Anna Burnside reviews the latest offering from A Play, a Pie and a Pint: a script with 'intriguing characters'.
Uncle Jack is living in a squalid airport hotel room. Rob and Erin are adding blow-up palms and flamingo balloons to transform it for a tropical-themed going away party.
It turns out that Uncle Jack has bought an okapi at the Barras: not to keep as an exotic pet, but to sell to Lewis Capaldi. This will fund his departure and allow him to say goodbye to Travelodge life forever.
In the meantime the okapi, named Sinead O’Connor, has been lodging in the en suite for three weeks. Uncle Jack has been performing his ablutions downstairs as she dislikes the noise of the flush.
As a small-time and ineffective hustler, Uncle Jack is no stranger to wild plans that misfire and get rich quick schemes that end in disaster. Why should sourcing a rare African mammal for the bard of Byres Road be any different?
George Docherty is effective as Uncle Jack, weak and useless yet protective of the weird-looking creature lodging in his lavvy. He has a believable Irish accent, gets many of the best lines and does grizzled charm as effectively as any dodgy animal salesman.
Rebekah Lumsden as his nephew’s feisty girlfriend takes none of his nonsense. Joshua Haynes, caught between the two, manages to slip many of the confusions of young manhood in between the gags.
Writer Raymond Wilson has a strong ear for dialogue and writes intriguing characters. It would be great to take them to a less absurd setting and see what happens next.
Lewis Capaldi Goes Tropical performs at A Play, a Pie and a Pint at Oran Mor until May 4, 2024.
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Photo by Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.
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