Operation Mincemeat a New Musical with Music, Lyrics and Book by David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoe Roberts debuted off west end at the New Diorama Theatre in 2019 and has gone on to become a critically acclaimed as well as a Olivier, Tony and What’s on-Stage award-winning smash it.
Productions are now running in London’s west end at the Fortune Theatre, On Broadway at The Golden Theatre and the show now embarks on its first UK Tour and is already selling out venues around the country.
Telling the story of Operation Mincemeat, a Second World War British deception operation and taking inspiration from a plethora of other musicals such as, The Producers, Hamilton, In The Heights, Cabaret and even A Chorus line this is a musical which revels in its true story adding lashings of comedy, quality music and simply outstanding performances from the stellar five strong ensemble cast.
Performances across the board are uniformly excellent with Holly Sumpton, Sean Carey, Jamie-Rose Monk, Christian Andrews and Charlotte Hanna-Williams turning in beguiling turns as they combine to bring to life over 100 characters with ease. There is not a week character or vocal between them as they truly earned the standing ovation which greeted them as the curtain fell.
Robert Hastie’s direction is flawless with excellent flow and it’s the tender moments of deep pathos as the real cost of war sink in that really make this show work so beautifully, this is further boosted by Jenny Arnolds high energy and acutely detailed Choreography which further brings out some of the most finely nuanced performances to be see on the stages around the UK.
Production wise Ben Stones Set and Costume Design is pitch perfect borrowing heavily from Churchills war rooms buried deep underneath the heart of Westminster. Its evocative and capturing and is further enhanced by Mark Hendersons pure west end standard lighting design. Mike Walkers sound design is an equal triumph blending musical director Sam Somerfeld’s four strong pit band with performers effortlessly. Operation Mincemeat brings the struggle of 1943 to vivid life with a show that captures the heart and the mind from the moment the curtain rises. It’s easy to see why the show is selling out where it goes, you simply won find a more engaging evening at the theatre elsewhere.
Operation Mincemeat deserves to shine for long time to come. Its joyous, honest, filled with quality new writing it brings together the perfect recipe of an emotional true story, stunning songs, divine performances and a lush design in all departments. This is truly 5 star musical theatre firing on all cylinders and while tickets are sold out for the 2026 run the show will return in 2027 so be sure to grab those gold dust tickets while you can.
Operation Mincemeat, A New Musical, The King’s Theatre, Edinburgh runsuntil Saturday 7th 2026. Sold Out – RETURNS ONLY For more information go to: Operation Mincemeat 2026 – Capital Theatres
The Production will return to the King’s Theatre Edinburgh from Tuesday 29th June to Saturday 3rd July 2027 for more information go to: Operation Mincemeat 2027 – Capital Theatres
The production will also tour to the Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Tuesday 9th to Saturday 14th November 2026 returning to the same venue on Tuesday 6th – Saturday 10th July 2027
Where has 2026 gone too! Once again here at Scotsgay Arts we are looking forward to the festive season that will be with us before we all know it and that of course means our traditional preview of the best pantomimes and Christmas shows on offer around the country and further afield!. Our selection is of course just the tip of the ice berg as venues up and down the country provide a plethora of festive treats for your viewing pleasure! We hope you pick one of our choices! And you can be assured we will be reviewing the biggest and best of the offerings too! So let’s get to it with our exclusive preview!
EDINBURGH!
The Adventures of Pinocchio, The King’s Theatre Edinburgh.
The Legendary Kings Panto Gang Return Home For This Years Extravaganza!
The Kings Edinburgh Panto team return home after a four-year decampment to the Festival Theatre to allow for the multi-million-pound renovations to the beautiful King’s Theatre on Leven Street. Celebrating the reopening of the King’s Theatre this Christmas is Legendary Dame, Allan Stewart as May Geppetto, Grant Stott as the evil Stromboli and Jordan Young as the title role in this sensational panto. Completing the dazzling line-up is musical theatre star C.J. Borger as Jiminy Cricket, with Edinburgh panto favourites Clare Gray as Kitty the Cat and Gail Watson as Phyllis the Fox. Get ready for a Christmas pantomime packed with all the ingredients you know and love, brought to life by an all-star cast. Featuring a stunning new set, lush costumes and the King’s theatre itself taking a starring role it promises to be a truly magical adventure.
