Get off at Gateshead, Gala Theatre

2:53pm Friday 26th September 2008

SURELY everyone has something in their past - perhaps a failed relationship, forgotten ambition or lost opportunity - which occasionally enters their thoughts; jumping at them from the depths of their personal history and prompting them to wonder: what would have happened, if...?

In Get Off At Gateshead, Ian Skelton, also the man behind Beamish Boy, challenges us to return to that earlier place and time, to see if it could be revived.

Mark (Peter Peverley) is an exiled Geordie - a world-touring guitarist and producer, or, at least would be. Worried about the health of his father, the wily Walter (Donald McBride), Mark returns to Tyneside, keen to look up his old flame Angela (Jackie Fielding).

The attachment is still strong, but 20 years have passed and both have much to hide.

Skelton's characters are painfully real: Angela's dementia-suffering mother Lynn (Rosalind Bailey) haunting.

The writer dares us to consider our own ambitions and dreams, while confronting the horrid spectre of loneliness. His understanding of a particular North-East psyche - its wit, irony and its limitations - is unquestionable.

Fielding delivers an outstanding performance, while McBride's cantankerous humour keeps us all a couple of steps back from the ledge.

However, Get Off At Gateshead would not be what it is without the music of Katie Doherty. Playing live from the back of the stage, her folk melodies drift and float like a gentle sea breeze.

Her voice is piercingly beautiful; her songs heartbreaking.

This production is a triumph for all concerned. Sniffs held back tears throughout the audience.

Get Off At Gateshead is undoubtedly worth a return ticket. Get Off At Gateshead is at the Gala Theatre, Durham, until tomorrow. Box office: 0191-332-4041.

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