Sunshine On Leith
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Cast: George MacKay, Kevin Guthrie, Paul Brannigan, Jane Horrocks, Peter Mullan, Freya Mavor, Antonia Thomas, Jason Flemyng, Sara Vickers
Rating: (M)
3 stars (out of 5)
Before I went to see Sunshine On Leith (Metro and Rialto), I was joking with friends that a Scottish musical was a dodgy proposition.
Sunshine On Leith was a successful musical based on the music of the Proclaimers.
Using the Proclaimers' music is about as close as it gets to being another Mamma Mia!, but in other ways their music works because, apart from the two massive hits, most of us have never heard these songs before.
Just to underline that this is a Scottish musical, not some girlie thing on a Greek Island, Sunshine On Leith starts in Afghanistan with nervous solders sitting in an armed convoy speculating through song if this will be the day their number comes up.
We next meet two of them, Davy (George MacKay) and Ally (Kevin Guthrie), singing their joy at being back home in Edinburgh.
But as all returning solders learn somehow, the hardest part is fitting in back home.
Ally is seeing Davy's sister Liz (Freya Mavor) and she soon sets her brother up with her friend Yvonne (Antonia Thomas).
At the same time Davy and Liz's parents Rab (Peter Mullan) and Jean (Jane Horrocks) are about to celebrate 25 years of marriage. Everything is coming up roses and then it all falls apart.
Can our three couples unscramble the pieces to sing into the sunset?
Best thing: There is just something delicious about watching actors who normally play hard men singing and dancing up a storm.
Worst thing: Despite generating a lot of goodwill, it does not quite work. The serious plot and the happy music never really gel.
See it with: Anyone who likes a big musical number, as even a Scottish musical can get your toes tapping.
