A heartbroken young woman (Emily Ashton) retreats into a cottage, frantically trying to rearrange it. As the realisation of being alone on Burns Night dawns upon her, she sinks into her chair. Little does she expect to be joined by Robert Burns (Kieran Francis Begley) himself! After testing whether he is the ghost of the real man himself through a laboured quiz on dates of publication of his plays, she is somewhat satisfied. Interspersed with song, which brings a lovely energy to the show, he tries to give her dating advice and ends up taking her through a, (again) quite laboured, practice date which only increases her frustration. The story ends with him literally ghosting her (though, to be fair, with warning) and some new insights spark for this young woman.
From the outset, Begley plays a larger-than-life 18th century theatrical character. While some of that loud acting lends itself to the personality he is trying to establish and colour he is aiming to spark in this woman’s life, most of it comes across as lacking nuance or development through the show. Ashton too keeps the character underdeveloped through the 70-minute act, barring a few charming smiles that slip through. Gillian Duffy’s writing definitely has more plot and character development than what the cast pulls off but the script too, isn’t without its moments of cringe. Modern references seemed forced into the format of the play and Burns’ inconsistent familiarity with objects and information of today’s time feels confusing.
Comedy is the foundation of the play, it’s what the idea is built on and the thread it hangs by. A lot of the comedy is based on the basic premise of a dynamic and prolific 18th century poet being placed in an almost teenage romance situation. Most of the show does manage to get laughs but ironically, it is older adults that form a majority of the audience. A younger person like me found the jokes silly in an unfunny way and a lot of lines that help comedic punch were predictable, robbing me of the anticipation and surprise that would otherwise bring out a laugh. Whether teenagers formed part of the target audience or whether Rabbie Burns was meant to draw in older crowds is unknown, but the comedy did shine through, even to this writer’s disagreement.
Overall, the show feels like a fun production put up by college students to entertain everyone on an evening out – the performance, light design and even story seem amateur-ish. But every show isn’t and doesn’t need to be an artistic inspiration – this one does make for a light-hearted evening out!
The Ghosting of Rabbie Burns runs until 14th January 2023 and tickets can be found at https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/the-ghosting-of-rabbie-burns
Reviewer: Aditi Dalal
Reviewed: 5th January 2023
North West End UK Rating: ★★