A PORT Glasgow childhood is the inspiration for a nostalgia-packed Edinburgh Festival Fringe show.

Be Prepared, which is written and performed by actor Ian Bonar, is based on the memoirs of his grandfather Matthew Bonar from Port Glasgow.

Ian, 34, who has appeared in Bond film Skyfall and Starter for 10, discovered fascinating manuscripts when sorting out boxes of papers after his own father Grant died.

He said: “In it, there are recollections of growing up in the tenement in Highholm Street in Port Glasgow, of living in one room with all his brothers and sisters, of his father working as a caulker in the shipyards and of riding his Raleigh Golden Arrow round the Glen Burn.

“He also speaks of being in the Boys’ Brigade, of hardship and poverty and of getting a scholarship to go to a grammar school — of all the little joys, trials and tribulations of growing up somewhere like Inverclyde.”

The memoir reaches the point at which Matthew was called up to fight in the Second World War, and he describes going in front of the medical board and being sent to Burma — and, at this point, the prose starts to fragment, with words mixed up, tenses confused, and images dropped randomly into sentences where they seem to have no relevance.

It was at this stage in writing the memoir that Ian’s grandfather suffered a stroke and started to succumb to dementia. 

Ian told the Tele how, as a small boy, he remembered his grandfather showing him the typewriter that would pen the memoirs, but had no idea that he had continued writing right up until his death.

Ian said: “It was terrifying and fascinating and heartbreaking to see his memories disintegrate on the page — and it made me think about my family and how I could adapt their experiences into a show.”

The play tells the story of Tom, a young man trying to cope with the death of his father, who keeps getting phone calls from an old man dialling the wrong number in search of a funeral director.

Over the course of many days and many conversations, the old man’s story unravels and he tells of a life much like Ian’s grandfather’s. But things get mixed up, and he can’t remember exactly what’s happened or even why he’s calling. 

Eventually, through echoes between the stories of the two men, young and old, Tom is able to reconnect with the memory of his late father.

He said: “This has let me help him finish his story and the response from the audience has been really positive.”

It also brought Ian together with his second cousin Terry Bonar for the first time, who came down from the Highlands to see the play.

Ian said: “Terry was my grandfather’s niece and a train bearer at his wedding and gave me a picture of him on his wedding day and a letter written by my granny after my dad was born in 1948.

“She is the spitting image of my grandad and she enjoyed some of the more detailed stuff within the show, such as all the familiar locations in Port Glasgow. We’re going to keep in touch.”

The play is running at the Big Belly venue in Cowgate until Sunday August 28.
To book a seat visit underbellyedinburgh.co.uk, or 0844 545 8252.