“A mixed bag of stellar acting and poignant themes“
The Tron Theatre’s Studio3 shows – Alright Sunshine, Fleg, and Fruitcake – presented strongly written, boldly original plays from some of the best and newest of Scottish writers. Commissioned by A Play, A Pie, and A Pint, the three plays were performed across a single afternoon and evening, though are now available to watch as stand-alone performances for the next short while. Each of the plays pushed limits in various ways, to varying degrees of success.
The strongest performance and writing came from Alright Sunshine. Written by Isla Cowan, directed by Debbie Hannan, and acted by Danni Heron, the play revolved around a monologue from a police woman, Nicky, and how she copes with her job under suspicion of police brutality. The play started casual, conversational, and fantastically relatable – only to subvert expectations with a dive into something dark and electric as Nicky fell apart. While some sections of the script felt repetitive at times, the repetition of “Dinny be a girl” was one aspect that worked to chill and move audiences alike. The audience was forced to confront the difficult emotions about being a police officer, and their dual role as perpetrator and supposed protector of the city. Heron gave a gripping performance, demonstrating phenomenal acting throughout the entirety of the fifty-minute piece. Dealing with dark themes that many women can relate to about men, their abuse of power, Cowan’s writing is superb, and I look forward to seeing the future of her work.
Next up was Fleg by Meghan Tyler, an absurdist play set in East Belfast after the death of the Queen. With delightful characters such as Caroline (Jo Freer) and Bobby (Kevin Lennon), two staunch unionists who mourn the Queen’s death in hilarious fashion (“She was too young!” had the audience in stitches) and the living version of the British Empire as a sexy woman (Danni Heron) who pole dances, the play doesn’t disappoint in terms of comedy. It was also an insightful take on how extemist ideology can take hold of people in dark moments. I do believe the themes of xenophobia and non-binary identity could have been more tactfully handled, and would have benefitted from a longer run-time. Some scenes felt rushed, again perhaps due to the limited run-time, but some scenes were especially moving, such as the exchange between the council worker (Danni Heron) and Caroline: “Are you happy?” Caroline was asked, which prompted her decisions for the rest of the play. Overall, the play was a little on the nose, but the larger than life characters and the fantastic actors certainly helped convey the central themes of the downfall of Britain, domestic violence, and the relevance of cosplay and jam sandwiches.
The final performance, Fruitcake by Frances Poet, posited itself as a “romantic comedy for the existentially weary,” though felt unsure at times what it wanted to be. It switched between moments of heartfelt reflection on a friendship broken by mental illness and grief to a comedy, seeming sometimes to be poking fun at the themes it represented. Mikey (played by Kevin Lennon) was often the butt of the joke, his ‘visions’ being played as comedy despite how much distress they seemed to be causing him. At times, it was hard to know whether to laugh or not at certain jokes during tense, beautiful moments, and overall might have benefitted from less comedy and more focus on the relationship developed between Mikey and Holly (Jo Freer), the latter of whom sometimes seemed unsympathetic towards Mikey’s clear struggle. Overall, the writing was powerful, but struggled in its genre, leaving us laughing, but uneasy about if we should be at all.