Theatre
Events are listed by city, then alphabetically by venue. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to theatre@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Suzanne Black. ✽✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
Glasgow
■ GILMOREHILL G12 9 University Avenue, 330 5522. Gone Fri 31 Jul & Sat 1 Aug. 7.30pm. £3. Devised by DYT, and inspired by William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Gone explores what happens when reality TV breaks down.
■ GLASGOW BOTANIC GARDENS Queen Margaret Drive, 429 0022.
✽✽ Macbeth Until Sat 1 Aug (not Sun/Mon). 7.45pm. £15 (£10). Murder and witchery abound in the Botanics, in an outdoor production of the Scottish Play. Part of Bard in the Botanics. Richard III Until Sat 1 Aug (not Sun/Mon). 8.15pm. £15 (£10). The tale of the charismatic king, set by the beautiful Kibble Place. Part of Bard in the Botanics.
■ THE NOW MUSEUM 18 Meadow Road. The Dead Man’s Waltz Fri 24 Jul. 8pm. Free. A macabre performance with music by The Dead Man’s Waltz (aka Injuns), which debuted at the recent Insider Festival. See www.injuns.co.uk ■ PAVILION THEATRE 121 Renfield Street, 332 1846. Peter Powers Until Sat 25 Jul. Fri/Sat 7.30pm (also Sat midnight). £10–£13. Hypnotist act from Powers. Sat at midnight is over 21s only. The Ladyboys of Bangkok Fri 31 Jul & Sat 1 Aug. 7.30pm. £16–£18. A sell-out
every time it comes to Scotland, the ladyboys return with the ‘Mile High Tour’. Dorothy the Dinosaur Sat 1 Aug. See Kids listings.
■ PLATFORM The Bridge, 1000 Westerhouse Road, Easterhouse, 276 9696. Funny Sat 1 Aug. 12.30pm. £tbc. Reeling and Writhing and Platform aim to find out what tickles funny bones, and why we laugh at the most inappropriate of times.
✽✽ Chronicles of Irania Mon 3 Aug. 12.30pm. £tbc. One-woman show
from A Moment’s Peace Theatre Company set in a transfigured, mystical Iran.
■ RSAMD 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. Project Y 2009 Thu 30 Jul. 7.30pm. £7 (£5). Scotland’s contemporary youth dance company YDance showcases its talents in its 21st birthday year.
■ SCOTTISH YOUTH THEATRE The Old Sheriff Court, 105 Brunswick Street, 552 4267. Hamlet Fri 31 Jul–Sat 8 Aug (not 2–5 Aug). 7.30pm (also 8 Aug 2pm; Sat 1 Aug 2pm only. £10 (£6). Modern interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic with the Danish prince played by a woman. ■ THEATRE ROYAL 282 Hope Street, 0870 060 6647. Magic of the Dance Mon 27–Wed 29 Jul. 7.30pm (Wed mat 2.30pm). £12–£22.50. High-octane dance show celebrating the history of Ireland, featuring narrative by actor Christopher Lee. The Tweenies Live! Fri 31 Jul–Sun 2 Aug. See Kids listings. Annie the Musical Tue 4–Sat 8 Aug. 7.30pm (Thu & Sat mat 2.30pm). £11–£26. The plucky red-head is back in a new production featuring Su Pollard (Hi- De-Hi).
All the listings. All the festivals.
Search reviews, previews & more List.co.uk/festival 86 THE LIST 23 Jul–6 Aug 2009
www.list.co.uk/theatre REVIEW REVIVIAL COOKING WITH ELVIS Tron Theatre, Glasgow, until Sat 25 Jul ●●●●●
The American comedienne Carol Burnett once observed that ‘comedy is tragedy plus time’. Never has this axiom been more aptly applied than in the case of Lee Hall’s Cooking With Elvis. The subject matter, which includes child abuse, alcoholism, eating disorders and attempted suicide, could have been assembled from cast-offs deemed too depressing for a Ken Loach film. And yet, packaged up as black farce, and with the King of Rock’n’Roll chucked in as a kind of star-spangled Greek chorus this claustrophobic domestic tragedy has ’em rolling in the aisles.
