Yesterday (Wednesday) I took in a couple of these plays; I Can Get Along With Shoes On My Feet by Fiona Mackinnon, & Julius by Daniel Lien. The first of these quality pieces is a sequence of dialogues based on interviews with the older generation, segued together seamlessly by Ms Mckinnon. Acted out by three young starlets in WW2 dress; Victoria Burgess, Nicole Goeden & the excellently chirpy Sarah Miele, we are taken back to a time when going out dancing was all about drinking cheap tea – which all the men could afford – & the dancing was just sooo much better due to the lack of the inebriating effects of alcohol. The way the actresses polished off their wide array of accents was really heart-warming & suspended my disbelief for the whole show. All this was accompanied by the adept musician, Nicolette Corcoran, & the entire audience was left with that warm afterglow one gets after visiting our favorite granny.

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Julius was an entirely different affair; a surreal blend of physical theatre, from street-ballet to the Three Stooges, plus atmospheric dialogue & soundscapes, it told the story of a baby chimpanzee being brought up by scientists. A really forward thinking play & genuinely breathtaking at times, it shows how the future of theatre in this country is in safe-hands. Not having the chance to see all the shows on offer at the Archers, if the rest are as good as these two gems, then I urge anyone in Glasgow to take a trip to the Arches, where tomorrow, for only £6 you will get a chance to see the following.

Friday 5th June

STUDIO

1900-1940 Emilie Konradsen: That fuckin’ F Word
2010-2050 Rasa Niurkaite: 20 Season’s
2120-2200 Daniel Klarer: Side effects include

ARCH 6

1910-1950 Eddy Mullarkey: Grassy Overtones
2130-2145 Sarah Miele: If only my body would let me

PRACTICE ROOM

1915-1950 Fiona MacKinnon: I can get along with shoes on my feet
2100-2120 Laura Vingoe-Cramm: Bee Catching

B-ROOM

2000-2030 Rosa French & Claire Winkleback: The Hoard
2110-2150 Tori Burgess & Francesca Isherwood: The Quarter
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