@ Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 17 Oct 2015
Autumn season is in full swing and for the Traverse that means A Play, A Pie and A Pint. This afternoon’s play comes from Cathy Forde in her third Play, Pie, Pint production and develops a simple story which packs a powerful punch as the message is revealed.
Teaching assistant, Susan, played by Teri Ann Bobb-Baxter, hails from Malawi and is setting up the school’s project room as a favour for the head teacher, to educate the children about Mary’s Meals. Also in the project room is Gerry, the school handyman played by Alan McHugh of Taggart and Take the High Road fame. His comedic performance of a Glasgow handyman is completely believable and utterly engaging.
But amongst the Scottish humour comes a powerful message about successful charity, Mary’s Meals, and the life-changing work which they do across some of the world’s poorest countries. It began in Malawi and throughout the play, Susan shares some incredible facts and poignant stories about the project with pub-quiz addict, Gerry. She walked an hour to school every day and when she got there was given a bowl of phalla (porridge). There is tangible recognition from both Gerry and the audience that in Scotland too there are pupils who come to school unfed but it is the symbolic unpacking of the backpack provided by Mary’s Meals which really hits home. Simple gifts – felt tip pens, a tennis ball, a Beatles t-shirt – none of which would mean much to most children in the UK in this technological age – were the first gifts Susan received and she wants them to stand as 3D educational tools for the children in this fictional Glasgow school.
Gerry is touched and offers to help Susan get the project completed before she goes to a DJing competition, a loose sub-plot which although it provides a quirky musical interlude, is not fleshed out enough to add real meaning to the story. However, his encouragement does help to further emphasise that Gerry, just as Susan was literally in Malawi, is metaphorically “one in a million”.
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