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The Rhinestone Cowboy

Leith Depot, Edinburgh

Four stars

 

When Dan the man left his Edinburgh home for Iceland in 2015 to study graphic design, it was the beginning of a great adventure. Here he was, out on his own and off the leash with his whole life in front of him, and his cheeky Scottish charm seemingly a passport to anywhere. Reykjavik was buzzing, and so was he, and for a giddy moment, Dan was truly living the dream. Unfortunately in Heidi Docherty’s new short solo play performed by herself, it doesn’t last. 

 

What follows is an unflinching portrait of how a fun loving cheeky chappie has his already fragile confidence dented by the voices in his head who over the next few years mark out Dan’s struggles - with money, his course, his numerous jobs, his love life, his family, and ultimately with himself - until he can’t take anymore. 

 

The result is a tragic indictment on the perils of young people overwhelmed by anguish even before you realise that for Docherty this is painfully close to home. As she inhabits the short life of her lost son with only drawn on facial hair, a gelled up quiff, and a smile as warm as the Blue Lagoon, Docherty relives Dan’s short life, laying bare her loss by transforming it into a living memorial. Docherty is accompanied  by composer/musician Harry Docherty - her other son - who provides an original electronic score as well as a montage of contemporary sounds Dan will have known, and which here accompany a series of impressionistic video images. 

 

Presented by Docherty’s Jaggy Edina company, the play is delivered in a fearlessly unsentimental fashion. While there is plenty of scope to expand what is clearly a labour of love, it makes for a moving experience that both mourns and celebrates Docherty’s lost boy even as it helps heal.


The Herald, January 30th 2026

 

ends

 

 

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