Scotland on Sunday 29 October 2025

The latest production by the National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) sounds a hoot. But if you want to see it, there is a catch. First, you need to check yourself into Edinburgh’s Western General. It is called Trolleydarity and it can only be seen in hospital.

Supported by Tonic Arts, run by NHS Lothian Charity, the show aims to bring some brief moments of escape to patients who, it is safe to say, would rather be somewhere else. Stuck in a hospital bed, they cannot travel but they can at least dream of an island getaway or a place in the sun.

The production’s full title is Trolleydarity – Scratch N Sniff Staycations For The Discerning Static Traveller and it is the work of theatremaker Shona Reppe and visual artist Alan Grieve. [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).