[New post] Sunshine on Leith – Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Dominic Corr posted: " Written by Stephen Greenhorn Featuring the Songs of The Proclaimers Directed by Elizabeth Newman Review by Joy Watters Tickets from £16.00 ★★★★ At first blush, it may seem a strange choice for a festive show, but this " Corr Blimey
At first blush, it may seem a strange choice for a festive show, but this latest incarnation is bang on the money for the Pitlochry Festival Theatre's 2023 end-of-season show as artistic director Elizabeth Newman's production sings and lifts the spirits, a veritable tonic in these dark days.
Sunshine on Leith first hit the stage in 2007, written by Stephen Greenhorn, a jukebox musical that features the songs of The Proclaimers. Born in Dundee, it has travelled professional and amateur stages all over the country, hit the big screen and now landing at the theatre in the hills.
An everyday story of Scots folk, it tells of two squaddies returning home to Edinburgh after their final tour of action and adjusting to life in civvie street. All is not plain sailing as they get back with family and friends. The focus is on three couples, parents Rab (Keith MacPherson) and Jean and their offspring. Son, soldier Davy and girlfriend Yvonne, and daughter Liz, longstanding girlfriend soldier Ally, all have challenges to face.
Their trials and tribulations link the beloved songs of The Proclaimers. It is the music which really moves. With new musical arrangements by David Shrubsole and great work by musical director Richard Reeday, the twelve-strong ensemble excels, picking up a host of instruments and giving it all they have got. There are some rocking songs with lots of guitars twanging away and at the other end of the scale some touching vocals from the ensemble.
The ensemble boasts a host of actors/musicians who effortlessly slot in and out of their various roles. The singing is top-notch with some great harmonies going on from Trudy Ward, James Dawoud, Jake Reynolds, Callum Marshall, and Charlotte Grayson. As lads Davy and Ally are Scott and Finlay Bain, the former comrades in arms, give it their all, whether singing or performing, they chart the disintegration of their relationship in a series of short scenes.
Sunshine on Leith does not always allow for any significant characterisation, but Fiona Wood as Liz manages to imbue her role with sweetness and ambition. But her romance with Ally finds itself on rocky terrain, as she objects to his public proposal of marriage at her parent's anniversary party. What a party it is, not swell, unfortunately, but too full of swally. There is the traditional punch-up, the must-have of any communal gathering, and the discovery that father Rab secretly fathered a child 27 years previously, Eilidh, played by Jessica Dive.
As Jean, Alyson Orr gives a heart-stopping rendition of the title song that brings tears to the eyes of many of the audience. Sunshine on Leith is unashamedly superficial and soppy but is still irresistible. But though Greenhorn overalls elements of the script, it still comes as a niggle as to why Jean decides to riffle through her husband's pockets without prompt to the audience, making her revelations about Eilidh.
The audience receives plenty of opportunities to shed a tear, have a laugh and revel in Sunshine on Leith's outstanding songs from The Proclaimers. And there's a wee sing song at the end for all. What more could you ask? Thanks, Pitlochry. Here's to 2024.
Thanks, Pitlochry
Sunshine on Leith runs at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre until December 23rd. Running time - Two hours and twenty-five minutes without interval. Photo credit - Fraser Brand
Review by Joy Watters
Joy has been reviewing theatre and writing and broadcasting about the arts since the mid-1980s, initially for the Dundee Courier and Evening Telegraph newspapers before moving online to Across The Arts and All Edinburgh Theatre. She was, until recently, a member and judge of The Critics' Awards Theatre Scotland.
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