Playback

The story follows a collection of people. A young man searches for the truth about his father and finds himself walking in his footsteps by following his charismatic gangster uncle. A woman, convinced she has second sight, tries to prevent a deadly accident. Elsewhere, an aspiring beatboxer eagerly awaits his singer girlfriend so they can compete in a competition. Storylines cross and lives become intermixed, all leading to a showdown on the mean streets of Govan where fates are decided.

Perhaps each storyline has interesting threads, but unfortunately Davey Anderson is unable to weave together a convincing script. Much of the dialogue rings false, the characters are mostly shallow and the plot points, sometimes confusing, seldom convince. For every moment that works there are two that don’t.

And yet there is much to admire in the production. Director Paddy Cunneen paints on Becky Minto’s surprisingly complex canvas of three major sets through which the audience walks back and forth, and the action is always well executed. Lizzie Powell’s lighting works wonderfully, adding needed depth to the dramatic events, while Guy Veale’s sound design cleverly underpins key moments. The six principle actors perform well by making stale characters seem interesting.

However, it is the work of the young ensemble that impresses the most. The 17 youths involved are key to the production, playing multiple roles, moving scenery and performing numerous movement sequences. They make a solid, focused ensemble that wonderfully supports the production. It’s a shame their dialogue is voiced by offstage performers, meaning moments come across like ridiculously dubbed films and resulted in some underwhelming dramatic moments, yet each young actor makes it work well enough.

All in all, Playback is an unremarkable play that has been turned into a remarkable production. It’s never boring, but it is frustrating that, with such strong production elements, the script fails to elevate the evening past mediocre.