"Call it Sleep" - May 2008

This week's production in the "A Play, A Pie and A Pint" season at Oran Mor is "Call it Sleep", written and directed by Brian Pettifer whose acting had impressed us in "The Drawer Boy". Here he has written a genuinely entertaining piece that the lunchtime audience clearly enjoyed, but it's also hugely flawed.

The setting is a fourth floor flat on Hogmanay as mother and daughter reminisce about the past. The focus is mainly on the questioning of Susan (Kim Gerard) about the previous boyfriends of her mother Rosie (Juliet Cadzow). The problem is that what we essentially get is Susan simply acting as a spark for Rosie to rant humourously about the men who have come and gone in her life. Cadzow gives a strong performance full of energy and edge, but Pettifer's direction that much of her delivery is at the audience, combined with his gag-a-minute writing, makes it seem much more like a stand up routine than a play. The approach to comedy here is really full-on, throwing absolutely everything at the audience, and much of it is very funny and also includes a couple of I-can't-believe-she-just-said-that moments. While some jokes miss the mark there is more than enough momentum to keep the laughter going until the next one hits home.

Unfortunately the consequence of going all out for laughs is that the plot and characters take a back seat. Susan is largely the straight man to first Rosie and then later Mike (Sean Scanlan), and it's a shame that we never get beyond that as Gerard's excellent performance hints at there being much more depth to her. In fact Susan is the one well-defined character in the piece as both Rosie and Mike are more caricature than anything else. Scanlan takes over delivering the laughs when he arrives and it's very much in a similar direct manner as Rosie. Again, it's performed well but it's all so forcefully comic that I was constantly expecting rimshots.

Of course there is nothing wrong with aiming for laughs - especially when you hit as often as Pettifer does, but it's clear he was also aiming for something else. Indeed the play's title comes from a 60 second section of the show where for once the laughs stop. But it's *so* out of step with the rest of the show that it has little impact and less relevance. It isn't just that questions go unanswered here, it's that many of them go unasked - characters' motivations for life changing decisions simply aren't considered.

If you go to this hoping to have your brain stimulated then I suspect many will leave unsatisfied, but if you go into it wanting to be entertained you won't be disappointed. I'm sure this will keep them laughing at Oran Mor all week long and it deserves a life afterwards - with a little more work it would sit perfectly on the theatre/comedy border that can prove so popular at the Fringe.

'Call it Sleep' runs at Oran Mor until 31st May

Image by Leslie Black used with permission.

"The Last of Us" - May 2008

Pamela Carter's "The Last of Us" as part of Oran Mor's 'A Play, A Pie and a Pint' programme puts an interesting new spin on 'staying together for the sake of the kids'. It presents us with 'Chew' and 'Ming', potentially the last two Yangtze river dolphins in existence and asks us to consider their competing responsibilities - to themselves and the future of their species. On paper it sounds a bit 'out there' but it works surprisingly well.

It's helped by a rather differently set up Oran Mor than usual. Staged in-the-round with a catwalk style raised platform in the centre it allows the play to be almost as much about movement as dialogue. An effective soundscape reminds us that we're underwater, although it could benefit from a little more creative lighting.

David Ireland's cautious and intellectual 'Chew' has been alone for some time before he meets Mary Gapinski's 'Ming' who although low in self esteem has more of a sense of adventure. Both Ireland and Gapinski do well in portraying their dolphin characters while also cleverly allowing the mask to slip at times revealing more familiar human relationships.

It's more wry smiles than laugh-a-minute material but there's plenty here to entertain, and the dolphins' sense of superiority over pandas is a genuine highlight. At around 40 minutes it's shorter than the usual 50 minute plays that form Oran Mor's season - perhaps it could have done with an added 10 minute final scene giving the slandered pandas a righty of reply.

"The Last of Us" runs at Oran Mor until Saturday 24th May

Image by Leslie Black used with permission

Scottish Theatre Awards shortlists

The winners of the 2007-2008 Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland aren't announced until mid June but today sees the release of the shortlists for each of the ten awards. Despite our invite to the discussions obviously being lost in the post, we're pleased to see recognition for many of the shows we've enjoyed in the last year... but we still don't understand the fuss about "Peer Gynt".

We managed to see three of the four nominations for Best Male Performance - Tam Dean Burn (for "Venus as a Boy"), Michael Glenn Murphy (for "Shining City") and a shared nomination for Keith Fleming and Gerry Mulgrew (as the younger and older versions of "Peer Gynt"). Murphy's inclusion here is the second year running Rapture Theatre Co have had one of their lead actors receive a nomination, so well done to all there as they have been one of our favourite companies over the last few years. The big surprise here for me is the omission of Alan Cumming (for "The Bacchae").

