Four Letters of Love

 An Irish love story.  

When career civil servant William Coghlan (Pierce Brosnan in brooding mode) finds the sudden inspriation to leave the boring work on his desk in Dublin, and head to the west coast to paint, he leaves his wife (Imelda May) and teenage son Nicholas (Fionn O'Shea) confused, angry and bereft.  His landscapes and seascapes take in the wildness and beauty of the area, including a small island where teenager Isabel Gore (Ann Skelly) is being sent off to convent school on the mainland by parents Muiris (Gabriel Byrne) and Margaret (Helena Bonhan Carter).  

It takes a few deaths, and crossed pathways, but eventually the youngsters will fall in love, after life has erected fences to keep them apart.  So is there forever love or are they doomed to stay apart?

The cinematography is as lush as you'd expect given the wonderful landscapes.  The acting is excellent, notably from Byrne and Carter.  There's a strong 70s period feel, with some great cars of the time making an appearance.  Overall the film has a wonderful ambience.

But the plot is strained, convoluted, confusing.  It relies too heavily on unfounded assupmtions, unlikely coincidences and ridiculous events (including a miracle cure!).  Plus a haeavy dose of sentimentality and schmaltz.

Beautiful, but unsatisfying.

Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Spiegeltent, St Andrew Sq, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

Disclaimer : It had been a long day, I was very tired, so what follows might not be entirely fair to the artists, but I can only report on how the gig affected me...

Cleary is from New Orleans, and owes much to the classic jazz and blues of the city, whilst adding in his own layers of funk and RnB.  With dummer and bassist as backing he plays piano and keyboards (often both at once), with a single foray into slide guitar, and sings classic songs.  Plenty of energy (notably from the bassist), soe great playing (I loved the bass solos), and his voice is smooth and pleasant.

He went down so well with the audience, and I found my feet tapping along.  But.  There were times when it felt like the keys and the drums were fighting each other, rather than workign together.  And at times I found his paino playing too gimmicky.  Maybe I was just looking for an excuse to be irritable...

Blues Afternoon, Spiegletent, St Andrew Sq, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

 

Great timing on the start - just a minute after seeing the winning Lions score from Australia!  

These afternoons have always been great for discovering new acts, finding new bands to love.  So it was a change to go to mone where not only had we seen all three acts before, but more than once each.  But they were aleady establshed festival faviourites, so it was worth being out in the rain for...

STACY MITCHHART

A solo set from the ever cheerful Nashville resident.  The vocals are warm, with a constant sense of fun, even cheekiness.  He plays guitars - conventional, resonator, and cigar box, the latter made by his own hand.  He plays well, classic blues, great slide work, espeically on the one instrumental number.  Good  mix of classics, such as Muddy Waters, his own songs, and some surprises, like the sudden appearance of some Led Zepp!  Great entertainer, always smiling, lots of jokes and funny stories.  A good start to the show

BLUE MILK

A step up in pace and volume.  The four piece from Glasgow play classic 60s and 70s RnB style, but mostly with their own material.  Guitar and lead vocal, harmonica, bass and drums.  After the relative peace of Mr Mitchhart some of the audience looke d a bit shocked, but BM soon won them over.  

Ike on bass  is a pool of stillness in the sporouting energy of the other three.  Johnnie's wild hair on the guitar solos.  Leo's dance steps as he bursts out blues harp.  Taylor's manic madness on percussion.  There's humour, audience participation, and always thaty driving beat.  It's great to see a band where harmonica is such an integral part of the sound, not just an add on.

They might not be virtuoso level, but the energy and feel and presence make them great crowd pleasers.

MAGGIE BELL

A step back in volume, and a leap forward in legend status.

Not that she was on stage from the start.  We began with Sandy Tweedale on guitar and Chris Agnew on upright bass, backing Tim Elliott on vocals and harmonica.  A few numbers to whet the appetite.

Then off goes Elliott, on comes Bell, to huge applause.  Opens with a Free song, and the voice sounded a bit off.  Well, I thought, she is 80 now.  But that was justher getting wrmed up.  As the numbers moved on we had our reminder of why she was considered Scotland's Janis Joplin.  The phrasing, the gravel, the stage presence remain.  And the jokes and stories!  There was great variety in her material, Elliott joined at the end for some duetting, and we could all have carried on for hours.  Wonderful.

The The Lone Pine Pickers, Spiegletent, St Andrew Sq, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

Country music, western swing and gypsy jazz suggest an international flavour, but this is very much a home grown Scottish line up, featuring several weel kent faces from the national jazz scene. The leader, on guitar and vocals, is Ross Milligan, back up by youngster Connor Smith on guitar and pedal steel, Roy Percy on bass, and Ewan Laing on drums. Together they form a tight outfit with a passion for their music and the talent to bring it to life.

