‘THE NIGHTS ARE A MEETING POINT BETWEEN PEOPLE OTHERWISE WORKING IN ISOLATION'
Up to scratch
Steve Cramer talks to Arches programmer Jackie Wylie and finds more embryonic talent at the latest Scratch Night
cssing up that you like to be in small. dark and
dirty rooms and experimenting with httnches of
strangers might seem an alarming admission. When you add that the l’olk yott are with are liable to get naked at any moment. some rather rtttn conclusions might he drawn. Yet Arches programming dynamo. and gil‘ted actress Jackie Wylie is willing to adtnit to sttch activities with pride. 'My favourite moment among Scratch Nights was the time the physical theatre actress Anne l.iv Young suddenly decided. with her partner. to get naked and play two late night radio talkhack hosts. it was hilarious and really compellingf
She’s describing the increasingly legendary Arches Scratch nights. whose popularity bctokens a taste l'or work that pushes the boundaries in all directions. They are nights where artists can try otit new ideas below an audience: a precious commodity. bccattsc here the artist needs to commit to nothing more than testing something out. reserving the right to tail.
Now this right has had to he invoked on a l‘ew occasions. bttt. still. more ol‘ten than not. there‘s pleasing entertainment and much reflection to he had from these inl‘ormal evenings of theatre. ol’ten truncated into several short pieces. There‘s no great sense that the audience will he seeing linished work. but there’s a feeling of participation l'or the folk who are normally expected to simply passively watch which often leaves spectators cshilarated.
‘I suppose the most important thing abottt it for the artists involved is linding support and feedback from other artists working in similar areas.‘ says Wylie. ‘Thesc nights are a meeting point between people who would otherwise he working in isolation. I think
one of the best things that comes out ol‘ it is just giving these people a chance to meet. And the conversations alter the events are pretty amazing — actually. there‘s plenty of drinking involved. but that helps too.
However informal the atmosphere. there are sometimes genttinely international events to be
scratched. Among recent Scratch Nights. members of
both The Riot (iroup and TIiAM. possibly the two best young companies to come out ol’ the USA in the last decade. have participated. There. is. in every Scratch Night. room for an unannounced special guest. although. at present. the bill mainly features young and unknown artists.
An established Arches l'ace. Alan McKendrick is directing a piece by l'resh young graduate Josh Makaruk. ‘Ile has this piece involving a monkey.‘ says Wylie. 'Ile plays a piece activist whose father was in the lirst Gulf War. This toy monkey that he talks to represents a lot ol‘ traditional versions ol’ masculinity. the attitudes of his lather. Phil Spencer is contributing a piece with live art and video work too and there‘s a lot ol' buzz. around that one.
‘()l‘tcn. the pieces we show at Scratch Nights don‘t go any l‘urther. but it's amazing the number ol' pieces that do eventually become major productions from this start. Megan Barker. who‘s producing Pit at the Iidinhurgh I’estival this year. began as a scratch artist.’
(in on. get down and dirty with the artists — you might lind yoursell‘ in at the beginning of something big.
Scratch Night, Arches, Glasgow, Tue 17 Jul
Theatre
Hit
THE BEST THEATRE & DANCE
* Othello Bard in the Botanics continues with Shakespeare’s classic of ambition, jealousy and intrigue. Gordon Barr's production sees an appropriately stifling and claustrophobic use of space employed in the leafy Kibble Palace where the drama is played out among that building's nooks and corners. Kibble Palace, Glasgow Botanical Gardens, Wed 78 Jul—Sat 4 Aug.
* HeIter Skelter Composer Stephen Deazley uses text by noted novelist and poet Dilys ? Rose to tell the story of a young ballerina who runs away to the circus. Live music is the star, ; but there are a number of circus acts, to set off the
spectacle. Tramway, Glasgow,
until Sat 7 Jul.
* HTS Exchange This represents the end of a long collaborative process between
the NTS and several different
youth theatres across Scotland. What emerges is the theme of metamorphosis and change, an appropriate trope for people of
this age. Macrobert, Stirling,
until Sat 7 Jul.
* Scratch Night An evening
of wild theatrical experiment at
the Arches, as largely unknown . young acts present work in its . first outing — rough, incomplete, i but compelling. This is a chance to be in at the first ! stage of what might be major , work. Arches, Glasgow, Tue 17 f Jul. * Disney’s Beauty and the Beast One of the most familiar fairytales of all is given the Disney treatment in this specially for theatre tour that’s already a hit in London. Playhouse, Edinburgh, Tue
1 7—Sat 28 Jul. -
:3 «1.9 Jul 2007 THE LIST 75