Fleeto (gang), neds (non-educated delinquents), tenements, asbos, alkies and junkies – there are no surprises in the glossary that comes with this play about knife crime; it’s part of our lives now, we’re clued up. Not!
While Paddy Cunneen’s play centres on the stabbing of an innocent passer-by by a lad caught up in a gang of thuggish hoodies, there is no preparation for its in-your-face confrontation. It’s tension-inducing in the extreme. Scenes of rabble-rousing and, of course, the stabbing give fresh meaning to “gritty realism” and suspense. Empty phrases like “disenfranchised youth” and “gang culture” are personified.
What’s really clever is that Cunneen doesn’t choose to play on middle-class conscience to generate a disproportionate sympathy for the perpetrator, inevitably of disadvantaged background, or even for the victim’s mother.
It’s an absolutely stunning piece of theatre. The idea to write in the mode of Shakespeare, yet incorporate Glasgow street language, is ingenious, granting intelligent portrayal of this modern-day tragedy. A provocative narrator assists us to consider the context for, and universal consequences of, this spontaneous act, over in a minute. A startling mood of provocation replaces props.
To say the acting is superb is an understatement. When Mackie (Jordan McCurrach) meets his victim’s mum (Pauline Knowles), it’s a privilege to be up close and witness two masters of complexity, although there’s no doubt this production is deserving of a larger stage.
For a thoughtful and provocative play which bins stereotype in favour of bare truth, go no further than this.
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