The Scotsman 26 July 2022

David Greig wonders if what he has done in his latest play should even be allowed. Technically, he has only adapted a book. His romantic two-hander takes its inspiration from Under Another Sky: Journeys In Roman Britain by the journalist and author Charlotte Higgins. But inspiration is almost all it takes.

Most playwrights would say a book about visiting Roman sites was unadaptable. Under Another Sky is a compelling read, but as Higgins ventures around the country with her partner Matthew, seeking out ancient remains and contemplating how different generations have thought about the past, nothing about it screams theatre. The most dramatic it gets is their campervan struggling to make it to the top of a hill. Not wishing to ruin the engine, she and Matthew get out and walk. [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).