Arts Diary: Key to choral singing? It's all about projection

Published on Wednesday 25 March 2009 19:13

THE choir of King's College Cambridge is to follow in the footsteps of theatre companies and rock promoters by transmitting live performances direct to cinemas.

It's performance of Handel's Messiah on 5 April will air live in movie theatres across the country – including the Cameo in Edinburgh – as part of what appears to be a growing trend of using cinemas as "virtual" live venues.

The Messiah will be shown in high definition with surround sound, via satellite systems and digital cinema projectors.

It is the first choral concert to follow in the footsteps of New York's Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House, and might sit nicely with the rich seam of Handel running through the Edinburgh International Festival.

Earlier this year, the National Theatre in London announced it will begin broadcasting its plays live to some 50 cinemas across the UK. The series begins with Helen Mirren in the French classical tragedy Phdre in June.

I'd murder a pint

Originally developed for Oran Mor in Glasgow, David MacLennan's A Play, a Pie and a Pint series continues its experimental lunch-time run at the Traverse Theatre this week with Taggart star Colin McCredie, below, in The Ching Room.

The play is set in a toilet cubicle in a night club, with McCredie's character, Rory, desperate to get inside to do his business. The cubicle is inhabited by a mysterious drug dealer selling "Ching", and a friendship develops over many lines snorted, McCredie says.

"It's very much in your face, nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, it's got some funny lines, it's got everything you want, for a 40-minute piece."

The idea of the Play, Pie and Pint concept, of course, is that you drink, eat and watch, though it seems that Edinburgh audiences require more refined fare than their Glasgow counterparts.

"Last week, when this show was in Glasgow, the joke was that when it came to Edinburgh it would be a play, a panini, and a Pimm's," McCredie says. "But I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the Traverse are making their own pies." There's a choice of four: macaroni, vegetarian haggis, meat haggis with potato or chicken and mushroom. "If you come to Edinburgh, it's more of a gourmet experience," he laughs.

McCredie is waiting to hear about a new commission of Taggart episodes from ITV, though seven new shows are in the bag. "It's slightly worrying, a lot of the dramas have been cut and others told to save money," he says. "The last new Taggart got six million viewers, but everything is up in the air with ITV."