ArtmagLive
Live art, theatre, drama, dance and music from around Scotland
Rambert Dance Company | Theatre Royal Glasgow | Seven for a Secret, Never to be Told
Photgrapher - Hugo Gleninning
Rambert celebrate 85 years at the heart of British dance with this capricious piece that invokes the playful spirit of childhood. Picking up on the natural, uninhibited actions of children, the choreography ripples and scampers but also highlights that intense child-focus where complex patterns emerge and imitation spawns deep connections.
It’s a spry, fleet-footed work with the dancers building textured drama and emotion from flighty movements echoing the Ravel inspired score played by the Rambert Orchestra. An uplifting magical and playful new work choreographed by Artistic Director Mark Baldwin. The programme also features Roses by American dance icon Paul Taylor, and the droll Cardoon Club by Henrietta Horn.
Post-show talk Thursday 3 November in the main auditorium straight after the performance Thu 03 – Sat 05 Nov 2011 7:30pm | www.ambassadortickets.com
Royal Scottish National Orchestra | Glasgow Royal Concert Hall & Usher Hall, Edinburgh | Space Invaders
Get the kids excited about orchestral music with this thrilling ride exploring the universe and beyond. The Utterly Fabulous Orchestra (UFO- get it?) promise to propel us through a space/time continuum accompanied by percussionists Owen Gunnel and Oliver Cox.
Featuring themes from ET and Star Wars played by the energetic Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the show is packed with fun references and the occasional surprise.
The planets are represented by Holst’s Mars and Jupiter and a few other latter-day composers get sneaked in among the contemporary film scores (Although, what Rossini’s Galop from William Tell is doing in there is beyond my meagre Earthbound comprehension). A special stage battle between Jedi and Seth is also promised with teasing visit from everybody’s favourite Extra Terrestrial, all at a youth friendly time of 3pm.
Saturday 5 November 2011 Glasgow | 6 November 2011, Edinburgh 3.00pm | Adult: £15, £12.50, £10 Child: £9, £7.50, £6 Family (2 adults, 2 children) : £43, £36, £29, Concessions: £9, £7.50, £6 Box Office Glasgow 0141 353 8000 or www.glasgowconcerthalls.com |Box Office Edinburgh 0131 228 1155 or www.usherhall.co.uk
Lloyd Cole | Oran Mor, Glasgow | In Concert
It’s been a while since he spent a lost week-end in a hotel in Amsterdam but the former front man of the Commotions isn’t looking too shabby on it.
Fresh from a world tour promoting the Broken Record album he’s dispensing with the gilding and getting back to basics with some low key acoustic dates. Fans will know that his trademark lyrical prowess is still evident, as is his glottal vocal delivery -- pitching somewhere between Lou Reed and Kevin Rowland.
Now an American citizen he must surely be a tad teary on returning to his adopted city where it all began. He’s bringing a batch of new songs with him too, using the tour as a kind of developmental process where the audience can help him refine his work. It’s all far removed from the sparkling 80’s where his references were so bookish that Edwin Collins once joked his new record was being released by Penguin.
Friday 11th & 12th November 2011 7.00pm | Tickets £18.50 www.ticketmaster.co.uk or Tickets Scotland, Argyle Street
Abi Morgan | The Lyceum Edinburgh | 27
Since this is a world premiere and the actors are still in rehearsal at the time of writing there’s not much to say about the production at this stage other than to point out that Abi Morgan has a history of barnstorming theatre and hard hitting TV and film behind her. Fans of BBC’s The Hour, where she skillfully coiled a political and emotional drama around the events leading up to the Suez crisis, might recognise the style.
She also scripted an upcoming movie about Margaret Thatcher starring Meryl Streep – ‘The Iron Lady’. 27 pitches science against religion as Ursela, a mother superior in a convent takes on the opportunity to take part in a scientific study. The unfolding events explore themes of lifestyle, faith, ageing, dignity and the loss of self.
A co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland directed by Vicky Featherstone.
21 October - 12 November 7.45pm Tuesdays-Saturdays | Matinees 2.30pm Wednesdays and Saturdays 26, 29 Oct and 2, 5, 12 November | Curtain Raiser Friday 28 Oct, 6pm Free but ticketed | Post-show discussion Tuesday 1 November, after performance free and unticketed | Tickets £14.50-£29 www.lyceum.org.uk
Carl Palmer Band | The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh | Pictures At An Exhibition
Music lovers of a certain age will remember the thrill of hearing Carl’s original outfit Emerson Lake and Palmer rocking up Mussorgsky’s scintillating suite in the early 70’s.
At the time it was a brash, uppity thing for a three piece rock band to attempt. But their stirring live performance not only captured the Russian composers energy and romanticism in thunderous chromatic slabs, it also demonstrated ELP’s deft crafting of serious classical arrangements and introduced a whole new generation to the glory of Russian classical music. What splendid lofty ambitions those early rock stars harboured. Carl, who famously used to need his own truck for the percussion instruments alone, is so steeped in the language of rhythm it’s hard to tell where his body ends and the drumming begins.
For a rock drummer he’s always had a very musical ear and positively relishes the shifts in timing and tempo a classical work demands. He’s back with a new band and a collection of recent radiant reviews to perform the original ELP album in its entirety.
25 November 2011 7:00pm | Tickets & Information: 0131 668 2019
Scottish Opera | Eden Court, Inverness & Tour | The Barber of Seville
Photgrapher - Mark Hamilton
‘Tis the season for blinged-up classics. This hugely popular production directed by the world famous Sir Thomas Allen was first staged in 2007 and was an immediate hit for Scottish Opera.
It’s a spirited and jovial show lit with the vibrant colours of southern Spain and stuffed to the gunwales with frantic comic scenes. A simple tale of a young woman in love who must be kept locked up for her revealing affections while a local barber is recruited to smuggle her out from under her guardian’s nose (keep up). It features a fantastic ensemble, including Ville Rusanen, Tiziano Bracci, Thomas Walker and Claire Booth.
The energetic cast take a buoyant view of the score, ramping up Rossini’s already fulsome masterpiece to majestic levels ensuring a bright, brash and breezy night out. Fabulous voices, English super-titles and lots of tunes you’ll recognise. Not to be missed.
Thu 3 Nov 7.15pm, Sat 5 Nov 7.15pm | Free events The Barber of Seville Unwrapped Fri 4 Nov 6.00pm | Touch Tour Sat 5 Nov 6.00pm | Pre-show talk Sat 5 Nov 6.00pm | Tickets 01463 234 234
His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen Thu 10 Nov 7.30pm, Sat 12 Nov 7.30pm | Free events The Barber of Seville Unwrapped Fri 11 Nov 6.00pm | Touch Tour Sat 12 Nov 6.00pm | Pre-show talk Sat 12 Nov 6.00pm | Tickets 01224 641122
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Tue 15 Nov 7.15pm, Thu 17 Nov 7.15pm, Sat 19 Nov 7.15pm | Free events The Barber of Seville Unwrapped Wed 16 Nov 6.00pm | Touch Tour Sat 19 Nov 6.00pm | Pre-show talk Sat 19 Nov 6.00pm | Tickets 0131 529 6000
Malcolm McGonigle, Performing Arts Editor
malcmcgonigle@tiscali.co.uk
