Theatre, Issue 584

Debbie Does Dallas - The Musical

23 Aug 2007

There’s a very fine line between a send-up of a ropey cultural item and something that’s just plain ropey. Almost from its shrill opening bars it becomes crystal clear that Debbie Does Dallas – The Musical has crossed the line. The fundamental…

Game Theory

23 Aug 2007

At the end of a war with some resemblance to the Yugoslavian conflict, a succession of scenarios unfolds. Three government officials negotiate fruitlessly over responsibility and territory, a woman returns to her abandoned, vandalised home with her two…

Fatboy

David Laing

23 Aug 2007

With our current culture of consumerism and our seemingly endless desire to rid the planet of its natural resources, there is unlikely to be a more fitting or biting satire at this year’s Fringe than John Clancy’s Fatboy. An updated version of Alfred…

Orpheus X

23 Aug 2007

The gods are surely smiling on Edinburgh this month, as the American Repertory Theatre rocks up to the Edinburgh International Festival with a modern version of the Orpheus myth. The brainchild of master performer and maverick musician Rinde Eckert…

Scarborough

23 Aug 2007

An ever controversial issue, teacher/pupil relationships are by no means a novel subject matter, but you will rarely have experienced a performance quite so up close and personal as Scarborough. The audience line the walls of a very intimate seedy hotel…

Wish I Had a Sylvia Plath

23 Aug 2007

Edward Anthony’s play takes us back into a mock suburbia of the 50s to explore the last hours and recollections of the poet of the title, here renamed Esther. Ted Hughes, in turn, becomes Ned Pughes and, as in all Plathian accounts of his life with her…

Ae Fond Kiss

Greer Ogston

23 Aug 2007

Not to be confused with the 2004 film of the same name, Anne-Marie di Mambro’s play focuses on an awkward teen, Zed, who arrives for his birthday present – an hour with Lola. But Lola is not quite what he expected, in more ways than one. This tender…

Best Western

Rich Hall's motel life

23 Aug 2007

Although listed under comedy and written/directed by Fringe favourite, comedian Rich Hall, Best Western is far from a light-hearted romp. It looks at two interlinking families in a middle America Motel, where the owners are being forced to sell and the…

Closing Time

23 Aug 2007

The present conflict in Iraq may dominate both news and Fringe agendas but, lest we forget, away from the cameras and newspaper columns, hundreds of conflicts continue to rage on all four corners of the globe. Alongside death, it is human dispersion…

Corpus Christi

23 Aug 2007

Terrence McNally’s controversial retelling of the New Testament places Jesus in 50s Texas and involves the son of God in a sexual relationship with Judas, whose consequent jealously results in the betrayal. Despite slick direction and clever ensemble…

Escaping Hamlet

23 Aug 2007

Is life predetermined, or do we have an input into our own destiny? This is the primary question asked by this fantastical reworking of Hamlet. Keeping the basic plot of the prince who discovers that his uncle killed his father and seeks revenge, this…

Game?

23 Aug 2007

If you’ve ever been to a dinner party and wanted to scream in frustration then this creative company, Tangled Feet, have the play for you. What begins as a get together to welcome the neighbours soon morphs into a sharp, surreal insight into the…

Hitlist - the best Festival theatre

23 Aug 2007

Damascus David Greig’s new play about a man on a first time business visit to the eponymous city is full of humour, tragedy and political insight. Traverse, 228 1404, until 26 Aug, times vary, £16 (£5–£11). Venus as a Boy Tam Dean Burn is towering…

On Wonderland

23 Aug 2007

'If I’m not the same, the next question is: “Who in the world am I?”’. So said Alice when she fell down the rabbit hole and wound up in Wonderland, in the novel from which this play’s central character Moia’s (Kerry-Jayne Wilson) condition, micropsia…

Phaedre

23 Aug 2007

Stuffy studio venue after stuffy studio venue can drive the average Festival–goer mad, so why not escape the city for the rugged ramparts of the medieval Craigmillar Castle, where Racine’s classic Phaedre comes to life through skulls, sword fights and…

Sheepskin

23 Aug 2007

As sheep farmer Jeremy struggles to protect his flock from a foot and mouth outbreak, God comes to him in a Moses-like moment and promises to protect the sheep if he is obeyed. It’s a relatively dry subject that transformed here into a journey into the…

Subway

23 Aug 2007

Perhaps understandably, the number of people who feel pessimistic rather than optimistic about Britain’s future has grown exponentially over the last few years, according to a flurry of recent surveys. This smart and stylish production from Vanishing…

Talking Heads

23 Aug 2007

Alan Bennett’s monologues, legendary for their television appearances in the 80s, also make for compelling viewing as theatre. Presented by Glasgay! and the Tron, there are five monologues in this series, which rotates as a double bill throughout the…

The Bitches' Ball

23 Aug 2007

The reputation of 18th century poet, novelist and original ‘It Girl’, Mary Robinson, has been eclipsed by the streams of celebrity femme fatales who came in her wake. Penny Dreadful’s well-choreographed production seeks to redress this injustice…

The Psychic Detective (And Those Disappeared)

23 Aug 2007

With the Scottish Arts council adopting ‘cultural entitlement’ as their current buzzword, local company, Benchtours’ solution to fulfilling funding criteria takes the form of a customised 40ft articulated truck, which, following its stint at the Fringe…

The Swingers

23 Aug 2007

This inventive mix of film and live performance is a comical romp about one couple’s foray into the seductive world of swinging. Film sequences are used to hilarious effect with perfect timing and some brilliant character acting. The German porno is a…

What’s Your Poison?

23 Aug 2007

An addiction to crystal meth devours the personalities of the young couple in William Chadwick’s play What’s Your Poison? The piece explores the couple’s reliance on someone, or something else, to get through life. While the abuse of drugs is no new…

Babble

23 Aug 2007

A monologue based on the Jorge Luis Borges short story ‘The Library of Babel’, Babble focuses on a secluded librarian’s (Jonathan Clarkson) quest for the answers to all life’s puzzles in his stacks of books. Though the fundamental ideas behind the play…

Basic Training

5 Questions

23 Aug 2007

5 words to describe Basic Training? Inspiring, uncomfortable, character, interactive, true. 4 things you love about Edinburgh in August? That’s easy! Mariachi’s restaurant, Elephants & Bagels, the buzz and the spectacle. 3 things you…

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

23 Aug 2007

This engaging mix of movement, song and animation presents a variety of vivid situations. The central characters are two eerie sisters not unlike the little girls from The Shining, who lead us through a series of grim gothic adventures in an inter-war…