David Bownes has extracted strongly comic performances from Andy Gray and Allan Stewart for the Scottish leg of this touring production of the original West End show. Which is to be expected of a duo who are widely known for their comic work but whose previous appearances together have been confined to pantomime.
Comedy is certainly what their audiences expect as they get to work on Charlie (Stewart), Jake (Gray) and the dozen other characters they are asked to create. While not pandering to Scottish pantomime style, the pair doff their caps in its general direction and use it as a starting point from which they can both bring their individual skills to bear on a play that has, at its heart, a poignancy and sense of tragedy.
The production does not attempt to get to grips with any of the play’s potential serious themes, such as loss of masculinity, choosing instead to let such ideas give depth to the succession of comic characters. Such an insatiable appetite for laughs would, however, be slightly better served if Gray was able to drop just a bit more of his natural buffoon.
In particular, his Sean, whose suicide gives the play its title, needs more attention to the detail. Otherwise, his hit-and-miss attitude to an Irish accent matters not a jot. Indeed, he is a suitable foil for accomplished impersonator Stewart, who brings a more precise sense of craft and observation to his own creations. And at their peak they are a sheer delight to watch.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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