Fringe Theatre
Willie and Sebastian
Gilded Balloon
Brian Beacom
Five stars
The fascination we have with those blessed with incredible talent and an incredible propensity to trash their own lives is reason enough to watch Ian Pattison’s new play.
The Rab C.Nesbitt creator has chosen two complete wastrels – Willie Donaldson was a writer (the Henry Root letters), a theatre producer (Beyond The Fringe), a sex addict and coke head.
Sebastian Horsley was an artist (he once had himself crucified), a writer, and a dandy. He was addicted to sex with prostitutes as well as Class A drugs.
Pattison manages to take us on a wonderful hour-long journey down the sewer drain of these friends’ world thanks to the revelation they shared more than crack cocaine and a love of Oscar Wilde. They both loved Rachel, a fun-living party girl, and an opportunity for delicious jealousy, anger and even a little attempted murder.
Thanks to this bleak despair and nihilism, comedy abounds. The play also offers a wonderful discourse on the choices we have, to be mad/drunk/debauched - or even sensible. But we don’t have the choice of whom we fall in love with.
Andy Gray is immense as Donaldson, Grant Stott offers a delightful dandy as Horseley, with Michele Gallagher providing the perfect foil, as Rachel.
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