Anna Burnside reviews a well-intentioned production that needs 'a judicious edit'.
In his shed, DB is trying to get started on his memoir. His hot husband brings him tea, then wine, then a filthy strong martini, but nothing seems to help.
DB has doubts about sharing the sticky stuff of his impoverished childhood in North Lanarkshire. How can he write about being hungry, being abused by his violent stepfather, being taunted by homophobic classmates, without producing poverty porn?
‘I don’t,’ he mutters into the Tunnocks teacake that accompanies all his refreshments, ‘want to be a novelty victim for Waitrose people.’
Thanks to the voice of exceptional memoirist Diana Athill, which reaches him through the bank of old tellies that dot the stage, he makes the discovery that shapes this play: before he can write his story, he will have to relive it.
DB is Damian Barr, and Maggie & Me is based on his memoir of the same name, published in 2013 before Poverty Safari, Shuggie Bain and others which covered similar territory.
The book has its own framing device: Mrs Thatcher, the hated Prime Minister who closed Ravenscraig where Barr’s father worked. The play uses her as a kind of reverse fairy godmother, marching around with her handbag, issuing advice and even encouragement to DB as he and his childhood-self revisit the traumatic events that shaped him.
Two framing devices are a lot for one production, and at times Maggie & Me sprawls out of control. There is a huge cast of characters, plentiful literary references, a whole The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe strand and a mad country music interlude that strays dangerously close to panto territory.
This leads to repetition, which slows down the narrative and detracts from the power of the core story. A judicious edit of extraneous voices and the removal of the Dolly Parton scenario would speed everything up. There’s also a good deal more video than is necessary, which also clutters the actual drama.
A less accomplished cast would have drowned in this sea of camera cables, costume changes and time hops. However, the six-strong ensemble do a grand job of supporting Gary Lamont as DB, who floats about in a cardigan while they do the heavy lifting.
Sam Angell, as Wee DB, moves from a bouncy lad in pyjamas to lovestruck teenager and comes out the other side as he glimpses the future that’s ahead for him. Beth Marshall plays Mrs Thatcher, somewhere between Gillian Anderson in The Crown and a drag queen.
Together, they manage to get at the heart of the story. People living horrible lives sometimes make bad decisions that impact on their children, but with the help of librarians, friends, books and education, it’s possible to overcome.
There's a brilliant 90-minute play on that theme struggling to get out of this one.
Maggie & Me performs at the Tron Theatre until May 11 before embarking on a tour, which concludes June 15, 2024.
Photo by Mihaela Bodlovic.
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