Orphans – King’s Theatre, Edinburgh and Touring

Picture: Mihaela Bodlovic

Orphans continues at the King’s Theatre, Edinburgh until 16 April 2022 and then tours to Eden Court, Inverness from 28-30 April.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

Cora Bissett once again proves her excellence with her direction of this roller-coaster ride from the National Theatre of Scotland. Based on Peter Mullan’s award-winning black comedy film, Bissett began to think about Orphans as a project on hearing music composed by Roddy Hart and Tommy Reilly – she knew straight away that this duo had the right approach to make the cast of Orphans sing. With Douglas Maxwell diligently writing the dialogue, a team was formed to begin creating this polished gem of a show.

The plot revolves around a family that has drifted apart somewhat being brought together to mourn their mother.  Thomas (Robert Florence), as the family’s eldest, sees himself as the new head of the family, but it’s plain to see his siblings have different ideas. His scene in the chapel with only his mother in her coffin and a statue of the Virgin Mary is comedy gold. Florence has the gift of timing a line to land at exactly the right moment.

Reuben Joseph as the adopted son, Michael, has the meatiest role to play. With more of a back story, his character and his conflicting emotions are laid bare. Joseph has a brilliant singing voice with just the pitch and tone to draw listeners in. Seeing him as a parent, albeit flawed, sets him apart from his family as he’s already thinking ahead to the next generation, whilst his siblings cannot deal with the loss of the previous one.

The third brother, John (Dylan Wood), is the youngster in the family and has a quicker temper than the others. He feeds off any dispute, wanting to take as extreme a route as possible in any escalating conflict.

The only daughter, Sheila, finds herself at a bit of a loss as she and her mother were ‘more than close’. Amy Conachan plays Sheila to perfection – her raw, earthy energy never stays still for long. As a wheelchair user, Conachan takes the opportunity to show what she can do, rather than what limits her. The sticking wheel of her chair reads as illustrating how she could be left going round in circles without a clear direction. In her scene with the ‘Paper Girls’ her courage rises and she allows them to take her to ‘the shows’. The funfair scene shows off the fantastic staging and choreographed movement with great energy and precision.

Rather than a plot, as such, the play is a series of sketches exploring the lives of typical people in everyday situations, exaggerated yet avoiding caricatures, and the ensemble cast is simply splendid. Paul McCole as Frank all but stops the show in one of the sweariest comical songs ever seen on the stage (‘Every C**t Should Love Every C**t’).

The songs are many – occasionally too many – and varied. Using the songs to set moods, to reflect characters, to reveal more than if the words are spoken, takes skill. The ‘book end’ song for the show, ‘What Happens Now’, marks the step-change in the family’s life with the ritual of the funeral in the centre of the performance. A funeral with more than one odd moment, at that!

If you plan to see this show – get to your seat early to marvel at the set. Exquisitely depicting the sooty sandstone buildings that evoke Glasgow, Emily James’ design can be viewed as a Glasgow in decline and, at the same time, the scaffolding could depict a place being built. The movement of the staging throughout the show is genius: as the tenements sweep and swirl, revealing a church, a pub, a bedroom and so forth with apparent ease. The timing is spot on from the skilful cast and stage crew. The lighting design (Lizzie Powell) serves the staging and characters very well indeed.

Just as the song ‘What Happens Now’ begins and ends Orphans, every end will be the beginning of something ‘other’. Whether that is building up or knocking down is not always easy to say until the next ‘What Happens Now’ appears.

Cora Bissett has assembled an impressive team here. Congratulations to everyone involved with Orphans – who know what possibilities there are for its future beyond this tour. What happens now?

Fiona Orr