Play Touring Scotland

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Nlp Theatres Company in Glasgow have just finished a sell out tour of the play SIINGIN IM NO A BILLY HES A TIM.
Coming soon! BLUE HEN by Des Dillon
STARRING CHARLES LAWSON (CORONATION STREET`S JIM MCDONALD)
Two redundant men. A blue hen. Twenty bloodthirsty chickens. One grave robber and a psychopathic drug dealer.
Can Paddy and John use their working class wits to get through this one intact? Or will the roughest scheme in Coatbridge strip them of their dignity, their dreams, and their lives?
Visit www.nlptheatre.co.uk for all dates, venues and more.
Citizens Theatre, Glasgow
Wed 5th may-Sat 8th may 2010

[joycew]

Reviews Theatre
Singin' I'm No a Billy, He's a Tim
NLP Theatre
Assembly @ George Street until Monday August 30, 2010
If theatre exists to give a voice to the complex, unspoken emotions of its audience, then NLP is right on the button. Pulling in those who never otherwise attend the theatre – even in the middle of the fringe – Des Dillon's high-tempo play about a Rangers and a Celtic supporter put in a cell together on the day of Glasgow's old-firm derby does exactly that, as it puts bigotry up on the stage and laughs at it.

While erring on the side of comedy, Scott Kyle as Billy and Colin Little as Tim ensure that this is much more than the extended sketch it could have been. They are exactly the kind of Glasgow lads you'd expect to see sent down for debt-related offences. And they bring out all the complexities of their characters, the bravado, the patter, the foibles and their commonly held beliefs in such innate ideals as family.

Stephen Cafferty's strong, energetic direction does nothing to stop Dillon's often overly simplistic understanding of the problems of bigotry, epitomised in Scottish society by the old-firm rivalry. And Alex Donald's prison warden, Harry, is drawn with an even broader brush. But in that clear simplicity and the comedy within which it is couched, this is as powerful a piece of comedy as any else on the fringe.

Review by Thom Dibdin

Cast
BillyScott Kyle
TimColin Little
HarryAlex Donald
Crew
WriterDes Dillon
DirectorStephen Cafferty