EDINBURGH 2018: Review: OLD BOY, Scottish Storytelling Centre

As the audience trickle in, Peter sits on the stage playing with his two-year-old grandson Sam. The pair play with toy cars and coloured balls as Peter keeps the wee one entertained. His opening dialogue sets the tone for the rest of the performance as he told us how he cried at the deli counter in the supermarket when he found out he was a grandfather. Throughout Peter's story and describing how he feels about being a grandfather, he interacts with Sam as he babbles back to him and brings him toys.

Old Boy is an incredibly touching piece of theatre. After Peter and Sam, we meet Kai and his papa. Kai opens with some facts about 76-year-old men and tells us that they like movies, music and telling stories. He is joined onstage by his papa and they mess around with piggyback rides, playing tig and rock paper scissors.

This is a very light and sweet piece and the messages behind it are wonderful. It is a unique look at masculinity, the men that the boys want to emulate and being in touch with your feelings. Kai's papa affectionately ruffles his hair and calls him his "beautiful boy" while absolutely bursting with pride. It is impossible not to be moved by it. He talks about all the things his grandson likes and how it isn't true that kids are just glued to computers all of the time.

The final segment is Iain who talks about his pop. Iain is 22 and has just left university and compares what he is faced with what his pop had to deal with at that age. He talks about his fondest memories with him and the jokes and stories he would tell- including one gag about a vacuum flask that I remember my own papa telling me!

Old Boy is an hour of pure joy with important themes about the older generation and the unique bond between grandfathers and their grandsons.

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/old-boy

Photo credit: Brian Hartley

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