Showing @ Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh until Sat 15 Mar @ 19:30 (on tour)
The stories of some politicians lend themselves to drama better than others and Gordon Brown’s decade-long struggle to reach No. 10, only for proceedings to slowly collapse in and around him, is almost Shakespearian in nature. As such, a dramatisation of his point of view – live memoirs almost – feels very apt.
We meet Brown (Billy Hartman) in an unspecified period – he’s put his prime ministerial days behind him but appears to be preparing for an important meeting, with some very late advisers. Does a potential comeback loom? We wait to find out, as Brown paces his office, examines the forgotten contents of his desk drawers and retells the story of his political life.
It’s a life with rich pickings, both comedic and tragic. Sadly, the slow passing of time tips off the stage and into the audience experience. If the show were just over an hour, it would be a five-star smash. As it is, two hours is too long to be left alone with one man and his tumbling thoughts.
None of this is the fault of Hartman. His Gordon is a grumbler, a candid storyteller whose infrequent violent outbursts are tempered with plenty of ready wit and enjoyable bitchiness – much of it aimed at a certain slippery Middle East envoy. Hartman never loses his sense of conviction and the performance is perfectly judged, pitched between caricature and the human beneath. Politicians are frequently soulless in real life, or at least come across as such – Hartman finds something soulful.
The script too, by writer/director Kevin Toolis, is not at fault – much of it sparkles. There’s next to nothing that is badly written – the problem is that often, there’s too much repetition. Brown launches several different monologues on the nature of power, which are for the most part beautifully arranged, though better suited to a collection of short stories. But with the same subject cropping up and again, all his careful speeches begin to merge into one. A pity – but nothing an extensive trim wouldn’t fix.