Nothing But the best for black Jack Docherty - Karen Koren

Jack Docherty has started his Scottish Tour, which the Gilded Balloon are touring around Scotland.

Jack Docherty as Chief Commissioner Cameron Miekelson in Scot Squad

He began on Friday at the Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock, followed by Eastwood Park in Giffnock.

The show went down well, though many members of the audience were sure they were going to see a stand-up show which would include Chief Commissioner Cameron Miekelson from BBC Scotland’s popular spoof comedy fly-on-the-wall mocumentary about life in the Scottish Police Force.

They were to be disappointed, but I am glad to say that the audience became engrossed in Jack’s beautifully crafted and darkly comical play Nothing But. about a version of himself also called Jack.

It is never clear during the story whether it really is autobiographical or made up. He tells the story from childhood, to performing with his comedy partner Moray Hunter and spans through to 2018 when he did perform Chief Miekelson at the Fringe.

The play is about missed chances, regret and fatherhood and shifts between reality and fantasy. Ultimately it is a homage to the Edinburgh Fringe and to the city of Edinburgh.

Nothing But is funny, moving and pulls at the heart strings, showing how preposterous and selfish men can be, but also vulnerable. It is a far cry from Miekelson, though Jack loves playing the character in Scot Squad and is thinking that he might come out on tour at some point.

The Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh has been added to the tour schedule, as there was a complaint in the Edinburgh Evening News that Jack was playing the Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh but not Edinburgh on this tour. The Traverse came to the rescue and he will be performing Nothing But there on 23 April.

We will also be bringing the play back to this year’s Fringe and hope that the Fringe audiences will love the play as much as the Scottish audiences so far.

Jack will be performing at Eastgate Peebles,The Tivoli Theatre Aberdeen, Perth Theatre, Oran Mor, Glasgow, Dundee Rep, The Byre Theatre St. Andrews, Eden Court Inverness, Brunton Theatre Musselburgh, Cumbernauld Theatre and more, see Gildedballoon.co.uk for details.

In the last week of April the play will run at Soho Theatre London for a week.