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REVIEW STORYTELLING THEATRE ROYAL GHOST TOUR Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Tue 2–Fri 5 Dec. Reviewed during November run ●●●●●
As one of Scotland’s oldest venues, Glasgow’s Theatre Royal has inevitably gathered strange tales of unexplained noises and ghostly smells. This late-night tour serves as both an access-all-areas guide to the labyrinthine backstage passages and a collection of spooky stories.
Avoiding the melodrama of a haunted house with actors leaping out from behind curtains, the tour needs little more than the occasional – and apparently accidental – light failure and a single tragic story to ramp up the suspense. Various locations are pinpointed as places where the veil between the other world and this one is put aside: one dressing room has a reputation for mischievous hauntings, and the stage itself has experienced a few mysterious manifestations.
Wandering around the theatre in the dark is unsettling; it’s surprising how many features retain their Victorian design, and the lower reaches of the orchestra pit have an atmosphere of foreboding even before the tales are told. The theatre also has a habit of joining in with the story: its rattling seems to shock the host as much as the audience.
While it is a far cry from the gorier ghost tours of Edinburgh, these stories conjure up an atmosphere of suspense and drama within a brief history of Glasgow’s old opera house. (Gareth K Vile)
PREVIEW STAGE ADAPTATION JEEVES AND WOOSTER IN PERFECT NONSENSE Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Mon 24–Sat 29 Nov
‘It’s quite full-on,’ sighs John Gordon Sinclair. ‘I don’t just play Jeeves, I’m also Madeline Bassett, ‘Stiffy’ Byng, Sir Watkyn Bassett and Gussie Fink-Nottle. During rehearsals I came the closest I’ve ever been to saying “I don’t think I can do this”. It’s very physical, I’ve lost a stone since I started.’ Director Sean Foley, whom he had previously worked with on The Ladykillers
in the West End, persuaded the Gregory’s Girl star to keep going. Now, he says, the trio of actors at the core of the show are ‘match fit’: with himself, James Lance and Robert Goodale (the co-writer alongside brother David) performing 11 characters between them. ‘It’s very fast-paced. I’ve got 19 quick costume changes – one of them’s timed at 29 seconds.’ The conceit is that ‘idle rich’ Bertie Wooster adapts his anecdotes as a play,
assisted by his butlers Jeeves and Steppings, which means that the frantic staging comes directly from the plot. ‘We certainly didn’t try for anyone else’s idea of those characters other than Wodehouse’s.’ (David Pollock)
PREVIEW INSTALLATION STORYTELLLING STATION STORIES Glasgow Queen Street Station, Wed 26–Sat 29 Nov; Edinburgh Waverley Station, Wed 10–Sat 13 Dec.
In recent programmes for production company Cryptic, Sven Warner has become a local hero. Working in the space between film, installation and theatre, he's created events that are witty and experimental. Suggesting old-fashioned peep shows – driven by a romantic, if sometimes sinister, story – his installations are ambitious triumphs of imagination that recall the obscure communities of later David Lynch and the free- wheeling worlds of Tom Waits and the Beat Poets.
His latest work, Station Stories, is his most accessible yet: it appears in train stations. ‘I wouldn’t consider myself a railway geek: I don’t know about particular trains,’ Warner insists. ‘But I do like taking trains. I find it almost reassuring that the rails connect all the way to China and somewhere you could draw a line and go to the rest of Europe and Asia. I find that special.’ ‘The final format will be three weeks of public installations,
two peep shows on tripods at the centre of the various stations. People can wander by, settle down and disappear into another place.’ Each peep show has a collection of stories from around Scotland. ‘They are poetic or inspiring moments and some are connected to travelling,’ he continues. Warner’s ability to illustrate through a mixture of cinematic and theatrical styles, will transform them further. While the location will make the peep shows an intriguing addition to the platform furniture, they also bring Warner to wider attention as part of the Homecoming 2014 programme. Warner’s skill is in creating an intimate experience, that conjures up an almost nostalgic atmosphere and speaks of places and adventures that tantalise and seduce. ‘I am not a trainspotter,’ he laughs. ‘But the sound of a train passing in the night has always done something for me!’ (Gareth K Vile)
13 Nov–11 Dec 2014 THE LIST 89
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