Willie Rough

Edinburgh Evening News, Friday November 16 2006

****
Church Hill Theatre

WORKING class heroes are a complex breed. Bill Brydon, who drew on his own full name for the titular character, knew this well even in the early-70s when he wrote the play, which resonates to this very day.

Leitheatre's revival of the work last night at the Church Hill, faithfully rendered it in all its glory, with only one small exception. The language was the same West Coast drawl of the original, featuring authentic slang and the same liberal dose of expletives that would have been heard in shipyards throughout the country. The sight of billy-cans of tea, or pints of beer and cheap whisky being downed would have been familiar too. The only problem was that no-one seemed to have a working match for their cigarettes.

Of course, the company would not have broken the law in the name of authenticity, but it's a shame when, having gone to the trouble of getting Derek Blackwood to design such a mobile and ingenious, but above all, accurate set, to have to forego that one little detail.

And detail was what the play was all about. Set in the days of Red Clydeside which actually ran from the 1910s to the '30s, the play focused on the lives of a few characters during the three years from 1914 to 1916.

The story nominally documents Willie's arrival in Greenock, where he finds work as a riveter, before becoming a shop steward and, along with socialist revolutionary Charlie McGrath, leads a strike which threatens the shipyards on the Clyde.

The piece was multi-layered, though, and dealt with a number of other issues including unfair rent, social justice, racism and freedom of speech - strangely, or perhaps not so strangely familiar modern-day issues.

The production featured several strong performances, most notably the redoubtable Billy Refrew as Willie Rough. Onstage for almost the entire show, he never once showed any signs of flagging or losing the intensity of Rough's character - a driven man, discovering what it was he believed in, and then fighting tooth and nail for it.

Alan Jeffreys provided not only bawdy humour as a stereotypical ex-soldier, without resorting to cliches or posturing, but also real pathos as he showed his courage one final time. Steve McDowell, in the role of Pat Gatens, acted as Rough's conscience - guiding him towards his beliefs and responsibilities, and also reminding him of his roots when it seemed that he might go too far.

Alex Purves took the MacOscar though, for his gentle giant portrayal of foreman Jake Adams, a man not averse to a little bribery in exchange for jobs, but with a big heart and a conscience.

Ron Brown's whippet, Big Mac, will no doubt have got some kind of after-show treat for his on-stage good behaviour. The former race-track star was a definite best of breed though, oddly, no mention was made in the programme of which actor was understudying his part.

Political drama is difficult to pull off without preaching and, to be fair, the pulpit was occasionally visible. The trick which both Brydon and Leitheatre seem to have mastered is getting the message across subtly, while putting the emphasis on realistic characters for the audience to care about. In that, they were entirely successful.