Anna Burnside reviews ‘a strong idea for a show’.
For years, writer Alan Bissett stared at a photo of Alasdair Gray with Billy Connolly taken at the launch of Gray’s book Lanark in 1981. A huge admirer of both men, he always wondered what they talked about. Eventually, his musings became this show.
It’s framed via Connolly’s 60th birthday party in LA, in his celeb-surrounded pomp, before Parkinson’s took hold. From that starting point, Bissett assumes both characters and reminisces about the similarities and divergences in their lives.
He even—in a clever reference to the bit in Lanark where Duncan Thaw goes into a room and meets Alasdair Gray who tells him he is a fictional character—breaks the fourth wall. He sits down and pours a dram as self-deprecating Alan Bissett, then explains how he came by the photograph and what it means to him.
It’s a strong idea for a show, and the two characters in Lanark work well as stand-ins for Alasdair and Billy.
Bissett does a grand job as Gray, inhabiting his small bauchle body, finding his snipped vocal delivery. He’s less convincing as the string bean-like Connolly and struggles with his accent. But given Connolly’s status, he deserves a medal for even trying.
When Billy Met Alasdair performs at the Scottish Storytelling Centre (Netherbow Theatre) at 20:30 until August 23, 2025 (no performances on the 13th, 14th, 20th or 21st).
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