Mary Baillie - Page 2

Two people. Many characters. One space. Alexander Burnett and Ellie Whittaker of Voloz Collective make a splash at the Fringe this year with The Crawl—a short, slick, and hilarious physical theatre piece that dives headfirst into the drama of a high-stakes swimming competition.

Scottish comedy legend Johnny McKnight examines the panto dame through an inventive new lens in She’s Behind You. Drawing on his experience writing more than 30 pantos and playing 18 dames, McKnight unpacks the role through a lively mesh of songs, stand-up, dance, and audience participation.

Four generations of Northern Irish women gather for a 90th birthday party in Karis Kelly’s Consumed, and what unfolds is a pitch-black dark comedy with razor wit and gasp-inducing shock. Eileen (Julia Dearden), Jenny (Caoimhe Farren), Gilly (Andrea Irvine) and Muireann (Muireann Ní Fhaogáin) initially present a hyper-realistic family: they laugh, they bicker, and beneath it all, they carry the weight of generational trauma. It’s laugh-out-loud funny one moment and devastatingly reflective the next, forcing us to think about what it really means to be “Northern Irish.”

Flora Wilson Brown’s six-hander examines climate change across 250 years of real and imagined history. In 1856, Eunice begins to question whether carbon dioxide might signal that something is going terribly wrong. In 2027 London, Clare falls for Dan as she faces impending heatwaves and floods. By 2100 in Svalbard, Ana endures an 86-day storm raging outside, questioning the doomed future of our planet.

Celebrated Scottish writer Douglas Maxwell returns to the Tron Theatre, more than two decades after his debut with Our Bad Magnet in 2000. In this new work, Jordan Young stars as Ronnie, a dog walker who took up the job as a coping mechanism during lockdown. But when a mishap sends all the dogs bolting off their leads, Ronnie plunges into disarray —and must confront some uncomfortable truths.

Few stories capture the wonder of childhood and the weight of war as gracefully as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. CS Lewis’s beloved tale of four siblings stumbling through a wardrobe into a magical world could risk feeling outdated—yet Sally Cookson brings us something altogether stranger and more powerful. Her Narnia is surreal, haunting, and rooted in themes of spiritual rebirth—less Sunday school, more sacred myth.

Katori Hall’s Olivier-winning play follows Martin Luther King Jr. on his final night on Earth in Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel, Memphis. He orders coffee—but what arrives is Camae, a maid with a secret mission. What unfolds is a blend of realism and surrealism that humanizes a mythologized figure and challenges us to see that greatness lies not in perfection, but in perseverance.

Theatre company Say It Again, Sorry? brought their smash Fringe hit Earnest? to the King's last week, turning Oscar Wilde’s classic of mistaken identity on its head in a brilliantly chaotic, genre-bending take that joyfully challenges theatrical convention.

Students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland upload Anya Reiss’s unique adaptation of Spring Awakening to the Tron this week. Reiss propels Frank Wedekind’s controversial 19th-century tale into the digital age. Set under an umbrella of smartphones, pornographic sites, social media, and online subcultures, the play explores how today’s teens are bombarded with information yet still starved of emotional guidance from adults and society.

'Myra’s Story' is a one-woman play by Brian Foster, a much-acclaimed hit at the Edinburgh Fringe. Fionna Hewitt-Twamley steps effortlessly into the shoes of Myra, a middle-aged homeless alcoholic wandering the streets of Dublin.

Based on the iconic songs of Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf, Bat Out of Hell zooms into Glasgow like a Harley Davidson motorbike on steroids. Did I fully follow the batty plot? No. Did I have a blast soaking up the explosive choreography and legendary music? Absolutely.

From Netflix series to teen chick flicks to zombie mashups, Jane Austen adaptations feel overdone in the entertainment world. But throw in a five-woman cast, constant fourth-wall breaks, multi-role madness, tacky karaoke, and red Solo cups? Somehow, Isobel McArthur delivers something fresh, witty, and immensely original. 

The Rum Shack’s queer comedy night is the best kind of silly — hosted by the fabulous Kate Hammer, it brings together a beautifully diverse lineup of queer comedians showcasing chaotic joy.

Hairspray returns with charm to the Kings Theatre in Glasgow this week. The classic musical follows Tracy Turnblad, an ambitious teen with big dreams of dancing on TV and tackling racial segregation in 1960s Baltimore.

Arin Arbus's bold reimagining of The Merchant of Venice trades Venetian canals for tech bro skyscrapers in a near-future America dominated by corporate giants. Presented by New York-based TFANA (Theatre For A New Audience), the production’s corrosive bigotry and blinding vengeance feel eerily familiar - in a world shaped by Silicon Valley billionaires, power and prejudice still reign supreme. 

The North East’s adult pantomime sashayed into Glasgow with its latest saucy spectacle: Snow White and the Seven Drag Queens. Overflowing with cheeky innuendos, this one isn’t for the prudish of heart.

Author Paul Tinto performed his original work 'Trouble in Spiritland' as a work-in-progress show at the Traverse this week. Adapted from the mythic epic poem of the same name, Tinto's theatrical spoken-word presentation delves into difficult themes including the wealth divide, capitalist corruption, the attainment gap and questions of morality.

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's musical theatre students showed off their talent in 1930s musical She Loves Me last week. Set in a Budapest perfumery, the piece follows feuding coworkers Georg (Nathan Muwowo) and Amelia (Ailsa Graham) who are unknowingly anonymous penpals, falling in love through their letters. As their romantic correspondence and work conflicts intersect, secrets are revealed catalysing a heartfelt ending. It's giving a slightly adapted You Got Mail.