As we come to the twilight moments of 2023, the Corr Blimey team have had a few drinks (and a couple of arguments) but plenty of fond memories about the best of Scottish Theatre this year.
And while enormously entertaining touring productions and revivals have found their way into Scotland, this list celebrates the homegrown shows from Edinburgh to Pitlochry, Dundee to Biggar, and Glasgow to Stirling. Below is a list of some of the most notable pieces we covered this year, with links to all accompanying reviews. With around three-hundred and ninety shows (and films) covered, we would love to spotlight everything but wouldn’t have the time! So, while we may not get to everything, the Corr Blimey team want to thank every PR, venue, front of house, and creative who has joined us on this journey through 2023.
A year of ‘bouncing back’, Scottish theatre saw a variety of delayed shows finally make a grand opening, and the continued success of new writing and performers managing to overcome the enormity of obstacles in their way to continue to push the boundaries of the stories we share, and the voices we hear. But while many made an encouraging return after uncertain months of lockdowns and COVID-19, the continuing devastation left in the wake of reduced or removed funding for key institutions leaves a shaky start for the 2024 season. And in the absence of support, changing artistic directors, and the delayed re-opening of venues such as the Tramway or the temporary closure of some like the Brunton, there is still a colossal task ahead of us.
There is one thing the Scottish industry thrives in doing: pushing past this and putting on a show. But don’t, even for a second, buy into the excuse that in tough times creativity flourishes. Support is needed across the board for emerging artists and creatives to ensure we maintain a solid platform for new voices to grow louder: now more than ever. It’s taken decades to build the world-class theatre and art Scotland possesses – let’s not lose it within mere years.
So, let’s remember 2023, and look to 2024. And let’s make it count.
Featuring one of the strongest performances of the year with Kirsty Stuart’s Blanche DuBois, Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s Artistic Director Elizabeth Newman channelled nuance and strength into a classic story most audiences have seen time and again. From higher English classes to amateur dramatics to world-leading ballet performances, Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire is as ingrained a text as you could get. And yet, Newman and the Pitlochry team crafted an exceptional production which captured every beat of the tale and brought it to familiar and new audiences with gusto and force.
Conjuring a thick and dense humidity in the brisk winds of Pitlochry, A Streetcar Named Desire was strikingly gorgeous as it was well-executed and performed by Stuart and Matthew Trevannion. The southern belle-jewel in a successful season for the venue, Pitlochry continues to be a beacon of in-house productions in Scotland with this definitive version of Streetcar.
And to have a sneak peek at what they’re planning for their 2024 season, to see what else the Pitlochry Festival Theatre has in store for audiences.
The Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Directed by Elizabeth Newman
Howling with aggression, The Tron Theatre’s Changing House showcased two exceptional performances from Anna Russell–Martin and Leah Byrne as Ross Willis’ award-winning Wolfie had its Scottish debut.
Re-framing the ‘raised-by-wolves’ narrative into a story of two women, daughters to a struggling single mother who grows from infancy and ends up on separate paths. One of them is raised in a more traditional sense, but not in comfort, dealing with an ailing foster mother with chronic depression in a home without an income. The other is raised in the forest among parents of the four-footed variety.
A production which championed the often-unsung necessity and splendour of strong movement direction (in this case Jack Webb), Wolfie stretched its legs long past being a contemporary fairy-tale, and into a spectacle of the here and now: foodbanks, care workers, bureaucracy and laceratingly bleak humour. Wolfie is a show that is neither polite nor sincere – instead – raw, poignant, and foaming-at-the-mouth.
Tron Theatre
Written by Ross Willis
Directed by Joanna Bowman
2023 continued an encouraging move across Scotland as productions shifted to diversify and incorporate more of the language, dialects, and history of areas outside the central belt and major cities. Secrets Wrapped in Lead brought the Corr Blimey team to Biggar for Martin Travers’ newest piece, created with the newly formed Braw Clan, the Scots Language Theatre group.
This vastly important new script – a three-hander exploring the nation’s history and supernatural obsession – Travers’ weaving of authentic language made for a production which doesn’t dilute itself for those of a differing tongue. A necessary step away from a loose use of regional accents and terms for the sake of comedy, Secrets Wrapped in Lead brought audiences into the local history of the village of Leadhills with stellar performances and control of language that shaped its audience.
Unravelling the saicrets of the region, panning for gold amidst the poisoned waters and nuggets of lead, Secrets Wrapped in Lead found itself touring smaller, localised theatres in a tremendous effort to bring new theatre to those outside of the dense cities. Rekindling a vital reminder to value the Scots language and the necessity of new works in ‘old’ tongues.
