One-person shows inevitably arouse a certain admiration. However, in fairness to Vic Albert - who has cerebral palsy - it was only at the end of 45 rousing, funny minutes, when Albert was taking his bows, that the strain was written on his face and we remembered to say "Wow!"
Theatre Terrific, from Vancouver, Canada, which helps people with disabilities to participate in theatre, could hardly ask for more. Albert has a sharp comic mind, and this autobiographical tale of a "jumpy" adolescent has elements of stand-up comedy as well as storytelling. He recalls his sister's (sadistic?) birthday present of a Meccano set, with its thousands of tiny nuts and bolts, to promote patience and co-ordination. "When you'd finished and taken it all apart, it was time to go to bed - or, in my case, time to go to university."
His hilarious takes on electric shavers, ZZ Top, guidance counsellors and the hoped-for erotic joys of "assessment" also wouldn't be out of place in a comedy routine. Needless to say, there's a message that emerges more strongly at times - via shaving as metaphor, mostly - but it adds to, rather than overwhelming, the pleasure of the tale.
Arguably, grown-ups looking back on age 17 might enjoy this more than the 10-to-14year-olds it's been prescribed for, but the children in yesterday's audience seemed to be with him all the way.
The only remaining performance of Scraping the Surface is at 12.30 p.m. today.