In the Best Female Performance category I enjoyed seeing Amy Manson (in "Six Characters in Search of an Author") and Sally Reid (in "The Wall"). I'm also delighted to see "The Wall" receive two other nominations for Best New Play and Best Ensemble. For Best New Play it's competitors include "Educating Agnes" which we also really enjoyed and for Best Ensemble they include "Peer Gynt" (which gathered 6 nominations altogether).

The Lyceum's "Wizard of Oz" rightly received a nomination for Best Production for Children and Young People, although given the reception it got at the time I'm surprised it didn't feature in more categories.

The awards are presented at a ceremony at Glasgow's Oran Mor on June 15th and tickets are available for £15.

Upcoming plans

Although this time of year tends to be a little quieter for us (a chance to catch our breath before the mayhem of the Edinburgh Fringe) we've recently booked up for a few things that are worth highlighting...
Oran Mor's "A Play, A Pie & A Pint" season has a couple of plays remaining with "The Last of Us" (review now posted) starting on Monday 19th May and then "Call it Sleep" (review now posted) starting the following week. The second of these was written by Brian Pettifer and if his writing is half as good as his acting it could be a treat.

We'll be back at the Tron in June for Mull Theatre's "Swindle & Death" which is also on tour. The Tron is also the new venue for the Scottish Youth Theatre's Summer Festival production - "Oh What A Lovely War" at the start of August. These are always popular productions so book early if this interests you (and when I say 'early' I mean book now).

We're still a while away from the launch of the Fringe programme but the Edinburgh International Festival announced it's programme a while back. We're not quite ready to delve into the foreign language productions but the National Theatre of Scotland's "365" written by David Harrower grabbed our attention.

Back in Glasgow we hope to fit in a show or two from The West End Festival from 13th to 29th June (especially if we can borrow a dog from somewhere!) and Shakespeare in the City Festival at The Arches.

And looking a little further ahead the National Theatre of Scotland have announced their July 08 - Jan 09 programme which has several new shows we plan on seeing. We'll post in more detail nearer the time, but before then the NTS are also giving those in Aberdeen, Inverness and New York the chance to see Alan Cumming's magnificent performance in "The Bacchae" in June/July.

Oh yes - one more thing for those of you in or around London: Don't forget to book up for Black Watch at the Barbican between 20th june and 26th July.

And of course we'll be posting our annual Fringe Preview of the shows that have caught our eye sometime in mid June.

"Zarraberri" & "Limbo" - May 2008

This week's "A Play, A Pie and A Pint" at Oran Mor is a departure from the usual format in that it features two short plays of just under 30 minutes. They are by Spanish authors - Maite Perez Larumbe (Zarraberri) and Victor Iriarte (Limbo) and both pieces have been translated by Chris Dolan. The results are somewhat mixed.

"Zarraberri" sees John Kazek as Alfonso, trying to persuade the residents of small town Zarraberri to accept an iconic new building - and to come up with a tourist attraction to fill it. But the locals represented by Simon Scott and Ros Sydney may have their own plans for the building. Unfortunately the whole piece falls rather flat - the Spanish setting/characters really don't work with the Scottish language and it feels like a decent 5 minute sketch extended far beyond it's capacity to entertain. At times it's more like a successful improv session than a play that's been carefully crafted - it did get some laughter in the audience but it was pretty subdued and I only managed a single chuckle myself.

Fortunately "Limbo" is very much a return to form and Iriarte and Dolan have created something which despite retaining it's Spanish 'setting' doesn't overplay it and reaches out with themes familiar to it's audience. This time Kazek finds himself recently deceased and being evaluated by administrators (played by Scott and Sydney) to determine his eternal fate. It's cleverly written with some very amusing dialogue at the expense of the Catholic Church (although there's plenty to go around other religious groups too). It's bright, sharp and pacy, and despite an ending that's a bit of a let down, it's certainly entertaining.

"Zarraberri" and "Limbo" run at Oran Mor until Saturday 24th May

Image by Leslie Black used with permission

"The Drawer Boy" - May 2008

I'm not long back from the Tron and to be honest I'm a little reluctant to write about "The Drawer Boy". I have a horrible feeling that in doing so I'm going to burst a bubble. I really enjoyed it, but I'm pretty fuzzy about why I enjoyed it so much, and if I think about it in detail I'm worried I'll lose the bigger picture. So, before I start, and for the record - this was a wonderful piece of theatre.

