Theatre company Grid Iron took a host of awards 10 years ago with their innovative production Decky Does A Bronco.
Based on writer Douglas Maxwell’s childhood in Ayrshire, it shows a group of five lads at their local park, on the swings, and each one wants to prove himself. The show is back on tour, making its way round Scotland and England.
The company was in Dundee at the weekend, showing how the lads coped with adulthood while keeping their childlike innocence. Their lives change with the realisation of the cruelty adults can perpetrate on children.
Grid Iron specialises in site-specific theatre, and were previously in Dundee to present Yarn at the Verdant Works. On a wet Dundee night, the team of actors took to the swings to recreate the childhood games and banter.
The big challenge is to do a bronco, swing higher and higher until you leap off and the swing wraps itself round the top bar. All the lads can do it except wee Decky.
David (an assured performance from Martin McCormick) narrates, telling the stories of them all and the appalling outcome. Three of the boys are seen as youngsters and as adults, using six of the eight-strong company.
The change is quite eerie in some of them, from a youngster who revelled in the rough and tumble and having a laugh who grows into a rage-filled sociopath.
The audience forms a circle round the swings, sitting on stools like kids themselves. In the park, youngsters on bikes also circled the action and the sound of shouting from a nearby footie match wafted over — it’s what location-based theatre is all about.
Director Ben Harrison and his excellent actors generate a lot of energy, making it compelling viewing, and the atmospheric music of Philip Pinsky heightens the mood.
The only problem was hearing all the lines in the conditions of a Scottish summer, namely drizzle and an intermittent wind. Some parts of the plot were blown away but ultimately the whole production is strong enough to blow away an audience.Decky Does A Bronco can be seen in Fife this week as part of the Inside Out Festival tomorrow at Leven and Friday and Saturday in St Andrews. More details on www.byretheatre.com or 01334 475000.