You’re no from around here are yeh? Waiting for the bus? Well here’s a story while we wait.
Welcome to Woodburn, the biggest shithole in Midlothian, a declining council housing estate in the hinterlands outside Edinburgh. Our three local gossips can tell a tale or two about the Gordon family, local small town thugs. Or at least they are to begin with.
Twins, Andy and Anna are holding things together with a bit of petty bag snatching. It’s enough to get money for the gas and electricity meters and perhaps a little left over for a few drinks. The paltry haul is more likely to include an umbrella, hairbrush and humbugs, and Anna feels more than a little guilty that the poor women will be traumatised.
Older brother Jonny is less principled and has been selling cigarettes and drugs to the local school pupils, and the teachers if he can. He has higher hopes, but his dealing of a bit of Mandy (MDMA) has trodden on the toes of local pub landlady, Tracy. She and her boys have prior call on that particular racket and she wants to make him pay. And if he doesn’t his siblings may suffer a few broken bones.
In what might be their darkest hour their estranged father James makes a surprise return. A double shock in fact, as they have a new mum, the young Holly whom he has married after a whirlwind romance of which she can remember little. Happy families is not the name of the game as Jonny in particular has little time for his father and harbours more than a grudge. James is a Belfast hard man, a glowering figure who equates fear with respect and is more likely to be cracking jaws than jokes.
A mix of money, charm and a touch of psycho, he sets out on a course of violence to wrest control from Tracy and reassert himself as the big fish in this small pool.
As things escalate the violence permeates the family, with Jonny less of the jack-the-lad, Andy his father’s brutal sidekick and Anna pushed to the margins. They need hope and the abused Holly may just have a plan; but old enmities remain and Tracy feels the need for closure.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable piece of theatre, provided you don’t mind a bit of violence. That said, it’s not gratuitous, just omnipresent. The play deals with family and characters who have their shape and choices moulded by society - as such, it has a bit of A View From the Bridge feel to it. Live music is well used, although the folksier parts sung by the cast don’t always ring true. There could also be slightly less frenetic running around.
It could be tightened and the ending could have a little more impact, but with some great dialogue and generally excellent performances this is a highly professional production that exceeds expectations.
So, that bus – are you still waiting? Welcome to Woodburn!
Show Times: 5 – 13 (not 7) August 2016 at 11pm.
Tickets: £8 (£6).
Suitability: 18+