Showing @ The Royal Scots Club, Edinburgh until Sat 16 Aug @ 15:00
This one-man monologue has been doing the rounds since it was first written in the late 1990s. An exposition of the byways and low points of trainspotting as seen from the railway sidings of Yorkshire, its gentle humour (and pretty soft target) is more Last of the Summer Wine than the caustic sidelong observation of Alan Bennett.
The writing from Stephen Dinsdale is a little dated now and the tale of the nerdy hobbyist looks oddly quaint in the age of Geek Chic. So when Phil Barnes (perhaps a little too old in the role) comes onstage as the stereotype rebel without a clue Gus Gascoigne – with his thermos, specs mended with Elastoplast, wee note book with pencil attached by string and anorak encrusted with badges – it really does seem like a dispatch from another time.
There are some nice touches in the writing: Gus’ visit to Auntie Jenny who lives in the trainspotting Valhalla of Crewe, his embarrassing encounters with putative girlfriend Jackie and some awful puns along the way. Gus is a nerd, but that’s such a tired and dated cliche. How you long for him to get angry and carry a couple of Molotov cocktails in his parka’s pockets.