With a runtime of two hours writer Michael Healey should by rights be testing how far what is a fairly gentle piece can be stretched - but it never comes close to feeling its length. His tale of a young actor spending time with a pair of farmers in Canada as part of his research for a play is quite simply beautifully told. The comedy is gentle but clever, the relationships between the characters come across as genuine, and the structure works well. Add in some theatrical humour and a farm setting with sufficient authenticity to impress our friendly neighbourhood farmer and theatre blogger and it becomes more than it seems.

And of course the three excellent performances from an impressive cast help add a little something as well. As the young actor Miles, Brian Ferguson brings a subtlety that keeps the audience unsure about the balance of his relationship with the farmers, while Benny Young's Morgan is beautifully deadpan in his dealings with Miles but shows great depth in his relationship with the damaged Angus. But it's Brian Pettifer as Angus whose performance really resonates - impeccable timing and delivery both for comic and emotional impact.

This might not be theatre that's going to change the world and yes, by next week it will probably be a vague memory of having had an enjoyable night at the theatre, but right now it feels like I saw something special tonight.

The Drawer Boy runs at the Tron until 24th May

Image by Douglas Robertson used with permission

"Othello" on the radio... and other news

Just a short post to highlight the fact that BBC Radio 3 are broadcasting a version of "Othello" with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Ewan McGregor at the Donmar Warehouse. At the time there was a lot of discussion regarding it being seen only by a 'select few' so hopefully this will reach a wider audience - if not quite in the same way. The broadcast is on Sunday 4th May at 8pm and is part of the 'Drama on 3' slot.

And on a vaguely related note we're now planning our next London visit for May 2009 having managed to get some very nice tickets for "Madame De Sade" with Judi Dench. We will of course be making a weekend of it, so any suggestions for other shows around that time will be welcome.

"Educating Agnes" - April 2008

Firstly, it's only fair to admit that farce isn't really my cup of tea. For the most part I tend to find it a poor substitute for clever writing and that it panders to over-the-top performances. In fact I can only really think of two examples of farce I enjoy - TV's "Fawlty Towers" and "Frasier". So how did we end up at "Educating Agnes" then, with it's clear markings of farce? Well, we felt cheated having missed out on "Volpone" last year by Theatre Babel and weren't going to miss out again. And yes, Liz Lochhead's version of Moliere's "School For Wives" was indeed largely a traditional farce but it was also... wonderful.

Although Lochhead's switching of dialogue between accents and her use of rhyme takes a few moments to get used to, it very quickly becomes all part of the fun and the cleverness of the language makes up for the simple situations. There is much humour to be found simply through the absurdity of a burst of modern slang in an otherwise genteel speech.

As Agnes, Anneika Rose has perhaps drawn the short straw - being pretty much the only straight role in the piece. As a result she is left out of much of the fun, but Rose successfully avoids making Agnes two dimensional. Lewis Howden and Maureen Carr are brilliantly comical as servants Alain and Georgette; John Kielty makes Horace believably charming and ignorant rather than just stupid, and Sean Scanlan puts in a fine performance as Chrysalde.

But there's no getting away from the fact that the show belongs to Kevin McMonagle as Arnolphe. It's a magical performance that always manages to stay just the right side of excess. Scenes and exchanges that on paper I would have cringed at the thought of are made to work beautifully and my only concern is that perhaps I shouldn't have been left feeling quite so much 'on his side'.

Graham McLaren's direction also played a large part in my enjoying of the show as he keeps the overall tone well short of 'panto' territory, although I would have liked to have seen (or at least heard) representations of a couple of the 'off stage' moments.

This was an immensely enjoyable evening that was rightfully very well received by the audience at the Citz.

"Educating Agnes" runs at the Citizens until 3rd May before visiting Perth and Oxford.
Image by Douglas McBride used with permission.

It Could Be You!

One of the reasons behind starting this blog was to share the joy of going to the theatre. Recent experiences have been seriously reducing that joy for me, and it's not the performances that are responsible. It's you...

OK, perhaps not you personally. Or at least I hope not.

It's you madam, the one so enthralled in the performance you're bouncing in your seat like a 3 year old, and pointing out the wonders on stage to your companion.

Oh and it's you. Yes, you. I know you're not really interested in the show. Your chatting through most of the first act showed me that. So why did you come back after the interval. Take a leaf out of the Whingers book and just head straight to the bar. And shut up.

