Theatre reviews: The Testament of Gideon Mack | Kinky Boots

Dogstar Theatre’s new take on The Testament of Gideon Mack is richly entertaining and and satisfying, writes Joyce McMillan

The Testament of Gideon Mack, Eden Court, Inverness ★★★★

Kinky Boots, Playhouse, Edinburgh ★★★

The loss of religious faith is not a subject that seems to bother us much, in 21st century Scotland. In two generations, the country has simply shifted from a largely believing and church-going culture, to an almost entirely secular one; and it’s this abrupt and almost silent transition that is the subject of James Robertson’s 2006 novel The Testament of Gideon Mack.

The novel, partly written in homage to James Hogg’s terrific 1824 masterpiece The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner tells the strange tale of a minister’s son born into the postwar “lucky generation” - free to head off to university, and choose his own life - who nonetheless surprises himself by following his father into the ministry, despite the fact that his own faith is fragile at best. And now, Robertson’s gripping and deeply humorous tale has been transformed by Matthew Zajac and his Dogstar Theatre company into a richly entertaining and and satisfying full-length play about the continuing disturbing presence of the mysterious and unknowable in our largely faithless lives.

The central incident of the novel involves Gideon Mack’s encounter with the devil, when he falls into a famously haunted gully in his parish of Monimaskit; and Zajac’s approach, in adapting it for the stage, is to transform that encounter into a series of scenes interspersed through the action, with the rest of Gideon’s story told in what are essentially flashbacks.

With an eight strong cast offering a rich gallery of supporting characters, we see Gideon travel from a childhood oppressed by his father’s patriarchal bullying, through the sheer fun and liberation of his years at university, to his successful early career as a dynamic and trendy young parish minister; then, after tragedy strikes, seeking solace in an extramarital affair with his first love.

Matthew Zajac and Kevin Lennon in Dogstar Theatre's The Testament of Gideon Mack | Paul Campbell

At the core of the show, though, is always his encounter with the devil, brilliantly and elegantly played by Zajac himself; an exhausted but still charismatic old cynic who seems to lack motivation, now that god is more or less dead. And in Meghan De Chastelain’s quietly impressive production - with fine sound and music by Aidan O’Rourke - he is matched at every step by Kevin Lennon’s superb Gideon Mack; a funny, clever and self-deprecating modern man in search of meaning, whose enigmatic and unconcluded story sometimes seems to speak for us all.

There’s no shortage of non-verbal communication in the Harvey Fierstein/Cyndi Lauper musical Kinky Boots, based on the 2005 British film, and inspired by the real life story of a young shoe factory boss trying to save his family business by switching to manufacturing “fetish footwear for men.” Like all musicals, Kinky Boots is full of the old razzle dazzle; and this production features an outstanding star performance from Strictly professional Johannes Radebe as the fabulous drag queen Lola, who goes into partnership with our hero Charlie as a design adviser.

Johannes Radebe as Lola in Kinky Boots | Pamela Raith

The theme of the show, though, is not really so far adrift from James Robertson’s in Gideon Mack, in that this is a tale of a corner of British society coming to terms with a half-century of hugely rapid social change, not least in attitudes to queer culture at its most flamboyant. Nikolai Foster’s new touring production sometimes looks like a slightly frazzled version of the show, rushing through all the emotional reversals and developments of the final act at hectic and confusing speed.

Dan Partridge fairly acts and sings his socks off, though, in the leading role of Charlie; and he and a superbly hard-working 20-strong company finally bring the show home to roars of approval, as a celebration of the onward march of sexual liberation that seems a shade incongruous, in these fiercely reactionary times, but is all the more welcome for that.

The Testament of Gideon Mack is on tour around Scotland until 14 March; details at www.dogstartheatre.co.uk. Kinky Boots is at the Playhouse, Edinburgh, until 22 February.