Theatre

Channeling Jabez

Oran Mor, Glasgow

Mary Brennan

two stars

THE pie and pint are, as ever, in place – but this one-man show is not exactly a play. It’s a cross between an illustrated lecture and a performance monologue, delivered by the writer himself, Giles Croft. His subject matter is one Jabez ‘Jappy’ Wolffe (1877 - 1943). Who he? Well other than his place on the family tree as Croft’s third cousin once removed, the Glasgow-born Wolffe was known in the early years of the 20th century as an indefatigable long distance swimmer: his Holy Grail was the English Channel. It is tempting to imagine Wolffe, burly frame slathered in grease, colloguing with the descendants of Bruce’s famous spider for, undaunted by failure, this man tried. And then tried again. And again. In all, Wolffe attempted to swim between England and France no fewer than 22 times, defying adverse tides, hostile weather and jellyfish in a bid to emulate Captain Webb, the first man to cross coast-to-coast in 1875.

At times, the origins of this piece in Croft’s genealogical researches lead us off in meandering loops with anecdotes about other family members. Elsewhere those researches provide background colour where newspaper reports, slides and film clips, reference the questing spirit of an age before the First World War left the already treacherous waters of the Channel a veritable minefield. Given that Croft is currently the artistic director of Nottingham Playhouse, it is a tad surprising to find not one, but two names – Liz Carruthers, assisted by David Wood – listed under directing credits. Mind you, Wolffe liked to have a support team on hand, so maybe it’s a family trait, akin to the air of amiable whimsy that percolates through the little bits of business and helps gloss over the lapses in Croft’s marathon of remembering. Edinburgh audiences can dip a toe in the choppy waters of history at the Traverse next week.

Sponsored by Heineken