Maggie & Me, Traverse

 Already a successful memoir in print, this is not a straight stage adaptation of the original, but a look at how Damian Barr faced up to his childhood traumas in writing the book.  

Barr (Gary Lamont) is trying to write his memoir, but having problems facing up to the truth of the traumatic abuse he suffered as a child.  His partner Mike (Douglas Rankine) is sympathetic, but uncertain.  So Barr starts to revisit his past in fantasy enactments, guided by the ghost of the Wicked Witch of Grantham, whose brutal actions dominagted the policital landscape of his formative years.  Notably the vile Section 28.

With Thatcher as his guide to separating fantasy from reality, the adult Barr watches his teenage self interact with friends, family, school, all the while shying away from the events he most needs to revisit if he's to make his memoir honest.  he gets there in the end, of course, but it's an effective illustration of how difficult the process must have been for hom.  Along the way there are plenty of laughs, a bit of song and dance, and moments of pathos and tragedy.  An entertainment show with a dark underside.  

In general this structure works well, if a little forced at times, and the writer writing about his writing is a better idea that a straight retelling of the memoir.  Enjoyable, but not as memorable as the book.

John McCusker & Friends, Kings Place, London

 John McCusker has been a mainstay of the Scottish, and UK, folk scene for decades.  A key figure in several bands, an in demand producer, and a regular with Mark Knopfler's live band.  So it's no surprise that he has a great number of talented friends to draw on for this gig.

In addition to John, we also got Mike McGoldrick, Toby Shaer, Kris Drever, and Simin Thoumire.  Plus a variety of guests who came and went as the occasion demanded - Roddy Woomble, Kim Carnie, Jackie Oates, Sam Kelly.  So we had a strong linneup of top Scottish and English folk talent.

Greast sets, greart songs, great craic.  Effectively a brief reunion of supergroup Drever, McCusker, Woomble.  And some songs for the audience to join in on.  A perfect evening.

James V : Katherine, Eastgate Theatre, Peebles

This was a very different offering to the previous plays in series. They were full length plays, with complicated and impressive sets, dramatic costumes, big casts and star names. Playing to big audiences. Everything about #5 reverses those attributes. Minimalist set and costumes, a cast of four, playing six parts, a run time of less than ninety minutes, no big name star. And the titular king only features towards the end.

So a very different creature from what went before, and expectations need recalibrating. As before it does take it's starting point from real events. In this case the death of Scotland's first protestant martyr, Patrick Hamilton (Benjamin Osugo). But the story is centred on the impact of said death on his sister, Katherine (Catriona Faint), and her avoidance of the same fate as her sibling. This is where fiction takes over, as Katherine battles with her conscience, the social impact of her (female) lover (Alyth Ross), and the influence of the king, leading her to choose love and life over faith.

When I say the set was minimalist I mean there was one wooden bench, and little else. Costumes were sombre, with barely a nod to period. But the theatricality is still there. The early scenes, with preacher Patrick in full rant at times, felt overly polemical, but the drama took over and improved as things progressed. It picked up markedly during Katherine's trial and the intervention by the young king (Sean Connor), with his speech bringing threat and comedy and a sense of balance. And a strong ending to conclude.

There were several contemporary themes that resonated, as is usually the case from Rona Munro's pen. The conflict between ideologies, and love and humanity (with love winning out in this case). Societal dangers of clashing religious extremes. The casual corruption of power. All so familiar right now.

My initial sense was one of disappointment, but that was only because expectations were not being met. Recalibrated, and with the script delivering more as time passed, I enjoyed the experience. It might be the weakest of the James series to date (will there be a James VI?), but there's still plenty to entertain, and ponder over. Worth seeing.

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, Festival Theatre

I hadn't been to a recording of 'Clue' for almost twenty years.  But here I was again.  New chair, new panellists, but same producer and pianist.  Same games, same audeince responses required.  And the same comedy that can leave an audience aching with laughter.

If you don't know what ISIHAC is about then where have you been?  It's been running on Radio 4 since 1972, and this was a recording of episodes five and six of series 81.  The Festival Theatre was sold out within a few days of the show being announced, as are all their appearances.  This is cult attending as well as listening.  

So the format is well worn, predictable, comfortable.  The producer (still John Naismith, who was there for all the shows I have been to before) comes out to do a bit of warming up.  The teams take their seats and tell a joke each.  Tonight we had Rory Bremner, Pippa Evans, Milton Jones and Fred MacAulay.  On comes the regular Chair, Jack Dee, and piano accompanist, the much abused Colin Sell.  Two shows are recorded, one in each half, with more than enough material to be edited down into a tight 30 minutes radio broadcast.

John and Colin were there for all the shows I saw, all those years ago.  The others were new for, sadly, the Chair and regular panellists of those times are dead now, other than Graeme Garden.  But noithing else is new.  The format is the same, the games are the same, and the silliness is identical.  because silliness is what this show is all about, and something the audeince is encourage to particpate in.  Jokes and puns and wordplay.  Songs sung badly.  (Although Evans has a very impressive vocal style.)  The chair's disdain for the teams, the pianist and the audience.  The 'laser dispay board' and the lovely Samantha.  All still there, all still essential elements of the fun.

