Category Archives: What’s on / Listings

NEWS: Casting announced for new Johnny McKnight musical at Oran Mor

A Play, A Pie and A Pint (PPP) is delighted to announce the cast of Meet Me At The Knob, an upcoming musical by Johnny McKnight inspired by the real-life Glaswegian gang, the White Hats, who committed a series of crimes in 1920’s Broomielaw whilst dressed in drag.

Directed by PPP’s Artistic Director Jemima Levick, this new raucous musical stars BBC River City regular and pantomime favourite Darren Brownlie, as the gang leader William ‘Liz’ Haton, alongside actor Tom Urie (Guilt,Still Game) and theatre star Dylan Wood (549: Scots of the Spanish Civil War, Underwood Lane).

Meet Me At The Knob will feature original music by Novasound, Scotland’s only female-run recording and production studio comprised of Lauren Gilmour and Audrey Tait, best known as the drummer in Brit award winning Scottish band Franz Ferdinand.

This new show will perform at Òran Mór, Glasgow for one week only 5-10 June 2023 as part of PPP’s Spring ‘Fresh Perspectives’ season.

Venue: Òran Mór, Glasgow
Dates: Mon 5 – Sat 10 June 2023, 1pm
Tickets: £12.50-£17.50 (includes food and drink)
Box Office: 0141 357 6211
Website: http://www.playpiepint.com

WHAT’S ON: Martin McCormick’s powerful play THE MAGGIE WALL to return to Pitlochry Festival Theatre

This June, the Pitlochry Festival Theatre production of The Maggie Wall, Martin McCormick’s acclaimed play, is set to make  a welcome return to the Studio in Pitlochry from 9 to 28 June.

The play was inspired by a mysterious monument built in Dunning in Perthshire, commemorating the death of a woman who was supposedly tried and executed in the 17th century for witchcraft.

Co–produced with Aberdeen Arts Centre, The Maggie Wall explores the vulnerability of women and the injustices suffered by them in a patriarchal and closed community, resonating with contemporary experiences, as well as reminding us of a chapter of Scottish and British history in which many people, predominantly women, were accused, tried and killed as suspected witches.

 ‘The Maggie Wall’ is the site of a mysterious marker to a woman tried and executed in the 17th century for witchcraft. It’s a collection of stones standing about 20 feet high, bearing the words in white lettering, “Maggie Wall burnt here 1657 as a witch”.

The mystery, however, is that no record of a woman called Maggie Wall has ever been discovered. There is no evidence of her crimes, and nothing to indicate what she did to warrant the label of ‘witch’. Historians now believe that Maggie Wall’s monument  is, in fact, a memorial to honour the memory of all the women executed, using Maggie as a mythical figure to represent those who were accused of witchcraft and lost their lives as a result.

The Maggie Wall is performed by acclaimed Scottish actress Blythe Jandoo whose theatre credits include Gypsy and Sunshine on Leith (Pitlochry Festival Theatre), Peter Pan (Clyde Auditorium Glasgow), and who featured in the Walt Disney Picture’s Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. Blythe is currently appearing in the Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s 2023 production of Gypsy and will shortly be seen at the Theatre in The Secret Garden.

Perthshire based Martin McCormick is a writer, actor and director. He won the Critics’ Awards Theatre in Scotland (CATS) award for Best New Play in 2014 for his play Squash. His theatre credits include 22 Mays (Pitlochry Festival Theatre), South Bend (Grid Iron), Ma, Pa and the Little Mouths (National Theatre of Scotland/Tron Theatre), The Day The Pope Emptied Croy (Traverse Theatre) and most recently Oh When the Saints (Perth Theatre).

Martin McCormick said about the return of The Maggie Wall:

I’m thrilled that Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s production of The Maggie Wall, along with Amy’s direction and Blythe’s performance, are reaching a wider audience in 2023. Maggie’s story is a fictionalised account of an individual tried and executed as a witch in 17th century rural Scotland. However, the themes of my narrative; a young woman being persecuted, subjugated, and imprisoned by a patriarchy, are tragically valid and real.”

