Heading in the right direction is ‘Towards the Moon’ a musical in development by Andrew McGregor.
The plot could be the title of a song ‘Every Loser Wins’ as it’s about a twenty-four old dreamer living a fairly mundane life in Greenock while dreaming of becoming the hottest author around.
The character of ‘Bobby’ is central to the piece as the wheels start to come off life as he knows it: he loses the call centre job, the steady girlfriend and nearly his life after being knocked down by a car.
His near-death experience and visit from an angel empowers him to live the dream. A sudden change of fortune lets the audience see the ‘Hyde’ side of the character as he works out his rage on all that was wrong about his life and how he works through it to get back on track to the moon.
Ryan Paterson makes the journey through the emotions with consummate ease and he is the lynchpin of the production. At this stage it’s more a play with music, but that’s no bad thing as the dialogue is worth listening to.
He is ably supported by Fiona Carty and Kylie McMahon as the two girls in his life with Jocelyn Regina as the angel. Sam, the pal and colleague who gets the girl is convincingly played by Douglas Walker particularly when defending his family from the raging ‘Bobby’.
It’s difficult in the pond that is Scottish theatre not to see shades of characters from other shows and films with nods to ‘Gregory’ from Ryan and Alex Caird as Mr McKenzie reminded me of David Anderson.
The show is thoughtful and funny and the music is also a mixture. The solo from Fiona Carty around the break-up was a highlight as well as the ones around employment. A couple of the ensemble items were not so easy on the ear but all round this is a piece worthy of development.
The director moves the actors and furniture around smoothly and there were a couple of really inspired moments. The show is for ages 12+, but mainly based on the language rather than content.
Show times: runs til 26th August, 12.00 (noon)
Ticket prices: £7.50 - £10.50