The sort of antics Tommy Sheridan certainly doesn't get up to

The sort of antics Tommy Sheridan certainly doesn't get up to

originally puublished in the skinny

FEATURE BY GARETH K VILE.

PUBLISHED 12 NOVEMBER 2006

The Arches and Tramway have opened their new seasons, and the Arches has stolen the initiative with a flurry of performances in their toilets. The 'Spend a Penny' programme consisted of eight original monologues, performed on rotation for a very limited audience at a bargain price. Tramway answered with a Danish dance company's exploration of the sort of antics Tommy Sheridan certainly doesn't get up to, and the unveiling of the Scottish National Ballet's commitment to a more experimental approach.

Hoachin' Stushie presented 'No Prior Thought' as part of the Arches' 'Fifteen Years, Two Fingers' celebration. Alongside the opening party, this managed to sum up both the dangers and excitement of avant-garde theatre. Using a bare set and three performers, they examined identity as a fragile mesh of fiction and consensual hallucination. The point was clearly made, the actors displayed impressive memories and stage-craft, and the implications lingered over the free cocktails. Still, the event itself felt clumsy and academic. Switching lamps on and off to signify 'awareness' is hardly original, and repetition of phrases and ideas becomes frustrating over an hour. The dank atmosphere of the venue always lends a patina of threat and alienation, but this could be used far more effectively. Even the dramatic central scene, when the characters build a false set of memories from their shared confusion (only to realise that the events they describe are mere illusions), seemed forced and blunt.

Ironically, the Arches' party suggested the weaknesses of the venue. After a rambling and intermittently amusing speech from founder and director Andy Arnold, a scene from an upcoming production was performed and lost behind a standing crowd of Glasgow's art scenesters. When the detritus of free food and drink was cleared away, the DJs demonstrated that the Arches is a superb club venue, especially on those occasions when its theatre is devoured by an uncomfortable audience. It was left to the witty Zugzwang, a monologue from Martin O'Connor transferred to the Q Gallery, to redeem its reputation.

Back on the Southside, 'To Come' choreographed five dancers through a series of sterile sexual acrobatics and an extended jazz work-out in a celebration and critique of modern morality. The joylessness of the apparently erotic poses was contrasted with the pure energy of the lindy-hopping, reminding the audience that sexuality is not a mere matter of conjoining bodies, but an ecstatic exchange of enthusiasm and energy. A week later, the Scottish ballet took their tentative steps into contemporary dance a little further. 

Knowing that a Glasgow audience could cope, they started their mixed programme with 'The Pump Room', a pas de quatre to music by the Aphex Twin. Retaining the strength and grace of classical ballet, the heavy score lent menace to the relatively conventional dancing. This strategy was reversed in the 'Artifact Suite'. Bach's solo violin 'Chacone' sound-tracked mechanical movement and awkward postures - a work simultaneously beautiful and sinister. If the evening lacked directness and clarity, it was approachable and satisfying: the sold-out shows demonstrate that there is a market for challenging dance in Scotland.

The next month brings us NeedCompany, and the conclusion of the Arches' autumn programme, including a preview of deadly clown Al Seed's new work. As Scotland explores the meanings of clearer political identity, its dancers are becoming an example of excellence to the world.