THERE'S NONE OF THE SENTIMENT OF OTHER
GLASGOW TENEMENT PLAYS
Love and money
Steve Cramer reviews Chris Hannah’s Elizabeth Gordon Quinn, the latest production from the NTS, and commends a top night out
be old adage. ‘when poverty walks in the door. love walks out‘. has more relevance to (‘hris llannan's new version of his two decades-old 'l'raverse hit. here produced by the NTS. than might at first seem to be the case. Beneath this engrossing study of moral ambivalence during the (ireat War there is a truth that is just as accessible today. For however we wish to create an emotional life as a
discrete entity. quite separate from the fiscal facts of
living. these two sides of ourselves are inherently linked; love flourishes in an environment we create for it. and perishes when our circumstances change. On the face of it. there’s a touch of Sean ()‘(‘asey‘s The Plough and The Stars about (‘hris llannan‘s eponymous tenement dweller. Very like Nora in ()‘(‘asey‘s Dublin of Nib lili/abeth ((‘ara Kelly) lives in a world where high art. in this case a piano that she sees as an emblem of greater things. is pre— eminent. Yet. unlike ()‘(‘asey's protagonist of six decades before. lili/abeth‘s piano is not a simple symbol of bourgeois aspiration — it is about human transcendence and love — snobbery is a smaller part of the deal than you might at first think. As with ()'(‘asey it is a mighty political upheaval that sparks a
personal crisis. this time the (ilasgow rent strike of
WIS.
in this milieu. we meet husband William (Billy McColl). a civil servant in reduced circumstances after his redundancy. He does his best to placate lili/abeth about this. but their newspaper carpeted flat. ostensibly never a showpiece. is sliding from bohemianism to something more impoverished and desperate. Daughter Maura (Lesley Hart) seeks order in this chaos. eschewing her mother's spendthrift
nonconformism in favour of the certainties of
political action. She joins Mrs Cunningham (Pauline Goldsmith) in the quest for social justice that is the rent strike. Her brother Aidan (Robin Laing) has
deserted the army before the (iallipoli expedition and appears in the second act. on the run from the firing squad. which Mrs Black upstairs (Myra \lcl‘adycnl. hearing her own trauma from the war. feels is his dcsct‘ls.
There is none of the sentiment here that has become the hallmark of other (ilasgow tenement plays. and Neil \N’armington‘s design. stripped to the bear essence of the stair above a clarty'. believable front room. emphasises this difference. Instead. the piece examines a complex individualist. whose ('atholicism itself escapes the usual classilications. lili/abeth is in denial about parental responsibility. economic reality and ideological imperatives this renders her
monstrous and sympathetic by turns. and makes for
compelling drama.
If there are one or two points w here llanuan‘s script might require tightening and lows. there is also an immense richness to it. and John 'l'iffany ~s production is tremendously alert to its emotional and political cadences. lle‘s helped by an exhilarating performance from Kelly at the centre. This actress‘s frequent extended absences from the Scottish stage have long been a mystery to this reviewer. and the ticks. twitches and craftily timed climaxes. each nuance built carefully from the ground up. all go to indicate a silver lining for a production cursed at planning stage by the loss of Siobhan Redmond in the lead.
She's helped by strong support from a generally exceptional cast. llart's w'ocbcgone daughter. struggling to impose order on catastrophic domestic arrangements is also strong. while there are a couple of clever comic turns from John Ramage. particularly as a put-upon coalman. A compelling night of theatre.
Perth Theatre, Wed 10 - Sat 13 May, then touring oooo
' Theatre >l<
Hit
THE BEST THEATRE 8 DANCE
* How to Steal a Diamond Vox Motus. a smart and very accomplished company with strong visual and physical elements to their work present this entertaining caper about the theft of a diamond from a South African mine. Tron Theatre. Glasgow, until Sat 13 May.
III Elizabeth Gordon Quinn High quality entertainment from the NTS in John Tiffany's production of Chris Hannah's rewritten 1985 Traverse hit. Cara Kelly makes for an outstanding lead in this tragedy about an eccentric individual in the middle of the 1915 Glasgow rent strike. Perth Theatre, Wed 70—Saf 73 May
* lilo Mean City The Citizens' Theatre revives this Alex Norton adaptation of the classic Glasgow novel. Andrew Clark leads Jeremy Raison’s production, which traces the rise of a notoriously violent gangster in the criminal underworld, a kind of Reservwege Dogs, if you like. Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow, Thu 18 May—Sat 3 Jun
* After The End Roxana Silbert's production of Dennis Kelly's play was praised at the fringe of 2005. A tense and claustrophobic thriller with a political subtext. it tells the story of two people trapped in a fallout shelter. and the suffering a sexual fixation can cause. Tron 7heatre, Glasgow, Tue 16-Sat 20 May
* Gorgeous Avatar The first major play by Jules Horne. this piece is the Traverse’s second premier of the year. directed by Philip Howard. Telling the story of a woman whose internet romance suddenly threatens to show up at her home, this looks a thoughtful sort of comedy. Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 20 May.
' k" ‘.“:, x'v" THE LIST 83