Sunshine on Leith (2013)

Cinema as blissful entertainment, like eating a chocolate bar all by one’s self, does not offer a great deal of choice these days. Action, adventure, crime and drama dominate, as they always have. The era of the musical seemed to be over until Mamma Mia came out and filled every seat for weeks and months with audiences attending in fancy dress or going as a group to sing the songs. Even men who had been grudgingly taken along left the cinema with grins on their faces. Then next and from a completely different genre arrives Les Miserables. This was the antidote to the party film and also a challenging film for a repeat viewing. It was a film with a tortuous story and some memorable music that was difficult to sing to.

Mamma Mia was not a great film. It had a loose story, awful singing, and it won a raspberry nomination. Sunshine on Leith is nothing like this – even someone’s awful singing is put to good use in a memorable dance scene.

Two men return from serving in the army where thay have been in action in Afghanistan. One anticipates returning to his girlfriend, the other anticipates finding one. They get fitted up and the story leads us to the parents of one of them, played by Peter Mullan and Jane Horrocks. A letter from the past and a funeral lead us down the path of a love interest from twenty years ago with a resulting, unknown to Mullan, daughter who is now an adult. This is not a shallow story of loss and love but a story that most people in its audiences might relate to. It is honest and carries with it the cloak of integrity that many theatre rep companies offer to their audiences. Indeed, this story was developed, written and performed by Dundee Rep. Company.

The songs ? As Mamma Mia was based upon the Abba songbook, so Sunshine on Leith was based upon the songbook of The Proclaimers, a Scottish group whose canon of work are the spirit of the 1980’s and 1990’s and reflect the vibrant energy of a changing nation as industry slowly disappears. They sang songs of love, loss and yearning, giving hope and anthems to many as they grew up. The play’s author has cleverly woven the story around the songs and they enable some excellent set scenes that can only bring a smile to your face.

For me, the Proclaimers prove my Leonard Cohen theory. Their songs are sometimes better sung and more effectively delivered by others. Never having enjoyed Cohen’s songs when he sang them, I was impressed years ago when Jennifer Warne sang them in Famous Blue Raincoat, showing how beautiful the lyrics could be. This theory of auteurs not being the best singers in the world is evidenced in Sunshine on Leith.

As you would expect with a classical film musical, we have a story that breaks your heart, makes you smile and offers set musical pieces that carry the story along. Three memorable scenes worth pointing out are the anniversary party where the band strikes up Oh Jean for Mullan to serenade his wife. He cannot sing but the band’s playing and guests dancing to his rendition are great fun. Jane Horrocks singing the title song is sweet and tender while the closing flash mob style dance routine will have you smiling all the way home.