Ruby’s at Holden Street Theatres, Wed 14 Feb, 2024.
[Theatre and Physical Theatre/True Life ~ UK (Wales) ~ AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE]

Ruby’s is a small room with limited capacity, set up as a sport changing room, almost too close for comfort. In walks an ordinary man dressed in normal day clothes and it almost seems as if he’s looking for a seat. With a captivating Welsh lilt Ray Gravell then begins to tell us his story of an extraordinary life as a Rugby Union player, later an actor and broadcaster.

The script by Welsh playwright Owen Thomas is so well written that you’d be having a marvellous time just reading it as a book. His evocative use of Welsh phrases and attitudes gives us a keen sense of the time and place in which the story is set. In the hands of an actor with the subtlety and dexterity of Gareth J Bale you remain fully engaged every step of the way.

Bale is able to bring to life the characters in his team, share the thrill of his personal successes and the highlights of various games with such humility and enthusiasm that even a non-sports fan like me is utterly drawn in. There are laughs aplenty, as he ducks and weaves between the experience of being in a film with the great Peter O’Toole, various on and off field exploits with testosterone-charged rugby mates, including a David and Goliath tale of his local team playing against the almighty New Zealand All Blacks, and almost tear-inducing poignant moments as he relates his idolisation of his father. The story of his father’s death is a supercharged moment in the play. And he is all the while relating this story of his life to his deceased mother, still seeking her approval.

Because I have not the remotest interest in Rugby, I almost passed up the opportunity to see this play. That would have been a colossal mistake. Don’t make it!

Pitch perfect!