The set was largely instrumental, with many jazz standards, mostly from the 50s and 60s, given their own flavouring. Plus one self penned number that wasn't in the least out of place. Milligan does a decent job with the vocals, keeps it simple, and lets the music do the work. But he is also a good link man, humourous and informative about the history of the numbers.

As usual everyone gets to do their solos. Percy's bass lines are solid, but his solos lacked inspiration. Laing does a better job of making his starring spots entertaining. Milligan is an accomplished jazz guitarist, a man totally at ease with the genre and delivering what's needed to a high standard. But it's Smith who steals the show. Milligan may be as good technically, but the younger man's imagination shines, and his solos constantly surprise and delight, heading off in unexpected directions.

Acts like this are the meat and 2 veg that keep the festival grounded, and the LPP deliver excellent entertainment.

Blues Afternoon, Spiegletent, St Andrew Sq, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

A change in venue this year, with a different spiegeltent in a different square (and much more uncomfortable seats!).  But the format of the Blues Afternoons remains the same.  Three sets by different artists, with the idea that the quality of the musicianship improves each time.  Which it probably did, but, stragnely, on this occasion I found the level of entertainment decreased...

LONE BEAR BLUES

An Edinburgh based duo playing old time blues and ragtime from the 1920s, 30s, 40s...  Lone Bear himself originates in Brazil, plays resonator guitar, with a bit of harmonica and kazoo (!) thrown in, and a fine, expressive singing voice.  Accompanied by Australian Gerogia Ollier on Washboard and backing vocals (and audience participation lead).  The songs are fun, the guitar work not stellar but always enjoyable, and the washboard brings authentic character to the sound (and gets in a lovely solo too).  They can be very funny too.  A really good start to the session.

THE NICHE FAMILY

A young four piece band from Glasgow (there was a funny story about how they lost their fifth member, the bass player, at a recent festival in Denmark) playing country music with blues influences.  Most of their material was self penned, with a couple of covers (one from the Beatles) sprinkled inbto the mix.  Their song writing isn't the best, but they make up for that in delivery.  

While the rhythm guitarist took on most of the lead vocals, both the lead guitarist and banjo player took on their share of the role, so there was plenty of variety in the set.  Only the mandolin guy kept his voice limited to backing vocals.  Decent enough solos from the instruments, plenty of stories and laughs, and an infectious enthusiasm.  A really fun set.

MUIRREAN BRADLEY

Headling the show was 18 year old Irish wunderkind Bradley, who has built up a strong reputation in her short career to date.  A blues guitar virtuoso and accomplished vocalist, with an extensive knowledge of old blues music.  She's got a good voice for the genre, and her playing is admirable.  But...

This was a long set, of around 75 minutes.  I had been hoping for a demonstration of guitar fireworks.  Maybe I set my expectations too high, bsed on some YouTube videos.  Because there was only one (very enjoyable) instrumental.  And while I like the voice, and there was vareity in the songs, after a while it all started to sound a bit 'samey'.  In between numbers she shows she knows her stuff, but it's a bit much to expect someone so young, however mature and experienced, to have full command of stagecraft.  But that will come, along with a nore balanced set list I hope.  In a few years time I suspect Ms Bradley will fully justify that star billing.

Superman

 "Let's try something different" we said. "It might be fun." And this was certainly different to anything I've been to see for, well, maybe decades. As for the fun... it turns out there was a good reason why I hadn't revisited superheroes for so long.

I grew up as a kid aware of Superman, and something of his story. I enjoyed all the Christopher Reeve film versions of the character. So what could possibly go wrong? As long as the cast and director recognised the inherent silliness of the concept, it should provide that fun we were looking for.

This 2025 version casts David Corenswet as the Man of Steel. He's got the looks, he acts well, and displays a vulnerability and a soft side to the character that this storyline tries to show. But there is something missing.

The plot, such as it is, has Superman being the good guy, everybody's hero, then the bad guy, framed by the evil Lex Luthor, and then, of course, the good guy at the end. He gets beaten at times, but ultimately wins. He works with other superheroes to defeat the baddies. He has his romance with Lois Lane, and a bit of father and son bonding. All within a framework of an evil billionaire influencing the US government (complete fantasy of course...?), a war between a big tech state and one that appears to only have farm implements to defend themselves with (complete fantasy of course...?), and something called a 'pocket universe' in some different dimension. Or something like that. It was all so daft and so messy that I found myself not really caring.

The Reeve versions were probably just as daft. But they had 2 huge advantages. There was no CGI back then. And they had Christopher Reeve. Whereas now we have something that looks like a bunch of nerdy kids have been given every CGI tool of their dreams, and told to go wild. Plot? Don't bother. So the hugely overlong fight sequences seemed utterly confusing - or maybe I really couldn't be bothered by then. Good cinema is about storytelling. If you want to understand how CGI can be a filmmaking boon, then see Life of Pi.

