Being honest

I've long been interested in the idea of what 'honesty' really means in the creative arts, and whether Rita Ann Higgins was right when she said that the poetic truth necessarily involves lying. Earlier this year, Horizon Review published an article of mine on the subject of Craig Raine's approach to truth, which you can read here. Given my preoccupation with white lies, I was immediately drawn to the title of D.C. Moore's play, 'Honest', which is being performed at The Fringe between now and 23rd August. Having settled  in a side room of Milne's bar, Hanover Street, the audience is abruptly addressed by Dave (Trystan Gravelle), a disenfranchised city worker, clutching a bottle of Budweiser, with the memorable opening : 'I think I might be a bit of a cunt'. The monologue that follows is by turns witty and almost heartbreaking, an understated, frank account of what it means to see the world you're used to as if through the side of a glass tank. 'Honest' is made more powerful by its forthright delivery, and the audience are entirely drawn in. D.C. Moore's play has been well-received in the press and deservedly so - it was so excellent I went to see it twice in one afternoon. Interestingly, one reviewer likens the writing to Conor Macpherson, my favourite playwright and the inspiration behind some of 'A Pint for the Ghost'. Certainly, there was something of Macpherson's unflinching portrayal of lives without purpose in the writing, though I felt this was a subtly different brand of dark comedy. The premise that the whole play is in fact part of a bar room conversation is certainly something reminiscent of 'The Weir', and reflects Dave's character: part-outsider, part confidente. A must-see event for anyone in Edinburgh, without doubt.

Of course, when it comes to honesty, one man's truth is another man's bias. It was with mixed feelings that I read The Scotsman's lukewarm review of 'A Pint for the Ghost' last week. The review highlights some of the problems of our setup (a noisy bar, hardly suited to ephemeral metaphors) but largely focuses on the show's 'insubstantial' nature and lack of focus which is, in a sense, rather the point: 'A Pint for the Ghost' was conceived as a conversation, a set of exchanges in a lonely pub after hours, not a play with a clear narrative arc. The reviewer appears to have approached the piece as standard theatre (even curiously referring to 'male and female leads') rather than a poetry and storytelling event, intended to create an atmosphere in which the audience realises that our stories and lives seldom have a clear resolution, a neat narrative. Ghosts, after all, are a symbol of unfinished business. I'll leave judgement on whether or not the show has been effective in evoking that to our audiences. They don't have long - I'm fast approaching the last two night's of the show at the Edinburgh festival and what has been a fantastic learning curve. The Fringe is a merrygoround and I'm certainly feeling mildly sick and dizzy, though whether that's the Fringe's fault or the result of discovering Jaegerbombs, I wouldn't like to say... Watch this space for news of what we're planning for 'A Pint..' post-Scotland; there's talk of haunted venues in Leeds, Hull and beyond!