P H O T O I
: L E S L E B L A C K
SEASON PREVIEW A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT Òran Mór, Glasgow, from Mon 11 Feb
In these politically fraught times, A Play, A Pie and A Pint brings the feel-good factor back to the (lunch) table with homegrown plays which are often humourous, full of pathos and feature big musical numbers. Created and curated by the late David MacLennan in 2004, PPP (as it has become affectionately known by its loyal audience) has spread out worldwide to become a theatrical institution. This time around, the team is doing something
different for the spring and summer run by reviving 15 old favourites. The new season also features the 500th PPP show, a landmark that will be celebrated in grand style with the return of Morag Fullarton’s cheeky Hollywood homage Casablanca: The Gin Joint, starring Gavin Mitchell as a wonderfully deadpan Rick Blaine. Liz Lochhead’s Scots reworking of Molière’s classic
comedy Tartuffe is back; Spuds (pictured) by Andy McGregor offers a distinctly Glaswegian satire in the form of a chip shop musical; Douglas Maxwell flips the ‘Pygmalion’ paradigm with his play A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity; and a Fife legend is back on the oche as Jocky Wilson Said returns. Another Scots star, droll comic Chic Murray, is lovingly portrayed by Dave Anderson in A Funny Place for a Window by Stuart Hepburn. For those who are after shows featuring more
glamorous icons, Annie Caulfield’s Dusty Won’t Play looks at the time the principled Ms Springfield refused to play a segregated area in the 1960s. Meanwhile, the irrepressible Joyce Falconer squeezes into her white rhinestone encrusted jumpsuit and karate chops her way to our hearts in Morna Young’s glorious Doric comedy Aye Elvis. With such successful productions in the offing, it’s definitely worth an afternoon trip out. (Lorna Irvine)
THEATRE | PREVIEWS 92 THE LIST 1 Feb–31 Mar 2019