Òran Mór, Glasgow
Four stars
If we all have our crosses to bear, say a prayer for Alice Lockwood in James Reilly’s new play that makes up the latest incarnation of A Play, a Pie and a Pint’s lunchtime theatre season at Òran Mór. Alice is a primary school teacher in a Catholic school, or was before she was suspended for reasons yet to be made clear. In order to get to the bottom of the incident, Alice has been seconded for a session with ex GP turned secular therapist Dr. Freer. When Father Mackin shows up to hear Alice’s story, truth becomes stranger than fiction.
Alice, you see, has been seeing saints. Fifteen of them have shown up in her classroom, proffering suitably saintly advice, with St. Anthony, the patron saint of lost things and souls, even helping her find a missing ear ring under the fridge. Trouble is, she is the only one who can see her new spirit guides, and the wonderland of ecclesiastical encounters is occupied her alone. Even worse, while the church isn’t exactly shy of putting its collective faith in invisible deities, in this case, Father Mackin and Dr. Freer have trouble believing her.
Set on Heather Grace Currie’s dazzling crucifix lined set, Reilly’s play is a fascinating construction. As brought to life in Catriona MacLeod’s production, it begins with low-key naturalism before moving into increasingly absurd waters as the stakes of Alice’s inquisition are raised ever higher.
Jane McCarry as Dr. Freer and Mark Cox’s Father Mackin are twin pillars of institutional orthodoxy as they quiz Alice, the centre of this possibly holy trinity played by Karen Young. As Alice herself says of her visions, if she had been around in fifteenth-century France she’d have been Joan of Arc. In today’s more cynical age, alas, she may only want to get back to work, but the sort of everyday miracles she appears to have encountered are seriously frowned upon.
As the play takes a leap into Exorcist like territory, the final punchline may come from nowhere, but the end result is nevertheless a thought provoking and darkly comic look at faith, belief and what it takes for saints to preserve us.
The Herald, March 26th 2026
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