Òran Mór, Glasgow
Four stars
Stormy weather abounds both on and off stage in Kenny Boyle’s new Halloween themed play for A Play, a Pie and a Pint’s ongoing lunchtime theatre season. Sorcha and Evander find themselves seeking shelter in a highland bothy inbetween reaching the summit they are aiming for. Just what that is remains to be seen as they cosy in around the table to share ancient stories of a decidedly spooky kind.
For the first half of Ben Harrison’s production, out-scaring each other seems to be the aim for MJ Deans’ Sorcha and Boyle himself as Evander. The series of yarns they spar with fall somewhere between those in Conor McPherson’s 1997 village pub bound play, The Weir, and a seasonal volume of ancient myths. The second half of the play lurches into less certain waters, as Evander and Sorcha seem to be in the midst of some elaborate role play exercise or else are taken over by something far darker.
As the pair slip in and out of speaking Gaelic, the final story of Badhbh-Shith possesses them both, and the stakes suddenly become far higher. Through the ancient myths they channel, Evander and Sorcha become conduits and protectors of a hand-me-down culture that sees them rise up to seize the day.
Played out on Heather Grace Currie’s suitably decrepit looking set, Boyle’s play dresses itself up in folk horror trappings that move between ancient and modern. The fantastical myth making that follows goes beyond a leap into the beyond to become a call for self-determination and power in a bid to reclaim a language and a culture lost to dark forces. In the end, the play evolves into an eternal call to arms in which by taking control of your own destiny, you have to be big and bold enough to decide how your story ends on your own terms as old ghosts are laid to rest.
The Herald, October 29th 2026
ends
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