Review: CASTLE FALLON, Oran Mor, Glasgow

Castle Fallon is a new play written by Peter Stewart and directed by Laila Noble that is being staged as part of the A Play, A Pie and A Pint Autumn/Winter season.

Marie (Gowan Calder) and Mona (Jojo Sutherland) have worked at Castle Fallon for many years, long before it became part of a trust. Now someone from trust management has come to check on why the property is underperforming- a London/Irish man called Gerard (Manjot Sumal). 

Mona and Marie are understandably defensive as they don't want to lose their jobs. Gerard is a friendly and likeable man who simply highlights that the property is losing money and wants to compare it to the one property that turns a profit. There's some blatant xenophobia at play as the two women protest that the Estonian manager must be up to something in order to operate the venue and afford an expensive car. Gerard never loses his cool despite digs at his own background as well.

Billed as a comedy, Castle Fallon has its moments but doesn't quite reach laugh-out-loud. It's unclear which party you're meant to sympathise with as initially there is empathy for the two older women who might lose the positions they've held for years. However, their underhand tactics to blackmail Gerard and racist and homophobic remarks make them quite unlikeable at times.

Castle Fallon is a pleasant way to spend an hour as the cast are great and there are a few interesting twists in the script.

To post a comment, you must register and login.