Bobby Bulloch takes us through his journey to parenthood in a one man show set in a living room written by Elizabeth R Davidson. Although the premise of one actor telling a story in one place for an hour may seem daunting, boring even, Bulloch does well to keep his audience captivated. He starts off as a misogynistic Jack-the-lad detailing his fears regarding the impending birth of his child. The story flows through describing his struggle to come to terms with the responsibility of fatherhood and surrounding factors, only made worse by an ever intensifying bond with drink.
Bulloch’s performance is very strong in places. At times his delivery is powerful, intimate and even personable. However I felt that the character could have done with more levels, particularly toward the beginning of the play. He does not seem to change - other than his clothing (another issue) - for a good half an hour making the opening a bit too repetitive.
The scene changes are also too long which allows the audience to drift off from the material too easily. The script could easily have been altered to avert this situation. The only purpose of these breaks was to allow Bulloch to change costume and they took far far too long. Bulloch could easily have just not changed as in many other one man shows, or a more inventive transition could have been created rather than a simple blackout.
Although the script is interesting and personable, at times it borders on being overly sentimental. Also, having just had his life torn apart and turned inside out, Bulloch ends on a high. I feel as though this was an unnecessarily picturesque happy ending.
An interesting play to watch. I would recommend seeing it, however it needs a bit of work before it really takes it’s audience by the scruff of the neck.
