‘THE LOVE SCENE BETWEEN THE WOMEN IS BEAUTIFUL'
cean terminal
Performing in Glasgay! for the first time, Cathie Boyd's Cryptic Productions is setting a tragic tale against the authentic flavour of Haiti, finds Mark Fisher
athie Boyd takes her research seriously. She
wasn’t comfortable directing a modern opera
set in the Caribbean without getting a proper sense of the place. So. at the start of this year. she took a trip to Haiti. ‘I wanted to know what Haiti looks and smells like.‘ says the (ilasgow director of (‘ryptic Productions. a company dedicated to ‘ravishing the senses'. ‘I went in January on my own and you can't get travel insurance. so it was quite dangerous. At one point I thought I was going to be kidnapped. The major reason for going was to visit an all-girls orphanage. which is very important for the central character.’
The result of her efforts can be seen in {in Ocean of
Rain. the story of a prostitute who flees from the murder of a sex tourist to the Port—au-Prince orphanage where she was brought up. Refused sanctuary. she resorts to desperate measures. much to the consternation of three well—to-do women who are regular visitors to the orphanage. With music by French electronic composer Yannis Kyriakides and a libretto by French (‘anadian playwright Daniel Danis. the opera opened the recent Aldeburgh Festival — deemed a controversial choice by the classical purists — and has
subsequently been reworked by Boyd and her
international team from Iinsemble Mac. ‘The audiences at Aldeburgh in that wonderful hall at
Snape Maltings are used to piano recitals. chamber
music and orchestral works.‘ says the director in a break from shooting a short film called Rewind in
Glasgow. 'So to open the Aldeburgh programme with a
composer like Yannis Kyriakides. who wants to break all preconceptions of what opera is. was very daring. In
hindsight it probably wasn't the right place to open that work. but since then I've developed it. cutting scenes. adding music. so the journey is now quite different.‘
Despite her company‘s long pedigree in the city. this is its first appearance in (ilasgay! and Boyd finds herself in tune with the festival's ever more inclusive approach. "I‘wo of the five women in the show are lovers.‘ she says. ‘It's a sensuous libretto and the love scene between the women is beautiful. That’s the main reason why this work has ended up in the (ilasgay! programme. but I hope the work remains open to everyone. It's very important that if a work has gay themes it isn't just put in a box for that reason. Neither sexually nor politically has my work ever had those themes at the forefront. If it‘s part of it fine. but it‘s never been something I‘ve pushed. I‘ve never tried to make statements and I’m certainly not attempting to do that with this.‘
The show originated from a libretto that Danis wrote specifically for Boyd. who directed his ('t'llc-lxt in l‘)‘)7. (‘aptivated by the writing. Boyd saw the chance of working with Kyriakides. whom she had met at Aldeburgh in 2003. IIer challenge was to create a visual setting that would do their work justice. ‘I)aniel's text is very descriptive and Yannis gives you those sound worlds not quite cinematically. but you hear the visuals.‘ she says. ‘It means that as a director. I‘ve put less and less video in. My brief to the video designer was “less is more”.‘
An Ocean of Rain, Tramway, Glasgow, Thu 9—Sat 1 1 Oct.
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THE BEST LGBT EVENTS
* A Streetcar Named Desire Tennessee Williams might be the star of Glasgayt but this screen classic belongs to Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh. GFiI Glasgow, Sun 5 Oct; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Tue 7 Oct.
* Pom Pom International Well-known TV face and gay gal Amy Lame promises a club night of dancing, performance and “making pom-poms for peace’. The Winchester Club, Glasgow, Fri 3 Oct.
# Gregor Laird: Plastic Pastoral: See preview, page 61. 0! Gallery, Glasgow, Tue 7—Sat 9 Nov.
# Utter Gutter For the fourth anniversary of the alternative queer night Madame S. Thee Mr Mister and Saucepan‘s People bring you the Chainsaw Mascara Birthday Ball. School of Art, Glasgow, Sat 11 Oct.
it An Ocean of Rain See preview, left. Tramway, Glasgow, Thu 9—Sat 1 1 Oct.
* Wicked Wenches Girls— only comedy (onstage, not off) from resident compere Susan Calman and special guests Maureen Younger and lf.comeddie Best Newcomer Sarah Millican. The Stand, Glasgow, Wed 8 Oct.
* Elysian Fields An old and lonely Tennessee Williams undergoes a drug-addled. paranoid breakdown alongside a fever vision of Vivien Leigh in this new play by Derek McLuckie. Arches, Glasgow, Tue 14-Sat 18 Oct.
* Paul Sinha The UK’s only gay, Asian GP stand-up lets rip about his John Terry Moments. ,- See 5 Reasons, page 61. The Stand, Glasgow, Sun 5 Oct.
* Fierce A new, monthly alternative gay night, from the team behind the Sub Club's Art of Parties and London’s premier Queen of Queer, Jodie Harsh. The Tunnel, Glasgow, Sun 5 Oct.
7 to Oct :20le THE LIST 59