The Guardian 24 May 2022

Matthew is nervously running through his lines as he readies himself for a drama-school audition. He has chosen the “Now is the winter of our discontent” speech from Richard III, but as he scratches his jumper nervously, he is a better fit for Hamlet.

Played by Martin Quinn, all floppy hair and skinny jeans, he is mourning his father and vacillating about his future. To do or not to do the audition; that is the question.

So far so Shakespearean, except Harry Ward’s Ray, beyond being Matthew’s uncle, has nothing in common with Claudius. He is a painter and decorator with an invented love life and a better knowledge of Stephen King than of the classics. And his knowledge of Stephen King stretches to one book. [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).