Andrew MacPherson has many legitimate business interests: a security firm, taxis, a couple of Renfrewshire bus routes, several pubs and even a secret shareholding in Rangers. Johnny 'the bastard' Glendenning is the self styled Tony Blair of Ulster loyalist gunmen. In a farmhouse far out in the wilds of Ayrshire they are on a deadly collision course. Caught between them are a farmer, his mother, two thugs, a sleazy tabloid hack and some pigs with a taste for human flesh.
Kill Johnny Glendenning is a murderous comedy of the Glasgow underworld, taking aim at the tabloid celebrity and macho glamour of the gangster life.
The energy, humour and sheer brass neck on display mean that the whole thing may not stand up to the closest of scrutiny but has a crazy, headlong momentum that will satisfy most audiences. But definitely not all.
Verdict: Slickly amoral Glasgow gangster comedy bloodbath is cleverly told but lacks depth.
If Jackson’s script is not for the faint-hearted – studded as it is with ear-blistering levels of obscenity – it finally delivers a searing Scottish gangster drama for our times, not entirely clear in its overall meaning, but so full of rich, telling and hilarious detail that it hardly seems to matter.
The fast paced direction, Ireland’s energy, the play’s acerbic wit and high body count, however, are deceptive as Jackson's comedy resolves on a sentimental note. Yet he delivers a sharp satire on the gap between the nastiness of organised crime and its media glamour.
If this sounds like standard sub-Hollywood tough guy fare, Jackson's play is delivered with such potty-mouthed filter-free glee as it piles up the bodycount that it becomes both shocking and hilarious.
DC Jackson has opened a seam of dark humour in the surreal inventive style of Quentin Tarantino, Martin McDonagh or Jon S Baird’s take on Filth by Irvine Welsh that’s as dark as the glaur in Auld John’s sinister Ayrshire farm. Dinnae miss this!
I laughed a lot, but kept feeling the play was only ever as good as the last joke. Despite its echoes of Glasgow’s real-life ice-cream wars, Jackson’s comic universe has more murderous exuberance than satirical bite.
On its own terms, this is an enjoyable crime caper well staged, but the lopsided plot and faithfulness to the genre contribute to a muted audience response.
DC Jackson’s comedy thriller is lively, deadly, wordy – and seriously out of puff by its disappointing ending.
The play is beautifully structured, with great characterisations and gorgeous acting throughout. David Ireland, in particular, gives the performance of his career as the psychopathic Glendenning, as bleakly hilarious a creation as anything to come from the over-active imagination of McDonagh.
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.
Something feels a little off in the execution – as it were.
Playwright DC Jackson to make Glasgow crime play
David Ireland--Kill Johnny Glendenning
Interview: playwright DC Jackson wants to Kill Johnny Glendinning
Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh from Wednesday September 17, 2014, until Saturday October 11, 2014. More info: www.lyceum.org.uk
Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow from Wednesday October 22, 2014, until Saturday November 8, 2014. More info: www.citz.co.uk