Everybody nose tickets sell fast, so book yours now!
Crossroads Presents the Adventures of Pinocchio The King’s Theatre Edinburgh, Saturday 28th November 2026 – Sunday 17th January 2027 for more information and Tickets go to:The Adventures of Pinocchio – Capital Theatres
Jack and The Beanstalk, Summerhall, Edinburgh
The 2nd Annual Summerhall Panto features all the regulars returning.
Following the sellout success of 2025/26’s Snow White, Summerhall in association with Edinburgh acting school return for their second annual panto Extravaganza! Jack and the Beanstalk! The village is running on rations, and everyone is hungry, fed up and full ey’ the drouth! But the taxes still need to be paid, and Baroness Bella Von Grabbit will make sure she gets what is owed. Our loveable, nice but naive Jack has forever longed to find a bonnie bird who loves him for him, but family comes first… Does he let his auld Ma, Maggie McTrout, whittle away to the size of a sprout, or does he pull his socks up, stop greetin’ and climb his way tae something bigger? With a feisty Ma, a loyal coo, a greedy Baroness, and a beanstalk that’s anything but ordinary, will Jack strike it rich – or land himself in a right pickle? Either way, it’s going to be a belter of a journey!
Returning 2025 cast members include Stephen Graham-Martin as Maggie McTrout, Brett Herriot as Fairy Evergreen, Lucy Philip as Bella Von Grabbit and Rebekah Clark as Pat the Coo. Joining the regulars will be new panto stars plus a children ensemble and dance troupe drawn from the local Summerhall Community.
Summerhall and Edinburgh Acting School Present Jack and The Beanstalk, Summerhall Edinburgh, Friday 11th December – Sunday 20th December 2026 (Friday 18th 9pm show will be a special adult only performance) for more information and tickets go to:Jack and the Beanstalk – Summerhall Arts
A Christmas Carol, The Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
The Lyceum promise a magical christmas show this year!
The Royal Lyceum theatre company continue their traditional Christmas shows with a new production of A Christmas Carol; A Chill wind sweeps through the gas-lit streets of Victorian Edinburgh as Dickens’ beloved classic comes to life at The Lyceum for our 2026 festive season.
On Christmas Eve, three mysterious spirits whisk Ebenezer Scrooge away on a whirlwind journey through his past, present, and future. Will he discover the true meaning of Christmas before it’s too late?
Directed by Award-winning Artistic Director, James Brining, let this festive classic fill you with cheer – join us for a Christmas tradition in the making.
A Christmas Carol, The Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Saturday 28th November 2026 – Sunday 3rd January 2027 for more information and tickets go to:A Christmas Carol | Lyceum
Dick McWhittington, Portobello Town Hall, Portobello
The Fourth Annual Panto comes to the Town Hall This Christmas!
“FROM RAGS TO RICHES , THE PURR-FECT FAMILY PANTOMIME!” Back by popular demand, Porty Panto returns for its fourth consecutive year, and this time it promises to be an adventure of a pantomime! Filled with much-loved music, and hilarious comedy, Dick McWhittington will take centre stage at Portobello Town Hall and promises to be an unforgettable theatrical event. So, sit back, relax, and join us this Christmas!
Back To the Future -The Musical, Edinburgh Playhouse
A True West End Treat Awaits in the Playhouse This Christmas
Strap in for the smash hit Back to the Future the Musical, landing at Edinburgh Playhouse as part of its first ever UK tour. International icon of stage and screen Roger Bart returns as Doc Brown, having originated the role in Manchester, West End, Broadway and Sydney. He is reunited with rising Australian star Axel Duffy as Marty McFly. Winner of Best New Musical at the Olivier Awards, WhatsOnStage Awards and Broadway World Awards, this “perfect musical escapism” (Metro) is ready to take you on an electrifying journey through time.
When teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back to 1955 in a time machine built by the eccentric Doc Brown, he disrupts the space-time continuum and must race against the clock to put things right – and get back to the future. Don’t miss this “high-voltage comedy” (Metro) and “feelgood triumph” (Telegraph), directed by Tony Award-winner John Rando and featuring a show-stopping DeLorean that “defies the laws of theatre” (Guardian).
Back to the Future the Musical features original music by multi-Grammy winners Alan Silvestri (Avengers: Endgame) and Glen Ballard (Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror), alongside hit songs from the movie including The Power of Love, Johnny B. Goode, Earth Angel and Back in Time.
“It’s a total blast” (Metro), and when this baby hits 88mph at the Edinburgh Playhouse, it will zap “the audience between the eyes and ears to a roar of delight” (Variety).
Aladdin as you have never seen it before comes to the Glasgow King’s!
Get ready for Glasgow’s biggest pantomime adventure yet, starring comedy sensation Elaine C Smith as Mother Goose and panto favourite Johnny Mac as Aladdin.
They’re joined by Glasgow panto returners Darren Brownlie as Spirit of the Ring, Hannah Jarrett-Scott as The Wicked Witch and Blythe Jandoo as Princess Jemima, alongside Gordon Cooper as Old King Cole, and Rushand Chambers as Genie of the Lamp.
This is Aladdin as you’ve never seen it before, complete with mesmerising sets and costumes, genie-us effects, and all the boos, hisses, and laughter that panto audiences love.
4 Decades of Panto Fun are Celebrated at the Tron with the Revival of the Snaw Queen
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF THE TRON PANTO She’s no’ just frozen… she’s baltic!
Christmas is running like a dream down in Santa’s (aka Kristine Cagney Kringle’s) workshop. All nice and naughty lists have been checked off. Nothing can go wrong. Until a broken magic mirror unleashes pure chaos and transforms Rudie The Red Nosed Reindeer into the terrifying Snaw Queen. No Rudie with his Red Nose? Then no Christmas presents can be delivered. Christmas now looks almost certain to be cancelled.
Kristine has no option but to team up with Olive (the other reindeer) on a dangerous quest across the pantosphere, past poisonous pensioners and their soprano sunflowers, past all-singing cowboys coming straight fae the Grand Ole ‘What Have We Got Here Noo’, to underground lairs where the people sound like they’re fae North Kelvinside, all whilst battling temperatures colder than Glasgow in July.
Will they ever find what they need to bring Rudie back to their rosy faced self? Will Christmas be saved? Will the Snaw Queen’s heart thaw? If you dinnae book now, you’ll find oot hee-haw…
Written, directed by, and featuring Johnny McKnight, The Snaw Queen is a remount of an old Tron Panto favourite, and one that reunites him with his original Olive (the Other Reindeer), the incomparable Julie Wilson Nimmo!
The Snaw Queen, Tron Theatre Glasgow, Wednesday 18th November 2026 – Thursday 31st December 2026. For more information and tickets go to:The Snaw Queen – Tron Theatre
Goldilocks and the Three Bonnie Bears, Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow
Its Been a Long Time Since Goldilocks appeared at the Pavilion Glasgow! Now She is Back!
Roll up! This Christmas, Glasgow’s beloved Panto tradition returns!
Bringing Glasgow together once again for the laugh-out-loud spectacular Goldilocks and the Three Bonnie Bears. Joining the previously announced funny man Liam Dolan are returning favourites Grado, Stephen Purdon, Scott Fletcher, Jack Jester, Jennifer Neil, Valissa Scott and Craig Glover — a team whose onstage camaraderie has become part of the Pavilion’s festive heartbeat. New for 2026, but no stranger to the Pavilion, is The Dolls’ Louise McCarthy, adding even more sparkle to this year’s line‑up.
Join feisty heroine Goldilocks, the daughter of Gertie who runs the circus, as she stumbles upon a family of three bonnie bears, each with their own big personalities, bigger appetites, and even bigger hearts. However, the wicked ringmaster is threatening to ruin Gertie’s Circus and expand her own, so Goldilocks must team up with her furry friends to save the day. Expect toe-tapping songs, slapstick chaos, and enough panto magic to warm even the chilliest Glasgow winter night.
