Dead Dad Dog/Sunny Boy – Traverse Theatre
It’s a shame circumstances prevented us seeing ‘Sunny Boy’, the sequel to ‘Dead Dad Dog’, but, 35 years on from its debut in the late 80’s, with the luxury of hindsight, the original play delivered some unexpectedly poignant twists and turns. The historical context more clearly defined, the father/son relationship represented not just the uneasy shift between generations, but also the seismic changes affecting Scotland as ‘Thatcherism’ took the entire UK down and up a new capitalism rollercoaster designed to replace the coal, steel and shipbuilding industries finally forced to give in to global economic pressures. Traditional pubs faced the threat of imported concepts like ‘Brasseries’ and the ‘Smoked Sausage Supper’ was besieged by a thing called Broccoli. ‘Looks like unripe cauliflower’...