Oh and not to forget you, sir. Yes it's unfortunate that you've had to step out in the middle of the performance. You disturbed several people in our row, plus all the people behind us. Then you came back, and did the same again. Then you had to go out again. Then you came back again. I can't think of any rational excuse for this, especially in a show that's 1 hour 25 minutes straight through. It wasn't exactly Wagner's Ring Cycle.

Now anyone can have to leave during a show - I had to recently when the heat of a theatre threatened to render me unconscious. Even worse it was a studio performance so there was no subtle way of doing it. I didn't try and return during the first act and also made the choice not to risk disturbing the second act and waited outside for Statler. You have to have a little respect for the people around you and the actors on stage.

Oh yes, the couple in the back row of a theatre who were sharing their love - whilst the lights were up at the interval.

Oh and ladies - the lights are down, the actors are on stage. You're meant to watch and listen to them, not carry on your really interesting conversation.

I hope I'm just unlucky and all the sweetie rustlers, toilet visiters, over indulgers, chatters, fidgeters are only there when I am. But I don't think so - I think they're everywhere. Unfortunately front of house isn't. If people can't be trusted to police themselves then theatres must take responsibility.

There is a balance obviously. You don't want the ushering to become so intrusive that they become part of the problem. However if someone leaves during a performance it has to be made clear that they cannot return. If someone is causing a problem during the first act, then stop them coming back for the second. Maybe the polite people are partly to blame. We don't complain enough, we settle for glares and gripping the arm rest. Who knows what the people on stage think - in some of the venues they must be completely aware of what's going on in the audience.

Most theatres now announce about mobile phones - perhaps they need to make that list longer.

This isn't a new problem (see our 'Guide To Polite Theatre Going' from last year), but recent shows have been extraordinarily bad).

"Yarn" - April 2008

There are few things that will persuade us to make the journey from Glasgow to Dundee on a Friday night but we weren't going to miss Grid Iron's latest site specific work in conjunction with Dundee Rep. 'Yarn' is staged in Dundee's Verdant Works - a Victorian jute factory turned industrial museum - and the production's 'thread' linking the many elements together is clothing.

"Yarn" asks us to consider the impact clothes have on us, the way we view them and the price we pay for them. The weave of the tales is pretty loose and at times the series of individual scenes seems a little too much like a showcase rather than a single piece of theatre. But this somewhat 'mix and match' philosophy allows them to cover a lot of ground and ensures there will be something for everyone. Some of the show's most powerful moments come from scenes where an individual shares a story relating to an item of clothing - Kevin Lennon's marvelously performed memories of his grandfather's coat, Itxaso Moreno's emotional reflection on clothes from her childhood, and Robert Paterson's wonderfully relaxed and engaging tale of his scarf. Other highlights include the insight we are given to the true cost of the clothing in an genuinely powerful scene making use of a puppet, and a look at the Three Fates with Hannah Donaldson, who is excellent throughout, being particularly effective as Lachesis. Martin McCormick and Alia Alzougbi also have an enchanting moment as a struggling writer and a rather impressively portrayed spider.

Although there are moments that didn't quite work for me. Although beautifully told and performed their version of Henry James' "The Romance of Certain Old Clothes" made little impact and the 'wedding night' segment was a 30 second gag extended well beyond it's worth.

But any misses are quickly forgotten as we move outside for a stunning catwalk finale. Music and lighting combine to create the perfect atmosphere for this quick-change fashion show. There are definitely some 'eh????' moments in there but I suspect they may finally click for me in a day or two, and there is a glorious crossover moment between two 'characters' from legend and rhyme associated with spiders (another one of the threads running through the show).

Ben Harrison's direction, incredible technical team and well drilled ushers ensure the show goes off without a hitch and the constant shift in segments ensures the 90 minute run time flies past. Like "Roam" before it, "Yarn" is one of those rare productions which hits the balance between being entertaining and thought-provoking just right.

Yarn runs at Verdant Works in Dundee until May 3rd with shows at 7pm and 9.15pm.
Image by Douglas McBride used with permission

"The Wasp Factory" - April 2008

Iain Banks' cult novel was always going to make for an 'interesting' production and with Malcolm Sutherland's adaptation Cumbernauld Theatre Company and The Tron have really made an effort to bring it alive. Choosing a piece with such a profile certainly appears to have created a buzz (Waldorf: groan!) and seems to have attracted a young audience. What's surprising is that Banks' tale turns out to be the least impressive aspect of the production.