And then there was Reeve. As with the likes of Harrison Ford and Roger Moore, he had that ability to play these daft action hero roles straight, whilst also showing that he didn't take it all that seriously, that he recognised the inherent puerility of the character's concept. Corenswet is good, and manages some comedy, but he lacks that indefinable talent which is essential to avoiding these kind of roles looking ridiculous to all but the most ardent of fans.

It wasn't all bad. The dog was fun. And the best line was "So is Gary". But I'm grasping at straws. This was an experiment I don't see myself every repeating again.

Words and Music, Stockbridge Parish Church

 A low key event of poetry, song and music.  The music came from the cello of Clea Friend, two beautiful classical compositions.  And from the a capella singing of duo Gail Turpin and Kerry Houston, a varied and often joyful couple of short sets.

Two poets read from their work, with the theme of mothers and fathers, and played compere - Diana Hendry and Hamish Whyte.  Some interesting poems, some laughs, some sadness, and interesting imagery.

The star of the show was former Makar Liz Lochhead, aided by a crutch as she recovers from a knee replacement. Her work is as imaginative, as funny and as intriguing as ever, as she deliverd both old and new works.  But her performance, as with Diana and Hamish, was slightly marred by a poor sound system which made for some lost words - not ideal!

An unusual feature of the show was an invitiation for anyone from the audience to come up and read one of their own poems.  Four did, including myself.  If nothing else it added further variety to an already varied show.

Cinema Paradiso, Filmhouse

In a small Sicilian town an elderly woman is calling her son, who she hasn't seen for 30 years.  In Rome a successful film director returns home late to find a message from his mother - Alfredo is dead.  He is unable to sleep as he returns to his childhood and remembers what Alfredo meant to his life.

A few years after the end of the war, Italy is still recovering from the damage.  In the village the cinema is a vital community asset, albeit dictated to by the censorius local priest.  Projectionist Alfredo walks the line between religious complaince and cummunity approval.  He is also the hero of mischevious 8 year old Toto, and an unlikekly friendship forms between the pair that will seal the bond between the child and the film industry he will make his life.  In time they will each find the other owing them a huge debt, but when the time comes for Toto to leave in search of a new life, it is Alfredo who gives him the impetus to go, and the advice never to return.

So Toto, once again known by his given name of Salvatore, only returns to see his mentor buried, and is caught up in the memories it forces upon him.  Not just of his roots in film, but of his first love affair, which has similarly dominated his life.  

CP is recognised as a classic, and rightly so.  The script is frequently hilarious, but there is genine emotion and pathos in the relationship between the pair behind the projector, and so much life in a community that is full of characters.  It has been criticised as being overly sentimental and schmaltzy, and that's true.  Yet it feels appropriate for a film that plays so heavily on the golden age of schmaltz from Hollywood, and is as much a tribute to that period of cinema as it is about the vivid relationships.  It was a delight to see again.

Final word must go to the venue, as it too was a delight to see again.  After several years boarded up the Filmhouse is back.  The foyer and cafe still look a bit bare, but that will change.  There's a fourth screen now.  And Screen 1, where CP was showing, has much imporved seating and comfort.  The Filmhouse is returning as one of the most important cultural centres in the city.

The Last Journey

 Heartwarming and enjoyable.  But also disturbing and worrying.

Filip Hammar is worried about his 80 year old father, Lars, who seems to have almost given up on life.  He is, his son says, rotting away in an old armchair.  So, with the agreement of his mother, he plans a road trip to France with his dad.  Lars, once a French language teacher, was always a Francophile, and many of Filip’s happiest memories with him are centre on holidays in a seaside town on the Riviera.  

So he buys a lovely old orange Renault 4, like the one dad used to drive, ropes in best friend Fredrik, and the 3 of them set off.  Plans are disrupted when Lars ends up in hospital just as they are about to leave Sweden, but eventually the trip continues.  Along the way, and at their destination, Filip arranges for his father to see old places, old friends, and some carefully staged incidents, all designed to bring back memories and rekindle Lars’ feeling for life.

There are some genuinely moving moments, where the old Lars almost resurfaces, and sadness at seeing Filip come to some acceptance that things can never be as they were.  There is a sweet scene near the end where some of the teacher’s ex-pupils pay tribute to their mentor.  Cue tears all round.

