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Michael Cox reviews the comedic caper co-production between the Lyceum and the Citizens.
Crime-comedy is a genre that’s hard to crack. Go too much one way and it’s impossible to take the unfolding events seriously but go too much the other way and things can get too uncomfortable.
DC Jackson’s Kill Johnny Glendenning (***) cracks it just right: the events are grim enough for the stakes to be high, but it’s also outrageous enough to be funny, sometimes downright hilarious. The play, about a group of characters involved in the criminal underworld of Glasgow, follows the fallout when a corrupt journalist for a tabloid calls the titular character a turncoat in his column. Double-crosses, even a few triple-crosses, ensue, and the body count rises rather rapidly.
To give much more away would be cheating, but upon reflection long after the play is over, the production holds up remarkably well. Jackson’s script comes across as the love child of Quentin Tarantino and Martin McDonagh: full of witty lines said by characters who do bad things and act in ways that would be revolting in real life but are nonetheless compelling to watch.
Sympathy and empathy are all but absent here, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but mean it’s rather hard to root for any of these characters. By not having a character to side with, it’s difficult to care about the jeopardy many find themselves in. However, the plot moves so quickly and the dialogue proves so engaging that this is easy to let this go.
The fact that the production is well-staged and sharply performed also greatly helps. Director Mark Thomas has done a rather admirable job in his staging, keeping the action and comedy well-paced and edgy, particularly in the first act. He is assisted by an excellent design and a great acting ensemble, particularly David Ireland’s loose cannon Glendenning.
Everything zips along at a remarkably frantic pace, particularly in the first act. It’s a shame that most of the tension all but evaporates in the second act, which is still funny and well-played but lacks much of the thumping energy and drive of the first half.
Quibbles aside, Glendenning is still a worthy production worth catching. It might not rewrite the rulebook of the genre, but it certainly plays by the rules quite effectively.
Kill Johnny Glendenning has completed its run at the Lyceum but transfers to the Citizens in Glasgow from October 22 to November 8.
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