Putting The Ass In Brass has a genuinely intriguing premise… a semi-autobiographical queer coming-of-age story plays out against the distinctive worlds of brass bands, engineering workplaces and changing attitudes towards sexuality.
Unfortunately, at the first performance of its Fringe run, it felt like a work that had reached the stage before it was fully developed.
David Molyneux’s central story should provide the emotional heart of the show, but too often his spoken delivery lacked the projection and variation needed to bring that journey alive. His vocals also frequently struggled for pitch.
That is particularly frustrating because there are some genuinely strong songs in the show. I may not have left humming them, but several struck me during the performance as clever and effective pieces of writing. There is good material here… it simply isn’t yet being served by a sufficiently assured central performance.
Much of the production’s energy came from the two younger performers alongside Molyneux. Both brought welcome musicality and enthusiasm, while the male performer – switching between keyboard, saxophone and several different characters – particularly impressed with his comic characterisation and confident projection.
There were forgotten words and some first-performance roughness, but those are easily forgiven at the Fringe. The more fundamental problem is that the production itself currently feels unfinished.
There are good songs and a potentially affecting story somewhere inside Putting The Ass In Brass. On the evidence of its opening performance, though, the production needs considerably more polishing before either can really shine.
Putting The Ass In Brass, 13:05, theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall – Haldane Theatre, until August 29