Loaningdale Arts Centre
Written by Martin Travers
Artistic Direction by Pauline Lynch
Produced by Braw Clan
Throwing their hat into the ring to find the next Scottish musical, Sleeping Warrior’s Battery Park took a departure from the more familiar musical theatre route with a thunderously rebellious and blow-the-speakers-out show which channelled a distinctive energy into performances, sound design, and solid pacing.
With music at the heart of the show Battery Park is less a strict musical and more a production where the accompanying score and music serve a narrative purpose. The marvellous Andy McGregor, serving as writer, director, composer, and lyricist, carves songs into a narrative which documents the rise and fall of a Britpop band.
One of the few (let’s face it, only) shows which came with the option to stream the band’s EP on Spotify or grab a band t-shirt online, Battery Park shook up the scene with its high-octane energy and terrific performances from Chris Alexander, Kim Allen, Tommy McGowan, Charlie West, and Chloe-Ann Taylor who has an exceptional year with the National Theatre of Scotland’s Thrown, and the most recent ‘festive’ treat at the Traverse Theatre with Same Team.
The Byre Theatre
Written, Directed, Composed, and Lyrics by Andy McGregor
Love Beyond (Act of Remembrance)
A rare production of genuine poignancy, the CATS-winning Love Beyond (Act of Remembrance) engaged with audiences of levels of visual and auditory understanding in a manner few others ever have. Deliberately blurring the typical lines, intentionally alienating to push a deeper grasp of coping with dementia and the many frustrations aligned with such, Ramesh Meyyappan’s piece was deserving of all praise and awards.
Openly vulnerable, Meyyappan’s production captured the simplicity of a love story through new eyes: using a tale we can all relate to through a man many of us cannot. Harry has dementia. He’s also a user of sign language. As he gets to grips with his new home and carer, Harry doesn’t enter this space alone – carrying with him the spectre of his past which fades in and out of the space alongside him.
A remarkably pure story of a love story of loss, and self-love, Raw Material and Vanishing Point’s Love Beyond (Act of Remembrance) lifts the building blocks of our lives and holds them up, magnifying the difficulties and anxieties which come with dementia and using sign language in a vocal world.
Traverse Theatre
Written by Ramesh Meyyappan
Directed by Matthew Lenton
The quest for Scotland’s newest triumph of musical theatre found a revitalisation of the Folksong in a unique and engaging catalyst production from Finn Anderson with A Mother’s Song.
Staged at the Macrobert’s Art Centre, Stirling, Anderson, and Tania Azevedo’s musical production sought to continue the evolving conversation around what autonomy and freedom look like for women in Scotland. Featuring a large ensemble cast, A Mother’s Song continues to showcase the talented performers Blyth Jandoo, Kirsty Findlay, Tinashe Warikandwa and the incredible Bethany Tennick, all of whom have deserving paths ahead of them.
Toying with history, dipping in and out of Scotland’s small and large victories for women – and the scale of the task still at hand – there’s a place ready for A Mother’s Song on the touring stage to ring out a contemporary narrative which borrows a voice steeped in our history.
Macroberts Art Centre, Stirling
Book by Finn Anderson and Tania Azevedo
Music and Lyrics by Finn Anderson
Directed by Tania Azevedo
Bard in the Botanics
A bit of a cheat – yes – but the entire Bard in the Botanics summer season (and their sneaky final show) was one of the significant highlights across the year for Scottish Theatre. Taking the bold step of shifting from a repertoire of the Bard’s work to incorporating pieces from Oscar Wilde and Robert Louis Stevenson, Gordon Barr’s 2023 season saw lashings of ensemble comedy, thunderous and roaring drama, and some precisely delivered pathos and heartache – a full spectrum of human emotion on glorious display.
Opening with a duality of war and trauma with a solid ensemble performance in Julius Ceaser, crafting a contemporary political thriller of fake news and suited rulers, the Bard in the Botanics season also started strong with a sensational production of Henry IV – featuring stand-out performances from Sam Stopford and Alan Steele as Falstaff.
Shifting from the Bard, the Botanics saw some gothic horror with a tense one-act Jekyll and Hyde, which continued Stopford’s impressive season and offered a starring role for Stephanie McGregor to take command of the Kibble Palace space.
For those looking for the lighter parts of life, the side-splitting ensemble performance of The Importance of Being Earnest saw the likes of James Boal, Éimi Quinn, and Stephen Arden throw off the shackles of the dramatic and fully indulge in some top-class comedy to see out the sunshine and round out a season based around ‘The Fault in Our Stars’.
