LIFE @ Scottish Storytelling Centre

You should definitely see this – Maria MacDonnell is worth the entrance price alone, her storytelling flair making it hard to remember to draw. The setting is an interactive life drawing class, no nudity though; it is, after all, hours before the watershed. I'm wildly tempted to enthuse about all the spoilers, but I won’t.

In LIFE, the slightly irritating Artist (Leo MacNeill) wields copious smart-alecky quips and a pan-European accent as Estelle’s (MacDonnell) theatrical sidekick/foil/harbinger of existentialism. Meanwhile, Estelle commands both stage and narrative – as the class model, all attention inevitably directs to her. What is less inevitable is both characters’ insistence that to accurately depict somebody, you need to understand their history: Estelle’s abusive ex-partner painting her eyes full of submission, instead of spirit, is an example of lies in art. Maybe her eyes are why I’ve been struggling to capture her face – I draw her eyes closed. Asleep = potential.

The invitation to creatively interact with the plot (and on-stage audience members are not required to do anything, really) is such a brilliant idea that I’m amazed nobody done it before. I’m no artist, but honestly, it was a joy to unshackle myself from passive viewing and turn theatrical viewing into art. It’s a shame that other aspects don't live up to MacDonnell’s performance or concept. Chairs stomp about but little else, and considering the play’s themes of art, the plain backdrop is a missed opportunity. On the plus side, the sound and lighting enhance the story without intruding upon it, and the costumes – The Artist’s clichéd smock, Estelle’s beautiful gown – do serve the story.

Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a great story, then LIFE is full of them, brilliantly told. In another life, Maria MacDonnell was a royal bard.

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LIFE, Scottish Storytelling Centre (Netherbow Theatre), 6, 8 & 10 Aug, 1.15pm and 18, 20, 22, 24 & 26 Aug, 5pm, £12-14