Celebrated Leith-born artist Eduardo Paolozzi gets the theatrical treatment in Graham Eatough’s all too brief entry for the Play, Pie and Pint season, based on a concept by Maggie Rose. Held together by the clever parallel between his famous titular sculpture and the fact that his own head suffered something like a shattering because of a stroke, the play alternates between Paolozzi’s later years (played by Michael Mackenzie) in a care home, where he sits wheelchair-bound and struggles to name simple items on picture-cards, and his earlier years (played by Ian Bustard) where he struggles to get his work noticed. His art’s raison d’être is revealed to be the death of his father and grandfather in the Arandora Star during WWII.
Attempts to expose the foundations of his art and aesthetic in such a short space result in on-the-nose dialogue that somewhat undermines the more sophisticated aspects of Eatough’s erudite script. But thanks to his pacy, no-nonsense direction and a superb cast, in particular Mackenzie’s entirely convincing performance and Louise Ludgate playing everything from the care assistant to the arts patron, it more than compensates. Culminating with a intriguing comment on the cathartic aspects of art and society’s limited space for it, this show will leave you pondering long after you’ve finished your pie.
Showing @traverse until Sat 13 March 13:00, tix £10 (include pie and pint)