Old age takes people differently. Some take it in their stride and carry on, others not so much.
Ian looked after his wife at home till she died, and has since become a recluse. He doesn’t even do his own shopping, a local charity organises that, and his daughter pops in from time to time.
He does do the garden, something his late wife was insistent on, and it’s on a hot day in the garden, wearing one of her summer dresses, that he is discovered by 20-something Raz, just leaving some groceries round the back as no one answered the front door.
It’s a difficult moment, not least for Ian being in a dress, but Raz doesn’t seemed at all fazed. This first encounter is beautifully written and James Quinn as Ian and Darren Kuppan as Raz play it with great skill. It’s very funny and very touching. Quinn gives us a hint of how bristly Ian can be but slowly opens up to Raz’s gentle curiosity, and it’s clear to us, if not to them, that a friendship is forming.
Photo by Chris Payne
On his next visit, Raz reveals himself to be a drag artist. That leads to a discussion about the psychology of drag, and Ian‘s decision to try it out. The situation is further complicated because Raz performs at a club where, unbeknown to him, the woman who runs the bar is Ian’s daughter, Lauren, played by Verity Henry.
Henry expresses Lauren’s complex feelings about her father extremely well. We get her concern, her frustration, and something of the irritation she has learnt from her mother. She also seems jealous of Raz’s relationship with her father, but she is happy for them to work together, and it leads to an entirely believable rapprochement between father and daughter.
Act two is Ian’s preparation for his one night of fame, and there are transformative moments when Raz puts on his make-up for him for the first time, later when he gets his frock, and his big number. This is not so much a musical, more a play with songs, and the action is intercut with numbers sung by Raz, and later Ian, and of course it culminates in Ian’s drag performance, with a fine speech about his late wife Kath which made my partner cry, in a good way. Quinn can really twinkle, and he does.
Going Out Out was developed and directed by Jess Edwards and written by Barney Norris, and is cleverly designed for this small studio space at Manchester’s HOME by Miriam Nabarro, and nicely lit by Adam Foley.
If I have a quibble, it’s that I wasn’t entirely clear about the psychology behind Ian’s sudden decision to do drag. I may have missed something, but it seems to come out of the blue. I think that’s probably in the writing but, as there is a well-known West End producer involved, a bit of reworking may be on the cards.
By Chris Wallis, Theatre Editor
Main image by Chris Payne
