Is it a gig? Is it a storytelling piece? Is it a play? Middle Child’s account of the worst week in one man’s life is all these things and more, bringing together Luke Barnes’ beady, motoring script with James Frewer’s score and songs and throwing in some video that conjures the grungy streets of Hull with a loving eye. It’s part of a trend in Edinburgh this year for theatre that wants to be a gig and vice versa, and although this particular example has its flaws, it does feel as if each element is fully integrated as it works up a sweaty energy.
Terry (played by Marc Graham with a laidback charisma) is 26 and going nowhere very fast. His mum thinks it’s time he got his act together and left home but Terry seems perfectly happy in his dead-end job, living for the weekend when he scores from his dealer and has nights out with the love of his life, Jenny (Jessica Morley), a sparky 18-year-old. But what begins as the best week of his life turns into the worst, as he loses his job, Jenny announces she’s deserting him for London and university, and a misfortune befalls his dealer’s daughter’s cat.
It may boast a sly comic edge and at times be very loud, but Weekend Rockstars has a tender soul. It needs some fleshing out: there are some narrative confusions, and it would be nice to see more exploration of the way that Terry is so reliant on the women in his life. There are hundreds of thousands of Terrys across the country, and it’s not necessarily a simple lack of get up and go that keeps them drifting from week to week. With this hybrid, Middle Child are definitely on to something, and are likely to find it if they keep exploring further.
- At Underbelly, Edinburgh, until 30 August. Box office: 0131-226 0000.