Director of Aberdeen Arts Centre Amy Liptrott added:

The Maggie Wall is a visceral, intimate, and thought-provoking play. I feel very lucky to be directing Blythe Jandoo again for a co-production of Martin’s brilliant play with Pitlochry Festival Theatre, and in October, the production will be part of a very special celebration at Aberdeen Arts Centre. The persecution Maggie suffers, sadly, isn’t a thing of fiction and, in sharing her story, we remember the injustice of the Witch Trials and the injustice consistently suffered by persecuted people ever since.”

The Maggie Wall will be in the Studio at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 9 to 28 June.

Tickets for The Maggie Wall are available from the Pitlochry Festival Theatre Box Office on 01796 484626 or online at www.pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com

WHAT’S ON: Dear Billy (a love letter to the Big Yin) at The King’s

There’s a guy. You know him. You know…big hair, wee beard, glasses, talks like that. You know? You know. The guy…The Big Yin.

Billy Connolly needs no introduction. He is a national treasure. From the shipyards of the Clydeside to his trailblazing and extraordinary stage and movie exploits, he is woven into Scottish culture.

Everyone has a Billy Story.

An expert team of story gatherers has created a collection of these moving and hilarious tales. Gary McNair, one of Scotland’s best theatre makers, has turned these stories into a special show celebrating the Big Yin and what he means to us.

Gary is hitting the road with a band, collecting more stories as they go, making every show different.

Each one a unique chance to laugh, sing, and celebrate the man and the legend.

Written and performed by Gary McNair, directed by Joe Douglas, Music by Simon Liddell.

Thu 22 Jun – Sat 24 Jun 2023 KING’S THEATRE GLASGOW

Tickets Here

WHAT’S ON: Moorcroft at The Tron

A team. A team of wit? A team of players. A bunch of mates coming the gither to huv a kick aboot. Wits new?

Garry’s turned 50 but doesn’t feel like celebrating. Exhausted from years spent wrapped in regret, he begins to relive ‘the glory days’, trying to understand his mistakes, answer questions and right some wrongs in a bid to make peace with his past and find renewed purpose.

Inspired by true stories, Moorcroft follows a group of young lads in search of an escape from their working class lives. But can playing football save them from the challenges they face and make them the men they want to be?

With true friendship and the tenacity of working class people at its heart, Moorcroft tackles toxic masculinity in Scotland and asks ‘what is a real man?’ The hit show returns for extra-time after a sell-out run in 2022.

Showing from Thu 13 — Sat 29 Jul 2023 at The Tron

Tickets here

WHAT’S ON: Heathers in Glasgow in June

Following two smash hit West End seasons, a record-breaking run at The Other Palace and winning the WhatsOnStage award for BEST NEW MUSICAL, Heathers the Musical, the black comedy rock musical based on the eponymous 1989 film, embarks on a new national tour. Arriving in Glasgow on 27 June 2023.

Westerberg High’s Veronica Sawyer is just another nobody dreaming of a better day. But when she joins the beautiful and impossibly cruel Heathers and her dreams of popularity may finally come true, mysterious teen rebel JD teaches her that it might kill to be a nobody, but it is murder being a somebody.

KING’S THEATRE Tue 27 Jun – Sat 1 Jul 2023 – tickets here

**Please note that this production contains strong language and mature themes including: references to suicide and eating disorders; moments of violence; murder; sexual content; sexual violence; gunshots and flashing lights.

 

WHAT’S ON: Rory Bremner stars in Quiz at The King’s

Comedian Rory Bremner will play Chris Tarrant in a provocative drama that explores the Who Wants to be a Millionaire coughing scandal.

Written by James Graham, Quiz, will play in Glasgow as part of a UK tour after an award-winning West End run in 2018 and 2020’s successful three-part ITV adaptation starring Michael Sheen, will open on Tuesday 9 October for five nights.

The production explores the real-life story of Charles Ingram, aka the Coughing Major, who conned the world’s most popular TV quiz show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire out of £1,000,000. Or did he?

