The Guardian 20 July 2022

Turns out the qualities that made Runrig one of Scotland’s biggest bands are also a perfect match for the musical. The heart-on-sleeve passions, the windswept romance and the wistful longing for the land that characterised the folk-rock outfit’s 45-year career before their split in 2018 are well suited to a form that thrives on broad gestures and emotional directness.

Better still, where Rory and Calum Macdonald’s music could be bombastic on record, it becomes nuanced and sweetly melodic on stage. Under the musical direction of John Kielty, we are reminded that even the forthright beat of the title track’s chorus is offset by verses that are subtle and tender, slipping in and out of Gaelic as they draw on folk tradition. The closing duet on Somewhere, from Runrig’s final album, could be a Broadway ballad, albeit with an uncommonly poetic flourish. [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).