Ivan was brought up in Govan, ‘the land of the beige raincoat and the tightly gripped message bag’ and now lives in Glasgow’s ‘leafy’ west end district of Hyndland, home to the world famous cattle (Glasgow joke!). It is the 10th anniversary of the death of his mother from smoking induced lung cancer and, as he faces his laptop suffering has writer’s block, memories of the late Kate come back to him.
The wee custard cream being washed down by a bottle of fizz pretty much sums up the dichotomised life of would be writer and serial commitment phobic Ivan Moss played convincingly by Stephen Clyde. He relives the period of her diagnosis and the various changes that affected both their lives, as they deal with a tumour, to paraphrase Pattison, that’s as aggressive as their hame toun’s reputation leaving his Ma doitit.
Under Alison Peebles’ able direction, the text is narrated in a mix of self- referential quips and the acting out of various characters and Clyde does an excellent job of taking on the variety of voices including a rare turn as a pipe smoking Donald Findlay. With just a raise of the voice, and a cross of his leg, he becomes the old-fashioned working-class woman taking the craven stance when faced with medical staff that contrast so much with the warm, wicked laughter shared with her sister Magrit.
Writer Ian Pattison is best known for the creation of another Govan chap, Rab C Nesbitt, which, like any good comedy, was tinged with pathos. Pattison brings his cynical wit to this rich and colourful piece of writing that captures what we call ‘Scotch love’ as the self- absorbed son who’s married to his work deals with the ‘intimate stranger’ that is his mother. What we are left with is less how we deal with end of life, though that features of course, but how we deal with life itself and the legacy of ones we love.
Tue 10 – Sat 14 Oct, 1pm; Fri 13 Oct, 7pm age recommend 14+