Review: YOU WON'T BREAK MY SOUL, Oran Mor

You Won’t Break My Soul is a new play by JD Stewart and it is directed by Laila Noble.

Jordan (Jamie McKillop) has invited someone over from Grindr for an anonymous hookup and on his way out of the flat, he steals Jordan's Beyoncé tickets. 

This concert has been a long time coming for Jordan and his flatmate and Best Friend Russell (James Peake) who have managed to miss every previous tour for various reasons. They set up a separate bank account and have saved for years to splurge on two excellent tickets for the Renaissance tour at Murrayfield.

It's a fun idea for a play but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. We learn how the pair met and that there was an incident that led to Jordan not wanting to perform drag anymore but the reveal is a bit half-hearted. There's a lack of chemistry between the two leads and their close friendship isn't convincing which leaves it hard to root for them.

Kaylah Copeland takes on a couple of characters including Sooz, a drag king who also runs the local diner. Sooz informs the friends about a drag competition where the winners can score a pair of tickets for their sought-after gig.

The writing is largely centered around cramming as many Beyoncé references into the script as possible which tires quickly. It has a feel of panto about it- but without the fun. 

The last sequence brings the energy that was firmly lacking in the rest of this performance but it feels a bit too late for this show.

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