Showing @ Tron Theatre, Glasgow until Sat 8 Nov @ 20:00

Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde met at the creative educational powerhouse that is Glasgow School of Art in the 1930s. Here they forged a working and loving partnership and looked to take on the art establishment in London. However, after making a small splash in the big city the pair became better known for their drinking than their artwork and struggled to gain the same acclaim and fortunes as their contemporaries.

Colquhoun (Andy Clarke) is the talent and MacBryde (Stephen Cylde) is the extroverted mouthy showman and the pair are brilliantly performed onstage by the versatile and comedic actors. Andy Clarke and Stephen Cylde bring the painters to life and effortlessly convey the complex relationship they have with one another and also their unhealthy reliance on critical acclaim and alcohol.

The brilliance of the play comes from John Byrne’s excellent script which is performed with exuberance and energy. Byrne clearly knows these characters inside out. Being a graduate of Glasgow School of Art has visibly helped him forge a personal link with the painters and allowed him to realise their motivations as artists and as people. This is evident in the touching and melancholy personal moments of the story which are delivered with poise and restraint.

Colquhoun and MacBryde is being reprised as part of the excellent Glasgay! Festival which celebrates LGBT culture. It was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre in 1992 and even though 22 years have passed it has not lost any of its magic and still feels relevant, fresh and exciting today. Colquhoun and MacBryde is an energising look at relationships, creativity and artistic endeavour.