Full Cast Announced Joining Brian Cox in James Graham's MAKE IT HAPPEN

The full cast has been announced for MAKE IT HAPPEN – a new play by James Graham, directed by Andrew Panton telling the story of Royal Bank of Scotland's role in the 2008 financial crash. Brian Cox (Adam Smith) and Sandy Grierson (Fred Goodwin) are joined by an ensemble of 14 actors playing key figures in the events of 2008. 

World premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival following a sold-out preview run at Dundee Rep Theatre.Full cast: Sandy Batchelor, Andy Clark, Brian Cox, Maya Bassi Curtis, Callum Cuthbertson, Charlotte Delima, Hannah Donaldson, Kirsty Findlay, Lorraine Graham, Sandy Grierson, Graham Mackay-Bruce, David Mara, Ann Louise Ross, Lawrence Smith, Declan Spaine and Gavin Jon Wright

Make It Happen is an epic new satirical play by acclaimed playwright James Graham, directed by Andrew Panton, Artistic Director of Dundee Rep Theatre. This unique co-production between National Theatre of Scotland, Edinburgh International Festival and Dundee Rep Theatre marks the return of Brian Cox to Scottish stages for the first time in a decade. 

The world premiere of Make It Happen opens the Edinburgh International Festival's 2025 programme of theatre, music, opera, and dance. It runs for a week at the Festival Theatre from 1 – 9 August, with previews at the International Festival on 30 and 31 July and at Dundee Rep Theatre from the 18 – 26 July. 

Behold the rise, fall and fail of the biggest bank in the world – The Royal Bank of Scotland. 

Helmed by Fred ”The Shred” Goodwin, with his fervent belief in the wisdom of the ‘founder of modern capitalism', Adam Smith, the once prudent RBS soon plummets, placing Scotland at the heart of the global financial crash of 2008.

Set in Edinburgh, Make It Happen sees legendary actor Brian Cox return to the Scottish stage for the first time in a decade as Adam Smith, the ghost of fiscal past. Written by James Graham (Sherwood, Dear England), hailed as one of the most influential and finger-on-the-pulse writers of our time, and directed by the award-winning Andrew Panton, this bitingly funny new satire delves into the unchecked growth, spiralling greed and nail-biting hubris that brought the world's economy to its knees.

This fictionalised satire features a mixture of characters and incidents inspired by real-life events, with others entirely imagined. 

Brian Cox, as Adam Smith and Sandy Grierson as Fred Goodwin, the former RBS CEO are joined in this world premiere production by a large ensemble cast including Sandy Batchelor, Andy Clark, Maya Bassi Curtis, Callum Cuthbertson, Charlotte Delima, Hannah Donaldson, Kirsty Findlay, Lorraine Graham, Graham Mackay-Bruce, David Mara, Ann Louise Ross, Lawrence Smith, Declan Spaine and Gavin Jon Wright. The ensemble will play a range of other characters including Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister and Chancellor, Alistair Darling, former Chancellor, Maggie Darling, Alistair's wife, Shriti Vadera, Laura Kuenssberg and key players at the Royal Bank of Scotland. They will be joined on stage by live musicians. 

Andrew Panton, director, said, “It's an honour to collaborate with such a brilliantly talented cast and creative team to tell this important story. We're all excited to be creating this show at Dundee Rep Theatre, where our local audiences will have the first chance to see Brian Cox, returning to where he started his career. To then bring the show to the world's largest arts festival, in the city where our story begins, is a hugely exciting opportunity.”

Paisley born Fred Goodwin was the Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group between 2001 and 2009, presiding over RBS's rapid rise to become the world's largest company (by assets) and the fifth-largest bank (by stock market value), and their even more rapid fall in 2008, which coincided with the worldwide economic crisis. Make It Happen is the first major artwork exploring RBS's role in this tumultuous period in recent history.

James Graham is an award-winning screenwriter and playwright, whose recent work includes Dear England (National Theatre of GB and West End) which won the Olivier award for Best Play in 2024 and is currently being adapted into a BBC miniseries. Other theatre work includes: This House (National Theatre of GB, West End and UK tour), which was chosen by popular vote as the best play of the 2010's for the major theatre publisher Methuen; Punch (Nottingham Playhouse, Young Vic and then transferring to the West End and Broadway later in 2025); Best of Enemies (Young Vic, 2022), winner of the Critics' Circle Theatre Award; Tammy Faye (The Almeida), and Ink (The Almeida), which transferred to Broadway and was nominated for six Tony Awards; Labour of Love (Noel Coward Theatre, 2018) which won the Olivier award for Best Comedy.

For television, James is the writer and creator of Sherwood which first aired on BBC One in 2022 to five star reviews, winning the Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama and two BAFTAS. Other TV includes Brexit: An Uncivil War, broadcast on Channel 4 and HBO, and was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie. His Channel 4 drama, Coalition won the RTS Award for Best Single Drama (2019), and Quiz (ITV and AMC), adapted from his stage play and directed by Stephen Frears, was one of the most watched UK TV dramas of 2020.

Andrew Panton is an award-winning theatre director and currently Artistic Director and Joint CEO of Dundee Rep Theatre. For Dundee Rep, his directorial credits include August: Osage County, The Children, A Christmas Carol, Oor Wullie, Passing Places and Spring Awakening. He has previously worked with National Theatre of Scotland as director on digital lockdown short Out of the Woods with Alan Cumming and A Sheep Called Skye, and as staff director on the original UK & International tours of Black Watch. He has also directed productions for the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, Citizens Theatre Glasgow, Royal & Derngate, Perth Theatre and The Stephen Joseph Theatre. His recent work includes A History of Paper, which won a Scotsman Fringe First, an immersive production of Peter Greenaway's The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, and the gig-theatre musical No Love Songs. Andrew's work for television includes: Children in Need, The Naked Choir and The Voice (BBC) and he was a creative director for the opening ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.