Theatre
■ PLAYHOUSE 18-22 Greenside Place, 0844 847 1660. DrumChasers Tue 5 Apr, 7.30pm. £19.75. A blend of vibrant percussion music and narrative physical theatre from the creators of the incredibly popular Noise Ensemble.
■ ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE Grindlay Street, 248 4848. Marilyn ●●●●● Thu 31 Mar & Fri 1 Apr, 7.45pm. £11–£28 (£5–£26). A look at the world of celebrity, through the eyes of the eternally fabulous Marilyn Monroe.
✽✽ Educating Agnes Fri 8 Apr–Sat 7 May (not Sun/Mon), 7.45pm (Wed 13, Sat 16, Wed 20, Sat 23 & Sat 30 Apr mat 2.30pm). £11–£28 (£5–£26). Liz Lochhead’s very Scottish interpretation of Moliere’s School for Wives. See preview, page 116.
■ SCOTTISH STORYTELLING CENTRE 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Croak, the King and a Change in the Weather Wed 6 Apr, 3pm & 7pm. £5 (£3.50). The children of Shatila Palestinian Refugee Camp perform Peter Mortimer’s fable about a cruel dictator brought low by the forces of nature.
■ ST BRIDE’S CENTRE 10 Orwell Terrace, 346 1405. Dance for All Spring Fling Fri 1 & Sat 2 Apr, 7.30pm. £10 (£8). Students from Dance for All showcase a variety of different dance forms. ■ ST NINIAN’S HALL Comely Bank Road, 07785 511667. A Fistful of Mondays Mon 11 Apr–Sat 16 Apr, 7.30pm. £10 (£8). Romance, karaoke, line dancing and betrayal in a play by Joe Graham set in a sports club.
■ STEWART MELVILLE COLLEGE Queensferry Road, 225 5525. Humanimalia Wed 13 & Thu 14 Apr, 7pm. £10. Fascinating piece of work from Edinburgh-based choreographer Janis Claxton inspired by her on-going research into humans and primates.
■ TRAVERSE THEATRE Cambridge Street, 228 1404. Scottish Dance Theatre: Letters from America Thu 31 Mar, 1.30pm & 7.30pm; Fri 1 Apr, 7.30pm. £14–£16 (£6–£12). Brand new work from American choreographers Kate Weare and Benjamin Levy. The Thursday matinee show is an engaging part-lecture, part-performance for those interested in learning more about dance. Around the World in 80 Days Wed 6 Apr, 7.30pm; Thu 7 Apr, 2pm & 7.30pm. £14 (£6–£10). See Platform, Glasgow.
✽✽ Platform 18: New Work Award Double Bill Thu 14–Sun 17 Apr, 7pm. £14–£16 (£6–£12). Double-bill of the two award-winning productions in the Arches’ scheme for emergent directors: interactive betting theatre from Clare Duffy in Money . . . The Game Show and a comic exploration of coincidence in Pause with a Smile by Gareth Nicholls.
✽✽ Pandas Fri 15 Apr–Sat 7 May (not Mon), Tue–Sat, 7.30pm (Sat mat
2.30pm); Sun 6pm. £14–£16 (£6–£12 ; previews Fri 15–Sun 17 Apr tickets £10 (£6)). A new romantic-comedy-thriller from Rona Munro (The Last Witch). See preview, page 110.
✽✽ Ivan and the Dogs Thu 21–Sat 23 Apr, 8pm. £14–£16 (£6–£12).
Play by Hattie Naylor about the true story of a little boy who lived with dogs on the streets of Moscow for almost two years. See preview, page 110. Jump Start Thu 28 & Fri 29 Apr, 8pm. £10 (£6). An evening of extracts taken from the Traverse’s formidable archive of plays, performed by students from Telford College and Queen Margaret University.
118 THE LIST 31 Mar–28 Apr 2011
N A M K R O W T R E B O R
■ WORD OF MOUTH 3a Albert Street, 554 4344. Mother, à la carte Sun 3 Apr, 1pm & 7pm. £6 (£5). One-woman show from Liberty Des Roches-Dueck, in which she will serve up her own mother in celebration of International Women’s Day. Presented by Strange Theatre. Food is available to buy before and after the performance. OUTSIDE THE CITIES
■ BYRE THEATRE Abbey Street, St Andrews, 01334 475000. Two Into One Thu 31 Mar & Fri 1 Apr, 7.30pm. £10 (concessions £8). Local group the Guizards presents Ray Cooney’s comic play. Crying with Laughter Fri 1 Apr, 8pm; Sat 2 Apr, 3pm & 8pm. £8 (£6). Byre Youth Theatre’s 15–18 year old group presents a play that explores gender, coming of age and different experiences of growing up. Italia ’n’ Caledonia Fri 8 & Sat 9 Apr, 7.30pm. £15 (£8–£13). A warm-hearted look a the legacy of Scots Italians over the years, from the first immigrants, through the tragedies of World War II until the present day, exploring what it means to be Scottish and Italian today. Dancing at Lughnasa Sat 16 Apr, 7.30pm. £15 (£8–£13). See Citizens Theatre, Glasgow. King Lear Tue 19 Apr, 2pm & 7pm; Wed 20 Apr, 7pm. £5. Hands in the Air theatre presents this production of the Shakespeare classic. Part of On the Rocks Festival. Ladykiller Tue 19 & Wed 20 Apr, 5pm. £3. A historical play based on the familial shenanigans of Henry VIII. Part of On the Rocks Festival.
