Review: GOODBYE DREAMLAND BOWLARAMA, Oran Mor
Co-presented with Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival
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Goodbye Dreamland Bowlarama is a new musical written by Taylor Dyson and Calum Kelly and it is directed by Beth Morton.
When Ross (Ewan Somers) and Charlie (Taylor Dyson) are just 10 and 7 years old, they lose their parents in an accident. They move in with their grandparents but shortly after, their grandmother passes away and they are raised by their grandfathers. Years later he too has passed and Charlie is now living with her brother, his wife and their son. They insist that it isn't a problem having her there but Charlie feels as though she's losing everyone she ever cared about.
Charlie works at the hottest spot in Inverness- the Dreamland Bowlarama, a job she takes very seriously. Her Best Friend is a 50-something straight-talking northerner and a traumatic incident at work flips Charlie's world upside down. With an unsteady situation at home, Charlie sets off for the bright lights of Dundee in search of extended family.
This is a brilliant and well-written musical that covers a lot of plot into just an hour. Charlie is an extremely likeable character and Ewan Somers excels at playing a range of different parts. The songs are charming and really add a lot to the production. This is a really funny piece of theatre with a lot of heart behind it and I'd love to see it expanded into a longer piece because I want to spend more time with these characters.
Photo credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
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