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REVIEW BLACK COMEDY KILL JOHNNY GLENDENNING Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 22 Oct–Sat 8 Nov. Reviewed at Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh ●●●●●
On the surface, Kill Johnny Glendenning is an ironic romp that infects gangster comedy with Glaswegian themes: sectarianism, the Big Man of underground legend, the fashionable West End lady and her dubious family connections. David Ireland has fun as the titular terrorist, raging and chasing journalist Bruce (Steven McNicoll) and kingpin Andrew (Paul Samson from River City), while the banter between hopeless hitman Dominic (Philip Cairns) and his Goodfellas-obsessed sidekick Skootch (Josh Whitelaw) adds buffoonery to the brutality.
However, thanks to playwright DC Jackson’s subtle structure (the events are played in reverse) and frequent allusions to films, the action is undercut by a sharp commentary on how, even in gangland, masculine identity is bolstered less by genuine hardness than the performance of it.
PREVIEW BODY WORKS INCORRUPTIBLE FLESH: MESSIANIC REMAINS The Arches, Glasgow, Tue 11 & Wed 12 Nov In the past 20 years, Ron Athey has become one of the most celebrated performance artists in the world. His provocative performances, which focus on his body and evoke, in their extremity, an almost medieval vision of ecstasy, question the place of the body in art and the meaning of pain. Having begun the Incorruptible Flesh series in Glasgow, Athey says ‘coming back to Scotland is kind of the full cycle on this process. There have been four sections, different phases in different places.’ Athey’s performances are not for the easily shocked: he acts on his body in violent ways and invites the audience into his space. The 2006 manifestation of Incorruptible Flesh was an extended session of participation. ‘The first half,’ he explains, ‘refers back to 2006 allowing the audience to touch me, but rather than a six-hour duration of touching it is more like a 20-minute gangbang!’
Dominic is lost in Glendenning’s whirlwind of For both artist and audience, Incorruptible Flesh
sectarian bravado and macho swagger. Ireland’s energy, the play’s acerbic wit and high body count, however, are deceptive as Jackson’s comedy resolves on a sentimental note. Yet he delivers a sharp satire on the gap between organised crime’s nastiness and its media glamour. (Gareth K Vile) is an intense experience, but Athey’s references to earlier art makes it more than just a shocking display. And despite the ritualistic aspects, ‘I say that I actually take it from an atheist’s viewpoint and the need for ritual,’ he observes. ‘I don’t practice anything but I look at everything.’ (Gareth K Vile)
PREVIEW RELIGIOUS ROMP CARDINAL SINNE Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 22 Oct–Sat 1 Nov
Raymond Burke’s audacious new comedy, directed by Glasgay! favourite Grant Smeaton, is an outrageous romp through a moral labyrinth of Catholicism, covert sexuality, abuse and hypocrisy. When the titular cardinal is nabbed by a journalist due to his less than lily-white behaviour, his whole world could be ripped apart. ‘This project came about after the surprise
resignation of Scotland’s top Catholic last year amidst allegations about sexual conduct,’ Smeaton explains. ‘This was just before the election of the new pope. It seemed like too good a story to miss.’ ‘I grew up in a home which wasn’t very religious,’
Smeaton continues. ‘However, growing up gay through the 70s in Glasgow, I was well aware of the prevailing attitude towards my sexuality from churches of all flavours.’ But he adds: ‘It’s not an attack on the church. It’s about the abuse of power. I suppose the story could equally take place against the backdrop of some other big organisation like the Westminster government or the BBC.’ Expect a comedy of secrets and sceptres that will ever-so-gently probe double standards with gallows humour, while carrying a real message of humanity and tolerance. (Lorna Irvine)
REVIEW SUFFRAGETTE DRAMA MRS BARBOUR’S DAUGHTERS Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 18 Oct. Reviewed at Òran Mór, Glasgow ●●●●●
When the much-loved David MacLennan passed away in June this year, he left a massive legacy. For over a decade, his Òran Mór lunchtime showcase A Play A Pie and A Pint has grown in scope, becoming an international brand. Encompassing different genres, from farce to drama to their famous satirical subversive pantomimes, its remit is to cover established writers and nurture new talent alike. The current autumn / winter season is its 21st, featuring collaborations with other production companies including, in the case of Mrs Barbour’s Daughters, Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre.
A regular writer and collaborator at PPP, AJ Taudevin returns with this story of women’s rights and suffrage. Like her other plays, Mrs Barbour’s Daughters is unashamedly political. Taking the titular role of campaigner for women’s rights, Libby McArthur traces the struggle through the generations, linking David Cameron’s controversial divisive bedroom tax to the rent increases of 1915.
What initially seems like merely a stand-off between Mrs
Barbour's namesake, Mary (an excellent Anna Hepburn), and her care worker niece Joan (McArthur again) becomes a symbol of the fight for suffrage in Glasgow. Threatened with eviction from her flat, and seeking a soothing balm in the old songs on her wireless, Mary has become an irascible old lady, while, in flashback, Joan’s activist mother Grace (Gail Watson) sings classic political anthems: the three reveal the generations of women fighting for their rights in different times and ways.
With its short running time, Mrs Barbour’s Daughters is a concise and moving sketch of the feminist tradition and makes its point using sweet harmony, not rabble rousing. (Lorna Irvine)
16 Oct–13 Nov 2014 THE LIST 97