Review of Men Should Weep at Perth Theatre

Nov 22 2011 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

THERE is an uncomfortable feeling gazing in on the drama of one Glaswegian family in their cramped tenement flat in the 1930s that in reality society has not moved on very much: unemployment is rife, men still get drunk and abuse their wives/partners, families still get ensnared in the poverty trap.

And the world is still full of beautiful people who strive their hardest against adversity to do their best for other people.

Maggie Morrison is one such person, powerfully depicted by Lorraine McIntosh in the National Theatre of Scotland’s production of Men Should Weep, currently running at Perth Theatre on the last leg of its tour of Scotland this autumn.

Lorraine is perfectly cast as the wife and mother of many with the weight of poverty on her shoulders. She encapsulates every emotion of playwright Ena Lamond Stewart’s creation – Maggie’s inner strength yet also her vulnerability, her enduring love for her husband John, her determination to protect her family, and her compassion towards her senile mother-in-law.

Even when emotions boil over in the cauldron of the Morrison household, Maggie’s every impassioned word is audible and spoken from the heart – a truly magnificent performance from an actress probably better known as a member of top Scottish group Deacon Blue.

Lorraine is extremely well supported by the 14 other cast members in this piece of gripping quality theatre directed by Graham McLaren. In Maggie’s husband John, Michael Nardone capture’s the audience’s respect, who see the character as a good man of his time and culture.

Impressive too is Colin Richmond’s design – the Morrison’s flat is set inside a metal container covered in barbed-wire to emphasise the claustrophobic dwelling in the poverty trap of the family’s existence, the starkness accentuated by Colin Grenfell’s lighting design.

It’s not all grim, however – plenty of Glasgow humour shines through, and there’s a clever touch of appropriately chosen folk songs superbly performed a cappella during the scene changes by veteran singer Arthur Johnstone.

Ena Lamond Stewart’s original 1942 version of Men Should Weep concluded with death and destruction for the Morrison family, but she re-worked the script in 1976 to end on a note of hope. Thus the Perth Theatre audience can file out from an evening (or afternoon) of quality, engaging theatre able to imagine how at least some of the Morrison family could enjoy a brighter future.

Men Should Weep continues at Perth Theatre until Saturday.

Alison Anderson