And with one final show, the entire season came to a profoundly sombre and powerful close, as Nicole Cooper returned to the Botanics to take the lead in Lear’s Fool. With their trademark ability to weave themselves directly into the words, this time from David Henry Wilson, Lear’s Fool featured solid performances across the board with Stopford, Johnny Panchaud, McGregor, and Finlay McLean as the titular Lear.
Botanical Gardens, Glasgow
Artistic Direction by Gordon Barr
It turned out to be a triumphant final year for A Play, a Pie, and a Pint’s artistic director Jemima Levick, who will now move from Òran Mór to take up the same position at the Tron Theatre. Serving up slices of fresh theatre and flinging open the doors to as many creatives as they can, the Play, Pie, and a Pint team continue to be one of the most important institutions of Scottish theatre.
Only one question remains – who will take up the mantle of guardian of the pie in 2024?
In researching which shows stood out, a remarkable list emerged which demonstrated the extreme wealth on offer in some of the most accessible ways for audiences, who can enjoy refreshments and performance with company and hide away from the world for a couple of hours.
Musicals, comedies, interactive video games, pathos, and enough vegan sausage rolls to feed a large village, A Play, a Pie, and a Pint has had a smashing year, and these are only a selection of the highlights:
Uma Nada-Rajah’s The Great Replacement, a tightly crafted three-hander, enchanted Pitlochry audiences at the Play, Pie, and a Pint influence extends to further venues. Meghan Tyler’s FLEG and Douglas Maxwell’s The Sheriff of Kalamaki offered sublime performances and insight into the guttural roars of an ageing generation seeking the ‘good life’ and fonder days.
The hugely successful SCOTS made a Fringe return, and Alice Clark’s Ship Rats brought more emerging talent to the forefront with Madeline Grieve performing under Laila Noble’s direction as a woman trapped about a vessel after murdering the captain. A trio of shows stood out above them all for their raw intensity, tongue-in-cheek writing, and ability to herald some of Scotland’s best writers and performers: Write-Off, Keepin the Heid, and Babs – each demonstrating how lucky Scotland is to have the likes of Richard Conlon, Rachel Flynn and Sally Reid, and Bethany Tennick.
Òran Mór, Traverse Theatre, and Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Artistic Direction from Jemima Levick
A co-production from intersectional feminist theatre company Stellar Quines and the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Through the Mud, was a re-conceived version of Apphia Campbell’s one-person show WOKE – written by Campbell and Meredith Yarbrough.
Skilfully directed by Caitlin Skinner, Tinashe Warikandwa brilliantly plays the excited Ambrosia, itching to break free from her father’s comical yearning for her to pursue dentistry, instead following her passions of singing and enrolling at university. While Campbell powerfully plays Assata Shakur, a prominent Black Panther. Creating this dynamic enabled striking comparisons between those earlier figures in the 20th century fighting for civil rights and those still fighting today, bringing to the fore the current anti-racism movement Black Lives Matter.
From the creator of the smash-hit show Black is the Color of My Voice, came the story of the African American experience through two women 42 years apart, both involved in the struggle for civil rights. Through the Mud is an assertive piece of theatre that demands to be seen, with the final image of two women singing and standing together in solidarity before the lights are cut as one of strength, potency, and hope.
The Royal Lyceum Theatre
Written by Apphia Campbell
Directed by Caitlin Skinner
Distilling the entire essence of a man, of a legacy, in ninety minutes is an enormity – especially when that man is the Big Yin. Sharing in the stories of those who know him, have never met the man, love and idolise him, and yes, even those who detest him, Gary McNair’s Dear Billy brought the nation together to tell their Billy Connolly story.
Constructed with the voices behind the Big Yin’s impact, McNair does a tremendous job in demonstrating the diversity and range which Connolly touched in some form or another. Dear Billy is at its most potent – not when the tales of bumping into Connolly ring out, but the more heart-warming ones of those facing their daily strife find resilience and drive in the man with a small goatee, a full head of hair, a song on his lips and a joke up his sleeve.
Not alone however, McNair was joined by the production’s composers Simon Liddell and Jill O’Sullivan, providing live instrumentals as O’Sullivan brings the folk-heart of the show to life with ethereally captivating vocals, the audience more than encouraged to join in. Returning to audiences in 2024, Dear Billy is verbatim theatre for the people, by the people, in celebration of the Big Yin; G’aun yersel!
Traverse Theatre
Written by Gary McNair
Directed by Joe Douglas
Interested in being featured? With many previews and Q&As lined up, we’re always happy to chat about including your show in future articles. Please do get in touch through the contact page to feature in an upcoming ‘Have A Gander’