Regular readers (who??) may be aware that we're big fans of the 'A Play, a Pie and a Pint' series that runs every Spring and Autumn. Despite price increases it's still an amazing bargain, doing just what it says on the tin, and including some great new short plays. Each one runs from Tuesday to Saturday, usually after a similar run the week before at Oran Mor in Glasgow.
But here was one, The Weir Sisters (review here), which wasn't making the trip along the M8. And as it featured a friend of ours in one of the roles it seemed like a good excuse to return to Weegieland after several months absence. I'd heard nothing but good things about Oran Mor as a venue, so I wondered if it would live up to expectations. And how it might compare with our more familiar haunt on Cambridge Street.
That comparison certainly started well, the Glasgow venue being in an old church, a fairly impressive building on a busy crossroads, and a big improvement on the Traverse's bland exterior. So too the entrance lobby, a characterful space with cartoonish artwork on the walls, and the bar, a proper island bar in cosy wood clad surroundings. But then....
Following the queue that snakes across the bar we go down into the performance area, and look to figure out the routine. Sure enough the line takes us past a bar where we can choose from the list of drinks on offer, and round the corner to the pie section. Then take the 'meal' and find a seat. The seats are free standing, and you eat off your lap. After a while the play begins. And very enjoyable it was too. But it's a rather different experience to the familiar Traverse one.
There's the choice of pies for a start. Or rather the extreme lack of choice. What we're used to is a list of, say, Scotch, haggis, veggie haggis, chicken and leek or macaroni pies, plus a veg tartlet. while in OM there appears to be a choice of Scotch pie or..,. Scotch pie. There's something unappetising looking that might be veggie, but that's it. What we're used to is taking our comestibles to a table, and consuming them in civilised fashion, what we get is the juggling of items between hand, lap and floor, trying to keep pie from ending up underfoot. No surprise when the sound of smashed glass rang out. And what we're used to when we descend into the depths is tiered seating with good views from all angles, close to the action. What we get is a distant view of the actors across a silver-grey lake of heads.
But this is Glasgow, and there is one area in which they are bound to outshine their smaller counterpart. Here the drinks list gives a choice of a pint of ale, lager or cider, red or white wine (125ml measures if memory serves correct), soft drinks, tea or coffee. There it looks subtly different. To the pints list you can add Guiness, plus the choice of a couple of bottled beers, the wines include rose and come as 175s and.... erm, where were the soft drink options? Weegieland, you do not disappoint....
But sorry Glasgow, your bus service is a bit crap....
