The Scotsman 15 February 2024

Had we tried to run an article before Christmas about Blythe Duff’s latest role, the former Taggart actor would have had little to say. Even a week into rehearsals at Glasgow’s Tron, she would have been at a loss for words.

But today, another week on, she is lucid and passionate. She has transformed from being cautious about Escaped Alone, a 2016 play by Caryl Churchill, into a forceful advocate.

“There’s no way I could have spoken to you about this last week,” says Duff. “I couldn’t give you any context or soundbite or anything for you to take away to get closer to it.”

She adds: “Before Christmas I was saying to people, ‘I’ll let you know if you should come.’ I didn’t honestly know if we could pull it off and I now feel so much more comforted. So please do come!” [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).