list.co.uk/theatre Previews | THEATRE
KIDULTHOOD DRAMA MONKEY BARS Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Thu 31 Oct–Sat 2 Nov; The Arches, Glasgow, Tue 5 & Wed 6 Nov MODERN CLASSIC TRUE WEST Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, Tue 29 Oct–Sat 16 Nov
ADAPTATION TO SIR, WITH LOVE King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 29 Oct–Sat 2 Nov
‘Something that’s been bugging me for years is that whenever we see children on stage, they’re playing the roles of what adults think children are. I wanted to see what would happen if we just cleared out some space for children themselves to be heard.’ That was the starting point for London-based Chris Goode’s Monkey Bars, premiered to acclaim at the 2012 Fringe and now on a national tour. Goode’s method is simple: to deliver children’s
speech verbatim, but to hear it from the mouths of adult actors. Transcribing and editing 11 hours of recorded conversations with primary-aged children (‘it nearly killed me: those were the two most intense weeks of my adult life!’), he came up with short scenes covering everything from favourite sweeties to domestic violence; all delivered with due faithfulness to the kids’ perspectives on life. The results range from the hilarious to the deeply touching – and they trigger arresting parallels with grown-up situations, too. ‘It reminded me that kids can be just as diverse, as confused, as radical and as conservative as adults,’ Goode adds. ‘It feels like we’re getting somewhere close to seeing kids for who they are rather than who we want them to be.’ (David Kettle)
Sam Shepard is, according to director Phillip Breen, ‘arguably our greatest living playwright’. True West is a powerful, iconic story of fraternal rivalry and a meditation on the nature of the creative life. Breen impressed the Citizens Theatre with his direction of A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, which acted as an introduction to Dominic Hill’s reign as artistic director and revealed a director capable of combining vaudeville comedy and domestic tragedy. True West has already attained the status of
modern classic, and Breen believes it has become even more relevant. ‘The real themes of the play are coming into fashion right now, not least in the age of Twitter where people are authoring themselves,’ he says. ‘The gap between who one is and who one pretends or creates themselves to be: that gap is becoming a chasm.’
Based around the conflict of two brothers – one a respectable screenwriter, the other an ‘unruly, ugly, anti-social’ drifter – Shepard’s script has taut menace, with patches of bleak humour: Breen adds that his two actors, Eugene O’Hare and former EastEnders villain Alex Ferns, capture the humour and the underlying violence to bring Shepard’s poetic tragedy to tough, vivid life. (Gareth K Vile)
The most famous version of To Sir, With Love is Hollywood’s schmaltzy 1967 version, starring Sidney Poitier as a black American teacher trying to bring order to unruly schoolkids in 60s London. For this adaptation, playwright Ayub Khan-Din – best known for his stage and film versions of East is East – has disregarded the movie in favour of ER Braithwaite’s original autobiography and the emerging multi-racial milieu of its post-war setting. ‘So much is said by Ricky [the book’s analogue
of Braithwaite] about his life growing up as a British colonial subject,’ says Khan-Din. ‘I thought that was a really important theme as well, because how many kids today know about the Empire or even about the Commonwealth? I wasn’t taught about that in school and I think it would go a long way for people to understand why there are Afro- Caribbeans here and Africans here and Indians and Pakistanis, because I don’t think most people do.’ Director Mark Babych’s touring production has already attracted good notices for the performances of both Ansu Kabia in the lead role and Matthew Kelly as the school’s socialist headmaster, in a piece which promises era-specific honesty as well as warmed hearts all round. (David Pollock)
SILENT DRAMA DRAGON Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, until Sat 19 Oct; Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 30 Oct–Sat 2 Nov
A collaboration between the National Theatre of Scotland, Tianjin People’s Art Theatre from China and Glasgow company Vox Motus, Dragon is a wordless play that moves between a young boy’s fantasy friendship with the fire-breathing monster and a more sinister social problem.
Vox Motus’ previous work, including the award-winning
Slick, incorporated puppetry and magic into a mature mixture. ‘We have found that our visual style has always appealed to teenagers and adults alike,’ says co-director Candice Edmunds. ‘Dragon is a story told without words so it has been a great excuse to really go to town on our visual techniques.’ The inclusion of two physical performers from the Tianjin People’s Art Theatre undoubtedly will bring a new element to Vox Motus’ fusion of forms, while the script, from rising playwright Oliver Emmanuel, offers a nuanced story despite containing no speech. Although the protagonist of the story is a young man, the play
is certainly aimed at all ages. Between the fantastic friendship of man and beast, a town is being troubled by a series of fires, apparently set by an arsonist. Vox Motus’ style is often breezy and spectacular, but Dragon is no lightweight romp. ‘There are dark themes,’ Edmunds admits, explaining that the production is targeted at ages nine and above. But with Vox Motus having established themselves as a company capable of cheeky humour and unsettling atmospheres, Dragon aims at thoughtful, dynamic entertainment that showcases their versatility. ‘Puppetry is central to the story; likewise our trademark choreographic sequences,’ Edmunds says. ‘I hope that it is a show that will keep surprising the audience with new ideas.’ (Gareth K Vile)
17 Oct–14 Nov 2013 THE LIST 105