Review: THE BROONS, Theatre Royal, Glasgow, 7 November 2016

To celebrate their 80th anniversary in print, Glebe Street's finest take to the stage for the first time. First published in 1936, The Broons consist of Grandpaw, Paw, Maw, Hen, Daphne, Joe, Maggie, Horace, The Twins and The Bairn, who live in a tenement in the fictional town of Auchenshoogle.

It would be easy to rely on the popularity of The Broons to get the audience in, but this stage production has a solid plot to back it up. Maggie, the more glamorous of the Broon children, announces that she's getting married. While her family are pleased at first, Maw Broon soon realises that, one by one, her children are leaving her, and so attempts to sabotage the wedding.

Rob Drummond's script is nothing short of genius. The one-liners are fantastic and the references to the original comic strip and sister publication Oor Wullie are witty and hysterical. Drummond has managed to make this production both familiar and fresh. The cast are excellent and I especially enjoyed Paul Riley as Paw Broon, who was also sporting the most spectacular moustache.

More of a play with music than a musical, most of the songs felt unnecessary. Opening with an original song and the cast playing their own instruments was a nice touch, but the jukebox of Scottish songs that continued throughout became a bit tiresome. The Twins performing "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" was a definite crowd-pleaser, and the medley of Scottish anthems at the end did have the audience up on their feet. But while the finale was entertaining, I felt as though the script was strong enough to stand on its own without the music.

The Broons runs at the Theatre Royal until 7 November.

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