Glasgow’s Tron Theatre kicks off 2010 with an impressive batch of new shows running from January to March, details of which dropped into my inbox recently – I thought I’d cover as many of them as possible here to give you a taste of what’s coming up.
I’ve quoted at length here from the press release, some of the highlights including:
Gerry Mulgrew’s new production of ‘The Government Inspector’ for Communicado
Martin Crimp’s mysterious drama ‘The City’ in a new Tron Theatre Company production
The world premiere of Douglas Maxwell’s new play ‘Promises, Promises’
tfd, new plays for young people from the National Theatre of Scotland
Celtic Connections 2010 and the Magners Glasgow International Comedy Festival
A second chance to see ‘Raspberry’, ‘If That’s All There Is?’ and ‘Long Gone Lonesome’
Firstly in a co-production with Communicado, Gerry Mulgrew will direct The Government Inspector (Thu 11 – Sat 27 February), a feisty adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s classic satire on bureaucracy and human vanity.
Featuring a cast of over ten performers this production will feature live music performed by the cast on electric balalaikas and mouth organs and will go on to tour Scotland throughout March.
Startling acrobatic brilliance and dazzling displays of gravity-defying skill come to Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre from Monday 1 to Wednesday 3 February as French-Canadian dance team Les 7 Doigts de la Main brings their production of Traces to town.
Set in a makeshift bunker, five characters hide from an impending disaster outside the door. Using creation as their only antidote to the destruction outside, the cast use every mode of expression available to them, hoping to put down a last mark and leave their traces as best they can.
Video, narration and music combine to show snippets of the performers’ real lives, gradually drawing the audience into their stories, as seemingly impossible acts take on a startlingly human nature.
5…4…3…2…1! Sylvia Anderson is go! Or at least she will be come 26 January when she arrives at Edinburgh’s Queens Hall to promote her new book, My FAB Years.
Covering her years working with husband Gerry Anderson on cult TV series such as Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet, Sylvia will be appearing with song writer David Courtney to discuss her career and impact on 20th Century culture.
Expect an appearance from Lady Penelope at some point of the evening, and keep an eye out for a pink Rolls Royce nearby – Parker might just be giving Sylv a lift to the venue.
Stuck for a novel Christmas present? Fancy having your name on a little bit of history? If you have a spare £125 you could get your name on a seat in Screen One of one of the oldest cinemas in Scotland, Edinburgh’s Cameo.
Film fans can name a seat of their choice, with a dedication to themselves, a loved one or business engraved on a brass plaque mounted on the seat.
The price is £125 until 31 December, when it rises to £150, with funds to be matched by the cinema’s parent company, City Screen Limited.
The cinema will put funds raised towards the £80,000 refurbishment bill required to restore the 95-year-old cinema.
To find out more contact the Cameo directly:
Cameo Picturehouse
38 Home Street
Edinburgh EH3 9LZ
Booking & Info Line: 0871 704 2052
(10p a minute from a landline)
Opening in a highly stylised version of the bedroom of Darling children Wendy, Michael and John, their oversized bed taking up most of the available space as they prepare to drift off to sleep, the Lyceum’s latest Christmas production appears to be standard Victorian-era fayre, at least until a certain young boy flies through the window.
The appearance of Peter Pan (Scott Fletcher) and Tinker Bell (Samuel Dutton), the latter clad in a tutu and flight helmet, leads to the start of an adventure which will take the pair and their new friends away from their parents – Irene MacDougall and Stuart Bowman – and off to the distant Never Land.
As the band of travellers set up home in Peter’s underground lair, Wendy (Kim Gerard) becoming “mother” to a group of Lost Boys along the way, there’s danger in the shape of the nefarious Captain Hook (Bowman again, seemingly channelling the late, great Iain Cuthbertson in his performance) and his crew of pirates, a man desperate to end Peter’s fun once and for all.
Taking centre stage for most of the production are Fletcher and Lyceum-regular Gerard, the pair hitting their stride early on as Wendy attempts to sew Peter’s shadow back on.
Made on a shoestring and only distributed online, new Scottish thriller Mission X may not be worrying any of the major film studios when it comes to DVD sales, but if the passion of writer/director/star David Paul Baker is anything to go by they may soon want to sit up and take notice.
Mission X follows young student filmmaker Grant (Grant Timmins) as he attempts to come up with a subject for his coursework which doesn’t revolve around obesity or smoking.
Having managed to track down a real-life mercenary in the shape of Ryan (Baker), Grant soon finds himself trapped in a world of undercover operations, shady government deals and revenge as the stakes get higher.
Real-life director Baker sidesteps the issue of a lack of budget by having the film supposedly shot by Grant himself as he follows Ryan around during the planning stages of his mission, the shaky camerawork, uneven sounds and fluctuating light sources lending the picture the kind of amateur feel one might expect from a film student.
