Dancing Shoes (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

Donny (Stephen Docherty) is getting on in year.  Craig (Ross Allan) is approaching 40.  Jay (Craig Mclean) is the baby of the trio, But they have a common bond- addiction to drugs and/or alcohol, and a desire for recovery, and that turns the unlikely group into pals.  Trying to support one another as best they can.

That bleak sounding scenario is the background for one of the funniest plays the PPP series has ever opffered up.  Breaking the fourth wall from the start, the audience are immediately drawn in, to a world where humour is one of the strongest lifelines available.

Donny reveals his secret, the reason that keeps hime going.  He dances.  Alone in his room he dances to keep ther world at bay.  When he demonstrates Jay videos, and then posts, and 'Dancing Donny', the internet senastion, is born.  This will test the friendships, and, more worryingly, the commitment to not repeat past behaviours.

It's hilarious.  An excellent script and some great comic timing.  Physical comedy skills too, from all cast members.  There's a lot of action and choreography that keeps the play going at a rapid pace.

But pathos too, reflecting the sensitive nature of the underlying subject matter.  As Craig says, everyone laughs at junkies and alkies, and not in a good way.  The serious moments are brief, by work as sharp counterpoint to the stream of laughs.

Breathtakingly wonderful.

Afterlife, Traverse

Intriguing take on the ‘afterlife’ concept.  Everyone who dies has six days in a facility where they get to choose what happens to them next.  Guides help them figure out what was the memory they want to live in for the remainder of infinity.  But that’s hard to figure out, and sometimes there are rebels against the system.

Lively, well choreographed, often with many on stage performing multiple actions and dialogues.  Engaging.  Simplistic, but not too much so for a 75 minutes performance.  The leads were generally competent, with a stand out performance by Amelie Berry as the Guide supervisor, who also acts as a narrator.  Her off-the-ball acting was excellent.

There’s not much of a point being made, except that we need to keep our good memories alive. And that it can be difficult to recall what really were the best moment sin a life.

There was an unusual gimmick of giving all audience members a ticket with a number on.  When numbers were called and individuals emerged from the audience, it made audience think they might be.  They weren’t, but I found this distracting from the play itself - I started to think about which memory I would wnat to live over and over!

Interesting.

Counterpunch, Traverse

In a struggling boxing gym, Gav is trying to figure out how he can handle the situation.  He’s lost his most recent fight, just when he needed the money to stay ahead of the mounting debt.  The future looks bleak, but he does have offers.  From a local gangster.  So his choices are not so clear cut.

Everyone in Counterpunch has problems.  Financial, family, relationship, criminal.  The script feels a bit bleak at times.  But also thin, padded out with elaborately choreographed sequences of training and fighting.  They are impressive at times, and the fitness levels of the cast are impressive, but they do go on and on a bit.

However this is Youth Theatre, so some failings are excusable.  As with the script, the acting is variable.  There are some good performances, some not so good, but a lack of voice projection is a common failing throughout, making it hard to follow the plot at times.  

That said, the future of Scottish drama looks promising, and projects like this can only improve standards.  Worth seeing for the raw talent on offer.

Afternoon for Janey, King's Theatre, Glasgow

 Jnaey Godley died last year, of ovarian cancer, not just by family and friends, but also other comedians and vast number of devoted fans.  While a controversial figure at times, she was very, very funny, imaginative, frank, and talented when it came to acting and writing.  So a tribute show at her home comedy festival in Glasgow was both fitting and natural.

The first half provided the comedy, from friends who'd known her for many years.  Daughter Ashley Storrie opening things, briefly, and you see how emotional the event was for her.  Elaine C Smith had been down to compere, but sadly contracted covid, so Scott Agnew stepped in at short notice, and did a fine job.  He introduced singer Tom Uri, plus fellow comics Rosco McClelland and Susie McCabe.  Mostly dojng material which were favourites of their departed pal.  Rosco's 'robot hoover' routine was hysterically funny, and McCabe brought full-on warmth to her recollections of  Godley.

