Theatre review: Waterproof/From Paisley to Paolo, Glasgow Tron

Originally performed at Oran Mor in Glasgow as part of its lunchtime theatre strand A Play, a Pie and a Pint, these two short plays from Mull Theatre focus on male friendship.

ames Kirk, Craig Porter and Darren Brownlie share the roles over the two pieces, with the former pair embarking on a fishing trip in Andy Duffy’s Waterproof. Self-assured Alex (Porter) has been at university in Dundee, his liberal quoting of Plato and the Romantics failing to obscure his raging libido and blokeish sense of humour. Withdrawn Gordon (Kirk) stayed behind, pining for the one that got away and nurturing paranoid feelings of resentment and bitterness. Witty in parts and sensitive to the strain of young friends’ lives pulling in different directions, there’s a nice conflation of Scottish masculinity and nationhood in its allusions to independence.

Less subtle but more straightforwardly funny is Martin McCardie’s From Paisley to Paolo. The play neatly captures the patter and insecurity of friends still struggling to find themselves, let alone present these identities to their oldest mates. Theatrical Charlie with his troubling secret (Brownlie), undertaker Mavis (Kirk) and fantasist Jack (Porter), who knows more about Paisley troubadour Paolo Nutini than Nutini himself, reconfigure their friendship as they wait for a performance by the singer. McCardie has a fine ear for the affectionate needling of young Scottish men. But the comedy surpasses mere naturalism and there are several enjoyably daft situations, not least the erotic shudders of a nearby tent.

Rating: ***