The Guardian 18 October 2023

Andy Arnold is a director with staying power. Nae Expectations, which has just opened at Glasgow’s Tron theatre, is his swansong production after nearly 16 years with the company. Prior to that, he spent 18 years at the Arches, the multi-arts venue he founded in the catacombs beneath the city’s Central station, creating a seedbed for a generation of theatremakers, artists and DJs.

If in neither case did he overstay his welcome, it is because of the quality that defines him: his relentless championing of young artists. He has remained a vital part of Glasgow’s cultural life because of the company he keeps.

Take two of the Tron’s biggest hits of recent years. Before it won an Olivier award, Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) was a breezy summer hit at the 230-seat theatre. Arnold had programmed the irreverent Austen adaptation after effectively handing over the reins to the company led by playwright-actor Isobel McArthur and director Paul Brotherston. The company’s name? Blood of the Young – the clue was in the title. [READ MORE]

By Mark Fisher

MARK FISHER is a freelance theatre critic and feature writer based in Edinburgh and has written about theatre in Scotland since the late-1980s. He is a theatre critic for The Guardian, a former editor of The List magazine and a frequent contributor to the Scotsman and other publications. He is the co-editor of the play anthology Made in Scotland (1995), and the author of The Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide (2012) and How to Write About Theatre (2015) – all Bloomsbury Methuen Drama. He is also the editor of The XTC Bumper Book of Fun for Boys and Girls and What Do You Call That Noise? An XTC Discovery Book (both Mark Fisher Ltd).