The Choir, Citizens Theatre, review: Dominic Hill weaves a play with real Glasgow humour
Composer and co-lyricist Ricky Ross brings an affecting, soulful quality to the music
In a church hall in the North Lanarkshire town of Wishaw, twelve unlikely individuals come together, united by music and their desire to sing it together. There’s Ryan Fletcher’s ex-jailbird Donny, trying to get his life back together, and his cousin Scott (Scott Reid), all tracksuited swagger blunted by zero-hour contract wage slavery; unemployed graduate Velia (Neshla Caplan) and her unlikely best friend Bethany, a young single mum; Scots Tory retired businesspeople George and Jean (James Quinn and Anne Kidd), who like old-fashioned church music; and Iraqi cardiac specialist Khalid, the first among equals who binds them together.
If writer and lyricist Paul Higgins (best known as Malcolm Tucker’s equally foul-mouthed Scots foil Jamie in The Thick of It) has included too many characters to give each a satisfying personal arc within only his second written play, the ensemble are finely tuned as a mass of conflicts waiting to happen. Alongside him in this first Citizens co-production with the Ambassador Theatre Group (which suggests its life may be extended), composer and co-lyricist Ricky Ross - Deacon Blue singer and songwriter for James Blunt and Jamie Cullum – brings an affecting, soulful quality to the music.
Director Dominic Hill weaves a play with real Glasgow humour, most of it from the rough-around-the-edges Scott, and a heartfelt and convincing reminder that music can bridge the gaps between us.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies