Theatre
Aye, Elvis
Oran Mor, Glasgow
Mary Brennan, four stars
ABERDEEN – like the rest of the UK – never saw Elvis performing in the flesh. Nonetheless, the wonder of Elvis lives on: often in the very variable shapes of Elvis impersonators. Joan (Joyce Falconer) prefers to call them ‘tribute artists’. In truth, at local karaoke nights in Aberdeen, Joan’s gung-ho Doric renditions of Elvis classics are more of a tribute to fantasy –aspiration triumphing over down-to-earth reality. But when reality is a dead-end job, alongside being the sole carer for an elderly mother in a wheelchair ... well, surely Joan has earned her right to dream of applause, of winning cash prizes, of going to Graceland?
It’s this back-story of a cash-strapped, drab existence that brings Morna Young’s engagingly daft comedy to the edge of a genuinely affecting abyss of bleak disappointment. If Young’s writing is adept at changing gears between the highs and lows of Joan’s single-minded discovery of her ‘inner Elvis’ then director Ken Alexander and a tremendous cast are totally onside in shading the broad sweeps of humour with sadly telling little character details. There’s such helpless frustration in Agnes' (Karen Ramsay) fists, beating against the air as she rails against being left alone and housebound – again – because daughter Joan is out, channelling Elvis. And there’s a wistful sincerity in David McGowan’s lovelorn DJ, Fat Bob – ever helpful, but barely registered by Joan on her quest for success. Meanwhile Joyce Falconer – encased in a white rhinestone-studded and caped jumpsuit that echoes Elvis’s Vegas days – is capturing the very essence of Joan’s yearning to have a life, even if that life shadows that of a dead pop icon. She acquires the curling snarl of Elvis’s upper lip, adopts the stances, the kicks, the gestures – it’s Elvis, but it’s truly the indomitable Joan who’s the real King-pin here.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here