Nl W ‘~.'.’()H‘r< SURE SHOTS Tron, Glasgow, Tue 8—Sat 12 Nov
How many of you haye gone off to your local carry out and ordered a meal composed entirely of starters? let's face it. they're often more appetising than a big. overpowering main course. The theatre equivalents ot hot and sour soup. spare ribs. prawn toast and some of those nice prawn crackers but hold the lemon chicken is now {lVélllélblU at the Tron. and you can get it for tree.
lhe iron. in collaboration with SweetScar'. has announced a succession of fryer minute plays. featuring some ot the current new talents of the theatre. l. ach ‘.'.’l” take place in the foyer Qt) r'iinutes before the iriain house sho'.'.' goes up. with a couple ol actors and a single idea being the central prei'irse. lhe idea. it seems. is to entice you on to the lemon chicken. It looks a line plan from Air ()uzran's outfit. for so many folk thii‘k nostalgicth about going to the theatre a'id (}‘.(}ll drink in theatre bars. but lorget what rt's like to actually go for a lull iength show. lhe program starts. or'orrtisingly. with \John Migl‘ton's Serf. ‘.'.'lll(2l‘i will begin before
)ax'rd (‘rreig'sl hr; the King. but expect more as time goes on.
ifStei.(:- (Zramer:
HryiVAi BETRAYALoooo
Arches, Glasgow, until Sat 5 Nov
When an adulterous partner is found out and a relationship ends, we torture ourselves by retracing our steps through the time spent together in an attempt to unearth the clues that litter the way but can only be seen with hindsight. Shortly after his own marriage broke up, Harold Pinter took this retrospective and vaguely masochistic human tendency and built a play around it.
A triangle of deceit among friends is the premise for his tale. Emma, (Selina Boyack) breaks off her seven-year affair with her husband‘s (Stephen Clyde) best friend and professional confidant Jerry (Nik Wardzynski). Backtracking through pivotal moments in their relationship, the play reveals there’s more betrayal than either had formerly believed.
Pinter’s lyrical craftsmanship opens a battleground of uncomfortable dialogue where his characters struggle for polite control with tension constantly boiling away beneath the surface. The non-linear structure gives the audience an almost voyeuristic perspective of their relationships falling apart in reverse. We know how and when the end will come, and with the benefit of retrospect can establish the exact moments that determine it. Director Andy Arnold has a cast so comfortable with Pinter’s difficult and often ambiguous script, it’s impossible not to be drawn in completely. Boyack is enchanting in her role as the crestfallen Emma who‘s disheartened by the hollowness of an affair that’s as unreal as her marriage - snatches of time spent in a flat that’s never a home with a man who’ll never be hers. Wickedly funny and distressing at the same time, this from the hand of our deserved Nobel Prize winner is well worth a watch. (Edward Thornton)
John Mighton
liAl l l l BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Tue 8—Sat 12 Nov
British classical dance.
Theatre
QHOSl STORY
THE WOMAN IN BLACK 0...
King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, run ended
the reappearance of this 16 year old production is a reassurance to anyone who likes a nice tright at the theatre. It's not the last we'll see of Robin
l lertord's production of this adaptation of Susan Hill's celebrated chiller by Stephen Mallatrat.
’l his irretanarrational piece. in which an old solicitor relives a past that haunts him to this day through a kind of Victorian gestalt therapy with an actor still has the capacity to provide the odd fright. His tourney back to the isolated Eel Marsh House. and the eponymous phantom that haunts it has plenty of spine tingling quality. but there's more to it than this.
For beneath all the atiriospheric tricks with shadow and smoke. there's a political story of both Victorian and current sexual hypocrisy leading to tragedy. It is this particular shade from our collectrye. ideological past that activates tear through guilt. Tempered. it slightly weary pertorrriarices from Andrew P Stephen and Robert Demeger do enough to tell the story. and it the screairrs of the halt-teenage audience on the night are anything to iudge by. there's legs on the old ghost yet. iSteve ()ramerl
Americans haye dominated the dance calendar of late. with both Alyin Ailey and Mark Morris putting on spectacular shows. So now it's time tor a little homegrown talent. in the shape of three of the tJK's tinest dance co'npanies. Bambert and Richard Alston are flying the iii)tlii}tllt)()l'£it\ flag this rrionth. “.‘Jlllli? Birrrirngham Royal Ballet pays homage to three bastions of
Ninette de Valois. tounder ol the Boyal Ballet. created Checkmate in 1937. Set on a chessboavd. (,orriplete '.'.'llll black and ‘.'.‘llll(? 'pieces'. the work is a powerful look at good xersus (‘7‘.’|l. Kenneth Mar‘tyliilan's Sex/farm and John ()i'anko's the Lady and the Foo/ complete the triple bill ll()-'ll this tiiiirnx'iiate et chor'eograi)hers who shaped the face of British ballet. “De Valois began British ba‘lc-l; i.'.'e tarouldn't hate it were it not for her.‘ says Birmingham Royal Ballet's artistic drrector. l)a\.rid Brittley '/\nd MacMillan and ()ranko were the second generation of Royal Ballet ch<)ieogiaplieis. and theri inlluence stretched all over the world.‘
lhr: second halt of BBB}; l dinburgh residency is devoted to / Iohson's Choice. one of Hllliltf‘, 's most successtul tull length nair'ati\e ballets. Based on l-larold Brrghouse's 1915 comic play. the stor". tollox'xri a drunken Saltord shoe shop owner and his three headstrong daughters. one ol whom falls for a shy cobbler. residing further down the class ladder than daddy deems appropriate. Biiitlei. created the azvor'k in 1983). and its mix of entertaining choreography. comic timing and giddy romance has made it a trim favourite ever since. 'lt's a wonderful story.' says Bintley. '()n the one hand it's a romantic comedy. and on the other there's real so<:ia| commentary about crossing the cl; ss diyide.' (Kelly Apter‘)
LS ‘. Nov zoos THE LIST 87