Theatre review: Outside In, Oran Mor, Glasgow
Outside In, Oran Mor, Glasgow ****
This is the situation out of which well-known screenwriter Chris Grady conjures his second Oran Mor play, Outside In; and the result is a perfectly-sculpted little farce full of brilliantly unexpected and sharply perceptive absurdist detail, from the sudden revelation of the feisty personality beneath Jay’s timid exterior, to the genial Coco’s hilarious insistence that Jay follow the script for his would-be life as a Glasgow hard man, even though Jay has other ideas.
In the end, the two become firm friends; and with Cristian Ortega and Martin Quinn turning in a near-perfect pair of comic performances as the two lads, and Katie Barnett offering wonderfully sardonic support as officer Kayleigh, Sally Reid’s pitch-perfect production powers to a hilarious conclusion, full of perfect comic timing, wicked social satire and sheer generosity of spirit.
JOYCE MCMILLAN
Oran Mor, Glasgow, today, and the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 11-15 September.