Packed with festive spirit, all the usual Pav mayhem, side-splitting comedy, and plenty of surprises for kids and grown-ups alike, this is the Pavilion’s must-see festive tradition — fun, festive, and oh-so-full of cheer! Don’t miss the fairy-tale extravaganza that’s “just right” for the whole family! Book early for best seats and prices — this one’s set to be a bear-illiant sell-out!
Goldilocks and the Three Bears, His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen
HMT Aberdeen are off to the Circus This Christmas!
Enter a world of wonder at Aberdeen’s home of pantomime, as the magical Goldilocks and the Three Bears dazzles His Majesty’s Theatre!
To rescue Barnum’s Circus from the clutches of Baroness Von Winklebottom, Goldilocks is helped by a sparkling cast of favourites. Gary: Tank Commander marches back to headline as Gary Barnum; much-loved panto dame Alan McHugh delights as Dame Betty Barnum; and Scottish stage and screen star Paul J Corrigan returns as Daddy Bear.
With Jamie Marie Leary as Goldilocks and Anne Smith as the evil Baroness, you’re sure to agree this is The Greatest Panto on Earth!
For five weeks only, His Majesty’s Theatre will transform into a sensational circus packed with riotous comedy, extraordinary special effects, hair-raising stunts, and amazing circus acts where anything could – and will – happen.
Roll up, roll up to see panto join the circus, and be swept away by a pantomime spectacular that’s just right!
Crossroads presents Goldilocks and the Three Bears, His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen. Saturday 28th November 2026 – Sunday 3rd January 2027 for more information and tickets go to:Goldilocks and the Three Bears | Aberdeen Performing Arts
INVERNESS
Cinderella, Eden Court Theatre, Inverness
The Greatest Panto Of Them All Comes To The Highlands This Christmas!
The home of panto in the highlands, The Empire Theatre at Eden court once again collaborates with Imagine Pantomimes for a magical take on Cinderella!
Join the Eden Court for the spectacular family panto Cinderella – back with all the magic, music and mayhem you’ve come to know and love!
Poor Cinderella toils night and day, dreaming of a very different life. When a royal invitation arrives, it seems her wish for a brighter future might finally come true. But will her Wicked Stepsisters spoil her chance at happiness? Or can her Fairy Godmother – with a little help from the ever-cheerful Buttons – work their magic in time?
Everyone’s favourite rags to riches tale will be full of all of the ingredients you love from the Eden Court panto: side-splitting slapstick, dazzling musical numbers and plenty of audience participation for the whole family.
The clock is ticking… so dust off your glad-rags and book your tickets today for this magical festive treat!
Cinderella, Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, Wednesday 2nd December 2026 – Sunday 3rd January 2027 for more information and tickets go to:Cinderella | Eden Court
FIFE
Oor Wee Robyn Hood, Linton Lane Theatre, Kirkcaldy
The “Oor Wee” Panto Gang are moving to a bigger venue for Christmas 2026!
We have moved! A brand new venue, for this brand new pantomime.
The Kings panto is heading a wee bit farther doon the Lang Toun, for 2026. Just like spending one Christmas with the in-laws and one at hame, we’re packing our Christmas bags and heading to Linton Lane for the festive season. Join us there for the adventures of Oor Wee Robyn Hood, (no not a typo!!) in the classic tree lined tale of bows and arrows, Merry men and the greedy Sheriff, all delivered to you, with a KDY twist. Hear the story as you have never heard it before – in a venue we have never played at before!!
Following nominations from the UK Pantomime and C.A.T.S Awards, you won’t want to miss this brand new, bespoke beauty on your doorstep. All the magic and mayhem you have come to expect from a Kings panto, with a few surprises along the way. Packed with Billy Mack mischief, incredible vocals and of course sack loads of jokes. Along with Robyn, we aim to hit the target and transport you back to the long-forgotten folklore of stealing from the rich to give to the poor!