The film’s synopsis may hint at being an out-and-out action film but it’s characterisation which is the main strength. A slow drip-feed of information about Ryan and his revenge mission takes up much of the 90 minute run time, the character initially irritating as he constantly tells Grant not to pry too much into his work, mellowing as events unfold.
They’re back: Allan Stewart and Grant Stott return to the stage of Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre for their annual barrage of topical jokes, cross-dressing and audience interaction wrapped up under the banner of Robinson Crusoe and the Caribbean Pirates.
The plot, what little there is, revolves around the search for buried treasure on the faraway Mango Island, Mrs Crusoe (Stewart) and her son Robinson (Johnny Mac) forced to leave the safety of Edinburgh while being chased by the evil Donald “Blackheart” McTrump.
Along the way they’re helped by the Mermaid Mrs McTrump (Jo Freer), The Captain (Charlie Cairoli) and Girl Friday (Moyo Omoniyi) as McTrump gets ever nearer.
The sheer variety of gags and one-liners on offer here means there’s little chance that anyone will be left wanting, the odd song and dance routine from the likes of Beyonce, Susan Brown and Alesha Dixon (or a close approximation from Allan Stewart in drag) helping to keep things bouncing along for most of the show.
With many pantomimes happy to recycle well-known characters and situations, giving them a local twist and references, it’s a canny move on the part of Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre to adapt a successful ITV programme for a local audience in the shape of Corstorphine Road Nativity, a well known area of the city.
Originally based in the generic (and decidedly English) Flint Street, the play opens in Corstorphine Road Primary School as a class of schoolchildren prepare to perform the Christmas Nativity in front of their assembled parents.
Soon, backstabbing, jealousy and love triangles rear the heads as the kids try to remember their lines and navigate the scenery, all the while directed by the unseen Miss Mochrie and watched by their families.
What makes this particular production different is that all the children are played by adults, with Robin Hood’s Gordon Kennedy taking on the role of narrator, Ballamory’s Juliet Wilson Nimmo appearing as Mary and Scottish stage regulars Jimmy Chisholm and Steven McNicoll trying to out-act everyone as Innkeepers.
Set against the backdrop of an oversized classroom, Tim Firth’s script has been given a Scottish makeover with references to the ongoing Tramworks (it now seems to be law to mention Trams in any Edinburgh play) thrown in for good measure alongside the local accents.
Yippie-kye-aye! Getting into the festive mood, Edinburgh’s Cameo will be screening two 1980s Christmas-set films this Sunday afternoon in the shape of Gremlins and Die Hard.
Gremlins is the film that introduced the world to Gizmo and his friends in 1984 as Phoebe Cates and Zach Gilligan try to remember the rules of the Mogwai.
Then there’s the first appearance from Bruce Willis as Detective John McClane, visiting Nakatomi Plaza in LA after flying in from New York to visit his wife and then getting caught up in a minor incident involving a few terrorists.
The films begin at 1.30 at the Cameo and you can book online now. In the meantime here’s the trailer for possibly the finest action film of the 1980s:
Gavin Paul as Sinbad and Julie Heatherhill as Coral
*****
A word of warning to anyone heading to the Brunton Theatre for a performance of Sinbad and the Little Mermaid and expecting a relaxing time: you’ll get more calm and tranquillity in the centre of the M8 during rush-hour than you will during this energetic production.
Taking place in some parallel universe version of Musselburgh, Swishee Swashee (Arron Usher), his brother Sinbad (Gavin Paul) and mother Saucy Nancy (Craig Glover) live together on the good ship Bobbin’ Tide, seemingly unphased by the crowds of children and adults watching them from the stalls each evening.
Nearby, underneath local landmark the Bass Rock, is the lost city of Atlantis, where the evil Crabsclaw (Isabella Jarrett) is searching for the Pearl of Beauty which will restore her looks and make her the fairest of them all once again.
Swimming to safety, young mermaid Coral (Julie Heatherill) encounters Sinbad, enlisting his help to defeat Crabsclaw by going in search of Neptune’s Trident.
I don’t need much of an excuse to get a Muppet-related item on this blog, so thank you to Edinburgh’s Filmhouse for arranging a short season of Christmas-themed films in December, one of which is surely the ultimate retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: A Muppet Christmas Carol.
The cinema will be screening six films in total, beginning with the Muppets on 13 December and finishing with the Raymond Briggs Trilogy on Chrismas Eve.
In between you’ll find the Alastair Sim version of Scrooge, Jimmy Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life, the-not-that-Christmassy-but-we’ll-let-them-off The Wizard of Oz and White Christmas (I’m not dreaming of one if it means the train schedules get scuppered this year), all of which should warm the cockles of even the hardest hearts this festive season.
And if that’s got you in a particularly Muppety mood, you could do far worse than set aside some time to watch one the finest Jim Henson productions ever made, A Muppet Family Christmas – if you haven’t seen it, you’ve missed a treat…just watch out for the icy patch!
I’ve already covered a few Edinburgh-based pantomimes on the blog, so it’s time I looked west for The Tron’s production of Ya Beauty & the Beast (Saturday 28 November – Sunday 3 January) in Glasgow.
