REVIEW: BUDDY by Miranda Langley at Bread and Roses 7 - 11 Nov 2023

‘there’s the kernel of something quirky and meaningful in the relationship between the sisters and something genuinely dark in the trauma that’s left Sophie living alone and reliant…’ ★★★

Never judge a play by its poster, but those that advertise a ‘dark’ comedy are usually so unremittingly bleak that you stagger out wondering whether life’s still worth living or fairly amiable slices of life that wished they hit a bit harder and deeper than they do. Buddy falls a bit into the latter category, a tale of two sisters nearly a generation apart and divided by experience, worldview and the presence of a damaged and vicious rescue dog that’s preventing the younger one from leaving her house to live her life.

The eponymous Buddy is the dog and, wisely perhaps, one of those title characters who doesn’t appear (we’re left waiting for doggo). Older sister Lorna gets the task of watching him for the weekend while her owner Sophie spends a romantic weekend with a boyfriend, Jimmy, she’s not sure is ever going to rock her boat.

There’s a lot to enjoy in the play at the level of individual scenes, particularly once Buddy has predictably run away and Lorna has to go searching for him with Paul, a naïve, dopey and accidentally offensive animal rescuer, providing the funniest and most energetic sequences. The dialogue’s often terrific, sharp, elliptical and funny.

It is, though, hard to discern a theme beyond some well constructed sequences of: life is tough; sibling love and rivalry, and unsatisfactory romantic options. The play’s way too long (the originally advertised 80 minutes would have stretched the material, the now advertised and actual performance length of 100+ minutes stresses the need for some edits) and a slicker production might have dispensed with the quite lengthy scene changes that the episodic structure frequently requires. The ending when it comes is also so abrupt as to leave the audience unsure it’s arrived.

One hopes, though, that the show’s a work in progress because there’s the kernel of something quirky and meaningful in the relationship between the sisters and something genuinely dark in the trauma that’s left Sophie living alone and reliant on a clearly unsuitable pet. The performances are strong, too, particularly in the better developed roles of Lorna and the dog catcher, though so determinedly naturalistic that a bit more emotional variety wouldn’t go amiss, particularly when the two sisters have their full-scale fall-out towards the climax.

Loads of potential here that a tighter, more focused storyline and a bit of editing could really develop.

BUDDY by Miranda Langley

Director: Rafaela Elliston

Bread and Roses    7 November to 11 November 2023

Box Office: https://www.breadandrosestheatre.co.uk/

David Weir’s plays include Confessional (Oran Mor, Glasgow), Better Together (Jack Studio, London). Those and others performed across Scotland, Wales and England, and in Australia, Canada, South Korea, Switzerland and Belgium. Awards include Write Now Festival prize, Constance Cox award, SCDA best depiction of Scottish life, and twice Bruntwood longlisted.