We are the ones who fall between Gen-X and Gen-Y. Too young to be old and too old to be young. One minute it was all Ebeneezer Goode and now we’re here. But what is here? It’s a drawer full of magic youth creams and zero f*cks. It’s being referred to as ‘Mama Bear’ or ‘Dad’ by workmates. WTAF? It’s looking in the mirror at our big pants/Dad bod/belly/kids/life and not knowing who we are anymore. Is this middle age? F*ck, it might be! but together we’re a Tribe… Let’s hang!
You don’t have to be in your late thirties/forties or be a parent to enjoy this show, but it helps. What you do need though is an understanding of UK culture over the last twenty-five years and preferably have lived through them. You need to know what a Global Hypercolour T-shirt is and how it was such a mind-blowing idea. Most importantly though you need to know what it’s like to have swapped coming home at dawn instead of having to deal with the bairns at seven in the morning when all you want is your bed.
Boo Dwyer is an engaging tour guide through this change and she’s good company as well. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that she hands out After Eight mints to start the show and passed me a gin and tonic so she doesn’t drink alone during the show. This show isn’t just an hour-long reminiscence on how good our youth was, more a brutal assessment of what we’ve swapped. Dwyer doesn’t want to do it all again, she just wants to do some of it occasionally, but without the queuing, the uncomfortable shoes and taking a chance on her coat getting stolen or thrown up on.
Most of all, Dwyer wants to have fun and invites us to laugh at the ridiculousness of our lives. Yes we were around when rave came to town but that doesn’t mean we’re ready to slip into pipe-and-slippers land and still want to have fun. That fun may be more along the lines of having your bestie over for a drink and bitch session but what’s wrong with that. Hopefully the children will amuse themselves and/or not psychologically damage the babysitter while you at Calling My Tribe. Either way, you’ll still have fun and will leave having revisited some old memories.
Now, has anyone got any Veras? Lovely!
An everyday middle-aged person who wants to make a better, brighter Scotland. I also want to see Hibernian and Brentford FCs play well.
