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The Herald Scotland
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
A bitesize showcase of three wildly different plays
Tron Theatre, Glasgow Neil Cooper Four stars Take three plays, each around an hour in length, and all originally commissioned and performed at Glasgow's Oran Mor venue as part of the lunchtime phenomenon that is A Play, a Pie and a Pint. Then put them into the Tron's bijou Changing Room space with a trio of directors and a cast of three in a mini rep season of brand new productions and see what happens. The result in Studio3, an initiative introduced by the Tron's new artistic director Jemima Levick, is a bitesize showcase of wildly different work. Alright Sunshine is a monologue by Isla Cowan that sees police officer Nicky describes her life in a day patrolling Edinburgh's Meadows. As Nicky recounts her observations, her initially chatty portrait takes an increasingly dark turn as a seemingly minor incident over a Frisbee gives way to all too justifiable anger. Dani Heron is magnificent as Nicky in Debbie Hannan's tautly paced production. As she delivers Cowan's words, Heron exposes what women are up against in a world of institutional misogyny, domestic trauma and the very real dangers of life on the street. Read More: Calamity Jane at Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Jocasta review: ferocious production for a Play, a Pie and a Pint Glasgow Film Theatre to celebrate Gene Hackman with mini-season FLEG sees director Dominic Hill revisit Meghan Tyler's wild cartoonish comedy set in Protestant East Belfast on the day the Queen dies. Here, Caroline and Bobby hold court in their red, white and blue bedecked home and garden, one of three very different environments created by designer Kenny Miller. As council employee Tierna attempts to lower all flags to half-mast, Caroline and Bobby defend its honour with exaggerated zeal. Bobby in particular sees his lager soaked fantasies personified as a pole-dancing temptress in a Union Jack mini dress. Jo Freer as Caroline and Kevin Lennon as Bobby strut the stage like a pair of Viz comic grotesques come to life, while Heron doubles up as Tierna and the Fleg with similar abandon. Fruitcake is the new title of Frances Poet's play formerly known as The Prognostications of Mikey Noyce. It charts the awkward reunion between life long friends Holly and Mikey after Mikey calls Holly following several years' silence seeking the return of a Maroon 5 CD. Holly isn't happy, especially as Mikey never showed up for her mum's funeral. But then, Mikey hasn't left the house since before lockdown, since when he has developed all manner of conspiracy theories that he has to tell the world. Levick's own revival of Poet's play taps in to the long term side effects of lockdown and the pains of confinement in a battily manic display of sparring between Freer as Holly and Lennon as Mikey. This s only interrupted by Heron as Cassie, the motor-mouthed old school friend of Holly who might just be able to sort things out. While all three plays could easily stand alone, Studio3 is nevertheless a welcome compendium that sees serious subjects dealt with in a variety of ways that showcases the glorious range of playwriting that exists right now.
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Scotsman
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Former Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson on new stand-up show he is bringing to UK
Watch more of our videos on and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Visit Shots! now This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. As part of his world tour, Craig Ferguson brings his latest stand-up show to London and Glasgow in June 2025. He told us what its all about. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Craig Ferguson kickstarted his entertainment career as a drummer for a punk band - the lead singer was Peter Capaldi - then as an actor and stand-up comedian in the late 80s. After a successful turn at the Edinburgh Festival and shows at Glasgow's Tron Theatre - he credits Sir Michael Boyd, the artistic director of The Tron as the person who persuaded him to take to the stage - he moved to the United States in 1994, going on to star in The Drew Carey Show, writing and appearing in movies before securing his role as the host of the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in 2005. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The show ran for eleven seasons featuring interviews with celebrities including Betty White, Jon Hamm, Steve Carrell, Rashida Jones and Mila Kunis. A multiple Grammy nominated, Peabody and Emmy Award-winning actor, writer, producer, director and comedian with a diverse career that encompasses film, television and the stage, Ferguson is a New York Times bestselling author and has recorded numerous stand-up specials for Netflix, Epix, Comedy Central and Amazon. Supplied With such a varied career, why does he continue to return to stand-up? 'I think it's, it's your original it's thing. It's like your original instrument' he says, speaking from his home in New York. 'If you're a guitar player, you can go out and if you do well, you'll play in a band and maybe do somewhere an orchestra and do a concept album about knights of the round table and have a 50 piece thing and all that. But really what you do is you play the guitar, so you go back out and play the guitar, and I feel like that's what stand-up is for me. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's what I did at the beginning. I've done it all the way through. I mean, I stopped for a bit, I think in the nineties I stopped because I was doing those independent films and I was working on the Drew Carey Show and there wasn't really any time. 'But other than that, when I started in late night in America, I went back doing stand-up. I felt the two things complimented each other and it is just something I've always done and I like doing it. It's a weird thing. I would probably only say this to someone from Scotland, but it's my job. It's what I do, so I'm going to do it.' Craig made a conscious decision to move his comedy away from topical beats, the political fodder that informed his opening monologues on The Late Late Show. He talks about the show he is bringing to the UK: 'It's anecdotal in the sense that it's stories and it's personal observations. The only rule I give myself about standup, I started round about 2016, is that I gave myself a stylistic choice. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'That I would no longer discuss any kind of politics at all. I'm not going to do it, because particularly, I mean, look, it's a long time since I've done stand-up in the UK, so I don't know if it's the same kind of temperature, but in America, certainly, everybody's doing it. 'It's such a hot button. It's kind of an interesting way to go for me to avoid it. And also I felt like as an audience member, I thought that what I would like is a break look. 'I'm sick of the people that I agree with, nevermind the people that don't. I'm just like, I'm just sick of hearing it. So for an hour and a half or however long I'm on stage, there'll be no politics and all the stuff that you're angry at will still be there when you get out. So nobody's going to lose.' Further information and tickets are available here. Craig Ferguson: Pants on Fire will be at London's O2 Shepherds Bush Empire on 14 June and Glasgow's 02 Academy on 21 June.
