Lorna Irvine reviews a 'political romp' from A Play, a Pie and a Pint.
Dundee-based playwright Jamie Laing's political romp is provocative but even-handed, dealing in the greyest of grey areas surrounding civil disobedience.
Two young political activists, Barry, aka Bezzie (Neil Leiper) and Lizzie (Ishbel McFarlane) seem happy enough organising and agitating at meetings and demos- that is, if they can both agree on how best to address the collective- until they start to suspect that the gobby new rabble rouser in their midst, Paul (Steven Duffy) may not really be all that he seems...
An engaging, energetic piece for PPP, Piggy has all of the rhetoric we have come to expect from issue-based work of this genre, but is tempered nicely with a knowing irreverence towards the tropes of satirical writing, as with Bezzie's attempts to prove he is a three-dimensional character, not merely the loud-mouthed stereotype with empty slogans. Lizzie meanwhile, is a lively pastiche of the passive-aggressive earth mother who stands well back and pulls out the pin.
All three actors are excellent, particularly Leiper, playing Bezzie with just the right amount of naiveté and cheek, with fine support from Stewart Porter as Paul's handler, a stoical and glowering presence amid so much youthful exuberance.
It may not change the world, but This Little Piggy is a nice reminder that the next generation of writers have a strong voice and a social conscience, as well as a wicked sense of the absurd- bring it on.
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