It is turning out to be the summer of James Ley. First, the Traverse decided to revive its production of the playwright’s Wilf for the Edinburgh Fringe. It was a comedy about a man who develops a physical infatuation with his car, an unexpected side effect of passing his driving test at the same time as splitting up with his boyfriend. Back in December when it had its debut run, The Scotsman called it “fine, filthy and brilliantly-paced”.
If that play seemed raucous, then Ley’s other Fringe show was positively X-rated. Staged at Summerhall where it won a Scotsman Fringe First, Ode To Joy was so rife with risqué terminology about drugs and sexual practices, it came with a crib sheet to help the audience keep up. Telling the tale of an inhibited civil servant who has a sudden hankering for wild nights at a Berlin techno club, it was ribald, vulgar and very funny. It was also surprisingly romantic. [READ MORE]