Theatre
But that was then
Oran Mor, Glasgow
Mary Brennan
four stars
LIKE old age itself, this one creeps up on you. It plays tricks on what you were certain sure of, and springs surprises beyond what you were expecting.
James (Billy McBain) and Marcia (Alison Peebles) have been married for what seems like forever. Middle-age has given way to what some chirpily hail as a “third age”, seeing retirement as a starting point for fresh experiences. Marcia, however, sees ageing in terms of loss: her looks have been hijacked by wrinkles, her acting career has fallen into the doldrums – these young producers don’t know who she is – while her marriage. . . well that slummock in the armchair is still there, useless as ever.
In the time it takes for Marcia to do her make-up, take out her rollers and reveal the evening finery she’s wearing to the BAFTA ball, she also unleashes a barrage of reproaches against the ravages of time, the treacheries of casting directors, the inadequacies of James, and his failures as a would-be playwright. Alison Peebles is in blazing form, veering from the waspishly snide to dramatic flourish, from wistful nostalgia to the coorse’n’vulgar. McBain gives as good as he gets, albeit with a more jocular feel to his banter.
Then, just as you’re wondering why Peter McDougall has pitched the dialogue in such a florid, often stagey and grand-standing style – and why director Graeme Maley hasn’t intervened – there’s a bitter-sweet twist that makes sense of it all. You may well have guessed, by then, what the real and irreversible cost of Marcia’s encroaching age is, but McBain’s closing words – spoken out front to us – are an incredibly moving love letter to the Marcia he has just danced with, a Marcia made glowing and vital by the evergreen talent of Alison Peebles. Tears may well trickle into your pies and pints, folks.
Sponsored by Heineken
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here