Targets

Source: The List (Issue 587)
Date: 4 October 2007
Written by: Steve Cramer

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Oran Mor, Glasgow, until Sat 6 Oct

NEW WORK

One of the great qualities of Oran Mor’s A Play, a Pie and a Pint seasons is that they have brought in a great variety of writers to the theatre who might not otherwise have found a stage. A good example of this is the appearance of Alma Cullen’s work at the venue. Cullen is a pretty well-kent figure in broadcasting, where her scripts have been much acclaimed. Her work on such television series as Northern Lights, Inspector Morse and A Touch of Frost has attracted Emmys and BAFTAs in the broadcasting world, yet her work has seldom been seen on stages.

This short play seems to borrow from the thriller and crime story formats with which Cullen is so familiar. It posits a meeting between a woman and her prospective employer at her plush apartment. She has completed the first day of a two day job interview, and her engagement with her potential boss involves a form of blackmail that looks certain to succeed. But neither character, as tends to be the case in this sort of piece, is quite what they seem. If the piece works as it should, you might need a solid tug at your gratis pint before the dénouement.

More: a Pie and a Pint, A Play, Alma Cullen, Òran Mór, Targets, Previews (Theatre)