Midsummer madness

It’s Midsummer and two mid-thirties people have mid-life crises. Sparked off by a drunken night’s sex (hilarious) the weekend explodes in an orgy of spending, drugs, bondage, chases and fun. Cora Bissett is brilliant as the luscious, blonde, vamp lawyer and Mathew Pidgeon nails the feckless drifter, although a Dostoevsky reading car-salesman/crook doesn’t ring any bells with me.

It’s a simple morality play in reverse, where dodgy characters and dodgier temptations lead the couple to reject the banality of their lives and jump into a Dionysian frenzy of a weekend that ultimately changes their lives. They both reject the habits and conventions of their lives for a little adventure.

I revelled in the language and swearing as it’s the two worlds I know best, a clash between Scottish working and middle class cultures. I knew every single street, pub and geographical reference and every single character. As I said, Medium Bob is not as developed a character as the lawyer, but that’s a quibble. Having a profession (lawyer) is as much a trap as having no profession. Both are stuck in separate grooves and just happen to come together in a bar.

A few people left because of the swearing but why on earth do these cretins go to the theatre? Is all theatre to be a reflection of their own, limited, polite worlds? Didn’t they see that the play was about THEM, middle-England’s dull, petty and average expectations? In any case, the rest of the audience loved it and the three encores were well deserved.