Through the Shortbread Tin review
The Guardian 7 April 2025 Martin O’Connor calls it “the first Outlander effect”. He is thinking about how an image of a country catches on and, factual or otherwise, comes…
Through the Shortbread Tin
The Scotsman 18 March 2025 When Martin O’Connor first talked to director Lu Kemp about his latest play, he thought she was using some unfamiliar theatrical terminology. What she liked…
Thank U, Next
The Scotsman 1 October 2024 If someone talked to you about bubblegum goth, would you know what they were on about? How about dark academia or angel-core? Would they be…
June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me
The Guardian 7 August 2024 The most powerful country songs are those written from the heart. In the words of Harlan Howard, it is about “three chords and the truth”.…
Shō and the Demons of the Deep
The Scotsman 8 April 2024 Wouldn’t it be good if we could get rid of nightmares? That is the idea behind Shō And The Demons Of The Deep, a children’s…
Ones to watch in 2024: Catriona Faint
The Scotsman 8 January 2024 Call it chance, call it versatility, but so far in her short career Catriona Faint has played more men than women. As a student at…
Oliver Emanuel obituary
The Guardian 2 January 2024 Oliver Emanuel, who has died aged 43 from brain cancer, was a playwright, teacher and radio dramatist who put his name to some of the…
Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning
The Guardian 8 September 2023 Liz Kettle makes a striking Dracula. Fingers spindly, hair swept back, black cloak voluminous, she possesses the ability to pop up at will on Kenneth…
Morna Pearson on Dracula: Mina’s Story
The Scotsman 22 August 2023 Morna Pearson is partial to a bit of True Blood and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. That could be why she did not hesitate when the…
Dear Billy review
The Guardian 19 May 2023 There is an air of Nick Park’s Creature Comforts about Gary McNair’s “love letter” to Billy Connolly. The performer builds his joyful one-man show from…