What would be the very last thing you want to say to the people you love most in your life? Jack Docherty, best known for playing Chief Commissioner Cameron Miekelson in Scot Squad, walks us through his family life, sex life, and the inevitability of getting older. Butterfly is essentially of a reflection of the things Docherty has done, the things he wishes he had done differently, and the things he may never get a chance to do again. The realisation is starting to hit that, well… he’s getting old.
He repeatedly returns to “the done thing” throughout his show, the typical way that a Scottish middle-class person is expected to act in today’s society. Particularly how his family acts with such order and decorum and talks to each other like strangers when outrageously hilarious scenarios are set alight, such as his bag of condoms, rubber glove, and stethoscope found in the living room and not a word was said.
From there, the show descends into madness, where Docherty divulges into his sex life at the ripe age of 64 years old, in the most detailed way possible. His performance is very sharp, witty, and almost stir crazy, but beneath, there is heart. He talks openly about his late father, the effect on his death, and how he intends to “emerge from the cocoon” through the trials of therapy (including the dreaded couples therapy). It ends with a very touching final line. It is so good, in fact, that I won’t spoil it here. You’ll have to see it for yourself.
Jack Docherty: Butterfly, 19:30 at Dining Room at Gilded Balloon Teviot at 7:30pm from August 6-8th – 10-16th – 18-23rd – 25-29th
