Skip to main content

Vulcan 7

King’s Theatre, Edinburgh 
Three stars

An actor’s life can go in many ways. Adrian Edmondson and Nigel Planer’s co-written vehicle for themselves makes this abundantly clear in their portrayal of a couple of old luvs who left Rada at the same time and end up reluctantly reunited in Iceland on the set of the latest instalment of the hokey sci-fi franchise that gives the play its title.

The difference is that where Planer’s Hugh Delavois is a cast regular and impeccably bland example of a very English form of thespian, Edmondson’s Gary Savage is a hard-drinking loose cannon who once flew high with the Hollywood bad boys. Now, alas, Savage has crashed back down to earth with a bump and a one-line bit-part as an unlikely alien monster with an outfit that makes 1970s Dr Who appear sophisticated.

Out of this comes a bittersweet comedy of late-life ennui among the creative classes seen through a trailer darkly even as things take a real-life seismic turn that puts both men on the edge in every way. With Lois Chimimba’s film set runner Leela a put-upon foil, Edmondson and Planer’s odd couple are revealed as two sides of the same coin who over-compensate like crazy in their desperation for everyday happiness.

Steve Marmion’s touring production that began life at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford uses an appropriately apocalyptic-sounding Bjork soundtrack to usher us into designer Simon Higlett’s increasingly off-kilter trailer which forms the play’s sole setting. With this in place, Hugh and Gary’s co-dependent sparring is a classic Brit-com set-up. If a running gag about Daniel Day-Lewis doesn’t quite scale the dizzy heights of hilarity in the play’s take on artifice, identity and existential dread, for those who came of age watching Edmondson and Planer as 1980s student union anarchists might stumble on a few home truths that remain troublingly familiar.

The Herald, November 6th 2018

ends



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Losing Touch With My Mind - Psychedelia in Britain 1986-1990

DISC 1 1. THE STONE ROSES   -  Don’t Stop 2. SPACEMEN 3   -  Losing Touch With My Mind (Demo) 3. THE MODERN ART   -  Mind Train 4. 14 ICED BEARS   -  Mother Sleep 5. RED CHAIR FADEAWAY  -  Myra 6. BIFF BANG POW!   -  Five Minutes In The Life Of Greenwood Goulding 7. THE STAIRS  -  I Remember A Day 8. THE PRISONERS  -  In From The Cold 9. THE TELESCOPES   -  Everso 10. THE SEERS   -  Psych Out 11. MAGIC MUSHROOM BAND  -  You Can Be My L-S-D 12. THE HONEY SMUGGLERS  - Smokey Ice-Cream 13. THE MOONFLOWERS  -  We Dig Your Earth 14. THE SUGAR BATTLE   -  Colliding Minds 15. GOL GAPPAS   -  Albert Parker 16. PAUL ROLAND  -  In The Opium Den 17. THE THANES  -  Days Go Slowly By 18. THEE HYPNOTICS   -  Justice In Freedom (12" Version) ...

Myra Mcfadyen - An Obituary

Myra McFadyen – Actress   Born January 12th 1956; died October 18th 2024   Myra McFadyen, who has died aged 68, was an actress who brought a mercurial mix of lightness and depth to her work on stage and screen. Playwright and artistic director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, David Greig, called McFadyen “an utterly transformative, shamanic actor who could change a room and command an audience with a blink”. Citizens’ Theatre artistic director Dominic Hill described McFadyen’s portrayal of Puck in his 2019 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in London as “funny, mischievous and ultimately heartbreaking.”   For many, McFadyen will be most recognisable from Mamma Mia!, the smash hit musical based around ABBA songs. McFadyen spent two years on the West End in Phyllida Lloyd’s original 1999 stage production, and was in both film offshoots. Other big screen turns included Rob Roy (1995) and Our Ladies (2019), both directed by Mi...

Big Gold Dreams – A Story of Scottish Independent Music 1977-1989

Disc 1 1. THE REZILLOS (My Baby Does) Good Sculptures (12/77)  2. THE EXILE Hooked On You (8/77) 3. DRIVE Jerkin’ (8/77) 4. VALVES Robot Love (9/77) 5. P.V.C. 2 Put You In The Picture (10/77) 6. JOHNNY & THE SELF ABUSERS Dead Vandals (11/77) 7. BEE BEE CEE You Gotta Know Girl (11/77) 8. SUBS Gimme Your Heart (2/78) 9. SKIDS Reasons (No Bad NB 1, 4/78) 10. FINGERPRINTZ Dancing With Myself (1/79)  11. THE ZIPS Take Me Down (4/79) 12. ANOTHER PRETTY FACE All The Boys Love Carrie (5/79)  13. VISITORS Electric Heat (5/79) 14. JOLT See Saw (6/79) 15. SIMPLE MINDS Chelsea Girl (6/79) 16. SHAKE Culture Shock (7/79) 17. HEADBOYS The Shape Of Things To Come (7/79) 18. FIRE EXIT Time Wall (8/79) 19. FREEZE Paranoia (9/79) 20. FAKES Sylvia Clarke (9/79) 21. TPI She’s Too Clever For Me (10/79) 22. FUN 4 Singing In The Showers (11/79) 23. FLOWERS Confessions (12/79) 24. TV21 Playing With Fire (4/80) 25. ALEX FERGUSSON Stay With Me Tonight (1980) ...