Ticketholders will have the opportunity to judge the case for themselves via interactive finger-pads in ultimate ask-the-audience style.  Throughout the show the audience will be asked whether they thought Ingram was guilty or not guilty, with the votes displayed on stage.

Speaking of taking on the role of presenter Chris Tarrant, Rory Bremner said: “I’m very excited about this; not just the challenge of playing Chris Tarrant in long form but bringing the scandal that really caught the public’s imagination to a live audience every night. What really happened? The jury’s out – and this time it’s you!

“I didn’t have to phone-a-friend. It wasn’t even 50/50. This was a role I had to take on, with A: a brilliant director; B: a terrific script; C: a different audience live each night; and D: a story that divides opinion to this day. Final answer? Ask the audience!”

THE KING’S THEATRE, GLASGOW

TUESDAY 10 – SATURDAY 13 OCTOBER 2023

Tickets here

WHAT’S ON: Must be This Gay to Ride at The Old Gym Theatre

Award-winning playwright and comedian Kate Hammer debuts her new one-woman comedy play Must Be This Gay To Ride at the Old Gym Theatre in Glasgow.

Must Be This Gay To Ride is a one-woman comedy play centring around queerness, relationships, and choosing how we define ourselves. Danny, a pansexual woman, grapples with the feeling of belonging to a community that might not want to accept her. This play explores the complexities of queerness: pansexual erasure, the stigma of having relationships with men, and the unspoken hierarchy of queerness. Danny dives into the proverbial can of worms that comes with an accidental pregnancy and an abortion as a queer woman.

This play highlights the importance of female queer stories and asks why we have not seen them on stage more. It opens a conversation about the freedoms and restrictions brought on by labels. Most importantly, it asks the audience to question their own labels: are we enough? It does so with comedy: not preaching to the audiences but inviting them to join in the confusion and joy in a complex and vibrant world.

Kate Hammer is a playwright, performer, and stand-up comedian. In 2019, she was the recipient of the McGill Drama Award for Playwriting and was commissioned for Centaur Theatre’s Queer Reading Series. She has worked extensively with Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal and was selected for Short Circuit’s Convergence 2022, Grey Moth’s Witty Women Fund, and GMAC Little Pictures 2023. She is most passionate about working in theatre and putting on stories that haven’t been heard and need to be experienced.

NEWS: Tally’s Blood to tour again after twenty-year hiatus

Twenty years after it was last seen in full-scale production, The Gaiety Ayr, Perth Theatre and Cumbernauld Theatre Company are combining to present a brand-new tour of Ann Marie Di Mambro’s modern Scottish classic Tally’s Blood.

Directed by Ken Alexander, who also directed the 2003 production, Tally’s Blood will open in Perth Theatre from Thursday 21 until Saturday 30 September 2023 before touring to Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock; Cumbernauld Theatre at Lanternhouse; Eastwood Park Theatre, Giffnock; Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling and Theatre Royal, Dumfries, concluding its run at The Gaiety from Wednesday 1 until Friday 3 November.

There is hardly a town or city in Scotland that doesn’t have its own Italian café, chippy or ice-cream parlour. And it’s in one of these much-loved establishments that the story of Tally’s Blood starts…

Lucia can wrap her aunt and uncle around her little finger, cry to order, and she doesn’t like going to school. She likes Hughie though, so much so that they seal their friendship with a secret ceremony in the storeroom of her family’s ‘Tally’ shop – aided by an illicit bottle of ‘ginger’.

Auntie Rosinella loves Lucia like all the children she never had, but will anyone – particularly a ‘Scotch’ boy – ever be good enough for the girl she loves ‘best in the whole wide world’’?

As their childhood camaraderie blossoms into romance, Lucia and Hughie face more challenges than their countries taking opposing sides in the Second World War.

Told with heart and humour, Tally’s Blood follows the lives of an Italian immigrant family in Scotland, from the 1930s through to the 1950s, in a sweeping tale of poverty, passion and prejudice that travels from the west of Scotland to the sun-baked Italian countryside.

First performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh in 1990, Tally’s Blood is a Set Text for National 5 English.

