Anna Burnside reviews ‘enjoyable and promising piece of work’.
A string bean in an Adidas top bounds through the audience into the nightclub lavvy at the centre of the stage. The bold Kev has found himself in the only cludgie in clubland with no graffiti on the wall. He takes out his pen and sets about putting this right.
There then follows the most laboured 10 minutes of the show as Kev, played by writer Alexander Tait, sets up the key themes. There’s the pen which is strangely important to a neddy wee guy on a night out. There’s The Great Gatsby, which is being read by posh boy Quinn in the toilet stall next door (also played by Tait, this is a single hander). And then there’s Kev’s imagination, which he deploys to turn reality into filmic vignettes when he’s in tight spots.
Just as this starts to drag, the gears change. Tait takes Kev on a journey of self-discovery that culminates in him having to choose between the comfortable life of pints and pals and jumping the class divide to follow Quinn to university.
There are Gatsby references and parallels throughout, including from Kev’s gallus divorcee boss.
Tait is an engaging performer with strong comic timing and great body language. When he stops going on about the wretched pen, this is an enjoyable and promising piece of work.
Kev Campbell Was He is part of this year’s A Play, A Pie and A Pint’s spring season at Oran Mor until March 8, 2025. It then performs at the Traverse Theatre (March 11-15) and The Gaiety in Ayr (March 20-22).
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