Did I Ever Tell Ya – Viking Theatre – Review
by Frank L.

Did I Ever Tell Ya – written by David Gilna
Monday 17 February – Saturday 1 March 2025 20:00

David Gilna is back with a new one-man show following the success of A Bolt from D’Blue which described how he literally came back from the dead having been struck by lightning. Here he celebrates the telling of stories.

The stories are about his family, his friends, and his locality, but they all benefit from his intelligence and wit. Each one lasts about five or six minutes, and sometimes, they are interspersed with music from a time past. He is sharply attired in black trousers, shirt, and waistcoat, and he moves easily around the stage, which has a dark grey back wall with several images painted by a friend.

The floor of the stage is empty apart from a wooden stool beside which stands several piles of books which he informs the audience are of importance to him. One of the books is 24:24 Hours in the Day, a book of his poems recently published. During the course of telling his stories, he reads a couple of the poems which elaborate with carefully chosen words and phrases the emotional complexity of the story he tells. It is an unusual theatrical device but it works.

His stories are often funny and make unlikely but hilarious connections, such as hairdressing and a particular sexual act. However, some are serious and poignant and deal with grim phenomena such as clerical child abuse and suicide. His family and his hometown of Swords feature prominently and he welcomes you into his world with his disarming charm and winning smile. He loves the world around him and takes delight in bringing the audience into his world.

David Gilna is very much at home appearing on the stage. He is engagingly and rightly proud of who he is and his upbringing. He gathers all these elements to tell his stories for a joyous sixty minutes. He is a gifted storyteller and knows how to make live theatre work.

Performed by David Gilna
Directed by Sean Gilligan