"Poem in October" - March 2009

Stop reading now. Time is short. Rearrange your plans. Do what you have to do to see this lunchtime show at Oran Mor (until Saturday) or at the Traverse next week.

I'm actually going to say very little about this as much of the poignancy of the piece comes from watching it develop over the course of 45 minutes. Robert Forrest's play isn't perfect - it has two or three lines too many that take it past what should have been a powerful end point - but it's pretty damn close. Finlay Welsh's performance isn't perfect - it's better than that. Telling the story of Walt - haunted by lost love, lost independence and what may be the ghost of Dylan Thomas, Welsh's ability to switch characters is uncanny. Truly like watching a man possessed. Beautiful, sad, funny, upsetting, utterly compelling and unsettlingly real. Look past the absurdity of the conceit and Forrest and Welsh have created something with a real power to affect people - and make them think.

Poem in October is a co-production between Oran Mor & the Traverse as part of the A Play, A Pie & A Pint season.
Image by Leslie Black used with permission.