But.  This is filmed as a fly on the wall documentary, meaning there is some sort of film crew present for some intimate moments.  I read the Filip and (the very likeable and funny) Fredrik are a bit like Sweden’s Ant & Dec, famous presenters who always come as a pair.  Obviously wealthy, and obviously well connected with the TV world.  Which begs some questions…

What came first?  Filip’s desire to help his father, or the idea for the film?  Because the filming took place from an early stage of the process (I did not get the impression they could have gone back and asked Lars to act some of the early stages…).  There’s also a queasy sense that Filip, for all that his love for his parent shows as genuine, was at times bullying and manipulative.  It can come across as a rich man spending money to show off his love, whilst producing something box-office-worthy.  

Call me cynical, but for all it’s virtues, there are some worrying undercurrents to this film.

Joe Broughton's Conservatoire Folk Ensemble, Huntingdon Hall, Worcester

 The word Conservatoire tends to summon up images of restrained string quartets.  Which is long way from the enrgy, enthusiasm and mass joy that appeared on stage.

This ensemble, from the Birmingham Conservatoire, have been going for over a quarter of a century, with an ever changing line up, other than founder and leader, Joe Broughton.  Broughton is an exceptional fiddler, musiecina, teacher, who has also gained fame in other line ups, notably the Urban Folk Quartet.  He's joined by students from his courses, with well over thirty packed on to the stafge for this gig.

So many instruments it would be impossible to list them all, not least nbecause iot was often hard to see who was at the back.  We were well into the second half before I realised there was an electric guitar!  But there were five percussionists, large wind, brass and string sections, an accordion, and more.  Mostly they played as the full ensemble, but at times the stage thinned out and we had a couple of solo performances, a duet, and a quintet.  The mateial was eclectic - tradional tunes and song from England and Ieland, a sea shanty, spirituals, self penned numbers.  Some excellent vocalists.  And while the inspriation was folky, there were clwearly rock, jazz, blues influences thrown in.  

It looked shambolic at times.  It wasn't.  This was well rehearsed, yet with considerable fluidity to the arrangements, and audience participation was often encouraged, even demanded (!).  Above all it never ceased to be entertaining, and Broughton is a perfect front man.  He will never steal the limelight from his proteges, but brings wit and interest into his linking introductions.  The man is a top class musician, entertainer and, on this evidence, educator.

If you get the opportunity to see them then grab it.  Nobody leaves the room without a smile on their face.

The Ballad of Wallis Island

Charles (Tim Key) lives a lonely life on the remote and sparsely inhabited Wallis Island.  A double lottery winner, he is also an obsessive superfan of long defunct folk duo McGwyer Mortimer.  Two further facts about Charles - he’s extremely irritating, in a can’t-shut-up-or-stop-telling-shit-jokes kind of a way, and he’s really rather sad and lonely, for reasons that become apparent as the plot unfolds.  To mark a special occasion he’s invited both halves of the duo to the island to give a one-off concert, to a one person audience.

First to arrive is Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden), wet and grumpy, and surprised at what he finds.  But his biggest surprise is the arrival of ex musical partner, and lover, Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan), with American husband in tow.  Their being thrust together rekindles musical, and other, memories, but also reminds them of why they split.  Charles has started more than he realised, and his dream, and memories it conjures up for him, is not turning out to be what he expected.

The screenplay comes from Key and Basden, both former writers on the Alan Partridge shows, and that background shines through strongly.  If you loved Partridge you’ll probably enjoy this.  Charles is a sub-Partridgesque character, often with a similar inability to read the room, but he has redeeming qualities that make him much more than a figure of fun, and Key does a wonderful job of making him a figure of sympathy.  Basden is similarly able to give the grumpy Herb a human side, and these performances dominate.  In a good way.  Mulligan is excellent support, along with a couple of other minor characters, but it’s the Tim/Tom duo that give this film it’s charm, laughs and pathos.  And a dose of romance.

Basden also wrote and performed the songs, and shows himself competent in both roles.  And Key squeezes in a rarely seen romantic side to his acting.

While it does have things to say about revisiting memories, relationships and grief, this is a film to enjoy for the performances and the snappy script.  Whilst it’s no classic, it is very enjoyable.  More so if you’re a fan of awkward.

The Rheingans Sisters, Traverse

 Rowan and Anna (real life sisters) are an alt-folk duo from Sheffield.  While the former still lives in much the same part of Yorkshire, Anna is a long term resident of south west France, and brings a lot of that region's influences into their work.  Both play a variety of instruments and provide both lead and harmony vocals.  And made good use of a pedal board to build up depth in their sounds.

They played music from their latest album, some self penned, some giving their take on music from a variety of folk sources.  A Swedish tune, a French song, and English ballad.  The theme, if there is really one, they gave as 'optimistic apocalypse' (!).  Their talk between numbers was often entertaining and informative, with some funny stories to tell.  