Will big evil baddie Barfolemew Beastie (boo!) find a wife before Pansy McNaughty’s last petals fall off? Will our motley crew make it through the Slippery Slimy Swamp to the Tunnocks Tea Cake Big Top in time for the Recyclable Circus Competition? Will the Greatest Secret in the Pantosphere be revealed?
Ya Beauty and The Beast is written by the duo of Gordon Dougall and Fletcher Mathers. This is Gordon’s 20th year working on the Tron panto (his first was as music director on ‘Peter and Penny’s Panto’ written by Alex Norton) and his tenth Tron panto as a writing partner and director. Here’s a look at the new trailer:
Edinburgh celebrates St Andrew’s Day weekend 2009 on Sunday 29 November with a programme of events featuring traditional and contemporary live music and family entertainment.
The St Andrew’s DO events are free, and the Filmhouse are getting involved with a programme of free films.
The programme looks like this:
11.15am I Know Where I’m Going plus Tam-o-shanter
1.15pm Mrs. Brown plus shorts from the Scottish Screen Archive
3.30pm The Flying Scotsman plus shorts from the Scottish Screen Archive
Featuring as part of the Filmhouse’s French Film Festival, the Jacques Tati Season may have started a few days ago but there’s still plenty of time to see some of the director/actor’s finest work.
Coming up over the next month are seven films celebrating Tati’s career, including Playtime, Mon Oncle and Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (which I first saw in Screen One of the Filmhouse a few years ago).
Best known for his Hulot character, there’s a chance to see various sides to Tati in documentary The Magnificent Tati on Thursday 26 November, a good primer for those new to his canon.
John Shuttleworth, star of Radio 4 and Sheffield’s favourite son, is back with a new film, Southern Softies, coming to Edinburgh’s Cameo Cinema on Wednesday 25 November.
The film follows Shuttleworth (Graham Fellows) as he travels to the Channel Islands to find out whether Southerners really are softer.
The film opens as a main feature on Friday 20 November at the Cameo but on Wednesday 25 November Graham Fellows will be there in person for a Q + A following the 7.00 pm screening.
I went to the film’s only screening during the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe – you can read my review here. Here’s a look at the trailer:
I hope you’ll allow me to indulge in a short diversion from the norm as I give a mention to my other life as film columnist for the Edinburgh Evening News.
As well as writing a Friday section for The Guide Plus section of the paper called Reel Time, usually discussing my thoughts on current films or whatever random thoughts enter my head on the subject of cinema, I run a blog on the Evening News site, also called Reel Time.
So, if you’d like even more film news and views, as well as the odd review, please feel free to head over to the blog or pick up your Friday paper if you get the urge. Plug over…
Last year saw audiences travel through the wardrobe to Narnia in Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and this year Edinburgh’s Lyceum Theatre takes another flight into the classic novel territory with its Christmas production of Peter Pan (Friday 27 November – Thursday 3 January.
Gasp as Peter, Wendy, John and Michael (not to mention Tinker Bell and the Lost Boys!) do battle with the wicked Captain Hook and his pirate crew. It’s a world where crocodiles go tick-tock, fairies are real and children can fly.
Directed by Jemima Levick, the cast includes Scott Fletcher as Peter, Lyceum regular Kim Gerard (Mary Rose, The Man Who Had All the Luck) as Wendy and Stuart Bowman as Captain Hook.
Here, Lyceum Artistic Director Mark Thomson previews the show:
Scotland’s leading short film curator The Magic Lantern celebrates short film as both the origin and future of cinema, viewing the short form as a unique platform for innovative, experimental and rule-breaking filmmaking.
Ways of Viewing: The Wooden Lightbox and The Audible Picture Show (CCA Glasgow, Thursday 26 November) draws from turn of the century cinematic prototypes and long forgotten ideas surrounding the moving image and its early promise.
At the core of this approach is the use of a homebuilt projector to present a striking array of handmade and processed emulsion. Hypnosis, panorama, motion studies, expectation, magic, the dreamworld and sleight of eye conspire in this intimate and immersive framework.
A brand new pantomime written to celebrate Brunton Theatre’s 30th anniversary of professional productions begins on Friday 20 November and runs until Saturday 2 January: Sinbad the Pantomime featuring The Little Mermaid.
Deep beneath the Bass Rock lies the secret undersea paradise Atlantis – home to the Little Mermaid and the Pearl of Beauty, a jewel with magical properties.
When the evil witch Crabsclaw attacks the peace-loving Merfolk of Atlantis in search of the Pearl, the Little Mermaid is forced to swim ashore for help. Washed up on Fisherrow Beach she is discovered by Sinbad the Sailor, who lives on a ship in Fisherrow Harbour with his mammy Saucy Nancy and daft brother Swishee.
Together they set off on a quest to find the great Neptune, Lord of the Seas and the only being powerful enough to defeat the Sea Witch.
