FringeReview Scotland 2024
Men Don’t Talk
Genesis Theatre Productions, supported by Scottish Men's Shed Association and Tobar and Mull Theatre as part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival.
Genre: Fringe Theatre, Theatre
Venue: Cumbernauld Theatre at the Lantern House,
Festival: FringeReview Scotland
Low Down
Clare Prenton’s script is the star managing to deliver an authentic piece of narrative whilst never straying into the misogynistic, racist clichés of people of a certain age. The direction is light enough that it feels naturalistic but strong enough that we feel we are being taken on a journey made good by very good acting. The set is excellent. Just simply excellent.
Review
So, three men walk into a shed. A curmudgeon, a widower and an alcoholic. What follows is no joke.
And yet, it may be my age but the first thought I had when I saw that particular set was where’s the fridge? You cannae be leaving the milk out for long or it will go off.
This is an interesting piece of theatre for a number of different reasons. First of all, it is dealing with men’s health. You would think, given the amount of attention that’s given to men on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis, that there might be no need for there to be something specifically within theatre for men to go to in order to support their mental well-being. After all, as we all know, there is a divergence within the pay of and status of many professions that see men always being picked before women. However, once you understand the statistics, that the vast majority of people within Scotland who commit suicide are men, the idea that men don’t talk and that boys don’t cry suddenly becomes something that demands attention.
And so, here we have a performance piece looking at gentlemen of a certain age as part of the Men’s Shed Movement, which has been massively important in the improvement of men’s mental health throughout the whole of Scotland.
And here we also have a beautifully scripted piece, which begins at a meeting, which sometimes hits the mark, sometimes doesn’t. It is difficult when you are talking to people in the audience who are potentially not there, but actually are there, suggesting that they may be new members or just through the door, or part of a group in a pub, that it does hit the mark when the audience accept that, or comes across as being a little difficult because audience members feel awkward.
There was a bit of both of that tonight, and it did lessen a little the impact of the beginning. The second half of it, with the interaction between our three characters, who are brilliantly played and poignantly poised, Billy Mac as Jimmy, Greg Powrie as Tom, and Dougal Lee as Ken, motor this narrative by showing not only the sensitive side of each of the characters and sensible ideas they have to support each other, but also manage to demonstrate an inner strength that allows them to be vulnerable with each other and share their innermost feelings and thoughts. Particularly poignant parts of this included the rant against women by Ken which manages to give us an opportunity to see the perfectly well balanced upset he has without it veering into misogyny. There is a likeable quality in the performance by Powrie which allows us to believe that he’s not all that serious but by the same token has a serious intention at the back of him.
That…
And also, a live kettle.
Who would have thought that such a thing would be so important on stage? But in life…
The set is brilliantly done, and I really did enjoy having the opportunity to see a full set on stage, and Peebles and District Men’s Shed in particular should be commended for that. Mike Collier-Prickett, Peter Marchant and Scenic Artist Casey Campbell manage to pitch perfectly what it is that we imagine is to be the environment in which these men meet.
And so, the interaction of poignancy on stage that we observe gets across the message in a highly creative manner allowing us to see not just ourselves those of us who are men but perhaps also observe those fathers, uncles, grandfathers, older people as well – even the women, Tom – as well as younger ones amongst us who could benefit from having the company of those who are sensitive to their sensibilities on tap.
The direction is well done, and it is nice to see a director understanding the needs of her own carefully crafted characters – says a lot for Clare Prenton that she can imagine that which she is not and place it authentically upon a stage.