‘I'LL VERY RARELY FIGHT TOOTH-AND-NAIL AGAINST A DIRECTOR'
_ s. I I in. I H i" L: I L V
Basic instinct
Steve Cramer speaks to ANNE MARIE TIMONEY about her role in Tom McGrath’s new play, and finds an actor open to the creative process.
irectors often refer to actors as 'instinctual‘
creatures. Whether they say this to imply that
actors have some sense of ‘felt experience' that goes beyond what you can rationally observe. or to simply make themselves look more clever than their performers. is in some cases a moot point. But whatever the truth. the other kind of actor (the intellectual. researching kind) is more of a challenge to directors.
Now if I were to place Anne Marie Timoncy. one of
Scotland‘s most respected performers. I‘d definitely put her in the latter category. Her performances work by the creation of total illusion. through seemingly precise and very studied grasp of both her character and its trajectory through a play. But I‘d be wrong about that. for Timoncy tells me that she is much more open to directorial suggestion than most actors. ‘lt‘s not even instinct. it‘s grasping at straws. and hoping I get the long one.‘ she laughs. But this surprisingly self-effacing attitude from a person with such a distinctive presence is one of many revelations the lady has in store. ‘I actually bounce off walls until my director tells me I’m on the right track: you take a lot of decisions with your director and 1‘“ only very. very rarely light timth-and-nail against them..
This inventive actress will be leading in Tom Mc(irath‘s new play. My Old Man. and she clearly understands. for all the instinctivcness of her rehearsal-room technique. the typically aesthetically complex text of this story of a single mother with a teenage son. whose life of already difficult lumpenproletarian toil is disrupted by the reappearance of her long-absent father. What follows is an intricate. involved story. which challenges our notions of responsibility for the
aged. ‘He doesn‘t give you any easy choices.‘ Timoncy explains. “The old man isn‘t at all likeable. he‘s a vicious old git; the dying roar of the alpha— male bull. But what do you do. even if you want to leave him in the street? There's another family theme about single parents. The son is the only contact with reality my character has. and so she has to support him because she never goes out. She's very limited in her social sphere. Her ideal of being respectable would be to be a secretary. that would be the height of her ambition.‘
If you saw Tony (‘ownie‘s splendid revival of Tom McUrath‘s mid-70s play. Laurel and Hardy at the Lyceum earlier this year. you will be familiar with the peculiar mix of realist observation and a darker. more mythic force that lurks beneath the text. Although My Old Man looks a very different play. the elements of magic and strangeness. a world beyond that which is empirically known. still intrudes around the edges of what seems like reality. ‘There's a lot of mythology as well as absolute. blinding. grinding reality to his work. Years ago. I was in a translated piece by him at the Traverse called Stones and Ashes. It wasn‘t particularly well received by the critics. but I didn‘t give a damn. It was wonderful.‘
And that‘s the other side of this actress: her instincts tell her the difference between good and had work. making her unreliant on opinions outside her profession. Between this strong-willed self-knowledge and a charming. self-deprecating humour. Timoncy certainly makes for fascinating conversation. And the acting will be worth a watch. too.
Tron, Glasgow, Thu 22 Sep—Sat 1 Oct, then touring
Theatre
Hit
THE BEST THEATRE & DANCE
it The Last of the Classic Seasons: Three Contemporary Plays by Harold Plnter Andy arnold directs himself in Moonlight, while Morag Stark leads in A Kind of Alaska. Both plays deal with the process of ageing and family obligation. Strong productions of each from our greatest living dramatists work are promised. The Arches, Glasgow. Fri 30 Sep - Sat 15 Oct
1|! My Old Man Tom McGrath’s new play deals with generational conflict and more profound questions of selfhood and filial obligation. A father who abandoned his daughter many years before wreaks havoc on his return to the home she shares with her teenage son. Touring
* A Taste of Honey Shelagh Delaney’s modern classic still has much to say to contemporary audiences. This quiet, moving melodrama, here produced by TAG, is about a single mother's struggle to raise a child. There are also moments of delicate comedy in this powerful piece. Toun’ng
it Gypsy Dundee Rep has shown in the past that its versatile ensemble are more than competent at musicals, and here with a Stephen Sondheim classic they look set to shine again. The story of the first ever stripper, this looks as entertaining as it is thought provoking. Dundee Rep, Sat 1—Sat 22 Oct
* Swan Lake Matthew Bourne’s all-male production is ten years old this year, and looks as challenging and entertaining as ever. If you haven’t seen it go. and if you have, you’re bound to want to return. Merchant Square, Glasgow, Mon 3 - Sat 8 Oct
l’l’ Sep (5 Oct L‘ililfi THE LIST 81