**** (4 Stars)
“Full of Heart and Pride! ”
After all the celebrations The King’s Theatre Edinburgh inaugural autumn and winter season, since its transformation, gets underway with a programme of productions that celebrate the best of Scotland across the generations which makes Raw Materials new hip hop musical “Wallace” an excellent choice and Edinburgh audiences get an exclusive preview of the show as its not scheduled to tour fully until autumn 2027.
Written by Rob Drummond with music and lyrics by hip hop award winning artist and DJ Dave Hook, this is a musical that’s heavily influenced by the great Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights and Hamilton) and tells the story of the life of Scotland’s greatest advocate for independence and freedom William Wallace (1270- 1305).
Most people will only know the story of Wallace thanks to the 1996 Mel Gibson motion picture “Braveheart” the only problem being that the movie was mostly fabrication for dramatic purposes, this stylish musical lifts the lid on the real Wallace and the first war of Scottish independence from his stunning win at the Battle of Stirling Bridge to a shocking defeat at the Battle of Falkirk which lead to his death at the hands of King Edward the 1st.
This is a musical that’s full of heart and pride on wears it proudly on its sleeve, and engages from the off by not being a history lesson with musical but a powerfully written piece that draws comparisons between the World of Wallace in the 13th Century and our modern world were those who are enriched and in positions of power continue to launch futile wars its aft sobering and emotional.
Performances from the six strong cast, Madeline Grieve “Wummin”, Dave Hook “DJ/Wallace”, Kimberly Mandindo “Wummin”, Ross Mann “Scotsman”, Patricia Panther “Wummin” and Manasa Tagica “Sassenach” are excellent all deliver flawless turns soaked in hip hop rhythms to great effect.
Production wise it’s a fabulous set design from Neil Haynes which is brought to even further vivid life by Derek Andersons full throttle lighting design. Garry Boyle sound design is equally as good but given much of the score is delivered by Hook’s live DJ skills it’s probably easier to get such a good balance. Victoria Brown costume design also triumphs in blending historic period piece with hip hop flavours in abundance.
Wallace was developed as part of Oran Mor’s A Play, A Pie and a Pint series and at times the show still feels like it’s a work in development and while O’Loughlin’s direction is pacey the piece especially in act seems a little bloated and with a brief act 2 perhaps it should be performed as a one act musical but that could change as the show continues to develop.
Wallace is filled with adult language and truly embodies the spirit of hip hop although it also includes rock and pop in its score the show is truly engaging leaving catchy tunes in the memory long after the curtain falls. The greatest joy of the show is the way it holds up a mirror to today. For a man who died 721 years ago what have we has a humanity and society learnt from his life? As it appears for too many those In power continue to make the same mistake.
One thing that is no mistake is splashing out on a ticket for this show as you will leave royally entertained and I’m excited to see how the show develops ahead of its full tour next year.
Wallace A Musical, The King’s Theatre, Edinburgh until Saturday 3rd October 2026. For more information and tickets go to: Wallace – Capital Theatres
