DANCE & THEATRE | Previews
R E P O O C L L B I
I I
G N N N D N E L G O G U H
W O L R A B E N A J
90 THE LIST 13 Nov–11 Dec 2014
NARRATIVE DANCE EDWARD SCISSORHANDS Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Wed 19–Sat 22 Nov
Sit in a production meeting with Lez Brotherston, and chances are you’ll hear the word ‘why’ on more than one occasion. ‘My training is to question everything,’ says the set and costume designer, ‘it’s just the way I think.’
In 2005, when Brotherston was first
collaborating with choreographer Matthew Bourne on a stage version of Edward Scissorhands, the very existence of the sharp-fisted boy was up for discussion. ‘The first question we asked is why does
the old man need to make a boy?’ says Brotherston. ‘And we decided that he used to have a son who was struck by lightning while he was playing with scissors and died.’ From there, the subject turned to era. Tim Burton’s film was shot and set in the 1980s, but Brotherston and Bourne had other ideas – taking it back to the 1950s. Clothes too were altered, largely to
facilitate the dancers’ movement. In the film, Edward is made out of an old boiler, while in the dance version, an old leather sofa is ripped up and sewn back together to make a boy. ‘There was such a glut of films being turned into shows at that time,’ recalls Brotherston, ‘and what we didn’t want to do, was just take the film, copy it, and try to put it on stage. The film is its own thing – and that’s not what we do.’ (Kelly Apter)
CONTEMPORARY DANCE RAMBERT: ROOSTER Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Thu 27–Sat 29 Nov
Music can make or break a dance work, so the need for good choices weighs heavy on any choreographer.
For Christopher Bruce, whose 1991 work Rooster forms the centrepiece of Rambert’s autumn
tour, the decision was a natural one. The Rolling Stones back catalogue he selected was the soundtrack to his own socialising years earlier and, on relistening, still sounded as fresh as ever. And so, one of the most popular and accessible works in contemporary dance history was
born. Set to tracks such as ‘Paint it Black’ and ‘Sympathy for the Devil’, Rooster is a true crowd- pleaser. Was that what Bruce set out to create at the time? ‘It’s important to me to engage an audience, but I don’t actually set out with the idea of making
popular works,’ he says. ‘I try to make something for myself, and combine what I’ve learned about the job of choreographing with what is deeply seated within me.’
Part of a triple-bill with The Castaways by US-born choreographer Barak Marshall and Shobana Jeyasingh’s Terra Incognita, Rooster is as much fun for the dancers performing it, as it is for the audience – something Bruce was pleased to discover during his recent return to teach the work.
‘It’s a great joy to me that at my ancient age I can walk into a studio with these kids who are young enough to be my grandchildren,’ he says, ‘and still have them be interested in what I’m saying and enjoy my movement.’ (Kelly Apter)
POLITICAL DRAMA THEATRE UNCUT Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Thu 13–Sat 15 Nov; Òran Mór, Glasgow, Mon 17–Sat 22 Nov
The resurgence of political theatre has been galvanised in Scotland by September's independence referendum: Theatre Uncut arrived on the scene a little earlier, in response to government cuts in public spending. After providing plays for free performance, 2014 is the first year that the Uncut company are touring their latest round of new scripts, directed by founder Hannah Price. Five of the country’s leading writers – Inua Ellams, Vivienne Franzmann, Hayley Squires, Clara Brennan and Anders Lustgarten – will write responding to news events as they occur, under the theme of ‘Knowledge Is Power, Power Is Knowledge’. A flagship set of productions will tour, although local companies are invited to make their own versions.
Each writer has a fantastic track record, with socio-political themes running through their work:
Inua Ellams, who is part of London-based Fuel Theatre, focused on the aspirations of different generations of black working-class men in Peckham in recent Play, Pie and A Pint hit Fast Cuts and Snapshots. And Clara Brennan’s Spine, an Edinburgh Festival success, posited questions about the absence of community in big cities and the vilification of youth. With Uncut both on the road and open to community, political theatre is placed at the heart of
Scottish society again. (Lorna Irvine)