Review | Jamie and His Dad at The Wedgewood Rooms, Southsea: “Charlie Wingrove shines in this engaging family drama”

Done well, it’s a remarkable thing to watch. In the wrong hands, it’s a hard slog. Fortunately, both writer and actor prove more than up to the job in Jamie and His Dad.

This is the Portsmouth debut of a play by local writer Roger Goldsmith. It’s an intriguing mix of kitchen sink drama and crime story. Jamie, 15, is a football-loving schoolboy who idolises his dad and enjoys their banter about whether Messi or Ronaldo is the better player.

This is the only attention Jamie gets from his dad, however. His mum is all but useless too, having long since checked out of family life. Jamie longs for affection, and a new teacher at school helps fill the void and brings encouragement.

But things soon take a darker turn. His parents’ relationship implodes. His dad starts exhibiting some alarming behaviours – and the realisation dawns on Jamie that he’s not the man he thought he was.

More alone than ever, Jamie faces an urgent life-and-death decision.

Goldsmith uses his writing skills to strong effect. It’s an engaging 60 minutes, which held my attention throughout. The dialogue is believable and authentic, and the writing is particularly successful when exploring the different family relationships. As the plot develops, it feels unnecessarily overdramatic at points. However, the conclusion brings everything together satisfyingly.

Twenty-year-old Charlie Wingrove turns in a remarkable performance. I’ve seen him impress before, but he really shines in this extended role. He plays Jamie convincingly and endearingly and is, by turn, full of vulnerability, youthful enthusiasm and teenage awkwardness. He does a great job too of bringing the other characters alive – we never see Jamie’s dad, but we don’t need to with such convincing storytelling.

An intimate venue, stripped-back monochrome set and good use of lighting also help the atmosphere and action along.

Jamie touches some timely themes, not least the importance of good parenting and our need for a meaningful human connection. However, the best reasons to see it are Charlie Wingrove’s excellent performance and its mastery of storytelling through the use of monologue.

Until Thursday.