Review: I’LL BE SEEING YOU, Pitlochry Festival Theatre

Photo credit: Tiu Makkonen

The writer at the centre of I’ll Be Seeing You tells us almost instantly that he hates Liberace. Despite this, he says, he has been commissioned to write a play about the so-called Mr. Showmanship for Pitlochry Festival Theatre. He wants to focus his story on Liberace’s infamous libel suit against The Daily Mirror, where he swore under oath in a court that he was not homosexual, and succeeded in winning damages for the slurs published in the newspaper against him. Unfortunately for the writer, Liberace himself has some rather strong opinions about the play taking that angle, and turns up, rhinestone-and-feather-encrusted, to make those opinions known.

This is about as meta as a play can get. We’re watching the playwright attempt to write the play we’re currently watching, as he imagines interactions with Liberace, his “hunks”, and a mother figure who becomes all too familiar to the writer. For much of the play, it’s deeply funny - watching the wildly flamboyant Liberace intruding in the life of the sardonic, frustrated writer is a treat, and every time we’re treated to one of his iconic musical numbers is a delight - but there’s also great sadness here. At its core, this is a story of a gay man who feels betrayed by Liberace’s denial of his sexuality, and all he really wants is to know why. 

Written by the legendary Martin Sherman who, at the age of 87, also makes his professional acting debut in the play, I’ll Be Seeing You is full of glitz and glamour, but also full of pain and poignancy. Sherman’s words are directed with nuance and care by co-directors Alan Cumming and Ben Occhipinti, with Tim Hatley’s designs providing a drab living room for the writer as well as spectacular moments of sparkle for Liberace. 

The performances here are faultless. Sherman’s role is small but utterly pivotal, but to tell you exactly who he is would spoil a twist, so that’s all we’ll say on that. The hunks are played with panache by Adam Kashmiry and Ali Watt (who also plays the role of Liberace’s chauffeur/lover) and Anne Lacey is Mother in a particularly clever scene - her ability to switch accents throughout one monologue is really quite impressive. 

Fra Fee as the writer is wonderful. Still recovering from his drug-fuelled weekend, he’s not interested in being swayed by Liberace’s performance. He’s constantly battling his own imagination, and more often than not, the imagination wins. The key to all of this, of course, is Liberace, played with relish by the exceptional Simon Russell Beale. Every time he enters the stage, in some new extravagant costume, he entrances the audience with his larger-than-life personality and musical numbers, even going so far as to seduce the writer, but it’s clear that there’s an acidity underneath the façade. 

This is a powerful piece of writing, capturing the betrayal that many gay men felt at Liberace’s denial of his sexuality, and confronting the man himself with his lies. It’s testament to the actors onstage and the quality of Sherman’s text that we find ourselves at the end pitying both Liberace and the writer. It’s a bittersweet story, and another roaring success for Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Lorna Murray

I’ll Be Seeing You plays at Pitlochry Festival Theatre until 11 October, with further info here.