Bricking It

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Shows about family are tricky things. A legendary tale among kinsfolk, strengthened by repeat tellings and shared DNA, can become paper-thin when retold away from its supportive, familial home. What is exceptional within a family unit can seem everyday on stage. Shows about family, featuring family are trickier still. How do you bridge the gulf between an aggrandised wedding speech and a show that people will willingly pay for?

The fact that Bricking It raises these questions is to say that it leaves this gap relatively untroubled. Which is a huge shame, as it is a lovely concept. Pat, a 73-year-old builder, and his 29-year-old daughter Joanna, a performer, have swapped jobs. Pat’s wife, Joanna’s mum, died a few years ago, provoking each to write a bucket list. One of Pat’s wishes—aside from a daytrip to the moon and performing heart surgery—is to perform on stage. Bricking It is the result.

Pat is an amiable presence, naturally devoting every second breath to a groan-inducing dad joke. Joanna, a seasoned performer, holds his hand—literally at times—through the different sections. It is a mixture of jokes, reminiscing about loved ones, and a gentle, loving prodding of each other’s foibles, all bound together with an overarching message about stretching the limits of your ambitions. The pair’s genuine affection for one another is by far the strongest thing in the show. No cockle will go unwarmed. The content, however, is occasionally thinner than the ham slices they share in sandwiches at one point. We are witness to what is no doubt a rewarding and well-earned experience for them. But for an onlooker, generating any dramatic or comedic enjoyment feels like an act of charity. Like charity, Bricking It began at home. Sadly, too much of it would have been better off left there too.