Playwright Andy McGregor is a dab hand at bringing uniquely Scottish tales to the stage. Here he mines his personal private expertise of being in a band that could-have-been-but-never-quite-made-it, to create Battery Park, the story of “the most famous band you’ve never heard of.”
Student Lucy, writing a dissertation on Brit Pop, approaches a center aged, parka-clad man in Greenock Bowling Club. He’s Tommy McIntosh, the inventive power behind much-missed and much-debated native band Battery Park. Reluctantly Tommy lays out the complete story of how a band with a document deal, who recorded an album in the identical studios as Queen, who supported Radiohead at King Tut’s, and had been on the verge of taking part in the mighty Barrowlands with Oasis, threw all of it away.
McGregor has an enviable monitor document, with earlier hits Spuds and Crocodile Rock, his work has been characterised by a intelligent humour across the pathos. Here the humour is laddish 90s banter, a bit broad, that elicits extra laughs from the viewers than is comfy in 2023. Generally, the entire work has a extra critical tone, but it surely isn’t developed totally sufficient. It sits a bit uncomfortably between critical play with songs and totally developed musical. The climax of the story comes too shortly and the explanations given for the band’s demise are a bit flimsy – you are feeling like giving them an excellent shake and telling them to get on with it.
The band’s stay music co-written by McGregor and Isla Cowan is sound sufficient and performed with vigour by the forged, the appearing is solely plausible. There’s a ton of nice materials right here, concerning the sacrifices we make for love and household; the loss felt via unfulfilled potential; the meteoric rise and mercurial fall of proficient individuals, however you’ll be able to’t assist however really feel that it’s only a small re-write away from greatness.
Runs till 30 September then touring | Image: Contributed
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