Studio3: Alright Sunshine, FLEG and Fruitcake at Tron Theatre Review
Written by Kathryn for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
Tron’s Studio3 season is a mini rep season bringing together a series of short plays originally commissioned by A Play, A Pie & A Pint at Glasgow’s Oran Mor (yes, you really do get a play, a pie, and a pint!). The shows are presented individually as standalone performances or as bumper triple-bills in Tron’s Changing House, a small, intimate studio venue above the main theatre.
Alright Sunshine ★★★★
Nicky is a police officer, and The Meadows is her patch. In this one woman play, Nicky, played superbly by Dani Heron, takes us through her typical day watching over the Edinburgh city centre park where early morning joggers and dog walkers (sometimes even the odd wee radge with a ferret), give way to commuters, students, and drunks as the day progresses.
Although she is following in her father’s footsteps, we can see Nicky struggles with the expectations of being a woman in the police force. She knows she provides a motherly presence on the beat, a reassurance for other women and a deterrent for men looking to start up some violence, but this conflicts with what her dad always told her – don’t be emotional, don’t appear weak, don’t be a girl.
The set is simple, allowing Heron to be the sole focus on stage, and an audio soundscape helps create the atmosphere of The Meadows.
Written by Isla Cowan, Alright Sunshine packs in a lot of humour in its one-hour run time, but it takes an abrupt dark turn as the monologue moves from amusing social observations to consider themes of male coercion, control, and violence. Heron captivates the audience from the very beginning, bringing us along on Nicky’s journey. Throughout the play, we see Nicky lose control of herself and her emotions, and it becomes a bit distressing to watch in parts – a testament to Heron’s phenomenal talent.
Fleg ★★★★
It’s the 8th of September, 2022 and the Queen has died. But no one has told Bobby (Kevin Lennon) and Caroline (Jo Freer) – a deeply patriotic East Belfast couple who have to hear the news from a council worker who has just come along to move the Union “fleg” outside their house to half-mast.
What ensues I can only describe as complete and utter madness. Caroline grieves deeply for the Queen – she died so young and had such a hard life after all, while Bobby develops a sexual obsession with the flag and all it represents. Dani Heron portrays Bobby’s fantasy projection of the flag, clad in red, white and blue sequins and whispering sweet nothings in his ear about the strength of the former British Empire.
As Bobby becomes more and more fixated on his beloved “fleg” and the patriotism that it represents he begins distancing himself from Caroline, who connects with council worker Tierna (also played by Heron) and starts to realise that maybe their views are a bit outdated and actually might be contributing to their unhappy lives.
Fleg doesn’t disappoint in terms of comedy, and Meghan Tyler’s writing had the audience roaring with laughter at multiple points. The characters of Caroline and Bobby are hyper-stereotypical and larger than life, with their sectarian and xenophobic views turned up to max. It’s ridiculous and over the top but the audience embraced it fully.
Fruitcake ★★★
Frances Poet’s Fruitcake is the final production in this mini-rep season. Mickey (Kevin Lennon) hasn’t left his flat since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and he’s not in a good place. Plagued by premonitions that come to him in dreams, Mickey reaches out to Holly (Jo Freer) – his best friend who is more than a little mad at him right now. Mickey missed her mum’s funeral and Holly doesn’t know whether she can forgive him.
Lennon and Freer make a total switch from their characters in Fleg. Lennon’s Mickey is flustered, confused and struggling with the responsibility of his premonitions, and Freer’s grieving Holly is trying hard to put aside her own feelings to help her friend, even when she doesn’t fully believe his story. Dani Heron plays Cassie, an old MSP friend of Holly’s who Mickey insists she calls upon to help pass the message of a potential disaster he has foreseen on to Westminster.
I struggled with whether this was a comedy, or a romance, or just trying to be a bit of both. There were some really touching moments between Mickey and Holly as they navigate rebuilding their friendship in bizarre circumstances, and some genuinely funny lines, but a couple of the jokes fell flat. It could potentially be where the show sits in the performance bill, as it is hard to follow up the roaring ridiculous comedy of Fleg and the gripping simplicity of Alright Sunshine.
Poet’s writing is powerful and the pace of the piece flows nicely, but I felt it struggled a bit in the line-up and would benefit more from being seen independently.
The Studio3 season runs until 17 May at Tron Theatre, with triple bill performances on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
As part of Tron Theatre’s commitment to connecting with communities, Fruitcake will also embark on a 7-venue tour in partnership with Glasgow Life from 21-31 May, visiting venues in Barlanark, Barrowfield, Whiteinch, Barmulloch, Knightswood and with special performances at the Marie Curie Hospice in Springburn and at the Lodging House Mission.
