Theatre
Hot Water
Oran Mor, Glasgow
Mary Brennan, three stars
FROM the crowded shelves of bath-time smellies, to the actual tub itself, the Oran Mor production team have done writer Steven Dick, director Tony Cownie and Janette Foggo (who plays Annie) proud. Thing is, that when Foggo hits her anecdotal stride, with every droll/dry pay-off consummately timed, she could be standing on a bare stage and she’d still score the laughs from an audience who are totally on-side with her, even when her narrative seems a tad far-fetched.
In fact, Dick’s play is based on a real-life incident: his elderly gran passed out in a bath and was marooned there for a significant amount of time. This is the fate that befalls Annie who slips and falls when she gets into the bath-ful of hot water... and comes to when the water is stone-cold and Radio4 is broadcasting the end-of-day announcements. The ensuing monologue is actually more of a stand-up routine than a one-act play, with Foggo - seated upstage in a cut-away section of the bath – musing on her life, (possible) death and whatever other stuff comes to mind as she tries to keep panic at bay. There are some ridiculously daft moments, such as her mishaps – as a woman of a certain (defiantly undisclosed) age – going wild swimming but Foggo is so adept at channeling Annie’s determination to be living on her tod, independent and self-sufficient. that the whiff of a tall tale being enhanced for effect is offset by the honesty that surfaces elsewhere. In among Annie’s rigmaroles of how to bury a body at sea, or forensically detailed post-mortem putrefaction, is a woman who is already cut-off from the world outside her bathroom. Does she get to live another day? Foggo’s tour-de-force makes it worth finding out.
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