Wdihéz barrage-tame. I . well outreach companyghvkw ~. .- A; .. ,whichfrencpuraggs..m¢ - ., ,-

. participation-19f; ethnic! minoritiiét: .- ; communities-"in’thieéarts in; i‘ '

' " Edinburgh;AisuccessionOfe workshppSWiltbe made} .1,; ' available for 9-1 Teyearéoldsfat ' ' Leah-Academy and L’efith .’ f . n V Community .CjentrefCharges :_L ' fare. modest'With concessions i, ' available. For placesp‘hone ' Q- ' Ankur on.014"'1 '_ l n

Thecomp‘any has,achieve‘d a f 3 7 good deal inanemIirdhment _. where not'_e"_noUgh.-has’ a do"? “0? “39'; f i. '. . " " ' participation.infth6 «swerve " heard a lot of brave werdsfrom the likesof Council, local councils. and

EXecutive abodt thene'ed‘for this kind of work, but'these bodies, with a couple at 7 n _, exceptions, have been Home ' Office-like in their inertia after the speeches; Still, Ankur has achieved agood deal in this a . atlnosphere,’and"the . company’s piece slated forilate this year about. Glasgow’s . Asian gangs problem‘is~ awaited with interest. Perhaps " through the of x "

professionals such as Bisset, now holding'the post of drama . outreach director, and others . . we’ll more _-professional artiSts from ethnic minority communities. I Meanwhile, that hub or creativity, the Arches, has announcedra summer residency open to any interested artists who might be 7 keen to develop new work. The ' basementand studio spaces are available from Monday 2~Thursday 12 July, while a studio theatre is also available from Friday 13-Saturday 14 July fora work. in progress or full show as a resalt of the lucky company's work. There are some expenses and accessto » the company’s technical support at .1 , the time. Allan interestedv.ar.tistofx theatre or relateddisCtplinehaste- bring is their ideas.,To hear more, you can, send your proposals on to“ Jackie Wylie atthe Arches, 5253 " ArgyleVStreet, Glasgow/{(32 80L. . U7}- 1

NEW PLAY

RISK

Tron Theatre, Glasgow. Now touring 0...

Whether we're crossing on red or skydiving for kicks. we live in a world of calculated risk. If we stopped to think about if. we'd rarely leave the house for fear of the consequences. Actually. to stay in the house would only expose us to electrocution. poisoning and carpet bugs. so we're no safer there.

As adults. we're generally in control of the risks we take. but for those in transition from the protective shell of childhood to the independence of later teenage years. there's a complex network of risks to be recognised. understood and negotiated. As John Retallack‘s invigorating dance-theatre production articulates, young people are under constant pressure to resolve the tension between the safety-first caution of their parents and the nothing-ventured-notl‘iing—gained recklessness of their peers.

Performed by a winning team of five disciplined young actors. Risk bounces back and forth between a kind of liberal paternalism. reminding the young audience of the perils of drink and the downside of bullying. and an honest recognition of the thrill of dangerous behaviour. If you're going to be caught. says one of them. it's no good stealing a Mars bar. you’ve got to be caught stealing something big.

It‘s a tremendous show. not only because it talks so openly to its target audience about this difficult rites of passage. but also because it‘s staged with such flair. Andy Howitt's hip hop influenced choreography and Kai Fischer's lighting bring a real rigor to Retallack‘s vivid and vibrant script. Should you see it? Yes. of course: it‘s well worth the risk. (Mark Fisher)

NEW WORK EARFULL

Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 23-Sat 24 Feb

If you like your theatre fringey. there are few greater assurances of quality than seeing the acronym BAC on the flyer. The Battersea Arts Centre might be in London. but the benefits of this creative hive of the arts have been plain to see in Scotland for years. Aside from its touring work and co-productions with venues like the Tron. the BAC's contribution to our own theatre culture has been seen in many a strong Edinburgh Fringe show over the years. It's also a haven for young Scottish artists in the south. fostering development we all benefit from. This is perhaps what is so shocking about the threat of closure that hangs over the venue. after the withdrawal of funding from Wandsworth Borough Council.

One only hopes that this latest contribution to the fringe arts scene will not be the last from this splendid organisation but savour it, just in case. Actor Tim Barlow's autobiographical piece (with verbatim speech to text support for the

Theatre

Preview

NEW WORK STRANGERS, BABIES Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 23 Feb-Sat 17 Mar

It’s pretty easy, when you think about it, to spot the difference between how men and women treat their relationships. Men are driven by ego - the person they go out with is their own business, and just try to tell them otherwise. Women, on the other hand, less driven as they are by ego, seek affirmation of their decision, talking to friends in the kind of detail about time spent with their partner that a man would be too egocentric to remember. In other words, women go out with egomaniacs, and men (it feels at times) with committees.

So it is that the central character of Linda McLean’s new piece for the Traverse wants to consult the people close to her about her next big life decision. But there are differences. For one, all the people she needs to talk to are men, not other women. And, more significantly, she killed a child when she was 12. McLean’s play is in fact a succession of short plays unified by one woman, who, in turn, speaks to her husband, dying father, sado-masochistic lover, brother and social worker in the course of her decision to have a child.

‘This process is all about my character, May, checking she’s okay. She goes and sees all these men - she’s quite independent and set on what she wants to do, but she has to talk to them anyway,’ explains actress Gillian Kearney. The case of 19605 child killer Mary Bell seems to have been an influence on McLean’s text, and Kearney, a well known television face from such programs as Brookside, Lillies and many others, speaks of her character, not with repulsion, but with an optimism about life that comes as a surprise.

‘The play asks: is there redemption, is there ever redemption? I get the feeling that she’s very loved by all these men, and it’s not them who have damaged her. In a way, she’s a very positive character; she’s not like the real Mary Bell, who I’ve been reading about, in that, even though she’s a good mother, she’s still very, very sad, beaten and locked away. My character is moving on.’ (Steve Cramer)

deaf) tells the story of his development of a disability as a young man in the army. after using new rifles that tired so loudly that they rendered him deaf. It was then a brave decision to train as an actor in his 30s. particularly given that by this time he had a family to support. By all accounts this is a warm and moving story of courage and enterprise in the face of disability. One hopes the BAC stOry will also finish up with warmth and happiness. (Steve Cramer)

if) Fab—l Mill 200/ THE LIST 83