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Scotsman
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Former Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson on new stand-up show he is bringing to UK
This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. As part of his world tour, Craig Ferguson brings his latest stand-up show to London and Glasgow in June 2025. He told us what its all about. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Craig Ferguson kickstarted his entertainment career as a drummer for a punk band - the lead singer was Peter Capaldi - then as an actor and stand-up comedian in the late 80s. After a successful turn at the Edinburgh Festival and shows at Glasgow's Tron Theatre - he credits Sir Michael Boyd, the artistic director of The Tron as the person who persuaded him to take to the stage - he moved to the United States in 1994, going on to star in The Drew Carey Show, writing and appearing in movies before securing his role as the host of the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in 2005. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The show ran for eleven seasons featuring interviews with celebrities including Betty White, Jon Hamm, Steve Carrell, Rashida Jones and Mila Kunis. A multiple Grammy nominated, Peabody and Emmy Award-winning actor, writer, producer, director and comedian with a diverse career that encompasses film, television and the stage, Ferguson is a New York Times bestselling author and has recorded numerous stand-up specials for Netflix, Epix, Comedy Central and Amazon. Supplied With such a varied career, why does he continue to return to stand-up? 'I think it's, it's your original it's thing. It's like your original instrument' he says, speaking from his home in New York. 'If you're a guitar player, you can go out and if you do well, you'll play in a band and maybe do somewhere an orchestra and do a concept album about knights of the round table and have a 50 piece thing and all that. But really what you do is you play the guitar, so you go back out and play the guitar, and I feel like that's what stand-up is for me. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's what I did at the beginning. I've done it all the way through. I mean, I stopped for a bit, I think in the nineties I stopped because I was doing those independent films and I was working on the Drew Carey Show and there wasn't really any time. 'But other than that, when I started in late night in America, I went back doing stand-up. I felt the two things complimented each other and it is just something I've always done and I like doing it. It's a weird thing. I would probably only say this to someone from Scotland, but it's my job. It's what I do, so I'm going to do it.' Craig made a conscious decision to move his comedy away from topical beats, the political fodder that informed his opening monologues on The Late Late Show. He talks about the show he is bringing to the UK: 'It's anecdotal in the sense that it's stories and it's personal observations. The only rule I give myself about standup, I started round about 2016, is that I gave myself a stylistic choice. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'That I would no longer discuss any kind of politics at all. I'm not going to do it, because particularly, I mean, look, it's a long time since I've done stand-up in the UK, so I don't know if it's the same kind of temperature, but in America, certainly, everybody's doing it. 'It's such a hot button. It's kind of an interesting way to go for me to avoid it. And also I felt like as an audience member, I thought that what I would like is a break look. 'I'm sick of the people that I agree with, nevermind the people that don't. I'm just like, I'm just sick of hearing it. So for an hour and a half or however long I'm on stage, there'll be no politics and all the stuff that you're angry at will still be there when you get out. So nobody's going to lose.' Further information and tickets are available here.
