Tramway Season (part 1)

There is no point in me trying to keep my affection for Tramway a secret. Not only do I teach there (Young Critics, Tuesday nights, book now), the programming by Steve Slater during the early 2000s encouraged me to throw away my promising career as a Latin teacher to run away and join the critical circus. When I travel abroad, and speak of Glasgow, it is Tramway that the international theatre companies wish to discuss. My profile picture on Facebook is the big red wall in the main space. 

While I have a fondness for The Arches, a respect for the Lyceum, a love for all the venues that keep me busy writing about the magical world of theatre, it is all thanks to Tramway. Without it, I would think theatre consisted of dull Shakespeare adaptations and would probably be teaching "amo, amas, amat" to bored thirteen year olds.

Before Steve Slater starts getting hate mail for what he has wrought, let me get excited about the new season at Tramway. And I'll admit it: this is a shameless crib from the press release. If the sight of a supposedly independent critic getting sentimental offends, please turn away now...

The new season is called Rip It Up. That might be a tribute to the hit single of Orange Juice, or the book by Simon Reynolds about the post punk musical explosion. The title expresses the spirit of the programming, which either invites artists to show finished work for the first time, or encourages them to try something fresh. The emphasis is on new work, experimental or at least adventurous. 

The best bit is at the end: like the finale of an old school Beano cartoon, there are going to be three slap up dinners for audience members, artists and associates of the Tramway - including my Young Critics (Tuesday nights, book now). 

Hey, we even get mentioned in the press release. 

Apart from the Young Critics, producers Fuel, who did a recent festival at Tramway, are hosting one feast. That ought to be interesting, given what one of my Young Critics had to say about their work. The Collective Gallery are hosting another. To get invited to the feast, post a review on-line about any of the events. 

If you need help with the review, there's a class on Tuesday nights at Tramway which might help you to get the juices flowing. 

Before we get to the grub, what about the culture?A String Section (Leen Dewilde / Su-a lee and Reckless Sleepers)

Fri 18 & Sat 19 January

A work in progress to start, in a five way chair fight to the sawdust. Four women with handsaws, one with a cello. Let the sawing commence...

The Good, the God, and the Guillotine (Proto-type Theatre)Sat 26 January 

Is it a gig? Is it a recital? It is Live Art? Although the presence of laptop musicians is worrying (sorry, but the chances are that an electronica gig is going to be less interesting than listening to the album at home), the promise of three performers and a "dramatic scenography" is a rescue. GGG is, unsurprisingly, about morality (Good), belief (God) and mortality (the Guillotine).

Mechanical Wave (The Red Ensemble & Guests)Fri 8 & Sat 9 February 

This one is presented by Pulse, who are curating two years of electronic music events... I might have just alienated them in the previous preview. Yet my fears are allayed by this quotation from the release: "a multi-perspective sonic investigation into the intimacies, idiosyncrasies and potentiality of the performance space."

Just give me something to work with, people. 

I've just had a listen to The Red Ensemble on soundcloud. It's actually really intriguing stuff. Lovely use of found sounds, whispered voices and a harsh, windy atmosphere. It recalls the isolationist music I loved in the aftermath of rave. I suppose if they could express their ideas in words, they'd be critics. 

Near & Far (Eilidh MacAskill of Fish & Game)
Sun 17 February

MacAskill has been at the forefront of Glaswegian Live Art for the best part of the last decade. What makes her stand out is her ability to make work for all ages - this one is for ages 6 -12. Here's the press release comment: "Near & Far is an adventurous new piece for children exploring the distance between us all and the technologies that help us shrink our world and expand our horizons." 

See? It's not impossible to make sense.

Everyday (Tunji Falana, Neil Haigh & Lu Kemp)
Fri 22 & Sat 23 February

Falana is a tap-dancer, and it was only the other day that I asked my sister's tap-dance teacher why the form had retained its popularity in dance schools despite the lack of national companies. Seriously, there are more people studying tap than contemporary dance, at least at school age: yet how many tap-dance shows are out there? Stomp?

No End (Anna Krzystek)
Thu 28 February & Fri 1 March

Krzystek has spent the last few years on a series of works that looked at 'waiting'. Obviously, No End  is the final piece. Her choreography is rigorous and forceful, uncompromising and familiar from New Territories

Air falbh leis na h-eòin (Hanna Tuulikki, Rosalind Masson & Daniel Warren)
Sat 9 March
A collaboration between artist Hanna Tuulikki, choreographer Rosalind Masson and film-maker Daniel Warren. Part of a body of work interrogating the mimesis of birds in Gaelic song. Masson has become a fixture around Scotland, with her interest in improvised performance and some politically sensitive choreographies. Basing a work of dance and film around the way folk song copies birds seems a productive start to examining the way that art has its roots in nature.