The Life and Rhymes of Ian Dury tells the story of the critically-acclaimed singer and songwriter who penned such songs as Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick and What a Waste.

The first act takes place in 1980 when Ian Dury (Jud Charlton) is at the height of his fame. But years of touring with his band, The Blockheads, have taken their toll and he has an alcohol problem which is spiralling. His drinking is alienating his friends and colleagues and he refuses to apologise for anything, even when he is clearly in the wrong. Matters have finally come to a head and his tour manager and friend, Fred 'Spider' Rowe (Josh Darcy), has come to try to reason with his boss - during a recent drinking binge Dury offended Spider's new girlfriend and Spider wants an apology.

The pair start to talk about old times and Dury's childhood, brought up by his mother and aunt, then sent to a special school after contracting, and being crippled by, polio.

It soon becomes clear that Spider is Dury's protector and has saved him from countless situations which could have ended in disaster. Several tour anecdotes end up with Spider confiscating Dury's leg-irons and confining the singer to his hotel room to avoid him getting up to any mischief. As Spider says 'My job is to guide him through the shark-infested waters of rock and roll.'

Dury refuses to apologise to Spider, who leaves vowing never to speak to him again.

The play revisits Dury in 1990 when he is reunited with Spider for the first time in ten years, a meeting catalysed by the death of the Blockhead's drummer. He is a different man and apologises saying he is determined to make everything right with great plans for himself, Spider and The Blockheads. He is guilty about the way he has treated his friends and wants to atone.

The third act - in 2000 - reveals whether his contrition was genuine. It features Spider on the occasion of Ian Dury's death.

The dramatic sections of the play are punctuated with songs from Ian Dury's back catalogue, each relating to some part of the plot. The mix works perfectly and the passage between dialogue and music never seems strained.

Jeff Merrifield's script is faultless and clearly the work of a writer who has a great understanding of his subject. The pace of the whole performance is brisk but the direction is never hurried.

Jud Charlton is superb as Ian Dury. He resists delivering a two-dimensional rock-star pastiche and instead produces a believable fleshed-out character, free of cliché. When he sings the lyrics written by Ian Dury, it is not difficult to suspend disbelief and imagine that it is the man himself on stage.

Josh Darcy plays Spider as a barrel-chested gentle giant who, while clearly capable of great violence, just wants a quiet life. Again, his performace is impossible to fault and there is a spark between the two actors which makes their on-stage relationship all the more believable, creating a truly affecting finale. There is an obvious passion for the subject matter from everybody involved in the production and this passion is delightfully infectious, even for those who have never heard the name Ian Dury.

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Cast Credits: (alpha order): Jud Charlton - Ian Dury. Josh Darcy - Fred 'Spider' Rowe.

Company Credits: Writer/Director - Jeff Merrifield. Technical Director - Des O'Leary. Producer - uncredited. Company - Playback Theatre.

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(c) David Hepburn 2008

reviewed Monday 4 August 2008 / The Zoo, Edinburgh

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com