Don’t wait til Christmas, book your tickets now and guarantee you and your family a great night oot with this wonderful wee panto.
Oor Wee Robyn Hood, Linton Lane Theatre Kirkcaldy, Thursday 3rd December 2026 – Saturday 9th January 2027 for more information and tickets go to:Oor Wee Robyn Hood | Pantomime
AYR
Dick Whittington, The Gaiety Theatre, Ayr
A Pirate Adventure awaits at the Gaiety!
Writer Fraser Boyle and director Tom Cooper return to write and direct our 2026 pantomime – Dick Whittington!
Hoist the sails and hold on tae yir knickers for a swashbuckling Scottish adventure: Dick Whittington – reimagined for The Gaiety Theatre! Our orphan Dick follows a mysterious treasure map all the way to the mystical shores of Arran. Along the way he gathers an unforgettable crew: Forgetful GIbbs, Fairy Flinty, Kitty-Kat-Cathy and Dame Jackie Sparrow. But beware ye landlubbers! The Clyde Estuary belongs to the fearsome Captain Ratbeard and her band of drunken sailors! Packed with pirates and peril, this pantomime is bursting with adventure, heart and secrets waiting to be unlocked. Oh yes it is! Oh yo-ho-ho!
The Regular gang return for there 21st Panto Adventure heading up the Beanstalk this Year!
Jack and the Beanstalk is sprouting into life for the festive season on the Grey Street stage!
Follow Jack as he scales a beanstalk of epic proportions in search of his fortune in Cloudland. Doomed to sell his trusty cow, can Jack outwit the evil giant to win riches beyond his wildest dreams? Climb to new heights of hilarity as Danny Adams leads the cast of Jack and the Beanstalk, playing the fearless Jack Trot in what promises to be the North East’s biggest and most spectacular pantomime. Joining him are pantomime legends Clive Webb as Farmer Trot, Chris Hayward as the much-loved Dame Trot, and South Shields’ singing sensation Joe McElderry as the Spirit of the Beans.
Completing the line-up are Newcastle panto favourites Mick Potts as Pat the Cow and Wayne Smith as Fleshcreep, joined by musical theatre stars Rachel Stanley as the Queen and Oonagh Cox as Princess Jill.
Packed with laugh-out-loud comedy, staggering special effects, and larger-than-life fun, Jack and the Beanstalk is pantomime at its absolute best – the panto you’ve bean waiting for!
Don’t miss your chance to see the North East’s fastest-selling panto. Book early for Jack and the Beanstalk… or even magic beans won’t guarantee your ticket!
Crossroads present Jack and The Beanstalk, Theatre Royal, Newcastle, Tuesday 24th November 2026 – Sunday 17th January 2027 for more information and tickets go to:Jack and the Beanstalk | Newcastle Theatre Royal
LONDON
Cinderella, The London Palladium, London
The Legendary French and Saunders Reunite For this Palladium Spectacular!
This Christmas will mark the start of Crossroads and Michael Harrisons second decade at the helm of the biggest and best pantomime in the United Kingdom, and they return to where it all started with the greatest pantomime of them all! Cinderella.
You shall go to the most magical ball in the land this Christmas as the world-famous London Palladium invites you to the dazzling rags-to-riches fairytale Cinderella. Comedy legends Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders reunite on the West End stage for the first time in 17 years as the wickedly hilarious Ugly Sisters, with incomparable panto sensation Julian Clary, wand in hand, as the glittering Fairy Godfather.
Palladium panto favourites Paul Zerdin, Nigel Havers and Rob Madge are back by popular demand, joined by acclaimed TV and theatre star Dex Lee as Prince Charming, with musical theatre’s Hope Dawe stepping into the glass slippers as Cinderella.
Expect the most spectacular costumes in Pantoland, dazzling special effects, riotous laughter and all the magic that has made The London Palladium the true home of pantomime for the past decade.
Crossroads presents Cinderella, The London Palladium, Saturday 5th December 2026 – Sunday 10th January 2027 for more information and tickets go to:Cinderella | Palladium Pantomime Returns in 2026
There we have it! We picked just 12 shows from the hundreds around the country! From the smallest town halls to the London Palladium be sure to give yourself a festive treat this Christmas and visit your local theatre!
