one4review | On 23, Aug 2022

Lynn Ferguson pops onto the stage to give a pre-show welcome and her natural warmth and connection with the audience is obvious from the start. When the show officially begins, Lynn takes us back to the 70s and a tale of Mr Gilmour, the man who bucked the trend by being happy when the population was enduring the hardest of economic times. Using her own life stories, Lynn then demonstrates that we don’t have to accept the narratives drawn up by those with economic and political power, we can choose our own life story. With pictures of her life in Los Angeles (when it rains, it’s just like Grangemouth apparently!) she explains how her family rewrote their lockdown experience, turning it into a beautiful time with community kindness. Her guest for the day, Jack Docherty, was then invited on stage and asked to tell a story based on a word given to him there and then. He rose to the challenge admirably and I wish I could see how well her other guests do in this spot.

This was a very enjoyable hour which deserves a much bigger audience – although it being a Monday, Lynn did praise us for being hardcore festival goers . You could feel the audience warming to Lynn as the show progressed and as she developed her theme. She is a consummate performer and it is lovely to have her back in Scotland, if only for a short time.

****

Reviewed by Rona

Gilded Balloon at the Museum – Auditorium
12.30 (1hr)
Until 28th Aug