Aladdin Sane

Michael Scott started out directing, at UCD, a revue based on the music of David Bowie. He now is artistic director of Dublin s SFX and getting ready to bring John B Keane s The Matchmaker to HQ in the new year. Yet, at the moment, his primary concern is, eh, a panto! Aladdin, which opened at the Gaiety on December 7th. Apart from those of us who might have to bring our younger brothers or sisters or even children to such a show, what the hell can this particular panto offer to, say, readers of hotpress? It ain t exactly Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, is it?

No, but we have got Playstation 2 in it! he says, laughing, rejecting the notion that this Aladdin is a camp affair. In fact I ve gone quite traditional in that I ve got a panto dame in it. And rather than being a star vehicle it s ensemble playing, the way pantos used to be. The cast is extremely well balanced. But though it is traditional in that sense the women are very empowered in the show. The genie is female and sizes up Aladdin before she decides she s going to allow him to be her master! She s played by someone who s making her stage debut. Ruth Melody. Only 17, still doing the Leaving Cert and was picked from obscurity to be the Princess.
Still not convinced? Neither am I, actually. But Michael Scott s enthusiasm is, as always, quite infectious. And, in a sense, he doesn t need to sell the Gaiety because it virtually sells itself every year.
That is true but we are in a competitive market, he responds. And if you turn the punters off one year you may not win them back again next time. And reviews do make the difference between just about breaking even or actually making some money. So panto is a serious business at this level. No less serious than straight theatre. And this, to me, is just like The Rocky Horror Show and things like that I ve done, because it all comes down to audience involvement. I still believe there is nothing better than live theatre. In any form.
Shifting his focus to the straight theatre productions he s planning Scott claims to be particularly excited about The Matchmaker in HQ. Why?
HQ is a really intimate theatre and suits gigs like this he says. So Anna Manahan and Des Keogh are reviving the play and we re doing it as a co-production with MCD which will, basically, pay to keep the SFX open. By the end of this year, we should almost be breaking even in the SFX but it s been a struggle. This year we got funded, by the Arts Council, to the tune of #33,000 and our turnover is about #190,000. We ve co-produced an immense amount of shows but we didn t get enough money to produce our own show. Yet we are developing long-term co-production relationships with companies like Doublejoint. We re bringing their new show, The Laughter Of Our Children, about the H Blocks, to the SFX. And I ve spoken to Gary Mitchell about writing a play from the Protestant point of view which we ll do in the SFX then bring up to Belfast, to Doublejoints theatre. I m interested in swapping over that dialogue. And Paddy Doyle and I are adapting his book, The God Squad, for next year. So I ve got great hopes for the SFX.
In other words, any reports of Michael Scott s premature demise in the world of Irish theatre are greatly exaggerated?
I m afraid so! he laughs. I m hysterically busy. The day after Aladdin opens I go to work on The Matchmaker, then The God Squad and I m also writing an opera, for children, based on The Selfish Giant, by Oscar Wilde.
But has Michael any plans to revive his Bowie show?
I d love to and I am looking at doing a musical but I don t know exactly what that will be at this point!

Michael Scott is also directing the Gemini production of John B. Keane s Matchmaker at HQ @ The Irish Hall Of Fame from Thursday 4th January