WEDDINGS.

Happy affairs, aren't they? The celebration of a symbolic union that will last as long as time itself.

The essence of coupledom concentrated into a few hours of song, dance, prayers for undying love and commitment.

Or a distorted fun fair mirror on which gazers see nothing but their own misery reflected?

The darker side of the institution is explored in this week's Oran Mor play, Flame Proof, written by Lesley Hart, directed by comedy actor Andy Gray and starring Billy Mack and Michele Gallagher.

Set in an empty marquee at three in the morning, Michele stars as Lyssa, who's ex-fiancé is the groom.

It may not be her wedding but it will sure as hell be her big day.

Meanwhile, Buddy, played by Billy, has to deal with the fact his ex-wife is at the wedding with her new fiancé.

As a result, these two represent a couple of hand grenades that could go off at any time.

"It's a real corker of a play," says Bridgeton-born Billy, smiling.

"Lyssa is a health and safety manager and she's checking the place over. Buddy is the brother of the bride. He's a recovering alcoholic but he's fallen by the wayside.

"We discover he's lost his trousers, his shoes and socks and it seems he wants a bit of love action and he's sort of sleepwalking.

"He thinks his clothes may be in the marquee. And that's where he meets Lyssa."

Flame Proof is a comedy that will make the audience think.

"It's about weddings, the commitment," says Billy. "It's about asking how safe is that commitment - will the relationship turn out to be a flash in the pan?

"It's also about what happens when someone has been hurt in a relationship."

It's the sort of questions Billy, who received fantastic reviews for his last Oran Mor performance playing psychiatrist RD Laing, is all too familiar with.

The actor first attended drama school when he left school but had to quit when his dad died, forced to take a job on the oil rigs to support his family. During his stint on the rigs, Billy was dumped by his partner.

"I was with a lassie for 10 years and she left me when I was on the rig," he recalls.

"This play brings up old emotions for me because when my partner left me I never thought I'd fall in love again. I never thought I'd find anyone.

"The pain of wanting my ex-partner back was terrible, the hoping she'd change her mind and she'd come back and fall in love with me.

"But of course it didn't happen. And I wondered why it had all gone wrong."

Billy worked out the answer. "She had grown up and I hadn't. I was an idiot. For me it was all about wild times and money. And of course, I was living a lie because I didn't want to be an oil rig worker. I wanted to be an actor."

Billy, who now lives in Stirling, came to realise the universe works in mysterious ways. From that negative of being dumped, Billy re-started his acting career.

"My partner left me on the Tuesday, and on the Friday I picked up an application for drama school."

He did one last stint on the rigs, saved some money and paid his way back into drama college. A decade to the day, he returned to Glasgow's RSAMD.

This time, he finished the course, going on to become an award-winning actor - the only actor to win the The Stage Award for Actor of Excellence twice.

One of those awards was for the 2009 play, The Sound Of My Voice, in which he co-starred with Michele.

"We're good at firing off at each other," he says in ebullient voice. "Michele is a emotional actress and a brilliant, beautiful person to work with.

"And she captures this character Lyssa perfectly. In fact, she plays a blinder in this play. It's a privilege for me to be on stage with her again."

After his relationship split, Billy's professional life took a dramatic turn for the better. But what of his personal life?

"I was lucky to bump into the lady who is now my wife (they have two children)," he says, his face beaming. "She just knocked me for six. It all turned out right in the end."

And Flame Proof? Does that turn out all right for Lyssa and Buddy? "There's lots of comedy, but a twist and a bit of heartache," he says, grinning, realising he's describing the relationship journey itself.

n Flame Proof, Oran Mor, until Saturday.