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Fly Me To The Moon

Having this year reached the notable landmark of their 500th new production, the team behind the award-winning lunchtime theatre phenomenon that is “A Play, A Pie and a Pint” in Glasgow West End venue, Òran Mór, have spent much of 2019 resurrecting a few old favourites alongside some strong new work. Fly Me To The Moon, by Northern Irish playwright Marie Jones, was first performed in 2010; sadly, it remains all-too-relevant today.

Jones’s script remains full of life, energy and humour.

Loretta (Sandra McNeeley) and Frances (Julie Austin) are two underpaid social care workers who daily visit the unseen Davey, a disabled elderly man whose only pleasures in a seemingly joyless life are betting a few quid on the horses, and listening to his old Frank Sinatra records. The two women, meantime, are doggedly keeping their respective families’ heads above water, just about. While Francis is genuinely proud of one son, now earning some cash by flogging pirated DVDs, Loretta would honestly “get shot” of her unemployed, computer-game-playing partner except that her own kids “have got attached to him”.

Then, off-stage, Davey dies—and Frances realises that, if they delay informing the authorities for a few hours, the pair can safely split the £80 of his pension that Loretta regularly withdraws for him from the bank every Monday. It’s just stealing from the Government, not Davey, she insists; and a stressed out Loretta eventually agrees. But then the temptation gets worse: on the day he dies, Davey finally wins big on the horses, meaning that if they keep quiet for the best part of 24 hours, they could easily afford to go on a colleague’s hen party overseas.

In Sarah McCardie’s sharply directed production, McNeeley and Austin masterfully hold tight to the authenticity of their characters without ever risking the loss of our sympathies. Despite its potentially depressing subject matter, the soul-destroying poverty on the front line of social care and Meals on Wheels, Jones’s script remains full of life, energy and humour. Nearly a decade on from its original production, Fly Me To The Moon tellingly feels more timely than ever.

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Since you’re here…

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You can donate to the charity of your choice, but if you're looking for inspiration, there are three charities we really like.

Mama Biashara
Kate Copstick’s charity, Mama Biashara, works with the poorest and most marginalised people in Kenya. They give grants to set up small, sustainable businesses that bring financial independence and security. That five quid you spend on a large glass of House White? They can save someone’s life with that. And the money for a pair of Air Jordans? Will take four women and their fifteen children away from a man who is raping them and into a new life with a moneymaking business for Mum and happiness for the kids.
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Performances

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The Blurb

Davy never won any more than a couple a quid, but that was his life… All he had was his paper, the horses, memories of singing along with his Frank Sinatra records, and a life of misery. Francis and Loretta are his broke community care workers. The day Davy dies is not only pension day, it's when he finally has a win on the horses... leaving the two women to grapple with their conscience. Marie Jones’ black comedy investigates whether we are valued more in life or in death. 

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