Welcome! I am a freelance journalist and theatre critic for The Times in Scotland. I also write short fiction, which has been broadcast several times on BBC Radio 4 and published in anthologies such as Out There, Elsewhere, ImagiNation, Gutter, Markings, New Writing Scotland and The Best Gay Stories.
First published in The Times, Wednesday May 1 2019
Four Stars
Morna Young began work on this, her first full-length play, in 2011, but the tragic story at its heart has been bubbling beneath the surface for much longer. Young, from the fishing community of Burghead in Moray, lost her own father, a trawlerman, to the sea in 1989, when she was five years old.
First published in The Times, Tuesday November 28 2017
Three Stars
As 2017 is an odd-numbered year, Johnny McKnight is not only writing the pantomime at the Macrobert but also directing and pouring himself in and out of a ludicrous selection of wigs and frocks in his role as dame. The artistic director of Random Accomplice switches between the Stirling arts centre and Glasgow’s Tron at this most wonderful time of the year.
Continue reading “Review: Chick Whittington – Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling”
First published in The Times, Monday November 28 2016
Four Stars
If Johnny McKnight, the playwright, performer and artistic director of Random Accomplice, could split himself into multiple clones, he would probably be called upon to write, helm and play the dame in half a dozen pantomimes across Scotland every festive season. As the ability to be in several places at once isn’t yet de rigueur, theatres must take it in turns for the full McKnight Christmas package of script, direction and virtuosic improvised banter.
Continue reading “Review: Weans in the Wood – Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling”
First published in The Times, Monday November 30 2015
The Little Mermaid: Four Stars
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Three Stars
With its red-haired heroine, shimmering backcloth and bold, primary-coloured costumes, this year’s Christmas show at the Macrobert owes as much of a debt of influence to Walt Disney as it does to Hans Christian Andersen. The witty, up-to-date script and irreverent atmosphere are very much in keeping with what we’ve come to expect from the Stirling panto, however. We’ve barely taken our seats before Drop Dead Gorgeous Daz (played by Robert Jack in the same fright wig he wore last year as Wishee Washee) lets off the show’s first fart gag, and this pretty much sets the tone for the next two hours.
Allan Radcliffe 