Anna Burnside reviews a production that ‘walks the fine line between panto and popular theatre with huge confidence and charm.’
The Capaldis are a big family. Dad Gordon jokes about wanting a full football team while eldest daughter Gwen thinks that Julia Donaldson’s book A Squash and a Squeeze sums up her living conditions.
One morning, Gwen abandons her post as chief getter-of-everyone-ready-for school and sets out on an impromptu road trip that forces everyone to rethink what family means to them.
This new piece by Frances Poet was commissioned by PACE, Paisley’s powerhouse youth theatre group. Several of the cast were involved in the development process, and it’s a joy to see so many talented young people owning the stage.
The professionals, playing the adults, are also PACE alumni and do their best to keep the weans from stealing the show.
Poet’s script is not much help to them as the kids get many of the best lines. Ed, played by Tate Lowther, is particularly adorable as the baby nerd whose meltdowns can be averted by some stock market news.
The jokes are well embedded in the text. Each of the young Capaldis is named after the biggest pop star from the time of their birth, and Ed gets the biggest laugh of the night when he admits he’s more of a Milliband than a Sheerin.
There are many mistakes this production could have made, including over-sentimentality and too many TikTok references. It avoids them all and walks the fine line between panto and popular theatre with huge confidence and charm. It’s a credit to PACE and is a top night out.
There is No Room in Our Bathroom for Lewis Capaldi performed at the Paisley Arts Centre. Its run has finished.
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