Back on the stage of the Traverse Theatre, where they were first given life, the characters of Phil McCann, George "Spanky" Farrell and the object of both their fantasies, Lucille Bentley, are once again in full flow.
It is 30 years on from their
last appearance, in the final scene of the Slab Boys Trilogy – the trio of comedies loosely based on Byrne's own experiences in a Paisley carpet factory and at art school.
Not that you need know anything of the former plays, as the latest offering is dislocated from anything that had gone before, although anyone with a passing knowledge of Byrne's marriage to Tilda Swinton will find recognisable features in the plot.
In a shambolic fortified house, somewhere in northern Scotland, Phil, a bitter and reclusive painter, lives with young Turner Prize- nominated video artist Didi.
In one last throw of the dice for his career, arts correspondent Nancy Rice arrives to interview him for her show.
Meanwhile, Didi has organised for her latest flame, the dim but virile cameraman Corky Doyle, to use the house as the backdrop for a promo video – which just happens to be of Spanky, now a jaded and long-faded rock star married to Lucille.
Byrne plays the ensuing mayhem strictly for farce, while director Paddy Cunneen orchestrates a talented cast with a strong sense of comic timing. Paul Morrow has just enough vitriolic sarcasm for Phil McCann, although he doesn't look the 60-something he is supposed to be.
Gerry Mulgrew does, however, look every bit the pharmaceutically-challenged former rock star.
His bumbling attempts to relate half-remembered anecdotes are brilliantly done. Nicholas Karimi holds back as Corky Doyle.
Yet for all their verbosity, the men's characters don't really amount to much more than scrawled outlines of bravado. In contrast, the women ensure that not only are their characters full and rounded, but that they have something of note to add to what the play is trying to say.
Meg Fraser's Didi is tough without being arrogant, but not sympathetic either. Cara Kelly ensures Nancy's superficial meeja personality is tempered with an ability to see the truth, while Gerda Stevenson's Lucille carries more pain than either Phil or Spanky – but isn't compelled to shout about it.
The real star here is designer Michael Taylor. Not only are the ivy-clad stone walls of the old house so precisely created that the Boyle family would be proud, but the garden is perfect.
It is a set which creates a believable playing area but also reflects the meaning of the play. Unfortunately, it does so better than the play itself, which, peters out when it tries to get serious about art in the final act.
• Run ends May 24The full article contains 497 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