The music is fascinating.  Rarely exciting, but always interesting, unpredictable, intriguing, charming.  There's a lot to like, if not get passionate about.  With the exception of their closing number featuring a driving stomp rhythm and energetic dancing, over the layered track they'd created.  That was real fun.

I didn't leave feeling I had to get hold of the album, but knowing that if they put in another appearance in Edinburgh I'd be eager to see them once again.

Spell Songs, Usher Hall

The Lost Words and The Lost Spells are the two books, combining the poetry of Robert MacFarlane and the artwork of Jackie Morris, which form the inspiration for the Spell Songs project.  Bringing together a variety of top class folk musicians (mostly Scottish) to transform the words with music, and adding in Morris' beautiful illustrations as an integral element of the show.  The end result is a concert/multimedia entertainment with some unique qualities.

Eight artists grace the stage.  Karine Polwart and Kris Drever on guitar, Jim Molyneux on keyboard and percussion, Julie Fowlis with her whistles, Seckou Keita with his kora, Beth Porter playing cello and fiddle, and Rachel Newton on harp.  Every one of the septet a lead vocalist in their own right, with singing duties spread across the set.  And the eighth member of the group?  None other than Morris herself, on a raised dias at the back, painting live  with the songs.  Often this flowing creativity would be filmed and projected on to the screen above the stage, bringing to life, in a very real sense, the subjects of the lyrics.  

This is a show dedicated to nature, with various plants and animals showcased (and two of Morris' stunning illustrations of otters on large banners either side of the stage).  But it's also a celebration of beauty, of life, and with some political comment - because it is politicians who refuse to act in saving the natural world now under threat from climate change.  

It's beautiful.  Almost soporific at times - not in the sense of being boring, but of being so relaxing that the mind wants to float away, the audiovisual equivalent of a nice warm bath.

The music brings the beauty of nature to life, as you would expect from such high quality performers, and it would be unfair to pick out any single performance from what was very much an ensemble work.  Great solos and harmonies, imaginiative arrangements, and always somethign to watch on screen.  It's the kind of show where there's so much going on that you know you must have missed out at times, and want to see it all again.  Wonderful.

Looking For Me Friend : The Music of Victoria Wood

Fronted by experienced cabaret act Paulus, and supported on piano and the odd quip by Michael Roulston, the show features, as promised by the title, a wide range of the late Ms Wood's songs, both famous and more obscure.  Because, as Paulus tells us from the start, it takes two men to do the job of one woman.  There's nothing wrong with the voice or the playing, and they clearly enjoy and revere the material.

Woven around the numbers is Paulus' tale of growing up with Wood as an important influence in his life, and then career, even though they never met.  He clearly sees himself as something of a superfan, with considerable knowledge of the national treasure.  So it's a very personal show, and Roulston an enjoyable dry collaborator. There's no denying that it is often entertaining.

But the show stumbles on two counts, one of which I doubt anyone could overcome.  Paulus is very self consciously camp, and the arch home counties persona doesn't always sit well with Victoria's bluff north of England sense of humour.  And even grates at times, feeling OTT in realtion to the memories of the woman herself.  Which also applies to my second quibble.  The lyrics and melodies stand by themselves, but watching this show reminds any Wood fan of just how much came from her own delivery, and how hard it is to replicate.  There was always a sense of something being lost, missing.

Entertaining, but disappointing.

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

Scarlet (Alice Glass) is a climate activist.  So when her mother Sarah (Laura Harvey) wants to get her a big surprise for her 21st she knows it has to be related to her daughter’s passion.  And Ivor is very big, and very very surprising.  But also an indication that spending a lot of money on a gift  doesn’t guarantee that you’ve fully understood what the recipient is really all about.  Scarlet isn’t about to give up on her plans to tend to Ivor, she and partner Judith (Betty Valencia) have a planet to save.

Mothers and daughters, the generation gap, and the lack of real understanding surrounding climate change are all tackled in this ambitious metaphor.  I won’t give away the nature of the mysterious Ivor, but he is much more problem than solution, a reflection of the misunderstanding of climate issues.  Surreal, often darkly funny, the script doesn’t fully hit the mark, but does provide some food for thought, partly spoiled by an unnecessarily confusing ending.  The acting is decent enough,with some excellent timing. Harvey does the controlling parent well, Valencia perhaps the best in conveying her frustration and desperation with a world that is going down the tubes.

Not the best PPP, but still interesting.

Police Dog Hogan, Voodoo Rooms

A two part post this time.  A brief review, for there is not much to say on that front, and a rant.  A rant/plea to venues & promoters & bands and anyone interesting in promoting equality.

Two support acts, then the main turn.  Neither support was memorable.  A pub-level band wioth a not-so-good vocalist, who continually tried to play on past associations to Shane McGowan.  And a guitarist singer/songwriter, accompanied by PDH's pianist, with a good voice, some wit in his introductions, and forgetable songs.  