It goes worng at times, but that just makes it funnier.  There's the odd politcal comment, but nothing too in depth.  The emphasis, the entire ethos, is about fun, laughter and determined silliness.  Long may it contin ue to be so.  A night at a Clue show is a night to treasure, whoever is up on stage.

Nye, NT Live

 

An NT Live show, live theatre beamed into the cinema.  A focus on the great Nye Bevan.

But what sort of beast was this play?  Biography? Social History? Political Polemic? Entertainment? A bit of everything, including a full blown song and dance routine.

Social History - Events around one of the most important events in UK history, from the perspective of a leading member it's most important government. Showing socialism can work. Showing the huge improvements it brought.

Political polemic - very much so, and necessarily so, at a time when the NHS, as a principle, is under attack more than ever. When the need, and underlying principle, remain as much as ever. It may have gone a bit wayward, but that's the nature of all big beasts over time.

Entertainment - definitely. Funny, warm, human, with great performances.

Structure has Nye dying, and dreaming of past life. Childhood, union leader, councillor, backbench MP and maverick, Churchill opponent, Minister and pioneer. Lover too. But always clear what period he's in, be it with his dying dad, or Clem as PM.

And Biography?  Partly so.  It does tend to hagiography at times, but still gives some of Nye's imperfections as a human being. Getting women to look after him. His inability to compromise (up to a point). But the passion for socialism is there, the things that made him a great man are very much there.

The performances are strong, with Sheen magnificent and at his passionate best.  If anything grated it was have Clem Attlee played by a woman.  Nothing wrong with that in itself - but the voice made hom sound too much like the Wicked Witch of Grantham at times, a later, lesser, PM who was not fit to lick Attlee's boots, and did so much to detroy his achievements.

The play is structured around Bevan slowly dying in his bed.  In an NHS hospital of course (which does not reflect the actual event).  In dreams and conversations and rants he takes us through tyhe events and struggles that brough about the dream of free health care for all, for a service that did as much for the poor as for the rich.  Of course the story is romatnticised, but it was, in many ways, a romantic ideal in itself.  Most of all it feels ocntemporary, necessary.

How we need his likes again.  But what chance, when a good man like Corbyn is charater assassinated into oblivion by the right wing media?

Alice Howe and Freebo, Traverse, TradFest

 

The equal billing reflected the content of the show.  While Howe did the most songs, it was as much the Freebo show, with a lot of his own material too.  Their own songs, with the exception of Alice's perfect rendition of Jonie Mitchell's A Case of You.  Good songs too, mostly with a country music inflection, but other influences present.  Personal songs, with a story behind them, which both related with great humour.  And in Freebo's case, a couple of funny songs which had the audience laughing.  Howeve plyed guitar, mostly as accompaniment, but plays well.  Freebo is the more virtuosotic of the pair, playing both guitar and electric bass.  It's first time I've seen someone play lead guitar parts on a 5 string bass, and it was a pleasure to be induced to the sensation.

So both were entertaining, more than competent musicians and singers (Howe has a wonderfully clear and pure voice, with excellent phrasing), and provided us with a memorable hour.  And she can say 'Edinburgh' pretty good for an American!

Police Dog Hogan, Glasshouse, Gateshead

 It had been well over a decade since we first saw PDH.  There had been tickets bought since, but going unsiued due to force majeure (heavy snow in one case, covid in another).  So this was eagerly anticipated, and I wonderted what changes there would have been.  

A different line up for a start, with only three of the original group still there, and acting as the front men of the band.  James Studholme (guitar and lead vocals), Tim Dowling (banjo, electric guitar, backing vocals and occasional lead vocalist) and Eddie Bishop (fiddle and mandolin, and backing vocals) have been there since the beginning, and have developed over the years into slick entertainers, as well as much improved in the musicianship.  They have been joined by Shahen Galichian on keyboards and accordion, Don Bowen on bass guitar and Alistair Hamer on drums, with all of this trio also adding to the vocals.

I recalled, from that long ago gig, that PDH were competent musicians, who played within their limits, wrote excellent songs with memorable lyrics, and were good entertainers.  Much of that description still applies.  But they are even more entertaining, with some slick comedy built into the act.  The musical abilites have improved with time, so that their limits are higher than before.  Galichian adds another level, as the standout talent of the line up.  And the songs lyrics remain of a high standard.  Fummy, sad, ruminative, with clever structures and rhymes.  The melodies are decent too.

The style is derive from country, bluegrass and folk, with a West Country twist here and there.  A very Englsih form of Ameicana.  Studholme sings well.  Not the greatest voice technically, but distinctive, characterful, with imaginative phrasing.  Dowling impressed with his songs too.  

There was a good mix of the familiar, including the nearest they've had to 'hits' (Shitty White Wine and West Country Boy), and newer material.  Regular changes in tempo and sentiment and themes kept it all feeling fresh.  From the whimsical, like returning to Devon on the A303, to the melancholy, with reflections of the death of fathers.

I hope it isn't another decade before I see them again.