Trumpets and Raspberries

Jimmy Chisholm

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Review

Trumpets and Raspberries by Dario Fo

Once again, Tony Cownie produces a well-made play- this time in the farcical mould. Dario Fo did not look kindly upon artists who made unnecessarily light work of his political drama, but Cownie has not erred on the side of caution in this respect. From the off, jaunty music plays while the surgeons begin the mistaken transformation of factory magnate John Lamb into the identical twin of one of his workers, Tony Brodie.

Taking a political satire from the 1970s and updating it to modern day Scotland is always dangerous. The technological progress of our age and particularly the film industry makes the improbable scenario of the play, slightly more real than when it was first performed. The references to Iraq, Tony Blair, nuclear warheads and the Edinburgh tram system however, do not aid this concerted effort at intelligent farce. Of course, the comedy is underwritten by social commentary on politics and Government response to terrorism; a topic which is as relevant now as it was when the play was written.

Jimmy Chisholm takes the lead and shines as both Tony Brodie and Sir John Lamb, and there is good ensemble work from the supporting cast, in particular Steven McNicoll as the Dr. Strangelove-esque doctor. The set contributes well to the quasi-absurd, farcical nature of the play, and Cownie has used the space and set creatively.

There is no need to update the obvious, neat Marxist finale that proves that society’s foundations are truly rooted in capital, with the symbolic God/Adam pose of the magnate and the Inspector of Police. The ending, however, feels rushed through almost as if the director or the cast are slightly embarrassed by this simple, moralistic wrapping up of events. Cownie’s production is an enjoyable evening’s happenstance, but without the depth to make it memorable.

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