Up The Gary

Given the subject matter of this piece from Bad Penny Theatre the start couldn’t be more chilling. A man sits on a park bench and we can hear the sound of young children playing nearby as he scans the park, looking out for someone. It’s a clever trick – this isn’t Gary Glitter, but Sam (Andrew Barron), and he’s waiting for his niece with whom he has a perfectly healthy relationship

Thence Barron brilliantly takes us on a journey in flashback in what is that rarest of theatrical beasts, a one person show that actually manages to be a play too. Sam, we find out, has had a difficult childhood which is transformed the first time he sees Gary Glitter on Top Of The Pops. After some time in a band of his own (The Ramjets) and following confidence classes, karaoke evenings and an appearance on Stars In Their Eyes he becomes a Glitter impersonator.

All this is fantastically realised by Barron. He makes all the other characters live, and never have I seen conversations with an “invisible” second character so convincing. He never resorts to the naff technique of repeating what the other person has supposedly said. This is also down to the clever writing by Barron himself together with Jessica Beck (who also directs with precision and clarity). The piece is also very funny, and Barron is no mean singer, performing some of Glitter’s hits live. I found myself with the rest of the audience clapping and singing along to the silver suited one’s big, brash numbers. It’s extraordinary, however, how creepy Barron’s faithful rendition of Glitter’s performance of “Do You Wanna Touch Me There” seems in retrospect.

Indeed, it’s when Glitter finally falls from grace after years of comebacks, and is arrested and imprisoned for child pornography offences that this play changes gear. Barron’s moving and vulnerable performance gets better and better as Sam’s own career spirals downwards in tandem with his idol. Indeed, it could be argued that the way life treats Sam is worse, given that he is an innocent man.

This isn’t just a slice of life story. It has some profound things to say about the nature of celebrity, family, and even paedophilia itself, or rather society’s hysterical reaction to it. The production is a gem, from script to performance. Phil Hewitt’s lighting is also striking and helps change both mood and location. It’s also a poignant evocation of an age some people remember with great fondness. Not me of course, I’m far too young. Altogether now, “Do you wanna be in my gang, my gang, my gang...”