Dir. Wils Wilson, Tron Theatre, 25th – 28th January
Karine Polwart’s one-woman show is an intimate, tender thing to behold. A tapestry of folk concert, autobiography, fireside anecdote and feminist lecture, Polwart pulls together disparate mediums and narratives to create something akin to the original Highland Ceilidh – not only song and dance, but also community meeting and personal storytelling.
Dir. Alan McKendrick, Tron Theatre, 24th May. Rehearsed Reading.
It’s always unfortunate when the most interesting thing about a show is its name. Cadaver Police in the Electrocution Afterlife couldn’t not sound promising, and yet the actual performance narrowly misses the mark, despite putting forward an initially intriguing concept. The show tells the story of a dysfunctional punk band (Cadaver Police) caught in an increasingly nightmarish cycle of self-destruction and selling out. Two deadpan narrators attempt to inject dry wit into a script that is frustratingly long-winded and needs some heavy editing, while a trio of rock musicians – Glasgow’s own Smack Wizards – provide a thundering live soundtrack and are in many ways the show’s saving grace.
Dir. Andy Arnold, Tron Theatre, 10th – 13th May
From the second Ramesh Meyyappan walked onstage, his presence made the space come alive. I was transported into the obsessively monotonous life of Joe Kilter, who saw his world turned upside down after receiving a termination letter.
Dir. Paul Brotherston, Tron Theatre, 9th – 13th May
Paul Brotherston’s play Daphne Oram’s Wonderful World of Sound is a small-scale, intimate representation of a great real-life woman. Why don’t we know about her?
Dir, Adura Onashile, Tron Theatre, 30th March – 1st April
I walk into the auditorium not sure what to expect. A toilet attendant? Two clubs in different continents? Dreams of dancing? I am not sure this is going to work. Yet what I encountered is an intelligent, thought-provoking and sensitive performance. Somehow, it manages to connect two seemingly separate worlds by focusing on the universality of themes like dreams, power and the rights of women’s bodies.
Dir. Gareth Nicholls, Tron Theatre, 9th-25th March
Extreme projectile vomiting, the stench of ruined fresh tulips, and a ball pool surrounding a set of a furnished middle class living room are what remain mulling in my head after seeing Glasgow’s production of Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage.
Dir. Suzy Willson, Tron Theatre, 3rd – 4th of March
Upon arrival at the theatre, the audience is offered a menu, reading: “this performance may contain nuts”, a napkin and a dram of whisky. Before even having the time to take a seat, the ballad has somehow already started. The Red Chair, or The Tale of the Man who was so Fat He Growed Into the Chair He Was Sittin’ Upon is the story of a caricatural, dysfunctional family told by the incredibly expressive Sarah Cameron, completely in Scots dialect.