His story of dysfunctional brothers Frank and Eric and their father (as told by Frank) is reduced to what amounts to an old school "Tales of the Unexpected" and I'm left a little puzzled as to quite how it achieved its cult status - maybe I'll need to make the effort and read the novel. But while the narrative may be a little underwhelming the direction and performances are anything but.

Nicola Jo Cully as Frank, Robbie Jack as Eric and Ian Sexon as their Father deliver three exceptional performances. Cully is frighteningly believable and grabs the audience from start to finish while Jack shows some wonderful comic talent - and despite being underwritten Sexon makes the relationship with Frank fully formed.

As for the tone of the production and Ed Robson's direction I think a warning is required. It's the kind of feel I love in a show - direct narration to audience, creative representations of events told in flashback and excellent use of props/stage design/music. From the opening scene I instantly had a grin on my face that rarely left throughout, although even at its funniest moments there was always an element of underlying tension. For a production based on a novel the 'feel' of it was actually very cinematic. This all really worked for me, but I'm aware that these aspects may well be less enthusiastically received by others - although it certainly got a positive response from tonight's audience. But I do have a few reservations about the show. Perhaps due to the novelty and freshness of the storytelling style starting to wear off it did seem a little overlong, the nudity was pretty pointless and the rabbit bombing scene went out with a bit of a whimper.

However, those are mere quibbles - this is a hugely entertaining show with a great cast and I'm sure it will be a big hit on its extensive tour.

The Wasp Factory runs at the Tron until 26th April then visits Stirling, Stornoway, Kendal. Bathgate, Stranraer, Kilmarnock, Cumbernauld, Dundee, Kirkcaldy, Inverness, St.Andrews, Falkirk, Edinburgh and finishes in Aberdeen on June 12th to 14th.

Image by Linda Graham used with permission

"They Shoot Horses Don't They?" - April 2008

In a similar manner to last year's "Ice Cream Dreams" The Citizens' have put together a large scale, main stage production with a cast made up from one professional actor along with members of the Citzens' Community Company, the Citzens' YOUNG Co. and new recruits from charity Turning Point Scotland. As always, our thoughts treat the production the same as any other - no allowances are made for how those involved came to be on stage.

Based on Horace McCoy's novel and adapted by Ray Herman, "They Shoot Horses Don't They?" is set at a marathon dance contest in depression hit America between the wars. We meet a number of the competitors and watch as they fall by the wayside with their dreams of winning shattered. Despite attempts by the contest organisers to portray it as quality entertainment it soon becomes clear that those involved are participating out of desperation.

The play is well written and holds the attention, although the second act does drag a little. The sole professional actor George Drennan as organiser/MC 'Rocky' does an excellent job of controlling much of the action and brings out what humour there is in the piece. There are difficulties catching some of the dialogue from cast members but for the most part it was clear enough and all made an effective contribution to the show's well choreographed dance numbers. Some are more comfortable on stage than others and my own favourites included Barbara Ann Gray as Ruby and Neil McKellar as her really rather intimidating husband James; John MacNeil as Sailor; Alan Ward as Rollo and Semra McHale as Jackie - but all the cast do well in their roles.

Then we have three of our main characters, and for the show to succeed they have to work well. Debbie Findlay as Alice had a couple of moments that were a little quiet but she also has several very powerful moments and it's a very effective performance overall. John Speirs succeeds in making Robert's extreme actions seem almost acceptable and it's a performance that wouldn't have been out of place in any of the professional productions I've seen on the Citz main stage in the last year or two. Cindy Campbell goes even further and I think her performance as Gloria was as good as any I've seen up there for a long time. It's a powerfully emotional but controlled performance throughout and her final scene really hits home. Every line and movement is honed for maximum impact and it really delivers - one of the most genuinely haunting moments I've seen in theatre.

There are other aspects here deserving a mention - a stunning set by Neil Haynes well lit by Stuart Jenkins, and a great on stage band led by musical director Sally Clay. Congratulations also to director Neil Packham for getting such impressive performances from his cast and managing so many on stage at one time.

Due to the nature of the show it perhaps isn't one to 'enjoy' or even leave you feeling 'entertained' as such - and that's one of the few problems for the show. It's a mood killer and as a result no one's going to leave buzzing about how great it was, but I hope they all agree that it was certainly impressive.

"They Shoot Horses Don't They?" runs at the Citizens until Saturday 12th April with matinee and evening performances on the 12th.