PDH were, of course, a big step up in quality, and fun.  The line up was the same as when we saw them last year, the performance just as strong.  You can read that review here.

Part 2 is less about the music, more aboiut the set up and organisation.  'Standing only' is something we have to avoid, both of us having health issues that would prevent us from staying upright for that kind of time without considerable discomfort.  Promoters need to make it much clearer where this is the case, both on their advertising and the tickets themselves.  When we found out I complained to the organiser.  he did, eventually, provide a couple of chairs (from which we could see next to nothing), but with such bad grace it felt like he was trying to make out it was our fault.  We might not be going to the Voodoo Rooms in the future...

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.  

Kev Campbell Was He (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

There aren't many plays which begin with the hero running in and getting himslef plonked down on the toilet with a sigh of relief, but that's the unusual opening of this one man performance, written by and starring Alexander Tait.  He plays the eponymous Kev, a working class man who almost does, but does not quite, fit in with his pals.  It takes a chance meeting with a stranger, who becomes his mwentor and new friend, to make him realise that there is another world he could fit into.  Even if it means having to leave his present behind him.

Tait delivers an energetic performance, not just as Kev talking direct to the audience, but also the voices in the dialogue - old best pal, new nest friend, and Moira, his slightly scary boss.  Using parallels with The Great Gatsby, the difficulties of moving from one world to another are clear, because they have very different standards.  In his old life 'gay' is a common slur, in his new it's just what people are.  Yet it's hard to defend the new world against the old, the one that's nurtured him for so long, and hard for the new to understand the old.  The drama lies in trying to resolve that conflict, and deciding who he is.

The set (above) provides 5 seats for different locations, an idea that works well.  But the drive comes from Tait, who is mesmerising at times.  He's a man to look out for.

Kris Drever & Chris Stout, Live at the Law, North Berwick

 As long standing fans of Mr Drever, we were not going to miss out on seeing his latest venture as a duo with fiddler Chris Stout.  The gig was in a scout hall, transformed with the addition of lights, and attracted a big crowd.  Turned out this was only the third gig of the Live at the Law venture, designed to bring some live music to North Berwick, and there was a large and enthusiastic crowd.  I wish the organisers well for the future.

The evening opened with local singer/songwriter Linday Strachan, with guitarist, fiddler and double bass alongside.  Together known as Wave of the Flood.  She has a decent enough voice, and some interesting songs, a fine support act.  But the arrangements were lacking in any real spark - it would have been fascinating to hear her voice supported by the more imaginative accompaniment of the main act!

Who were a huge step up in quality.  True virtuosos of their instruments.  Most of the material came from Drever's extensive catalogue of songs, and was familar to me, but Stout's fiddle managed to identify holes to fill where I never knew they existed.  The Shetlander also played a few home tunes, including a couple of wonderfully miserable bridal marches!

Ezxcerllent musicianship, entertaining introductions, and real beauty in the music, with Stout supplying endless variations on basic melodies.  Wonderful entertainment.

Dookin' Oot (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

Diane (Jannette Fogge) has had enough.  She's made it to 70, had a decent enough life, but now the body is packing up.  She's confined to her flat, seeing nobody except her carer Julie (Helen McAlpine) and young postie Connor (Kyle Gardiner).  Fortunately she has seen a solution to her problems - Dignitas.  A solution well beyond the grasp of her financial situation.

Julie's life a is a mess too.   Her abusive husband is getting too much to cope with.  But she has an idea how to make money for both her and Diane).  She'll become a dominatrix!  But how to make a start?

Connor has the answer - Onlyfans.  So he sets up the tech side and then the adventure begins.

It's very much played for laughs, and borders on good old-fahsioned farce at times.  But there are some serious undertones too, about the invibility of middle aged and elderly women, and the need to die with dignity.  Three strong performances, notably from McAlpine.

A hularious romp with a message should you choose to look for it.

Heaven, Traverse

 Mairead (Janet Moran) and Mal (Andrew Bennett) have been married for a couple of decades now. They're best pals, they say, but are they still husband and wife? Were they ever really?

They're back in Mairead's home town for her sister's wedding. From the city to an insular place where life has stood still and she finds many familiar faces. Not least her old lover, the one who she never forgot. While Mal is left to his own devices, falls off the wagon and lets himself indulge his long repressed fantasies. Both takes paths they had not expected, but are they really going to diverge?

The play takes the form of alternating monologues, her then him then her then him, as each talks about the self they've kept inside, and the person they have lived with. The technique emphasises their separateness, but their words also show their affection and understanding for one another, each explaining things that the other can't even admit to themselves. It's a perfect illustration of how lives can be so interconnected and so far apart, and of how long term relationships will often keep afloat long after the thrill of the launch has departed. That affection and dependence can take many forms.