The seond half saw Agnew introduce the film Janey, a documentary about her life recorded during her Not Dead Yet tour (click here for my review of that show).  Interspersed with footage of her tour material and cancer treatments, were stories of her early life (poor, sexually abused, and marrrying into a family of gangsters), her family, and the desperate situation which made her turn to becoming a professional comedian at 35.  Through to fame as the voiceover queen of the pandemic, and a champion of sociopolitical causes, notably trans rights. Plus her fame/infamy as the woman with the Trump is a Cunt sign.  Funny and moving in turns.  

A few closing words from Storrie, including a reminder that the gig was a benefit for the 2 cancer charities who had made her mum's final month more tolerable.  And we were done.  

A wonderful afternoon of memories, laughs and sadness, and fitting tribute to one of Scotland's most talented comedians.  And she was definitely right about Trump.

Maddie Morris, Traverse

 I'm sure Morris could become a lesbian folk icon if she got the exposure.  A sweet voice, charming personality and a kibd of innocence about her.  The songs lack true melodic identity, but the lyrics are always interesting, telling stories in themselves.  She has an unusual guitar style that works well as accompaniment

Morris is also an accomplished and amusing storyteller between numbers, often with a self deprecating side to them, which kept the gig rolling along nicely.  

Not the most exciting of acts, but with enough of a difference to mark her out as worth a watch live.

Death of a Salesman, Festival Theatre

An all time classic play, which has ssen many, many productions.  So if you don't already know the plot then it's easy enough to look it up.  This is the American Dream, but in reality.  The idea that if you work hard and get on you too can have it all.  But Willy Loman has worked hard and far from having it all he increasingly feels that he's a failure, no matter how hard he pretends otherwise.  Willy thinks he's not just liked, but 'well liked', but his delusion doesn't curt it with his boss.  While his sons are seeking out different kinds of lives, and his wife does her best to support Willy's dreams.

But trying to live up to your dremas can result in delusions, lying to yourself as much as others, and there are always others doing it better than you..  Chasing money isn't the answer you thought it was, and it's hard, after a lifetime of trying, to understand that there is more than one kind of 'success'.  Son Biff has recognise that it's more fulfilling to find out who he is, rather than trying to be the person he's not.  He might not have money, but, in his way, he's more of a success than his father was.  

David Hayman is perfect as Loman, with just the right blend of false confidence and doubt, beset by memories and slowly losing his grasp on reality.  He's the American Tragedy, the victim of that Dream.  

A simple set, and a strong cast of supporting characters, are perfect support to Hayman's magic, the action stays true to the original (set in 1949), and yet it still feels entirely relevant to 2025.  Classics are classics for a reason.

Eilidh, Eilidh, Eilidh (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

Writer/Director Lana Pheutan is from Skye, where the play is set.

It’s Saturday night, and cousins Eilidh and Eilidh have missed out on a lock-in, so they break into a remote holiday cottage to carry on drinking.  It’s February, so none of those Air BnBs will be occupied.  Will they?

Boisterous Eilidh (MJ Deans) is a teacher, back on the island after 8 years in Glasgow.  And pissed off that she and her boyfriend are having to live with her mum, because everywhere else is too expensive.  The more reserved Eilidh Beag -wee Eilidh - has stayed on, and lives on her own in a tiny council flat.  Fired up by the boose and her own frustrations, the returnee rants about tourists and English making property too expensive.  While her cousin sees more of the bigger picture, conscious how much the tourists bring to the local economy.  Their banter is entertaining, with a serious undertone.

Things turn darker when the actual resident rushes in wearing a motorbike helmet and pyjamas, and threatening the youngsters with a shinty stick.  They all get a surprise when they realise that this is Ms NicilleMhicheil (Annie Grace), once the highly respected teacher of the 2 younger women.  And the situation reveals more about the island property scene than any of them had realised.  

A well crafted script provides a lot of laughs, and an optimistic ending, but doesn’t shy away from the darker problems that communities like these face from locals being priced out of their own homes.  While all 3 actors are excellent, Chelsea Grace as the more cautious girl brings an extra layer of subtlety to her performance that underwrites the complexity of the situation.  

Another excellent contribution to the PPP canon.