Liam Lambie’s hard-hitting however hysterically humorous When We Were Young, lays naked the lives of younger Glaswegians residing via the Nineties and early 2000s in a metropolis dubbed “the murder capital of Europe”.
A narrative of gang tradition, the “young team mentality” residing from giro to giro, and the whole and utter lack of hope. It claims to be a illustration of the previous, however it has an all too frighteningly acquainted resonance at this time. Poverty breeds crime, crime robs you of alternative and the cycle perpetuates with miserable regularity. Generations stay mired within the gloom.
Mooney, Gee, Tam and Joe and their ladies Michaela, Sammy and Mags reside lives smack bang within the centre of the cycle, inured to the violence. Gang fights are a every day prevalence, doing it as a result of it’s the performed factor, and nothing is off the desk in terms of making a number of bob.
Lambie’s work takes you past the lurid tabloid headlines to the guts of the residing respiration human beings. How it feels to reside with full cognisance that the “lives we live are lamentable”, scared that on daily basis you might be perpetuating the stereotypes, there are moments of nice reflection and profound commentary right here.
The comedy (and there’s loads of it) comes from adversity. Lambie has an astonishing ear for dialogue, particularly Glasgow patter, the textual content is dense and the traces are delivered with bullseye precision. There’s mild and shade all through, the humour and pathos cleverly balanced.
The forged are universally wonderful, each phrase, each swagger has a realism, underneath Lambie’s course none are caricatured, you might be residing with these characters, rooting for them to discover a manner out. There are notably superb performances from Lambie himself as Mooney, the lynch pin of the motley gang and Dionne Frati as his girlfriend Michaela. Frati has as superb a comic book contact as she does within the grim dramatic moments.
There is a lot to applaud about this manufacturing, the storyline gripping, the performing and course are on-point. Lambie have to be lauded for giving voice to a piece of society so missed in mainstream theatre.
When we have been younger is a triumph, one to not be missed.
