Kev Campbell Was He is a one man show written and performed by Alexander Tait, playing at the Space @ The Symposium Hall.
In a nightclub toilet in the heart of Glasgow, a graffiti attempt goes horribly wrong and takes eighteen-year-old Kev Campbell on a journey of self-discovery where he must face the role he plays in tackling homophobia amongst his peers after meeting a young gay man called Quinn whom he quickly befriends.
Alexander Tait plays every character we meet during Kev Campbell Was He. In of itself an incredibly impressive feat; managing to make each character we see fully fledged, realistic and totally different from one another in such a short amount of time. Tait utilises impressive changes in body language and use of accents to bring each character to life. Each one feels incredibly believable and each member of the audience knows someone like Kev, or someone like Kev’s toxically masculine and patronising “best pal” Cammy, or Moira, the divorced owner of the coffee shop Kev works at. This demonstrates Taits acute observational awareness of the common people of Glasgow while simultaneously exhibiting a fantastic understanding of the characters he has created.
The script Tait has written is tight, funny, relevant and perfect for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. His dialogue is realistic and something the audience is accustomed to hearing in every day conversation. Tait pounces on the comedy moments with a confidence that says “I’ve been doing this all my life” and he transitions into different scenes with verve and gusto. This energy brought to Kev is infectious, seeping its way into the audience that are hooked onto Tait’s every word. On stage along side him is a solitary wooden stool, but Tait fills every inch of the stage in his story telling, making the stage feel like it’s full.
The Great Gatsby is a prominent story with Kev Campbell Was He and there are some clever parallels between that story and the story present here: a young, mysterious man swoops into our writer protagonist’s life and shows him wonders he has never seen before, while making him see his true potential. A story that, at the surface level, is one still needed in the public eye today. Toxic masculinity is still a relevant topic and a current problem, as well as homophobic undertones in general conversation. These things Tait comments on and handles with a class that is a refreshing and a perspective that is new, creating a show that needs to be seen by many for the great piece of theatre it is, but also for the pertinent commentary it makes on many young men today.
The direction from Ivan Hamshaw-Thomas is fantastic. The sound design is used eloquently to transition between sections and the overall tone of the piece is constant throughout. Hamshaw-Thomas clearly connects with the material he has to work with, shaping this piece into something quite powerful and unique.
Overall, Kev Campbell Was He is an astounding one man show that brings to the forefront issues that need addressing while also being a love letter to the common “guy” out there that has a passion or a dream. This show is certainly one to get tickets for the year as not many pieces this well put together about such topics come by often.
Theatre Scotland 
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