Having just come back from Finland on Monday, and suffering bad withdrawal symptoms, I was very glad to attend one of the Go Local events in the Festival and spend time with Finn Riikka Palonen and her British husband Richard Clarke in the lovely modern event space that’s part of St John’s Church.
I can confidently say that I know more Finnish than the average Brit, but nowhere near enough to comprehend a complicated story: I was very glad that Riikka, like so many Finns, has excellent English. She and Richard sang some hauntingly beautiful Finnish traditional songs, accompanied by a variety of instruments. I could recognise the odd word here and there, and clearly heard the wide open vast Finnish landscape with its dark and cold winters in which the stars blaze above the snowy wastes…
The Finnish version of the creation of the world was completely new to me, and fascinating. There were indeed stars and bears, and also bogs, and trees, and moss. There were maidens, some more buxom than others, and celestial suitors, some more appealing than others. There were cranes, cows, and a duck with a broken wing. There were characters from the great Finnish epic saga, the Kalevala – Väinämöinen, the maker of things, son of Water and Air, the giant Kalevala, and the blacksmith Ilmarinen.
Riikka was a wonderfully engaging storyteller, very down to earth and with a twinkle never far from her eye. From the start, she invited us into her world, telling us of her previous life as a farmer and her encounter one spring with the two cranes who every year would come to nest in the clearing in the forest in which she kept her cows.
She gave us much to think about: not least that our earth and we who live on it are all made out of stardust from a very distant star. Stories are told eye to eye, mind to mind, and heart to heart: so where did the first story come from? It’s heartening to know that even great heroes like Väinämöinen have been known to call on their mothers when they don’t know what to do.
There was joy and sorrow and laughter and lamenting. And there were bears. Bear worship existed more than 30,000 years ago – and unlike other religions was not forced on anyone by missionaries or the sword. Respect for the dead bear was profound, and the haunting two-voice lament which ended the session was a fitting epitaph.
But that wasn’t it – we were treated to an epilogue. A story gifted to Riikka by someone in a remote village in Lapland as thanks for her storytelling visit gave us a wonderful new understanding of what happens to us when we die: a story I will treasure.
Thank you, Riikka and Richard. I hope our paths cross again soon.
Scottish International Storytelling Festival presents Of Stars, Bears and the Beginning of Time, St John’s Church, Edinburgh, RUN ENDED
An outstanding evening in the company of five superb storytellers who brought alive one of the greatest of all Celtic story-cycles and kept their audience engrossed, enthralled, enchanted and engaged for the better part of five hours last Wednesday night.
Opening the evening, Donald Smith invited us to join himself, Gráinne Holland, David Hughes, Martin MacIntyre and Sinéad O’Brien in the Chamber of Stories, the magic Broch of Tales. Three Scots – Donald, David and Martin – and two Irish – Gráinne and Sinéad – took it in turns to contribute a part of the great saga common to both nations – Erin and Alba. The names may differ slightly in spelling and pronunciation, but the joys and sorrows, triumphs and tragedies that make up the rich tapestry that is the Ossian saga are the same in both nations.
Fionn and the Fianna, Finn’s wife Sadhbh, their son Ossian; Dairmaid and Gráinne; the faithful hounds Bran and Sceólang; the Salmon of Knowledge; the recurring treachery of Fear Doirich; the cup of healing; Aengus Òg, the Bodach and the Cailleach and many others play their parts in this Celtic saga.
Many of the tales must have been familiar to many in the audience, which was being told in its entirety for [possibly] the first time ever. I was new to just about all of it, but was held spellbound by the skill of these supreme storytellers. Any one of them would have drawn me in to their magic web: together, they were irresistible. Each one had their own style, their own way of painting pictures of the characters and their doings. Each one had chosen those parts of the tale with which they resonated most strongly and which they told to greatest effect: and each one was appreciated [especially when slipping in unplanned jokes!] just as much by their fellow-raconteurs as by those of us in the audience.
