Sailmaker at Beacon Arts Centre Review
Written by Kathryn for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Alan Spence’s Sailmaker originally premiered in 1982 and is being revived today by The Gaiety in association with Beacon Arts Centre. Set in a Glasgow tenement in the sixties and drawing on many autobiographical elements from the writer’s life, Sailmaker explores the relationships between father and son, centered around recently widowed Davie and his son Alec.
The play takes us through vivid memories from Alec’s childhood, interspersed with reflective moments from a grown-up Alec, as if he is trying to make sense of his past and his relationship with his father, beginning with the moment he was first told of his mother’s death. Davie, grieving and dealing with gambling and unemployment, has his own problems, and the two just can’t quite relate to each other as Alec, academically gifted with dreams of going to university, starts to grow away from his working-class roots. At the heart of their relationship is the broken model yacht that Davie promised to fix but never did. We also meet Davie’s brother Billy and his son Ian, and see how their father/son relationship develops in comparison.
Alexander Tait is fantastic as Alec. He brought a real youthful nature to the role, and I found him so engaging to watch, particularly when he was joined on stage by Lewis Kerr as his cousin Ian - they had great chemistry and bounced off each other so well.
Andy Clark’s performance of Davie was also a standout. Although he may seem a bit hopeless initially, we learn that Davie was a keen reader and he had a trade as a sailmaker. It seems like he was a man who had hopes and dreams for his future, but has unfortunately found himself a bit lost in adult life - as many of us do. Clark manages to bring this balance really nicely - Davie never really feels like the bad guy.
Paul J Corrigan brings some contrast to Davie’s character as his brother, Billy. He’s a painter by trade, a massive Rangers football fan, and has provided the stability for his family that Davie hasn’t managed.
Claire Halleran’s set design was simple and very effective. There wasn’t much on the stage, but it reflected the bare reality of a working-class tenement home of the sixties. At the very end of the play, Alec and Davie burn much of what is left on the stage - books, the small amount of furniture, even the model yacht. This was such a poignant moment as they stood in their empty space, reflecting on what had gone before.
I thought Spence’s writing was really fantastic. The interactions between characters were very natural, and there were lots of little funny moments. So much of Alec’s monologued reflections were almost poetic in nature, and it made me realise why this is regarded so highly as a text studied for National 5 English.
Sailmaker was last performed in 1990 and it’s astounding how many of the themes explored through the play can be related to by audiences today. It’s a timeless piece of theatre that speaks volumes about growing up, class differences, masculinity, and difficulties in communicating with those you love.
Sailmaker is touring venues across Scotland in March, concluding at The Gaiety on 1 April.
★★★★
