BBC Radio 4, 13 March 2013
Charlie (Jeff Rawle) is a garbage collector working in Brighton, about
to complete his last day of working on the early morning shift. With any luck he'll be able to leave, board a train
to London and travel up to the Isle of Skye to look after his sister.
At first he seems determined to leave; the thought of leaving his workmates seems
attractive. Dennis (Gerard McDermott) is a straight-talking southerner fond of "having a laugh" at others' expense, while
Ziggy (John MacMillan), a much younger man with an innate fear of women. As the action unfolds, however, so Charlie's
resolve begins to waver. Partly this is due to his friends; despite their shortcomings, they involve him on a series
of serio-comic adventures that seem infinitely more entertaining for him than the prospect of travelling up to the north
of Scotland. Charlie is also fond of his environment: Brighton might appear dilapidated and dank (especially
early in the morning), the last refuge of every lost soul (as described in the play), but it has its peculiar charms.
This is particularly true at night or in the early morning, before the hordes of day-trippers and pensioners
descend on the town. By the end of the play Charlie's mind has changed completely.
Ed Harris tells a straighforward story, but he has a talent for characterization.
The three protagonists are carefully differentiated and fleshed out in a series of winning performances. I have
to say that I really enjoyed Abigail le Fleming's production.
