In Steak Out, it’s two days before Christmas, and Edinburgh butcher Archie risks missing out on some of the top earning days of the year because he hasn’t had sufficient funds to stock his shop. So, naturally, he and his wife Karen, Karen’s son Thomas, and, eventually, even her one-year-old grandson undertake a heist of Smedley’s, a posh Stockbridge butcher.
The show’s staging is creatively imagined, under the direction of Michael Nardone. Lighting and music help establish a gritty yet comedic mood defined more by poverty than menace. The only props are versatile plastic boxes, which function perfectly to suggest a walk-in freezer, the front seat of a vehicle, and more.
The story itself, written by Ruaraidh Murray, who also plays Archie, is more a snapshot than a journey, especially when it comes to character arcs, but it’s a richly detailed one. It’s a portrait of a trio caught between the working-class neighbourhood of Muirhouse and the more upscale New Town, and it raises interesting questions about the cost of social mobility.
Not all of its elements work equally well. A long scene in a walk-in freezer feels like a vehicle for exposition and is tonally out of place in its stasis. A sudden revelation near the story’s conclusion has the whiff of melodrama in its abruptness.
It’s the high quality of the acting that lifts this comic drama above these flaws and keeps it taut and enjoyable. As delivered in Murray’s lush and lively brogue, even weak jokes and somewhat hokey malapropisms are fully hilarious. Sean Langtree is a coiled spring as Thomas, telegraphing his anxieties over his identity and his failure to launch his adult life. Meanwhile, Reanne Farley as Karen expresses her bitterness about lost chances and life’s detours in a quieter but no less desperate fashion.
The chemistry among the trio is top-notch, and all three are compulsively watchable. The best moments come when Nardone gives them licence to play off each other in a slightly bonkers way that’s a pure joy to behold, but, overall, the manic and the more serious undercurrents balance well.
Steak Out is a beautifully executed production of a smart script, and an extremely satisfying show.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
