Short Attention Span Theatre to Present Six New Plays at Ayr Gaiety
The three-performance run at The Gaiety Theatre Studiowill feature works by Simon Lamb, Samantha Dooey-Miles, Emma Findlay, and Leanne Cameron.
Short Attention Span Theatre will present six new plays The Gaiety Theatre (Studio), Carrick Street, Ayr, KA7 1NU on Friday, April 10, 2026 at 7:00 p.m., and Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 2:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
They will feature work by Carnegie-nominated author Simon Lamb, whose picture book Mat o' Shanter was published by Scallywag Press in 2025; Samantha Dooey-Miles, whose debut novel Under the Hammer was published by VERVE Books in March 2026; Prolific Dumfries-based playwright and poet Tom Murray; Actress and award-winning playwright Emma Findlay; Glasgow-born actor, director and writer Leanne Cameron; SAST founder Tom Brogan, whose play Who Killed Owen Taylor? steps into Old Hollywood as it dramatises the real-life story of how science fiction writer Leigh Brackett was hired to adapt Raymond Chandler's 1939 novel The Big Sleep.
Highlights include a botched café robbery that turns into an impromptu therapy session (Taking the Empire), a darkly comic haunted house tale narrated by a storyteller who'd rather be somewhere else (The Daniels House of Horror) and a séance where the living prove harder to deal with than the dead (Matthew's Ghost).
The bill is completed by a tender monologue about attending a first gig in middle age (Dance to This) and a sharp two-hander about the baggage couples carry into new homes (You in a Box).
Directing alongside Brogan are Shamama Fatima, recently nominated for the Development Award at the Creative Edinburgh Awards 2025 and the SETA Awards 2025 for her growing contribution to Scotland's theatre landscape, and Lisa McDonald, Co-Artistic Director of Simply Surreal, whose recent credits include Moonswing and Graveyard of the Outcast Dead.
The cast features Sarah Pieraccini ("Calderwood has actually created a prime-time psychological revenge thriller. This is brought to life ... by Sarah Pieraccini, who plays Grace as a woman on a mission" - The Herald on the play Madonna/Whore), James Keenan (Cranberry Fizz), Trystan Youngjohn (Edinburgh Napier MFA graduate), Frazer Kirkland, and writer-performers Simon Lamb and Emma Findlay.
Founded in 2015 by Tom Brogan and Karen Barclay, SAST has produced work by over 100 writers across venues in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cumbernauld and Ayr.
The Plays
Who Killed Owen Taylor? by Tom Brogan
Hollywood, 1944. Science fiction writer Leigh Brackett finds herself impossibly paired with William Faulkner to adapt Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep for Howard Hawks. Through Brackett's eyes, we discover how a "rosy-cheeked girl" writing bug-eyed monsters became Hollywood's secret weapon, proving that sometimes the best mysteries are the ones with no solution at all.
Taking the Empire by Leanne Cameron
Down-on-his-luck Dave attempts to rob a café, but meets his match in no-nonsense waitress Cheryl. What begins as an incompetent heist quickly transforms into an unexpected therapy session. A sharp, witty comedy about life's desperate moments and the surprising kindness found in unlikely places.
The Daniels House of Horror by Tom Murray
Jack and Alice Daniel have found their dream home - but when Jack disturbs a forbidden corner of the garden, something ancient stirs beneath the soil. Guided by a delightfully sardonic Narrator who'd rather be telling a romance, this darkly comic horror sends up every genre cliché while delivering genuine scares.
Matthew's Ghost by Samantha Dooey-Miles
When Evelyn visits a medium, Jim, hoping to contact her deceased boyfriend, she discovers that some spirits need no medium to torment us. Accompanied by sceptical friend Imogen, this wickedly funny play explores the haunting emotional aftermath of abandonment and the desperation for answers.
Dance to This by Simon Lamb
Ollie takes us on his journey to his first-ever gig in the big city - better late than never. Through a purple tower, a thunderstorm high above the streets and a music video on repeat, this warm, vulnerable monologue explores belatedly-experienced youth and what it means to finally dance after so long standing still.
You in a Box by Emma Findlay
Vicky and Nathan are packing for their first home together, but deciding what stays and what goes proves more complicated than expected. A sharp, funny two-hander exploring how couples navigate their pasts while building their futures.
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