Peter Pan Thu 21 Apr, 7pm; Fri 22 Apr, 2pm & 7pm. £5. The team behind last year’s The Libertine bring this adaptation of JM Barrie’s classic tale to the festival. Part of On the Rocks Festival. I Made a Carrot Cake Fri 22 Apr, 10pm. £3. A play written and performed by Charlie Hanson and Kimberley Miller. Part of On the Rocks Festival. ■ DUNDEE REP Tay Square, Dundee, 01382 223530. A Play, a Peh and a Pint: What Love Is Thu 31 Mar–Sat 2 Apr, 8.30pm. £10 (meal deals £20–£25). Play by Linda Maclean about two people who have forgotten what love it. Food available in the theatre bar beforehand. A Play, a Peh and a Pint: St Catherine’s Day Tue 5–Sat 9 Apr, 8.30pm. £10 (meal deals £20–£25). A play by folk musician Michael Marra about the changes in the practice of romantic Irish balladry. Girl X ●●●●● Tue 12 Apr, 7.30pm. £13–£17 (seniors £11–£15; students £8–£12). A thought-provoking play from the National Theatre of Scotland in which a mother makes the decision to remove the womb of her daughter, who suffers from severe cerebral palsy and has the mental age of a five month old, in order to spare her the distress of menstruation. Ages 14+. See review, page 110. Age of Arousal ●●●●●Thu 14–Sat 16 Apr, 7.30pm. £10–£14 (£8–£12). See Brunton Theatre, Edinburgh. Blackout Tue 19 Apr, 7.30pm. £15 (£10–£13). See the Arches, Glasgow. David Hughes Dance: The Red Room Thu 21 Apr, 8pm. £14 (£10–£12; children £7). See Brunton Theatre, Edinburgh.
Six Black Candles Thu 28 & Fri 29 Apr, 7.30pm. £13–£17 (seniors £11–£15; students £8–£12). See Cottier, Glasgow.
■ MACROBERT University of Stirling, Stirling, 01786 466666. Dance@SU on Pointe Sat 23 & Sun 24 Apr, 7.30pm. £8 (£5). Stirling Uni’s dance society performs some of its best work in a variety of styles, to a soundtrack of everything from Broadway favourites to 80s pop hits. ■ PAISLEY ARTS CENTRE New Street, Paisley, 887 1010. Six Black Candles Wed 27 Apr, 7.30pm. £10 (£6). See Cottier Theatre, Glasgow.
■ PERTH CONCERT HALL Mill Street, Perth, 01738 621031. Flawless: Chase the Dream Thu 31 Mar, 7.30pm. £20. See Theatre Royal, Glasgow.
■ PERTH THEATRE 185 High Street, Perth, 01738 621031. The Government Inspector Thu 31 Mar & Fri 1 Apr, 7.45pm. £14.50–£18 (£6.50–£10.50). Gerry Mulgrew directs and stars in the CATS award-winning staging of Gogol’s tale of municipal greed and corruption. ■ VARIOUS VENUES puppetanimationfestival.org Puppet Animation Festival Sat 2–Tue 26 Apr. A month-long festival taking place in venues all over Scotland, featuring events, performances and workshops for children. See Kids listings for selected individual events.
PREVIEW NEW PLAY IVAN AND THE DOGS Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Thu 21–Sat 23 Apr
You wait 18 months for a play about feral children, then two come along at once. Not since NIE’s My Life with the Dogs in the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe have we heard the true story of Ivan Mishukov, a four-year old boy from Moscow who lived with a pack of dogs. But only last month, Edinburgh’s Magnetic North went on tour with Wild Life about a couple who imagine adopting such a child and now, London’s Soho Theatre and ATC are touring the Olivier-nominated Ivan and the Dogs, which is inspired by the same story as the NIE show. ‘It’s The Jungle Book gone wrong,’ says writer Hattie Naylor. ‘It has loads of elements that make it a fantastic
story; you’ve got this extraordinary moment in history happening in the background and it is to do with our relationship with animals and what it’s like to be as one with them.’ Performed by acclaimed Polish actor Rad Kaim, the
play explores not only what it must be like to run wild, but also what this true story tells us about the changing state of the former Soviet Union. Few details are known about Mishukov but he was almost certainly the son of alcoholic and poverty stricken parents. ‘It works as a microcosm of the collapse of the Soviet Union,’ she says. ‘The dogs are a Soviet pack that are completely crushed by the capitalist forces as that society changes. Normally people leave sobbing because it is an incredibly moving story, particularly his separation from the dogs.’ (Mark Fisher)