaire Piela)
P! at oer/1AM» Am WHITE STAR
Tramway, Glasgow, Thu 26-Sat 28 May
cc'i‘oa'ties; <lo"'t ‘.'.'ar‘t tlf‘) to he p; ssive.
Be gia" theatre company Victora's production. touring to the 'ahout' tahoos according to company niemher Kristo.‘ limit {t"(t nor doc-s; it demand any particular response from audiences. It is E;7'lll)l\,’ ahout l)(}()l)i(} who are different, or who try to he different. and :ntroduces; a range of characters who are all tryzr‘g to fit 2':: ll'étllf3‘~.’(253lll(}f3. Downs; Syndrome sufferers. pae(.lophiles. acc dent ‘.’|(Ill'llfi. ‘It s; not our purpose to shock people.‘ says; Blom. 'lt $377". tnat we're lllt’lkll‘tl a political statement. The work is based iiiiorovis;at-on hy the actors. so it all comes; from ll‘.()llt. We don't rea ly t" nk very muci‘. ahout the audience at all'
If l")'. shock ng. the piece is; at ieas;t direct and confrontatioiiaz. and <t€:f3’l" tic-fl n". the director. I ies; Pauwels. as; ‘a tender fun fair of af'or; cas firmwa 'ty and trivial atrocity'. So if you don't get eno' .gh of
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i'at a. "f)ll‘(:. head or: down to ’lraiiivzvay and passively confront a ‘r;‘.'.’ *‘cinc trains; of your own «Gareth Dawes;
.“~.’e '.‘.’fjt.l(l ai Ike to he:ieve that in. our civilised culture there are "c tahoos; Ie‘t. Bat the 3'act remains; that no matter how developed our socety. there are stil‘ suhiects; that we find distastefal. and which therefore never get l)t.l)ll(ll\,’ disci ssed. Still, we ike theatre (;()'l‘t)£t"i(}f3 to discuss; them on our hehalf to save us; the trou'o.e o‘ naviv‘g to engage '.'.’lll‘ the issues. Sometimes. however. the
POI. lTICAl- DRAMA BRAZIL 12, SCOTLAND O Arches Theatre, Glasgow, Thu 19-Sat 21 May
ln case you hadn’t noticed, the GB summit of world leaders is coming to Scotland, bringing with it a whole raft of issues and concerns of global significance, and probably a few minor worries too. The Ya Basta! festival gives arts organisations and theatre companies the chance to present their response to the coming of the summit, and Birds of Paradise presents a new piece confronting issues that are closer to home.
‘The starting point for the play was the issue of land ownership in Scotland,’ says Morven Gregor. ‘After legislation was brought in to deal with land disputes, more and more communities across Scotland have engaged in complicated legal and financial wrangling to buy out the land they live on. In Brazil, however, any unused land is available, under legislation, for development, so people are able to move onto it and put it to profitable use much more easily than over here. What we wanted to do was draw connections between the two countries, and make people aware that what we think of as local concerns are global issues, too.’
But the play is written by Lewis-based Ian Stephen, combining music and drama with the polemic, so Gregor promises it won’t be simply a rant on stage: ‘Ranting never engages an audience. This is much more poetic than ranting.’
In the long-established tradition of political theatre in Scotland, the play is later touring to communities across Scotland affected by land disputes, so catch it on the road in a town near you. (Gareth Davies)