It is easy to be totally entranced and in caught in awe by our young performer Alfie (10) and miss the importance of this piece. Condescending though it would be to simply make comment upon his impish style, his renegade looks and the way in which he can cheekily melt the audience into his mischief, it would be wrong to ignore it; but tragic to define it and miss the seriousness and playfulness of this show.
Set in a macho environment—a building site—this has masculinity in its sights. It is a place where you can go and play—and many men like me did so as a kid—but it is also a place of some danger. There is little danger here, however, and there is more than a hint, thanks to the Match of the Day podcast being played throughout, of us forgetting that this is seriously a show for young men.
The interplay between Robbie (44) and Alfie as dancers who inhabit our space is set against that background. There is a delicious irony in the very first song to which they dance together to be Dolly Parton’s "9 to 5", given its role in a film describing a woman’s day under a problematic male boss. And there are subtleties at play throughout which see their playground of plastic hoses and metal fencing give a platform to work through their relationship. A man finding fun in physical play by interacting with a child asking his inner child out to play is pitched perfectly.
Though that platform is certainly not Scottish Ballet, it does exactly what it needs to do. Movement flows to underpin points of reference and make points of view. The section where Robbie shows struggles which are resolved by connection and the sharing of a chocolate digestive is both so powerful and cuts through the loveliness that I was slightly caught off guard. I was enjoying the fun of it all and the interplay between Robbie and Alfie so much that I was lost in my wee moment. And then there was a hint of trouble which grew into a sea of them. Along with Alfie singing—what a pure and lovely voice—and Robbie putting the spotlight on himself are dramas heightening the emotional impact. This is added to and enhanced by their interviews as voice-overs. Getting that personal insight adds to the whole thing.
It is innocent and it is profound.
Dance has the ability to emotionally drag us into a space and hold us there, figuratively asking questions and supplying few answers. Here I was taken back and then taken aback. I was engaged and recognised how as a man I could disengage. I was talking to my inner child, and watching a real one showing me how it ought to be done. By the end, an old man saw a show that spoke to him. Imagine that from such a cheeky wee scamp…