I can’t imagine what it’s like to be continuously on stage watching the tale unfold and waiting for one’s next contribution. To be in the audience was both a delight and a challenge: appreciating the skilful performances while keeping paying attention through the dark, depressing parts of the story as well as the bright, joyful ones. I have to confess to growing weary of the endless slaughter towards the end of the second part of the evening, but I’m glad I didn’t give up at that point and go home. Part three, which had its moments of humour and yet more tragedy towards its close, nevertheless offered a gleam of hope as the very ending of the saga reached back to its very beginning.
The Ossian saga tells of the doings of real, flawed people who sometimes act with incredible generosity and noble self-sacrifice and at other times are prevented from doing so by their own feelings of hurt or desire for revenge. Whatever they do, they do it passionately: and their humanity speaks out loud and clear across the ages, calling us to love and rage and grieve and suffer with them as we listen to their story.
Truly, an epic evening!
Scottish International Storytelling Festival, Rewilding Scotland’s Epics: the Ossian Cycle, Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh, RUN Ended.
Critically acclaimed writer Jonathan Harvey’s greatest gift to the theatre is his queer coming of age drama “Beautiful Thing” debuting in 1993 at the Bush Theatre in London it would go on to become beloved by audiences across the following three decades and would even spawn a smash hit motion picture adaptation in 1996.
Set in Thamesmead in the mid 1990’s we enter the working-class lives of a southeast London single parent family “Jamie”, Andrew More and his mother Sandra “Megan Crutchley” who also have Sandra’s lover Tony “Zephyyrus Pettitt” living with them in their multistorey council flat. Jamie, who thanks to bullying, hates school has accepted he is gay and has developed feelings for the boy next door, Ste “Finlay Gilbert” who also has a broken home and must face abuse day in and day out. Add to the mix neighbour “Leah”, Emma Ward a Mama Cass obsessed girl with a penchant for booze and drugs and dreams of a bigger life beyond the limits of the housing estate they all feel trapped in.
What follows is an exploration of sexuality, young love, resilience and self-acceptance with Edinburgh University Theatre Company proving this play remains timely as is timeless. Director Gemima Iseka-Bekano really gets to the core of the characters in a charming interpretation of the play that packs a real emotional punch thanks to the stellar performances from the close knit five strong company who all shine in equal measure.
Crutchley’s “Sandra” is a revelation with a deep routed spirit of a mother who has given everything she has to make a better life for her son, and the powerful scenes between her More’s “Jamie” where she accepts his sexuality are simply beautiful and emotionally honest. Andrew More gives a delicate but always truthful take on “Jamie” there is an innocence to his performance that’s truly capturing to watch. Finlay Gilbert’s “Ste” is nothing less than brilliantly and honestly performed and his is the biggest emotional journey going from abused by an overbearing father to discovering he can and does deserve to be loved for who and what he is. Zephyrus Pettitt’s “Tony” brings levity and light to the role that allows the humour to cut through the darkness. The same is true of Emma Ward’s “Leah” she delivers a tour de force turn that’s imbued with comedy but also a rich humanity that sees her steal every scene she appears in.
Production wise the show really works within the confines of the limited spaces of the Bedlam Stage with Lily-Beau Wolton’s set design invoking the suburbs of London with ease although the set changes that take us back and forth from Jamies bedroom are a little clunky and could do with smoothing out but these don’t detract from the high quality of the show over all. Hanae Della Nave’s lighting design is peerless and balances warmth with the dark recess of the many late-night scenes with ease. Peter Lally’s sound design is equally brilliant and ensures a perfect balance between performers and the hits of Mama Cass.
This production of Beautiful Thing is utterly charming and proves how well Jonathan Harvey’s writing has stood the test of time with flawless performances at its core from a committed company, yes this may be a university production, but it delivers a truly satisfying and frankly unmissable evening of theatre! So, grab what few tickets remain.
Beautiful Thing, The Bedlam Theatre, Edinburgh runsuntil Saturday 31st October 2026. For more information and tickets go to: Beautiful Thing | Bedlam Theatre