"An Advert for the Army" - April 2008

Oran Mor's 'A Play, A Pie and A Pint' season has put together a strong team for Kieran Lynn's "An Advert for the Army". Director D C Jackson is getting great reviews for his own play "The Wall", while each of the cast of three had impressed us in a previous show. Add in the premise of a filmmaker reluctantly making an army recruitment advert with a cast of two soldiers and I was really looking forward to this one.

Ryan Fletcher puts in an excellent performance as squaddie Barrett who has been press ganged into appearing in the advert. Only last week I'd commented to Waldorf that I'd missed Fletcher's performance in "Black Watch" when we'd seen it second time around, so it was a nice surprise to see him back in uniform. Fletcher has some of the play's best moments and is perfectly comfortable with both the comic and serious aspects of his role.

While I enjoyed Tam Dean Burn's portrayal of filmmaker Nils, the character is written for maximum amusement value and I'd have liked to have seen it toned down a little - there's enough humour in the dialogue and situation that the decision to make him a caricature American seemed unnecessary.

Carmen Pieraccini gives a fine performance as tough-talking soldier Sarah attempting to limit Nils' outlandish plans and ensure the role of female soldiers isn't misrepresented. Her portrayal of 'acting' is particularly effective and she sets up a wonderful dynamic with Fletcher's Barrett.

Taken as a whole it certainly made for an enjoyable lunchtime performance and provided plenty of laughs along the way, but I felt the tone of the writing was uneven and the structure problematic. The shift from out-and-out comedy to a more considered finale didn't completely work for me - largely because it lacked the courage to commit 100% to the switch and attempted to retain some of the comedy. It had very impressively silenced the audience and it would have been a great way to leave them - rather than go back for a couple more giggles. The structure doesn't help as the show reaches what feels like a natural end point, but then goes for one more scene. I understand why, as Fletcher's final speech as Barrett is a magnificent piece of writing and is brilliantly delivered - I just wish it could have been placed elsewhere.

As it stands "An Advert for the Army" works well and I doubt many in the audience will leave less than happy, but I hope this isn't the end for the play. There's enough here that with a little more polish it could become something that deserves a wider audience.

'An Advert for the Army' runs at Oran Mor until Saturday 12th April
Image by Leslie Black used with permission

"Shining City" - April 2008

Over the last few years Rapture have really impressed us both with their productions such as Frozen and The Collection, and the efforts they make to build relationships with their audience. So despite being unimpressed by our previous encounter with Conor McPherson's writing in St. Nicholas we were keen to see Shining City - so much so we went all the way to Paisley Arts Centre.

Set in Dublin, it's largely the tale of a psychotherapist and his grief stricken and guilt ridden client, John. Unfortunately the play just didn't engage me a great deal even with the best efforts of Michael Glenn Murphy as John. Despite the setting and a lively start with a Mike Scott soundtrack, McPherson's writing suffers from a severe lack of craic. Endless repetition of "you know" punctuated by expletives is a poor substitute for sharp and clever dialogue. Only occasionally is John written with enough humour to raise more than a gentle smile, and the other characters never really move beyond being plot devices. As a result the play seems overlong - particularly in the first act and to be honest I was left feeling it would work better as a single act two-handed piece.

Rory Murray does well with limited material as psychotherapist Ian, as do Melanie MacHugh and David Walshe, but the show really belongs to Murphy. Rapture Artistic Director Michael Emans has a real knack for bringing in lead actors of the highest quality, and after a recent run in "Molly Sweeney" Murphy is certainly a man on form. He has a real stage presence and his performance gives the play a much needed lift.

This was an enjoyable enough evening and delivers an effective ending, but I think it would take more than our continuing faith in Rapture to get us along to another piece by Conor McPherson - he obviously just isn't to our taste. We will however be booking up for Rapture's next production as advertised in the programme - Harold Pinter's "Betrayal". But we'll be following them elsewhere for that - Paisley Arts Centre just isn't a very satisfactory venue. With limited foyer space, ushers seating people incorrectly and very limited leg room it's way down our list of venues to return to.

Shining City continues on tour to Irvine, Stranraer, Rutherglen, Moffat, Kilmarnock, Bathgate and then on to Greenwich.
Image used with permission

Scottish Theatre Forum

Our friends over at the Scottish Theatre Forum are undergoing a bit of a recruitment drive at the moment and we'd like to help out by sending a few of you in their direction. The STF is a fantastic resource for those involved in amateur and professional theatre, or those of us who just like to watch. And they also know how to put on damn fine show, so have a look at their poster (click it to enlarge) and then pop over for a look around.