A certain string-vested philosopher from sunny Govan once remarked that we’re all teetering on the brink of a pint tumbler. The same can be said of former drug dealer Jackie (Francois Pandolfo) whose shambolic life is like an elevator in a Manhattan high-rise which is plummeting to the ground fast. Or to use Trump-speak, bigly.

His relationship with his childhood sweetheart turned drug addict Veronica (Alexandria Riley) he describes as “feeding your balls to Godzilla every morning”. A situation exacerbated by the titular motherfucker with the hat feeding his balls to her too. His friendship with his AA sponsor Ralph (Jermaine Dominique) goes from good, to bad to ugly. And his bromance with his camp cousin Julio (Kyle Lima) is more back broke than Brokeback.

The only silver linings on his otherwise cloudy future is the prospect of a job after serving a lengthy jail sentence and an unexpected heart-to-heart with his sponsor’s wife Victoria (Renee Williams) who, like him, feels trapped in a rocky relationship; “a punchline over a cheeseburger” is how lowly she imagines her husband thinks of her. To quote another philosophising Scot, we’re all doomed!

Only we’re not, because the quality of the writing by Stephen Adly Guirgis, whose script was nominated for Best New Play at the 2011 Tony Awards, is terrific; no moralising, no easy answers to the difficult questions that life throws at us; no holds barred in its depiction of addiction, jealousy and betrayal.

Similarly, the quality of the performances is stellar; raw and honest, heartbreaking and tender. And the wit is sharper than an Oscar Wilde put-down; delivered with such force and muscularity that each weighty line really does hit home. None more so than the lyrics of the closing song by the Commodores: “Two people lost in a storm / Where did we go / Where’d we go?”

Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Directed by Andy Arnold
Designed by Kenny Miller
Lighting Design by Simon Hayes
Sound Design by Sam Jones
Casting Director – Kay Magson CDG

Peter Callaghan
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