Welcoming the new tour, announced on Italian Liberation Day – 25 April 2023 – Ann Marie Di Mambro said:

“Of all the pieces I’ve written in the last 30+ years Tally’s Blood is closest to my heart. It delves into my own Scottish-Italian heritage and the stories I was told growing up. I’m very excited at the prospect of a tour marking the 20th anniversary of the last production and I’m delighted that Ken Alexander is returning to direct it once again.”

Ken Alexander said:

“I have been keen to revisit the play for some time as it has become something of a Scottish classic, known by people across the country but infrequently produced.

It is a piece that, although set between the 1930s and 1950s, has a lot of contemporary resonances – particularly those around multiculturalism and the immigrant experience, and contemporary issues that make us question what brings us together and what pushes us apart in society. However, the thing that appeals to me most is the huge heart that is contained in Ann Marie Di Mambro’s play – drawn very closely from her own family experience as Italian immigrants that settled in Scotland. Her storytelling is full of warmth, nostalgia and affection without ever being overly sentimental. Audiences can expect a rattling good story, laughter, tears and a good night out!”

Jeremy Wyatt, Chief Executive of The Gaiety said:

Tally’s Blood is about a key part of Scotland’s history, and the strong bond between Scotland and Italy.  And it’s also about the immigrant experience so it’s about Scotland’s present too. On top of that it’s funny, with a dash of romance.  No wonder it has a special place in the hearts of so many people I speak to.”

Fraser Morrison, Creative Producer at Cumbernauld Theatre said:

“At Cumbernauld Theatre we recognise the strengths of working in partnership and are delighted to join forces with Perth Theatre and Ayr Gaiety. This powerful and poignant play immediately captured our attention as it explores key themes that are not only relevant to our modern society today, but also resonate deeply with us as a Scottish community. We are confident that this story will strike a chord with our local audience who appreciate stories rooted in truth and authenticity, and who value the power of connection. Furthermore, this collaboration provides a unique opportunity for school groups to engage with our Creative Learning programme alongside this work, and for the general public to enjoy a modern Scottish classic. We look forward to embarking on this exciting journey with our partners and sharing Tally’s Blood with audiences across Scotland.”

Nick Williams, Chief Executive of Perth Theatre and Concert Hall said:

“We’re delighted to be working in partnership with our friends at The Gaiety and Cumbernauld Theatre Company to bring Tally’s Blood to the stage again. Twenty years since it last toured, I’m sure that Ken Alexander’s new production will provoke warm memories from its many fans and resonate with a new generation of young theatre lovers who are just discovering this poignant love story with its enduring themes and relatable characters.”

Tickets for Tally’s Blood will go on sale this summer, with further information and cast announcement to follow.

NEWS: Pitlochry Festival Theatre to open 2023 Season with new production of the much-loved musical Gypsy

Pitlochry Festival Theatre is set to open its exciting 2023 Season in May in a most spectacular way with the first staging in Scotland for nearly 20 years of Gypsy, Jule Styne, Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim’s iconic musical.

Pitlochry Festival Theatre – 2023 Cast.

Gypsy is one of the greatest and most dazzling of all musicals. Based on the tantalising comedic memoirs of famous striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, it tells the amusing and sassy story of pushy showbiz mother Rose, who travels across America with her daughters, Baby June and Louise, in search of success with their homemade vaudeville act.

When Baby June leaves the act to elope, Rose vows to make introverted Louise into a star, and will do almost anything to see her daughter break into the big time.

Featuring the iconic songs Some PeopleLet Me Entertain You, and the show-stopping Everything’s Coming Up Roses, Gypsy is set to be a cracking night out that will have audiences humming all the way into the night as they leave the theatre.

