It would be almost impossible to leave the theatre without a smile after watching this charming and proudly Scottish musical.
An adaptation of a stage play by Stephen Greenhorn, and directed by Dexter Fletcher, Sunshine on Leith is a comedy following the relationship dramas of three couples, set to the music of the Proclaimers.
Translating stage musicals to screen is a fraught business, but Fletcher does a good job, making bursting into song feel like second nature to his characters, and us. Well, as natural as it can be.
Jane Horrocks and Peter Mullan ground the story as Rab and Jean, a couple whose relationship is thrown into turmoil when a secret from Rab's past surfaces on the eve of their 25th wedding anniversary. Their children provide the other couples, with son Davy (George MacKay) returning from Afghanistan and falling for English girl Yvonne (Antonia Thomas), and daughter Liz (Freya Mavor) dreaming of escaping Scotland, which is news to boyfriend Ally (Kevin Guthrie). It all makes for heartfelt swooning and heartbreak.
Brothers Craig and Charlie Reid (the Proclaimers) prided themselves on singing in their thick Scottish accent, and the cast have responded in kind. The younger performers have lovely, quality voices that sit nicely with the slickly produced tracks, but the fabulous Mullan channels Tom Waits as he growls his way through Oh Jean, and it's a nice distraction from the prettier Glee-like voices.
