In a Big Country

Gateway New Writing Festival

02/11/26

The Studio at Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

It’s a fecund time for emerging playwrights as, hot on the heels of Saturday’s Trajectories by the Scottish Youth Theatre, comes The Gateway New Writing Festival, where six plays (still in development) will be shown over three evenings in the Festival Theatre’s studio. We’re here on opening night to see the first two.

In a Big Country by Ben Ramsay is an unnerving thriller set in a remote area of Scotland, where phone signals are mere phantoms and no one can hear you scream. Young couple James (Frederik Bang) and Maisie (Rachael Campbell) might be broke but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to celebrate their anniversary, so they’re exercising their right to roam and giving camping a go. Maybe a night under canvas will help to heal their troubled relationship? But they’ve reckoned without the overbearing landowner (Jamie Cowan), a strange, despotic man, who invites himself for a drink beside their campfire, armed with a knife and gun…

Directed by Rebecca Russel, Ramsey’s script bursts into life, with James and Maisie making a likeable and convincing couple. Bang and Campbell deliver sprightly, engaging performances, ensuring that we care about both characters, even as James’ insecurities bring out the worst in him. Posh weirdo Richard is perhaps less believably conceived, but Cowan imbues him with a suitably menacing presence, the tension ramping up as the couple’s dream of a romantic getaway slowly turns into a nightmare.

There are a few small issues that still need working out: the duo’s gullibility stretches credulity at times, and the ending is something of a damp squib. Nonetheless, In a Big Country has a lot going for it: the pace is kinetic and the atmosphere chilling. The couple’s problems serve as a microcosm, a commentary on wider social issues that affect us all. Ramsey is certainly one to watch.

Tonight’s second play, The Tide by Sophie Good, is a story of love and loss. Helen (Kirsten Maguire) and her husband, Grant (Paul Wilson), feel a strong attachment to their seaside town; it holds all of their memories. They had their first kiss in the local chippy and raised their little boy on sandcastles and ice-cream. Not that things are rosy any more: following an argument with his mum, their teenage son ran away and has now been missing for years, while coastal erosion means their clifftop cottage is in imminent danger of collapse. The council has issued an eviction notice, but how can Helen and Grant leave with Tom still unaccounted for? What if he comes back and can’t find them? And anyway, Grant doesn’t want to live in a ticky-tacky new-build. How will he distract himself without any repairs or renovations to do?

I love the premise of this piece: the symbolism of the crumbling home and the couple’s quiet desperation as they wait and wait for their son’s return. Under James Wood’s direction, their sadness is palpable, their fragile hopes almost unbearable.

There are places where the script could do with being pared back (the ‘partial sea view’ from the modern apartment is referenced too often, and we don’t always need words – such as ‘handcuffs’ – to tell us what is clearly visible). In addition, the exits and entrances slow down the pace; I think it would be better to keep the actors on stage throughout. For example, instead of playing to an empty stage, the recorded voices in the flashback would be more powerful if they were juxtaposed with the older iterations of Helen and Grant sadly muddling through their day. Niggles aside, The Tide has a lot of potential and I look forward to seeing more of Good’s work.

New writing festivals like Gateway are integral to the future of theatre, and it’s exciting to see what the next generation of playmakers has to offer. If you’re looking for something to do in the run up to Bonfire Night, why not take a chance on the next four plays (Stomach by Ben Kay, Dead People Don’t Have Data by Laura Tansley, ULTRAVIOLENCE! By Will Osbon and Steam by James Stedman)?

4 stars

Susan Singfield

Restless Natives: The Musical

07/06/25

Leith Theatre, Edinburgh

Since it first opened in 1932, Leith Theatre has had a chequered history. Originally conceived as a gift from the city of Edinburgh, when Leith amalgamated with it (in 1920), the venue was badly damaged during the Second World War and didn’t fully reopen for business until the 1960s. Over the following decades, the doors opened and closed for a whole variety of reasons – but this year it has finally secured a 50-year lease and a National Lottery Grant. Stepping through the doors on launch night feels somehow propitious, the start of an exciting new era for this handsome and much-loved theatre.

Based upon the 1985 film of the same title, the touring musical of Restless Natives seems like an inspired choice for a relaunch. Like the film, the production is set in the 1980s. We open with members of the cast performing a mournful a cappella rendition of Stuart Adamson’s In a Big Country, the sweet harmonies coaxing genuine chills – and then we launch headlong into the story, the exploits of two young men, disenchanted with their lot in Thatcher’s Britain and struggling to make ends meet in Edinburgh.

Ronnie (Kyle Gardiner) is managing a joke shop and hates the fact that much of his regular stock is being replaced by items of tartan tat, aimed at tourists. His best friend, Will (Finlay McKillop), is earning a crust as a road sweep and, incorrigible romantic that he is, constantly searching for his one true love. When Ronnie suggests a radical new way of making dough, Will goes along with the idea. They will climb onto a motorbike, wearing joke-shop masks to disguise their identities and, armed only with a toy pistol and a bazooka filled with itching powder, they will rob coaches loaded with tourists. What could possibly go wrong?

Against all the odds, the ruse works, and it’s not long before our two modern highwaymen – dubbed ‘The Clown’ and ‘The Wolfman’ – are plying a decent trade along the backroads of the Highlands. Not only that but they are generating a strange kind of fandom, with coach passengers openly hoping that they will be the next targets. On one such robbery, Will takes a shine to Margot (Kirsty MacLaren), a vivacious tour guide and, when he meets her afterwards, can’t quite stop himself from revealing his true identity. Since her father, Baird (Alan McHugh), is the local Chief of Police, it’s evident that things are about to become complicated…

This sprightly production, directed by Michael Hoffman, and based on Ninian Dunnett’s original screenplay, has a kind of galumphing charm as it scampers merrily from one encounter to the next with barely a pause for breath. Occasionally, events do somewhat beggar belief. A scene where Ronnie visits a club stuffed to the gills with dodgy characters appears to have wandered in from a different genre entirely – comic opera, perhaps? But Harry Ward is clearly having such a ball playing Nigel, Scotland’s Most Wanted Criminal, it seems churlish to complain. Meanwhile, a visiting Texas Ranger, Bender (Sarah Galbraith), has a propensity to encourage everybody to indulge in a spot of line-dancing at odd moments and… well, hell, why not?

There’s no message here, other than ‘have a good time’ along with a kind of generalised pro-Scotland vibe. This is a romp: each member of the eleven-strong cast giving every ounce of dedication and perspiration that they have. MacLaren’s stunning vocals are a consistent standout, while Gardiner and McKillop convince as the chalk-and-cheese besties. The enthusiastic applause as the cast take their final bow is heartfelt and well-earned – and I’m already looking forward to successive productions as this venue continues to grow and flourish.

Interested parties will find Restless Natives here until Sat 21st of June (and practical jokes really are available in the foyer), before it moves on to the King’s Theatre, Glasgow.

3.6 stars

Philip Caveney