Review: SUICIDE, AND OTHER ACTS OF SELFISHNESS, Theatre 118
Suicide, and Other Acts of Selfishness runs until 19 July
During the month of July, Theatre 118 are presenting four ‘plays of the week’ in a vacant office block in Glasgow city centre. The grassroots theatre company aim to create affordable theatre opportunities with fresh new writing. The tickets for these plays are a suggested price of £10 but there is a pay what you can option available.
Suicide, and Other Acts of Selfishness is written by Kieran Lee-Hamilton and directed by Frodo Allan, and it is a one-act play performed by Eli McFarland and Lindsay Anderson.
A young man stands on the edge of a bridge in central Scotland, ready to jump. What he doesn’t expect is to find someone else up there with the same intent. It’s a heavy subject matter, immediately lightened with the words “are you going to be long?”. What follows is a wickedly dark comedy about male mental health and suicide.
The two men are from the same area, one is in his late 50s and the other is late teens/early 20s. Both have their reasons for being up on the bridge and after some initial bickering, the pair begin to talk a bit more openly. There’s a good rapport between the two performers and the dialogue is witty and gripping.
Suicide, and Other Acts of Selfishness is rich with that black Scottish humour that you won’t get anywhere else. Lee-Hamilton’s writing is skilled with the ability to create tension and easily break it with a laugh.
The situation of these two men isn’t what you would initially expect and it makes for a fresh and exciting new piece of theatre.
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