The Herald Scotland
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
The Union flag is an object of sexual desire, is it? Don't be absurd
Glasgow often plays home to the absurdist. Former Tron Theatre Artistic Director Andy Arnold delighted in Enda Walsh's play Ballyturk, in which the opening scene featured a near naked man covered in flour leaping out of a wardrobe – and then dad dances to a T-Rex song. Why? We never found out. Nor were we supposed to. At the same theatre, Martin McCormick's Ma, Pa and the Little Voices featured Karen Dunbar as a heavily pregnant 80-year-old who lives with Pa, in a hi-rise flat in which ornaments are plastered to the wall. Why? We don't know. Dunbar also appeared in the same theatre in Samuel Beckett's Happy Days, playing a woman trapped in a pile of rising dirt that wasn't a metaphor for the state of sketch comedy in Scotland, but a . . . Enda Walsh's play Ballyturk, in which the opening scene featured a near naked man covered in flour leaping out of a wardrobe (Image: free) Ah, but that's the point of absurdist theatre. We aren't supposed to understand it. Absurdism is 'a philosophy that explores the inherent meaninglessness of existence and the human search for meaning in a meaningless world.' When Beckett's Waiting for Godot tells of two men sitting waiting for something to happen while talking mince, this meaninglessness is supposed to prompt us into thinking about meaning. (Or is it?) Yet, it only prompted the thought; 'Why didn't I pay attention to the Godot crit that said of the structure; 'A play where nothing happens. Twice.' Keen to understand the intent of absurdist theatre I asked a friend, who's a fan. Is Beckett really telling us to get off our a*** and do something? 'That's for the individual to work out,' he grinned, mischievously. Yes, you can see Beckett's roots in existentialism - god will never arrive – but if he is presenting a world where hope and promise are denied should we stand at the bus stop every morning in the full knowing the McGill's No 38 to Paisley will never arrive? Yet, if absurdist theatre is so lacking in meaning and content, why does it continue to fill halls? My absurdist chum suggested its abstract content is wide in its appeal, exemplified by the luring of variety hall star Max Wall to do Krapp, a performer who also appeared in Crossroads. Oh, come on! Crossroads was entirely more thought provoking. And it didn't feature storylines that ran on an endless loop. (Well, not always.) Read more The popularity however could be down to two reasons; theatre critics are reluctant to say it's simply keech for fear of not being considered clever. Indeed, one wrote excitedly of Ballyturk's 'sheer exuberance' and then claimed, 'The great thing is that it's a play you don't have to understand in order to enjoy.' Very often the critics will accentuate the 'fabulous design', or 'the glorious acting' of the likes of Maxine Peake in Happy Days. (Blatantly ignoring Henry Winkler's contribution.) And while audiences may be baffled by the gibberish, they get to meet in the bar afterwards and proclaim in haughty tones. 'I just love the fact that it makes you think.' Perhaps they should think that abstract theatre is, for the most part, lazy. Yes, Rhinoceros, in which the inhabitants of a French village gradually turn into beasts, is an allegory for French capitulation with the Nazis. But when so much of the dialogue is at best obtuse – and kazoos are used to illustrate the rhinos - it's hard to see beyond the bonkers. Of course, modern absurdist playwrights can claim to be following Camus in believing that the universe ultimately undermines any attempt to create meaning or find purpose. But does featuring illogical dialogue, bizarre situations, and a lack of traditional dramatic structure – and covering a naked man in flour and dancing to Get It On - really explore existential questions about life and the human condition? No. What it does is allow writers to come up with a play in double quick time, have it staged and move onto the next one; don't sit for months developing believable characters, giving them relatable characteristics. Don't bother coming up with a strong narrative and a twist at the end. Don't waste your time writing dialogue that's deliciously clever, wicked or funny. And with a simpatico artistic director behind you can pass it off as having real meaning – because you're underscoring the philosophy that life has none. There's a current argument for absurdist work which suggests it's an ideal way to satirise our modern times, that political discourse in particular has become so meaningless we've come to an acceptance of lies, clowns and a blatant refusal to answer a question. But can we really satirise the mangoheid who runs the White House? Do we need theatrical word splattering to confirm world chaos is ensuing? Can we not simply read the Dow Jones? Fawlty Towers with Prunella Scales as Sybil, John Cleese as Basil, Connie Booth as Polly and Andrew Sachs as Manuel (Image: PA) Sure, Ionesco wished to highlight that the human race in general is illogical, filled with loquaciousness and incapable of cogent analysis. But didn't John Cleese manage that wonderfully in Fawlty Towers? Wasn't frantic futility handled beautifully in Galton and Simpson's Steptoe and Son? And if you're keen to explore nihilism or Sartre's argument that god is dead then go see Glengarry Glen Ross next time around. And forget Happy Days; if you want to hear a woman despair for 90 minutes, stand outside the Forge Bingo Hall in Duke Street at closing time. But here's the main reason why I reject absurdist theatre. When we park our collective backsides in an auditorium, we're all too often treated to moments and minutes of joy, of wondrousness, of despair, grief, love and loss – and laughter. Sadly, absurdist theatre takes us nowhere but perhaps deeper into the confusion in our own heads. Meanwhile, as critic Michael Billington writes, 'Audiences are hungry for information and enlightenment.' Yet having said all that, and realising I've come to the end of this column without an idea for a pithy, clever ending I've suddenly realised I actually do love absurdism - and so can abdicate the need to make sense. So just imagine me singing 'Get it on, bang a gong, get it on . . .' Fleg shows from Sat 26 Apr - Sat 17 May 2025 at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow
