Joy Watters reviews the revival of Liz Lochhead's comedy.
Now joining the repertoire at Pitlochry is Liz Lochhead’s romantic comedy, which focuses on celebrity hairdresser Barbs (Helen Logan) having a mid life crisis. Knocking 40, she is overwhelmed by the desire to have a child. With no boyfriend to do the needful, she turns to her gay pal and fellow coiffeur Brendan who is prepared to step up to the turkey baster.
First staged in 1998, Liz Carruthers’ production for Pitlochry still seems to be in that era. There is a lack of intimacy encasing this woman’s life-changing choice, which is played out across the wide stage rather than at the audience.
Barbs’ home is a soulless flat in Glasgow which forms the backdrop to her all-action private life. Barbs by name and barbs by nature, our heroine will not let anyone stand in the way of her desire to be a mother and skewers opposition from her inner circle.
There’s the ex-husband who ran off with a younger woman and mother Sadie, who thinks Barbs is bonkers to choose to be a single mother when she had no option but to be one.
Her pal, who gave her child away for adoption years previously, brings another dimension to the central issue.
Barbs’ rock is good old Brendan, given a camp performance from Scott Armstrong, which encompasses the comedy and poignancy of the situation. But then to Barbs’ surprise, romance enters in the shape of a younger male suitor.
Helen Logan as Barbs is initially somewhat muted but does get into her stride latterly, particularly with the comic elements of the role. The mother-daughter relationship with its shifting balance of power is particularly well drawn, bringing laughs of recognition from the audience.
Where the production falls down is its inability to get to the emotional heart of the matter, namely the longing of an older woman to become a mother and the fundamental changes it will bring to her life.
Perfect Days runs in repertory at Pitlochry Festival Theatre until 0ctober 17
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