The Fringe is off to a good start for Emma McAlpine who catches an excellent father and son character show by Alex Kirk and Rufus Jones.
Alex Kirk and Rufus Jones should breathe a sigh of relief after their first Edinburgh performance of No Son of Mine; because if you can pull off a preview as well as they did, the rest of the month should be a doddle.
Former member of the excellent Dutch Elm Conservatoire sketch troupe, Jones plays Dennis Hazely, a rather effeminate actor dressed in a white t-shirt, black leggings and ballet pumps. Kicking off with a neat Edinburgh-play-within-an-Edinburgh-play concept, Dennis tells us he is going to perform a piece about gay love in Afghanistan entitled Afghan Hounds. However, his unintentionally comical performance (cue ridiculous beard) swiftly grinds to a halt with the arrival of his father Don, played by Alex Kirk. Reminiscent of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore’s ‘Father and Son’ sketch, Don, a car salesman with a broad Grimsby accent, is the polar opposite of Dennis and both are clearly uncomfortable by each other’s presence.
Having driven straight from work it seems, dressed in a flashy grey suit and pink tie, Don has decided to surprise Dennis by coming to watch his play, much to the chagrin of his son who wished he’d called to warn him. “Who calls before a surprise?” asks Don. “Um, the Irish Republican Army?” counters Dennis. “And that’s why they went bust. It ruined the fun,” replies Don. Anyone who’s ever had a remotely embarrassing father will find the relationship between these two hysterical. Dennis’ play is swiftly eclipsed by ‘The Don Show’, as we see a father trying to impart various bits of wisdom onto his diffident son, from how to get a date with a member of the audience to how to deliver a joke. The results are painful but ultimately hilarious to watch.
Both Jones and Kirk are superb actors, Kirk playing the gregarious salesman who just wants his son to come back home, while Jones is the slightly nervous, wannabe thesp, trying to rid himself of the shackles of his upbringing by affecting a posh accent and going into the performing arts. The two bicker throughout and plenty of harsh words are said relating to Dennis’ birth and the disappearance of his mother. Yet, underneath it all, they are clearly fond of each other and ultimately Don still has a powerful influence over Dennis. There are also some brilliant flashback scenes, which give a the story depth, not to mention added comedy as Jones plays his mother (with just a hint of Lily Savage) and himself as a young boy obsessed with Rudolf Nureyev.
The script is tightly written, with plenty of gag-packed dialogue and there are some wonderful bathetic moments which teeter on the edge of sentimentality until Don dispatches the poignant mood with an amusing line. Awarding the first Fringe show of the year five stars can feel a little over-zealous, particularly when you have nothing else to compare it to (rather like giving out a ten on the first night of Come Dine With Me). But to give credit where it’s due, if a show can make you cry with laughter several times, it’s hard not to award it full marks.
No Son of Mine are at the Pleasance Courtyard at 3:15pm until the 30th August.
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