REVIEW: John Barrowman: Laid Bare – Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow
It is safe to say that the past two and a half years have not been kind to John Barrowman. The former golden boy of the West End has experienced a spectacular fall from grace and a drying up of all work when allegations of improper behaviour came to light. For someone who racked up an impressive 21 leading man roles over the course of a decade, been a Sci-Fi TV hero, it has been sobering and troubling indeed.
Barrowman is back on the road on this extensive tour of the country to re-connect with his core audience of musical theatre fans. It charts Barrowman’s career path over the past 35 years in story and song, and as the show title suggests, to lay bare his side of the story.
This is a carefully curated and crafted song selection, each highlighting Barrowman’s impressive vocals and beautiful diction. The work of Cole Porter features heavily as does that of Stephen Schwartz. Each song has been chosen for its personal meaning. There are a smattering of pop hits too, pitch-perfect renditions of Peter Allen’s Don’t Cry Out Loud and Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years, are highlights, as is a rendition of Loch Lomond but it is the musical theatre numbers that find their emotional target best. In particular, Beautiful City from Godspell allows Barrowman’s voice to ring out clear as a bell.
Barrowman shares his backstage knowledge including how he goes about choosing album tracks and concert programmes as well as audition advice, he even delivers his own audition go-to song: Pippins’ Corner of the Sky. Then there are the anecdotes, one lovely one concerns his time in Beauty and the Beast where his current accompanist’s fiancé was tiny little Chip. There are personal stories too, an eye-watering one about Barrowman and husband Scott’s travels in a rented Jeep Grand Cherokee and an hysterical recounting of a fabulous (literal) slip up by a cast member in the West End revival of Anything Goes that would bring tears to anyone’s eye.
The show begins with Barrowman on bawdy form in front of his home town crowd, and as he does when here, he reverts to his Scottish accent. He is in high spirits, hard to tell whether due to nerves or his natural exuberance. There’s a feeling that possibly there will be no addressing of the elephant in the room of his fall from grace, but as the evening beds in, Barrowman becomes more comfortable and reflective, feeling the support of the Glasgow crowd, eventually confronting the allegations from his side of the story.
He acknowledges an historic allegation of physical impropriety that he had addressed in his first autobiography, explains his apology at the time and the modification of his subsequent behaviour in light of this. He explains how he was blindsided by the stories of his time in the much-loved Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, the piling on from anonymous sources and the subsequent media feeding frenzy and ongoing online abuse. Barrowman states the rug had been pulled from under him: dropped by his manager of 25 years by email, abandoned by his peers, he had been blacklisted. He tells of his contemplation of suicide, descent into Depression and the counselling and therapy he has undertaken. He charts the stages to recovery through a hand-written speech and song. A recent neurodivergent diagnosis of ADHD has provided Barrowman with some clarity to his self-proclaimed “ping-pong” personality.
Is this Barrowman on the road to redemption? The packed Glasgow crowd certainly thinks so. Will others concur? Only time will tell. Just Barrowman and an accompanist, Laid Bare is truly stripped back. Which ever side of the line you fall on once you hear both sides of the story, you cannot deny that Barrowman is a natural storyteller and a gifted vocalist.
Continues to tour the UK