Gypsy’s exciting cast will feature Shona White (Jack Absolute Flies Again, National Theatre, Mamma Mia!, West End and Merrily We Roll Along, Donmar Warehouse) as Mamma Rose; Blythe Jandoo (The Maggie Wall and Sunshine on Leith, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and A Mother’s Song: A New Folk Musical, Macrobert Arts Centre) as Louise; Patricia Panther (Peter Pan and Wendy, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Orphans and Glasgow Girls, National Theatre of Scotland) as June; Ben Stock (Grease and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, West End) as Herbie; Oliver Cookson (Hay Fever and Travels with my Aunt, Assembly Roxy) as Pop Rose/Mr Goldstone); Matthew Churcher (Animal Farm, National Tour/Fiery Angel & Birmingham Rep, Peter Pan, National Theatre/Bristol Old Vic and White Teeth, Kiln Theatre) as LA/Cigar; Rachael McAllister (Little Women and A Christmas Carol, Pitlochry Festival Theatre) as Mazeppa; Robbie Scott (Peter Pan and Wendy, Pitlochry Festival Theatre) as Tulsa; Joseph Tweedale (The Meaning of Zong, Bristol Old Vic and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Theatre Clwyd) as Yonkers/Weber; Jack Ward (Bridgerton, Netflix) as Angie; Trudy Ward (As You Like It, Jupiter Theatre) as Electra/ Agnes, and Kristin Weichen Wong (Field- Something For The Future Now, Edinburgh International Festival) as Tessie Tura.

Gypsy is directed by Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s Associate Director Ben Occhipinti (Blonde Bombshells in 1943 and co-director Sunshine on Leith, Pitlochry Festival Theatre), Designed by Liz Cooke, lighting by Kate Bonney, Musical Direction by Rob Hiley (CATS nominated for Blonde Bombshells in 1943), Choreography by Maggie Rawlinson and Sound Design by Lorna Munden.

Ben Occhipinti said:

“Gypsy is one of the most loved and powerful musicals ever written. I have wanted to direct it ever since I discovered the film years ago. I can’t think of another musical that brings the combined elements of drama, song and dance together in such a clear and joyful way. The combination of Sondheim’s exquisite lyrics and Styne’s beautiful melodies make Gypsy an enduring, powerful story. I can’t wait to bring it to life on the Pitlochry stage with such a talented and brilliant company.”

Gypsy runs at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 19 May till 30 September.

Tickets for Gypsy are now on sale and are available from the Pitlochry Festival Theatre Box Office on 01796 484626 or online at www.pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com

 

WHAT’S ON: MYRA DUBOIS ANNOUNCES NATIONAL TOUR AND EDINBURGH FRINGE RUN FOR 2023

Following a national tour of Australia, British comedy sensation Myra DuBois will be bringing her new show ‘Be Well’ to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before embarking on a UK tour for 2023. Tickets are on sale now and available from www.myradubois.co.uk

Myra DuBois calls out to you, the disadvantaged, downtrodden and tyrannised of the world, with her manifesto for mental health: AdMyrism! But are you ready to receive the call? Myra will head to Edinburgh Fringe to perform in Pleasance KingDome at 8pm throughout the month of August.

Audiences will be delighted to know that she will then kick off her nationwide live tour in Salford on 29th September before heading to Ilkley, Leamington Spa, Southend, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Carlisle, Cambridge, Cardiff, Oxford, Nottingham, Swindon, Birmingham, Newbury, Liverpool, London before closing the tour in Brighton on 16th November.

“Be Well” is a sardonic side-eye at the Wellness Industrial Complex as Myra continues of the tradition of the likes Shirley McClean and Gwyneth Paltrow, a celebrity that knows best.

Having left audiences across the globe in physical pain from laughter with her take-no-prisoners brand of rapid-fire comedy; Myra DuBois lays her healing hands on the masses in this; her wellness sermon.

Unpredictable, intelligent character comedy, the self-declared siren of South Yorkshire works the room, sparing no-one her sharp tongue, and yet somehow keeping everybody affectionately on-side.

Myra DuBois will be supported on her UK tour by comedian Frank Lavender, who will performing highlights from his own Edinburgh Fringe Show “Be Funny” which is at Just the Tonic’s La Belle Angele at 17:00, 3rd – 27th August (not 14th).

Both Myra DuBois and Frank Lavender are comic creations of character comedian Gareth Joyner.

 

12/10/2023                                             EDINBURGH, The Stand

14/10/2023                                             GLASGOW, The Stand

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