The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Glebe Street comes to Gardyne
The Broons return to their spiritual home of Dundee as part of a nationwide tour next week. Maw and Paw take us behind the curtain of a stage show that’s been 80 years in the making.
Scotland’s best-loved family has just rolled into Kirkcaldy when The Courier joins them to talk about their quasimusical stage debut.
The Broons production is already in full flow after a successful run in Perth and Inverness.
Known to millions as the hapless Winston from Still Game, Paul Riley is expertly cast as the perpetually putupon Paw Broon.
“We’ve had a great time so far,” he says. “Perth was a wee bit fraught because it was the first time we’d put it on the stage. We saw a great reaction there and Inverness was particularly crazy – there were standing ovations.
“There are a number of musical and vocal numbers in this show that are really accessible to folk and that makes for a really good night out.”
Who better to play formidable matriarch Maw Broon than Joyce Falconer, previously on screen as no-nonsense Roisin in River City.
“Most folk coming to see the show already have a deep affection for The Broons,” she says. “They’re familiar with the characters before they come. It’s unusual when you’re doing a theatre show to have that head start with the audience.”
Award-winning playwright Rob Drummond scoured the archives of the long-running Sunday Post comic strip to find an adaptable plot for Andrew Panton’s production.
Then came the issue of the cast’s collective dialect. The Broons are unique in that their vernacular is a patchwork from all over Scotland.
“That was one of the first things we spoke about in the rehearsal room,” says Paul. “Do we commit to saying it is a place? Of course, that would be to ruin it in people’s heads.”
Such conversations turned into a classic Broons tale (split between their Glebe Street residence and But ’n’ Ben holiday home) mixing that familiar dry wit with a wistful melancholy.
“The show is about the lead-up to Maggie’s wedding and the various obstacles that brings to the characters,” Paul reveals.
“For example mine – as the father – is ‘how am I gonnae pay for it all?’ Then of course there’s that classic Broons misunderstanding. It’s very, very close to what you see on the page.”
So how surreal has it been to play an iconic duo they’ve both known since childhood? “I’ve never really played a character in the theatre that I’m this familiar with,” says Joyce.
“Usually you go into a rehearsal room and you’ve to really discover the character for yourself, whereas that familiarity with Maw Broon helped a lot.
“I pulled out some of the annuals that are still at my mum’s and refreshed myself with the stories.” Paul adds: “The fact that Joyce Falconer and wee Maureen Carr (as The Bairn) are in this was a big draw for me, as well as the prestige of playing Paw Broon.
“That, combined with the character of Winston that I play in Still Game – I’m the go-to guy for old people, it would seem.”
The dynamic between Maw and Paw is crucial. Fortunately, Paul and Joyce were already well-acquainted, having met and acted together in drama school.
“I’ve played Paul’s wife before. I’ve played his ma. We used to get cast opposite one another all the time,” says Joyce.
Rounding out the brood are Kern Falconer as Granpaw, Kim Allan as Maggie, Tyler Colins as Hen, John Kielty as Joe, Laura Szalecki as Daphne, Euan Bennet as Horace, with Kevin Lennon and Duncan Brown as The Twins.
I’ve never played a character I’m so familiar with