Break My Windows (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

 At the office of Uber-alike Bring My Wheels, Brandon (Ross Baxter) is getting annoyed with Eric (Tom McGovern) for trying to tell him how to do his job.  But arguing with Eric isn't easy, because he's not only Brandon's boss, but his dad as well.  To complicate things Brandon wants to introduce his father to Sam (Jamie McKillop), both as a potential employee of the firm, and as Eric's prospective son-in-law.  And he knows just how Dad is going to react...

Things start badly, and only get worse, with Eric and Sam becoming more and more opposed to one another.  Brandon is stuck in the middle, but where do his loyalties lie, especially when the issues are as much political and legal as they are personal?

Dave Gerow's script is smart and funny, with plenty of little call-backs and contemporary references.  On one level it's comedy about relationships and loyalties, on another it's a satire about the increasing polarisation of our political scene.  Three excellent performances help serve up the laughs and nuances, with perfect timing and pace.  Hugely enjoyable and well worth grabbing a ticket if you can.

A perfect example of how clever these fifty minute plays can be.

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

 A one-woman show based on the character of Cabaret's Sally Bowles has gone viral when the actor playing the character, also called Sally (Sally Reid), starts ad-libbing and insulting her audience.  So viral that a big name producer has signed her up for the Festival Theatre. And then?  Who knows?  London's West End and New York's Broadway beckon...

So the producer sends in Tyler (Sam Stopford) to be Sally's PA.  Because every big star big star needs a PA, right?  Juliette Binoche loved Tyler, didn't she?  Sally isn't convinced.  So it's Tyler's job to do the convincing, to turn a small town mentality into a big stage ego.  And Sally is fertile territory, and prey to conspiracy theories. But what else is the ambivalent Tyler there to do?

This show wears it's anti-fascist credentials proudly on it's sleeve.  Resulting in a script that feels like a wallop to the head too often.  It foghorns political references to the increasingly sinister tory policies we're seeing, and squeezes in bucket loads of 'names' (mostly 'celebrities' or extreme right wingers like Dorries and Trump, but there's a neat joke about the First Minister too), all of which gives a clunky, heavy handed feel to the script.  But with some good laughs along the way.  And it does manage to deliver something of a twist in the end, and it's always good to have reminder of what a powerful anti-fascist message the 1972 film delivered.  

The cast do a good job with what they've been given.  Reid's Sally is living up to her new celebrity status, but still clinging to her socialist principles, and that conflict comes across well.  Stopford's Tyler is camp, creepy and sinister, increasingly the latter, and is impossible to warm to.

Far from the best I've ever seen in the A Play, a Pie and a Pint series, but Sally has it's heart in the right place and enough comedy (and artificial flowers!) to be worth a watch.  And the pies are better than last time...

Luke Wright: The Remains of Logan Dankworth, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Logan Dankworth is about to make it. His career as a stand up wasn't really going anywhere, but now he's writing a well paid column for a big newspaper. Make it funny, make it controversial, make it large.  But when you make a living from bating public opinon, and lose your own sense of what you really do believe in, what's left?

Set against the background of the UK political scene over the past decade, it's a strong reflection of the amorality that appears to dominate so much of public discourse, and the damage that does to society and individuals.    A storming performance from Wright, with not just a play for our times, but a lyrical treat, his poetic impulses shining through in sudden couplets and shifts of rhythm and mood.  

Excellent.