Most of the faults in Andy Arnold’s production can be blamed squarely on Hall’s play. Humour is derived from tired old stereotypes: brassy, sex-mad mother; inadequate drip of a boyfriend; teenage daughter who tries to keep the household together. Yet, while the self-avowedly ‘glib’ ending is unsatisfactory in the extreme, certain aspects of the production will simply leave you scratching your head: for instance, teenager Jill is constantly referred to as a ‘fat girl’, but actress Jayd Johnson is slim and attractive.
Light relief arrives in the form of increasingly elaborate fantasy sequences involving Gavin Mitchell’s paraplegic Dad in Elvis-mode, at one point rising from a trapdoor in the stage, later emerging platforms-first from an airing cupboard. But instead of passing comment on the action this Elvis merely makes rambling speeches about burgers, sodomites and drugs, which serves to make the action seem even more disjointed. Ultimately you’re left with the feeling that a strong cast and a great director have been wasted on a pretty ropey, ill-conceived play. (Allan Radcliffe)
■ TRON THEATRE 63 Trongate, 552 4267. Cooking with Elvis Until Sat 25 Jul. 7.30pm. £10–£14 (£6–£10). See review. Bongo’s Happy Hour Thu 23 Jul. 8.30pm. £5. Twisted cabaret.
✽✽ White Tea Fri 31 Jul & Sat 1 Aug. 7.30pm. £8 (£6). David Leddy’s new
play, co-presented by Fire Exit and The Tron Theatre Company, in which the audience are invited to drink Japanese tea in a forest of origami. Pinocchio Tue 4–Sat 8 Aug. 7.30pm. £10 (£6; family ticket £26). Scottish Youth Theatre goes back to the original dark tale about a boy who finds it hard to be good.
Edinburgh
■ BRUNTON THEATRE Ladywell Way, Musselburgh, 665 2240. An Evening of Ballet & Divertissement Fri 31 Jul. 7.30pm. £8 (£6). Performance by attendees of the Russian Ballet Society’s Summer School. ■ DANCE BASE @ OUT OF THE BLUE DRILL HALL 30–36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, 225 5525. FREE Ouisa Wed 5 Aug. 5pm. Live dance performance mixing installation and projection technology. Tickets available from www.dancebase.co.uk
■ KING’S THEATRE 2 Leven Street, 529 6000. SYT Foundation Course Sat 25 Jul. 7.30pm. £8. An original piece of theatre on the theme of ‘home’ created by participants on this year’s Scottish Youth Theatre Foundation Course, aged 12-15.
■ ELECTRIC CIRCUS 36–39 Market Street, 226 4224.
✽✽ Kabarett Fri 24 Jul. 9pm–3am. £8 (£6 in advance). An evening of dark cabaret. Tickets from http://tiny.cc/Nxmru
■ PLAYHOUSE 18–22 Greenside Place, 0844 847 1660. Anything Goes Fri 31 Jul & Sat 1 Aug. 7.30pm (Sat mat 2.30pm). £13. Classic performed by local youngsters.
■ TRAVERSE THEATRE Cambridge Street, 228 1404.
✽✽ Orphans Fri 31 Jul & Sat 1 Aug. 7pm. £11 (£5). A sneak preview of
this Fringe show from the Traverse Theatre Company & Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company in association with Paines Plough.
Outside the Cities
■ PERTH CONCERT HALL Mill Street, Perth, 07838 621031. The Ladyboys of Bangkok Thu 6 Aug. 7.30pm. £18. See Glasgow, Pavilion Theatre.
■ BYRE THEATRE Abbey Street, St Andrews, 01334 475000.
✽✽ JM Barrie: Peter Pan Man Thu 23 Jul. 7.30pm. £10 (£8). See
preview, page 83.
■ MACROBERT University of Stirling, Stirling, 01786 466666. The Ladyboys of Bangkok Wed 5 Aug. 7.30pm. £18 (£16). See Glasgow, Pavilion Theatre.