Sunshine on Leith

This was my first visit to this society, deputising for my colleague Susan Kennedy who is a member of the group, and I was very impressed by the very high standards of the production. As most people know Stephen Greenhorn’s script tells the story of two lads, Ally and Davy, returning home to Leith after a period of Army service in Afghanistan and how they integrate (or not) back into civilian live. Ruaridh Mathieson as Ally was excellent at portraying the struggles of adapting back into a life where he no longer feels needed. He also had a strong singing voice shown to it’s best in the numbers such as “Make My Heart Fly” and the Act Two opening “Life With You” trio with Davy and Rab. Jamie Thomson as Davy too gave an excellent performance as he tries to support his friend through his trials whilst having his own relationship problems to deal with. His singing voice shone through in his love duets “Misty Blue” and “Then I Met You”. The young women in their lives Liz, played by Shannon McKenzie, and Yvonne, by Megan Cassidy, were equally strong in both their acting and singing abilities as they portrayed the struggles with their stressful jobs in the modern day NHS and their personal emotions. As Davy’s parents Rab (Kenny Cathro) and Jean (Janet Irving) gave very strong portrayals of a typical Scottish working class couple who had been through the ups and downs over their 30 years of marriage but supported by a deep-seated love for each other were determined to see it through. This was shown to it’s best in Jean’s emotional rendition of “Sunshine on Leith” at Rab’s hospital bedside and Rab’s rumbustious but heartfelt “Oh Jean” at their anniversary bash. Lucy Flight as Eilidh, Rab’s illegitimate daughter from an affair early in his marriage, gave strong support. The ensemble sung and moved well in the company numbers, including the rousing “I Would Walk 500 Miles” finale and I particularly enjoyed the more humorous numbers “Throw the ‘R’ Away” in the Call Centre training session and “Should Have Been Loved” with Jean and her cleaning colleagues. The set was simple but effective and the sunshine yellow wing masking flats with silhouettes of Edinburgh landmarks added a pop of colour. The 8 piece band under the baton of Richard Allan handled the varied genres of The Proclaimers music with great skill supporting but never overpowering the cast. Congratulations to everyone involved, both on and off stage, for an excellent production enjoyed by myself and the rest of the first night audience.

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