THEATRE list.co.uk/theatre
NOISES OFF The play within a play gets a scientifi c and funny makeover
‘I t’s one of the purest farces ever written in the English language,’ is how director Lindsay Posner describes Michael Frayn’s 1982 comedy Noises Off: ‘I do see it as a truly great play.’ Posner’s new touring version celebrates its thirtieth anniversary, with starring appearances from Neil Pearson and Maureen Beattie in an Old Vic production.
Cleverly usurping the traditional saucy English farce, as its three acts present the rehearsal and first and final performances of the terrible play-within-a-play Nothing On, Noises Off traces the disintegration of the touring company staging it through the mannerisms of the actors and how they relate to one another from performance to performance. ‘It’s about life in the theatre,’ says Posner, ‘a terrible theatre putting on a play not very well. But it’s also very accessible
to people who don’t work in the theatre. It’s about eternal neurotic dilemmas. What do you do when your life gets out of control? How do you deal with the unmanageable?’ It may seem like featherlight fare from the writer of Copenhagen and Democracy, but Posner says the meat of the play is in its craft. ‘There’s not a word out of place,’ he says. ‘T hat’s partly because Michael Frayn is a brilliant scientist and a well-read renaissance man in terms of his breadth of knowledge. Clearly his scientific brain feeds into his artistic brain, because he’s created a play that’s ingeniously worked out.’ (David Pollock)
King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Mon 27 May– Sat 1 Jun; King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 4–Sat 8 Jun.
HITLIST THE BEST THEATRE & DANCE
✽ Sutra Choreographic genius Sidi Larbi Chekou teams up with the monks of the Shaolin Temple to heat contemporary dance on the flame of martial arts. See preview, page 108. Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Fri 17 & Sat 18 May.
✽ The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve
Jobs Playwright Mike Daisy was a fan of the computer maverick, but his investigation into his company suggests that the Apple logo isn’t a symbol of unmitigated capitalist good. Tron Theatre, Glasgow Fri 17–Sun 19 May.
✽ Highland Fling Scottish Ballet show their new-found precision in this revival of Matthew Bourne’s kitsch and playful reworking of classical ballet. See review, page
108. Touring until Sat 25 May.
✽ Calum’s Road David Harrower adapts the story of one man’s dogged
determinism and independent spirit in a revival of Communicado’s production by the National Theatre of Scotland. Touring until Fri 28 Jun.
✽ The Bear Improbable present a whodunit with songs about criminal justice, apparent
insanity and the real meaning of becoming an animal. Brunton Theatre, Musselborough, Fri 31 May & Sat 1 Jun, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 6–Thu 8 Jun.
✽ Far Away and Seagulls Dominic Hill concludes the Citizens season with a
pair of contemporary classic scripts from the vigorously eclectic Caryl Churchill. See preview, page 107. Thu 23 May–Sat 8 Jun.
16 May–13 Jun 2013 THE LIST 105