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Good
Things. - Tour & World Premiere.
Writer - Liz Lochhead.
Director - Maureen Beattie.
Designer - Finlay McLay.
Lighting Designer - Simon Wilkinson.
Costume Designer - Liz Boulton.
Cast - here.
Company - Borderline Theatre Company, North Harbour Street, Ayr
KA8 8AA, www.borderlinetheatre.co.uk.
Venue - Tron Theatre, 63 Trongate, Glasgow, www.tron.co.uk, 0141
552 4267.
Tour Dates - here Touring 16 September-27
November, various venues.
Runtime - 2 hours 15 mins, with 15 minute interval.
Reviewer - Sarah Jane Murray.
Comic, moving - throughout entertaining.
The big 5-0 - thankfully something this reviewer has a good while to get
to. But the opening of Good Things makes clear the generation it
is aiming it, with the Rolling Stones’ ‘Time (Is On My Side)’ reaching
out to the 40+somethings filling up the seats of the Tron. Nodding along
to the music, they comfortably drift into the warm tone of nostalgia and
familiarity of Liz Lochhead’s newly commissioned show . . .
Moth-eaten tweed jackets are not the only thing left on the shelf in the
Glasgow charity shop in which Susan volunteers. Tony, her husband of many
a year, has had a spring-clean too, swapping his older model for a newer
and altogether shinier version, in the form of girl-about-town Natalie.
Suddenly single, Susan refuses to be out-done by her ex, and – with the
aid of loyal fellow volunteer Frazer – is determined to find happiness
. . . even if it involves the humiliation of signing up to a speed dating
agency. Unfortunately for Susan, work gets somewhat in the way of her
‘quest’, with her forgetful dad, keen admirers and busybody customers
plying for her attentions.
Lochhead has once again honed in on a tight-knit community for
her new piece, displaying her skill for acute observation, and her ability
to find humour in the everyday. While a charity shop may not seem the
most inspiring of settings, it is one that is recognizable to most of
us. And, at the service of Lochhead’s pen, both the backdrop and
the situation are wholly welcoming (particularly with the help of Finlay
McLay’s assemblage of unwanted curiosities, tempting the bargain-hungry
among the audience to have a rummage).
The small cast competently double up, creating a series of characters
all- too familiar to West Enders. Molly Innes,is cringe-worthily
spot-on as nosy Bearsden type Marjorie, and she floats into her other
role as the shop’s most thrifty customer Doris without a glitch. Kenneth
Bryans – who also multi-tasks seamlessly - presents a heartfelt Frazer,
painfully in denial of his sexuality, but comforted by his affectionate
relationship with Susan. Vincent Friell’s performance is quietly
sincere, and the fate of widower David inspires genuine concern. Finally,
Annette Staines in the lead is a ball of energy, buzzing simultaneously
with defiance at being pitied, and zeal for her newfound freedom.
Lochhead’s script is laugh-out-loud funny, although the pain of
lost love is never abandoned, and Maureen Beattie clearly shows
her acting experience in the vibrant direction, which is sympathetic to
both the jokes and the emotion. Both should be proud of a show, which
is at times comic, at times moving, and, throughout, entertaining.
©Sarah Jane Murray 16 September 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Cast:
Susan - Annette Staines .
David – Vincent Friell .
Doris & others - Molly Innes .
Frazer & others - Kenneth Bryans.
Tour
Dates
16 - 25 Sep at 7:30pm Glasgow Tron 0141 552 4267.
27 Sep at 7:30pm Peebles Eastgate Arts Centre 01721 725777.
28 Sep at 7:30pm Largs Barrfields Theatre 01475 676182.
29 Sep at 7:30pm Livingston Howden Park Centre 01506 433634.
30 Sep at 7:30pm Castle Douglas Lochside Theatre 01556 504506.
1 Oct at 7:30pm Falkirk Town Hall Tkts from Steeple BO 01324 506850.
2 Oct at 7:30pm Stirling MacRobert 01786 466 666.
7 Oct at 7:30pm Ayr Gaiety Theatre 01292 611222.
8 Oct at 7:30pm Greenock Arts Guild Theatre 01475 723038.
9 Oct at 7:30pm Dunfermline Carnegie Hall 01383 314000.
11 & 12 Oct at 7:30pm Inverness Eden Court 01463 234234.
13 Oct at 7:45pm Cumbernauld Theatre 01236 732 887.
14 & 15 Oct at 7:30pm Musselburgh Brunton Theatre 0131 665 2240.
16 Oct at 7:30pm Kilmarnock Palace Theatre 01563 554900.
19 Oct - 6 Nov Tues to Sats at 8pm also Sat mats at 2:30pm St Andrews
Byre 01334 475000.
11 - 27 Nov Tues to Sats at 7:30pm also Sat mats at 2:30pm Perth Theatre
01738 621031.
Theatre Editor, Thelma Good's e-mail is
thelma@edinburghguide.com
Although every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the
information presented in these pages, no responsibility can be accepted
for any errors or omissions.
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