It's a smart script, with plenty of Irish humour, and a few surprises. Two strong performances, but I sometimes felt I was losing my hearing during Moran's sections. But could hear every word Bennett uttered. It's a shame, as I'm sure I missed some good lines from the lack of projection.

Overall a very satisfying performance, and one that ends before you were expecting it, which is always a good sign. Well worth seeing.  

Hard Truths

 Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is angry.  And anxious.  She’s angry with her plumber husband Curtley (David Webber).  With 22 year old layabout son Moses (Tuwaine Barrett).  With her younger sister Chantelle (Michelle Austin).  With pretty much everyone she meets - in car parks, supermarkets, her doctor and dentist, the list of targets for her anger never ends.  And her anxiety makes her fearful of the world, where there is no safety.

Chantelle is a hairdresser, charming and confidence inspiring with her clients, fun and happy with her two daughters.  She wants Pansy to come with her to their mother’s grave, for the anniversary of her death.  Pansy even gets angry with that.

But she will eventually go, and the two families get together.  But even there the contrast between the two trios is stark.  While the shadow of Pansy’s anger hangs over everyone.  

So what will she do with faced with a situation that requires her to act with love?

Jean-Baptiste is superb, a tightly strung band always on the verge of unwinding dramatically.  Her rants are epic, her disdain apocalyptic.  But the vulnerability is never far away.  The reasons behind her behaviour leak out gradually.

.If this all sounds a bit grim you’d be wrong.  Pansy’s ire is hilarious viewing (although you wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end) because it has no rationale.  We’ve all known someone like her, someone whose grumpiness and resentment is unending.  

The filming is up close and personal, filled with delightfully awkward silences and mumbled excuses, while the Chantelle aspect gives off vibes of real joy.  This is ordinary life in spades, the inconsequential gossip, the families that barely co-exist, the people who tolerate and those who don’t.

Another Mike Leigh masterclass in the everyday.

September 5

Anyone my age or older will probably remember the event, and how horrific it was at the time.  One of those world events you never completely forget.  It's all well documented now, so it's easy to read up on what happened to the terrorists and their victims.

But this film takes a new slant on what happened.  This was the first time that a terrorist event was able to be covered live on satellite TV, meaning the events in Munich found their way around the world immediately.  A team of sports broadcasters, from the American ABC network, suddenly found themselves in groundbreaking broadcast territory, and a sudden deluge of unfamiliar moral decisions to make.  If a hostage was murdered live on camera, should that be broadcast or not?

While the politics of the situation are touched on, it's largely in the context of how it determines the team's decisions.  This is about the human beings behind the cameras, and the strains it put on them.  The filming is claustrophobic, largely confined to the control studio, and using contemporary (grainy!) footage to show the unfolding drama being covered.  The tech is very much from the pre-digital era, and there's a lot of improvisation required.  Younger viewers will be shocked at how primitive it will all seem, but this was the cutting edge of TV sports broadcasting in 1972.

The focus is on the moral and emotional issues.  The mistakes made in a situation where the world is watcvhing through their lens.  The instincts of journalists wanting to pursue the story (and having to fight off the views of their own management who wanted a news team to take over - but the sports guys were the only ones actually there, on the scene).  Versus the moral responsibilities of playing their part in trying to achieve a safe ensding for all involved.  They even find themselves being invaded by German police at one pojnt, for hampering the efforts fo the authorities.  Are they reporters or voyeurs or accomplices.  The lines are sometimes blurred.

The style is often cinema verite, following characters rushing from one moment to another.  The messiness and confusion and need to make decisions comes across well.  There are some excellent performances, notably from John Magara as Geoff, the studio dierctor trying to hold it all together, and Leonie Benesch as Marianne, a (fictional) young German assistant, reflecting the mortification of her generation at the sins of their elders.

It's a strong drama, worth watching for the tension alone.  But the film also provides useful insights into the moral demands on journalists in life or death situations, and a the sesne of global trauma that came with those terrible events.

Triptic, Traverse

Take 3 members of the much lamented Moishe's Bagel quintet, and give them a good cause to support.  This was a benefit gig in support of Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP), one of the most important and essential charities currently operating.

The trio are Greg Lawson (fiddle), Phil Alexander (piano and piano accordion) and Mario Caribe (upright bass and guitar).  Togerther they play an eclectic mix of tunes from around the world, a few composition so their own, and the audience is taken, musically, to Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Ukraine, Russia and beyond.  The arrangements are often complex, and at times it feels like all 3 unstruments are paying their own melodies, albit ones that jigsaw so well together.  They's a joy to watch too.  Caribe and Alexander exchanging smiles, grins, glances, while Lawson brings drama in his body language as well as his playing.  He has an incredibly pure tone to his sound, no doubt a product of his classical background.  

