Review: PUSHIN' THIRTY, Oran Mor, Glasgow

Pushin' Thirty is a new play written by Taylor Dyson and Calum Kelly and directed by Beth Morton, co-presented with Traverse Theatre and Ayr Gaiety.

It's 2011 and Scott (Sam James Smith) and Eilidh (Taylor Dyson) are eighteen years old and best friends. They bonded over a shared love of music and have been writing songs and performing together. Scott is convinced that they'll never make it big in Dundee and that they have to go to London. Family ties keep Eilidh in Dundee and the pair don't speak for eighteen years. Pushin' Thirty is a play with songs and both performers are really musically talented. 

Things aren't going as planned for either of them and Scott comes home for a visit. Running into Eilidh who works in a local bakery, he tries to pick up where they left off and finds that at almost thirty, her dreams have changed. 

Scott runs into someone from his past who offers him a gig, a grand homecoming for the man they all think is wildly successful in London. But he can't sing without Eilidh so he sets about getting the band back together. Except things don't pick up quite as easily as he expected.

Pushin' Thirty is a fresh and enjoyable piece of new writing with strong performances from both actors.

Photo credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

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