Published in the Guardian
Birds of Paradise
Two stars
HALF an hour along the Clyde from Glasgow, the Beacon is a handsome new arts centre
with a 500-seat main auditorium and a 100-seat studio. The artistic
director of the £9.5m waterfront complex is Julie Ellen who, by a happy
accident, is also the director of this opening production by the touring
company Birds of Paradise. With its all-white set by Kenny Miller and
abstract video projections by Neil Bettles, it shows off the studio to
good effect.Unfortunately, Danny Start's script is rarely as interesting
as the story that inspired it.
It is about Albert Quinn, a 50-year-old hardman who, like Start's real-life friend Tommy McHugh,
has suffered a double brain aneurysm. When he comes round after the
long operation, he has an irresistible urge to paint, sculpt and write.
This rare "sudden artistic output" syndrome turns a semi-criminal drug
user into a compulsive creator at large "in an alien landscape".
As
a neurological phenomenon, this is fascinating. As a piece of drama, it
has nowhere to go. Once we have established Quinn has woken up a new
man, then what?
Start's solution is to go backwards. In the lead
role, Paul Cunningham exists in a world of fragmented memory. His head
buzzes with voices – father, wife, fellow patient and alter-ego – and
with each fractured scene, Quinn shows us the past that he is leaving
behind. Theatre, however, is a present-tense medium and none of this
reflection moves the story forward.
Morag Stark, David Toole and
Cunningham give spirited performances, but the things that interest us
most (the man adjusting to a new personality, the outpouring of
creativity) are the things we see least.
© Mark Fisher, 2013
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