The fame. The glamour. The greed. The superficiality. The world of celebrity is all around us, yet the theatre has rarely tackled the subject successfully. In part, this is because audiences are already too aware of the mechanics of stardom. What's left to know?
Thus it is with Cut to the Chase by Christopher Deans, a comedy about a 17-year-old classical singing protegee seeking "crossover" success as a pop star, while being pursued by her avaricious manager and a lusty record producer. Naturally, this has an air of topicality that is dead right for the teenage audience being courted by the touring company Complete Productions.
But the line between topicality and familiarity is thin. Brisk and bright though the show is, it's hard to stay interested in such flat caricatures. The sense of familiarity is not entirely accidental: the play is a rewrite of The Barber of Seville. Where Beaumarchais's Rosina had to fend off Dr Bartholo and court the disguised Count Almaviva with the help of Figaro, now we're in 21st-century Benidorm and Charlene must keep her manager Barry Rollo at bay, while flirting secretly with Big Al Maloney of Viva Records, and being helped by gay hairdresser Robbie Rich.
Why the characters are all working-class Glaswegians is not explained, even if Deans does have a sharp ear for the city's dialect. And although there's a real vigour to his language - matched by the hard-working performances in Natalie Wilson's production - it can't hide the fact that the script isn't funny. The production gives the impression of a comedy without making you laugh.
Only right at the end, when Michelle Gallagher's Charlene defies expectations and walks out on everyone, do we feel the liberation of a cliche being overturned.
· At Eastgate Arts Centre, Peebles, on Thursday. Box office: 01721-725777. Then touring.
