Monday 14 March 2022

Ten Things to do Before Your Die (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

 Claire (Dani Heron) is introducing herself to us.  She's a very conventional 29 year old from Paisley.  With one extraordinary element to her life.  She's dying, of an aggressive brain tumour, and now she has to figure out what to do with what's left of her life.  So she does the conventional thing and writes a bucket list.  Going about achieving all the items on her list gives her a set of problems to overcome, to occupy her mind with.  But there are two problems she doesn't know what to do about.  Who's going to look after Milo, her cat, when she's gone?  And how does she break the news to the people closest to her?  How does anyone do that?

With Claire as narrator to her own life, we watch her chase down her ten things, all the while avoiding the big questions.  It's a whirlwind trip through life, with death a constant companion.  But this is also a very funny fifty minutes, with pathos always lurking underneath.  A smart script jaunts through a host of common taboos, bizarre situations and awkward personal encounters.  But the central theme is always there, courtesy of the coffin centre stage, which does time as doctor's desk, bar, security desk and kitchen table.  And a silent funeral director who haunts his way through scenes.

A strong performance from Heron, with good support from the other three who all turned up in multiple roles.  Julie Wilson Nimmo makes good use of her various parts to get a lot of the laughs.  Very enjoyable, and a reminder of the unfairness of life.

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