They're good storytellers too, by way of introducing their numbers.  Notably Lawson's tale of approaching a policemen for directions, whilst too stoned to realise that the spliff in his hand might attract the worng sort of attention!  (He was lucky to find a very relaxed constable...)

Fun, depth, top class musicianship and some wonderful tunes.  An exceelent way to spend the evening.

A Complete Unknown

This is the young early 60s Dylan (Timothee Chalamet), from his arrival in New York until the storm of controversy that erupted in Americn Folk Music after his famous/infamous electrified set at Newport Festival.  A formative period not just for the man who would become one of the greats, but for the future direction of US music and beyond.  

Seeking out the legendary Woody Guthrie, now in hospital, he also meets Pete Seeger, who takes the young Bobby under his wing, and into his family.  With that lift, and lyrical quality of his songs, Dylan will take the folk world by storm, but wants to be more, wants to explore different directions and fusions.  Along the way relationships will be made and broken, fans won and lost, and our=trage generated.

The movie has a wonderful period feel, conveying the state of the US folk world of the time.  Plenty great music too, noit just Dylan songs, but Guthrie, Seeger, Baez, Cash...  The quality is impressive, the more so when you learn that the actors performed the voals themselves.  If you get Dylan's voice and phrasing right he's not too hard to impersonate, as his strengths do not lie in the techincal quality of his vocals.  But all credit to Monica Barbaro for doing such a great job in capturing the purity of Joan Baez.

Chalamet's also hit Dylan's mumbled speaking voice, which can be an issue, and there were times when subtitles would have helped!

It would be easy to pick up the few flaws in the movie, and the only one that irked was a lack of editing.  The movie felt overlong, and the final scene with Guthrie unnecessarily loaded with symbolism.  But the overall impression is triumphant.  A celebration of the times, a warts and all portrait (Dylan isn't always the best of human beings in his realtions with others), and a striking impression of just how big an impact his decsion to go electic was at the time.  

Well worth seeing.

Conclave

The Pope dies and the College of Cardinals must go into conclave to choose his successor.  The task of heading up the process falls to Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), who is on the more liberal wing of the church, and favours Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) to get the job, however reluctant he may appear to be to put his name forward.  There are other contenders of course, either slightly less liber, or far further to the right, and Lawrence and Bellini are joined in opposing the possibility of that backward-looking arch conservative Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) becoming their boss.

Preventing that, and navigating all the other challenges involved, requires a lot of backroom negotiating, skullduggery, and a few dirty tricks.  Added into the mix is a mystery cardinal who none of the others were aware of, Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz) from Afghanistan.  Why had the Pope kept him hidden away, and what views does he adhere to?  Who will win through in the end, and how many will be disgraced along the way.

An excellent cast, a reasonably gripping plot and some excellent cinematography.  Fiennes is at his best, despite one hammy moment of 'looking shady' as he investigates the secrets of the dead man's bedroom.  There are even a few laughs along the way, and it certainly has a surprise twist to the ending.  So it's not as dull as the subject matter might suggest.

But.  I found myself lacking any empathy for, or emotional engagelemnt with, any of the characters.  A bunch of old men choosing another old man to issue diktats to millions of people?  It's hard to sympathise with any of them, even those who are protrayed as more 'liberal'.  Maybe it was because the last film I went to see was Small Things Like These , but have any positive feelings for officials of the Catholic church were impossible to dredge up!

One element did make me laugh though, and I am still wondering if the image was coincidental or deliberate.  There were several visual references to The Handmaid's Tale, with the mass of Cardinals often looking like so many Offreds.  It certainly helped to poke fun at some of the more sinister aspects of the closeted plotters.

Dean Owens and the Sinners, Traverse

The annual pre-Xmas Dean Ownes gig is not to be missed.  Tis year, to allow a (much) bigger audience in, it moved from the usual cafe-bar location down into Traverse 1.  Dean confessed he was nervous about the switch, worrying that not enough tickets would sell to justify it.  It was a sell-out!

With good reason.  This is always a December treat for Dean's big local following.  On this aoccaison with full band.  Dean on guitar and vocals (and whistling), long term sidekick Craig Ross on lead guitar, Adam McMillan on bass, Andy Duncan at the drum kit, and Philip Cardwell blowing trumpet.  The latter indicating that Owens is still very much in his TexMex phase.  The first half was mostly newer material, much of it from the album to be released next year, including several songs no live audience had yet heard.  The second set dived more into the back catalogue, with some very familiar singlaong numbers included (such as Raining in Glasgow).    

Dean was as good as ever, Craig Ross in fine form, and the crowd loved it.  I'm already looking forward to next December...