A Play, a Pie and a Pint
Òran Mór, Glasgow. Season begins September 1.
Glasgow’s renowned lunchtime theatre phenomenon returns with a new season of twelve brand new plays accompanied by the beverages that gives this Glasgow institution its name. It opens with Wallace, Rob Drummond and Dave Hook’s brand new hip hop musical looking at Scotland’s stories beyond the Braveheart mythology and Saltire patterned face paint. Other potential treats include Our Brother, Jack MacGregor’s drama about `Scottish Marxist Malcolm Caldwell, who was shot dead after interviewing Cambodian dictator Pol Pot; Feis, Anna McGrath’s story about a struggling dance school; The Glasgow Poisoner, a true crime story by Tom Cooper and Jen McGregor; and Cheapo, Katy Nixon’s study of what happens when two teenagers play chess in their local KFC. All of which sounds well worth feasting on.
A Toast Fae The Lassies
Pitlochry Festival Theatre until September 24.
Robert Burns has been lionised in many ways on stage and screen, but this new collaboration between writer/director John Binnie and composer/performer Alyson Orr for Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s Studio Theatre takes a fresh look at the bard from the point of view of the women in his life, as Burns’ mother Agnes Broun, his widow, Jean Armour, and his soul mate Clarinda meet by accident beside his grave. Drams are taken, stories told, and songs sung.
Black is the Color of My Voice
Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, September 2-4; Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling, September 25 as part of a UK tour.
Apphia Campbell’s solo play has already toured the world several times over prior to this latest outing, which opens in Edinburgh prior to travelling across the UK. Inspired by the life and work of Nina Simone, Campbell looks at Simone’s role in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, and is punctuated by Campbell lending her own considerable singing voice to some of Simone’s back catalogue for the Edinburgh dates, before Florence Odumoso picks up the baton for the rest of the tour.
Man’s Best Friend
Gaiety Theatre, Ayr, September 3; Theatre Royal, Dumfries, September 5; Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, September 9; Dundee Rep, September 12-13; Lemon Tree, Aberdeen September 16-17; Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock, September 19; Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy, September 20; Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, September 25-27.
A speedy return for Douglas Maxwell’s study of a neighbourhood dog walker in mourning who gets more than he bargained for when the dogs slip off the leash and he has to chase them into the woods. Jemima Levick’s Tron Theatre production sees Jordan Young give a heart-wrenching turn as a man in crisis in Maxwell’s play, which is full of emotional twists and turns that at points recalls the everyday turmoil of a Krzysztof Kieslowski film.
Small Acts of Love
Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, September 9-October 4.
After eight years, the doors of a revamped Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre finally reopen with the world premiere of Frances Poet’s new play that celebrates love, resilience and community in the wake of the Pan Am 103 atrocity that occurred in December 1988. Featuring music and lyrics by Ricky Ross of Deacon Blue, Poet’s play is based on meticulous research, and shows how bonds were formed between communities in Lockerbie and New York State. Featuring a cast of fourteen including Blythe Duff, Dominic Hill’s production marks a new era at the Citz.
Doppler
Pitlochry Festival Theatre, September 11-12.
For two nights only, site-specific auteurs Grid Iron Theatre Company revive their 2021 Edinburgh Festival Fringe hit about a man living in the woods with an elk. Adapted from Norwegian writer Erlend Loe’s novel, Ben Harrison’s production stops off in Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s outdoor Explorers Garden outdoor arena before travelling to Norway for a series of shows at the end of the month.
The Needle Room
Carnwath Town Hall, September 17; St Nicholas Hall, Lanark, September 19-20; Leadhills Village Hall, September 23; Coulter Village Hall, Biggar, September 24; Crawfordjohn Village Hall, September 25; Symington Village Hall, September 26; Biggar Corn Exchange, September 27.
Dark secrets come to the surface in the latest work by the Biggar based Braw Clan company, focussed on producing work in Scots in rural venues around Lanarkshire. Martin Travers’ play is set in 1934 Lanark, where a housekeeper for a wealthy family finds herself in the midst of intrigue when the lady of the house falls ill during a heatwave. Based on real events, this third venture from Braw Clan looks at some of the indignities suffered by women during the era it is set in as it embarks on an extensive tour of community halls in places rarely listed on the small-scale theatre touring circuit.
Black Hole Sign
Tron Theatre, Glasgow, September 19-October 4.
With an embattled NHS struggling to survive, Uma Nada-Rajah’s new play takes a timely look at the everyday absurdities of matters of life and death rubbing up against administrative bureaucracy. As a nurse herself, Nada-Rajah knows life on the frontline only too well, and brings her experience to bear in this co-production between the Tron and Traverse Theatres in association with the National Theatre of Scotland.
Òran
Cumbernauld Theatre, September 19-20; The Gaiety, Ayr, September 23; Paisley Arts Centre, September 24; Birnam Arts, September 25; Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, September 26; then touring until the end of November.
Greek mythology, spoken word and contemporary music from electronic duo VanIves combine for this extensive tour of Owen Sutcliffe’s solo reimagining of the Orpheus story, brought to life by Robbie Gordon and Jack Nurse’s Wonder Fools company. A mini hit during the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Sutcliffe’s script sees the title character played by Gordon on a mission to rescue his best mate from the Underworld, but at what cost remains to be seen.
Hercules The Bear
Gaiety Theatre, Ayr, September 27; The Studio, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, September 30; touring throughout Scotland until the end of October.
When professional wrestler Andy Robin and his wife Maggie bought a bear called Hercules and raised it as one of the family inbetween sparring with Andy in the ring, the Stirlingshire based couple created a legend. This new family friendly show by the Tenterhooks company in association with Ayr’s Gaiety Theatre uses live performers and a life-size bear puppet to tell the story of how Andy and Hercules became a main attraction on the wrestling circuit inbetween life at home with Hercules’ human family.
The Herald, September 2nd 2025
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